Tag: Hearing God’s Voice

Vestige of Idolatry

John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

Me:
Good afternoon Father!

ABBA: Good afternoon Jon!

Me:
Father, about this passage; nothing exists that was not created by You. How is it that we get in trouble loving what was created?

ABBA:
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” [Jesus, Matthew 10:37] The trouble is one of idolatry. What is an idol? It is an object of misplaced worship. An image of stone or wood overlaid with gold to which the deceived offer prayers or even make sacrifices is obviously an idol. Even if the object were intended to provide focus and somehow represent Me, it would be false by its limits. So is a family member who’s opinion carries more weight than what I Am saying, or even the earth I have made and which you obviously need can be an object of misplaced devotion.

Do not think that My jealousy for you is about Me. Only I know the end from the beginning [Isaiah 46:10, Revelation 21:6]. You were created to have fellowship with Me. I desire intimacy with you. In that closeness, you find fulfillment that no other can provide. Idolatry interferes with our communion because is diverts your focus. My creation is for you. It is intended to support you, to be enjoyed by you, to be managed and cared for by you [Genesis 1:28]. The wonders that I have made should properly bring you to appreciate My gift of them and your study of them should give you insight into the truth that your thoughts are not My thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. This knowledge ought to lead you straight to Me:

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
12 “For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.” [Isaiah 55]

This is a Word of healing for you. What is the thorn bush but the bramble that has grown up in your life from seeds sown by the enemy. And what is the nettle but those irritating reminders that all in life is not as it should be. The perfecting work of My Word and the promise of joy and the everlasting fullness that I desire for you, this is what is missed when the idol is between Me and My people.

Me:
Am I guilty of idolatry? Is that why You point me to these verses?

ABBA:
Have you come to know Me fully, just as you are fully known? The growth in our relationship is “taking every thought captive”, leading you away from the false notion, the incomplete vision, and progressively into the Light of Truth that I Am. What I want you (and every one of My children) to consider is “What is first?” [Matthew 6:33]. Just as you cannot succeed in a project unless you focus on the details of the project, so you will not end up with a more thriving relationship with Me if our time together is an afterthought. But, if you come – more and more – to see me as I AM, as your all in all, then the “cypress” and the “myrtle” will indeed sprout and grow and become an everlasting memorial of our relationship.

Indeed, one aspect of the cypress and myrtle is that the ‘essential oils’ of these families of tree represent the fragrance of My Spirit at work in your life. He is a seal of My promise [2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13 & 4:30] and His presence in your life is essential to your transformation.

Me:
Father! Your revelations are marvelous! Help me leave behind my conceptions of You that fall short of the mark (as I suppose they must). Help me to see You more accurately! Help me to become more like You and see You more as You are. Help me to overcome the “need” to think I have arrived at a “correct understanding” and to be satisfied with the seeking and with the expansion of the vision that is possible today.

ABBA:
I Am working in your life to do these things. Today, I wanted you to recognize that your conception and perception of Me needs to keep pressing forward as I Am enabling you to grow in your relationship with Me and that anything short of that striving forward is a vestige of idolatry because yesterday’s understanding falls further from the mark than that which I have enabled in My relationship with you today.

Me:
I love You! Thank You for spending this time with me! And, thank you for Your patience!

ABBA:
I love you! You’re welcome!

Ungrasping

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
The scripture tells me that You will bring things to remembrance that Jesus has told me and that You will reveal all things to me (I think He meant all things He wanted to say to me).

Holy Spirit:
I AM One with the ministry of revealing the hidden.

Me:
It seems funny to me to think of You as One who ministers mysteries.

Holy Spirit:
The Shepherd takes care of the sheep. I AM One who helps you with great and mighty things that you know not. Jesus told you that it was through Me that He got reacquainted with His relationship with the Father after leaving that intimate knowing behind to arrive in a manger.

Me:
He also told me to meditate upon His humility and that though He was, in fact, God become man; He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:5-7) while he was on the earth. He also said that humility was key to having Him bear the load when we “take His yoke” upon us. That verse said learn of Me, too. Would You help me with that?

Holy Spirit:
I would love to! First off, what is the definition of humility? The so-called simple modern definition is “not considering yourself as better than others”. This definition shows how shallow the typical understanding has become when it comes to humility. Look at Websters “full definition”.

Me:

OK.  I looked it up.

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission
3: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant, unpretentious : not costly or luxurious

Wow! Usually, only one part of a definition applies. Jesus really encompassed humility in ways I had never dreamed of considering. (And You! You give good insights!)

Holy Spirit:
Aw. Ain’t nothin’ special.

Me:
You are demonstrating how unlike God “false” humility is, aren’t You?

Holy Spirit:
It doesn’t become Me?

Me:
Ha! You know!

Holy Spirit:
Was Jesus assertive? Yes, as to the Truth. For the Truth is the Way. Shading the truth might look like a “kinder, gentler, way” on the surface. But in the long run, such lies are neither kind nor gentle. The human industry of “little white lies” is not of God. You know who the father of lies is, don’t you?

Me:
Yes, of course. The Devil.

Holy Spirit:
Telling the Truth in a way that does not offend is often hard work, for the one who is off the mark has their own deceptions in play. The enemy asserts that the lie is simply more expedient. For that matter, giving in to any sin is portrayed by him as the easier path. Know that the payday at the end of that path yields a bitter wage.

Sometimes telling the truth offends no matter what, and that is as it should be, too. Think of Jesus calling the religious leaders “whitewashed tombs”. Calling their behavior out for what it is proves there was true love behind the warning, precisely pointing out they were putting a “respectable” veneer over that which leads to death.

Yet, as regards people’s free will, Jesus deferred to the Father’s intention that everyone’s decisions are their own, even though He was on a mission to convince the blind of the Light.  We have talked before about the fact that true love is not possible under any other system. Persuasion, loving persuasion – yes, with all diligence. Control over others, that is the way of the narcissist and the aim of Satan; that is not the way of the humble.

Let’s talk about this movement in the culture to think humility is not considering oneself as better than others. That definition is troubled by being couched from the negative. There is an (almost) infinite range of things, that a thing is not. Surely, if a person considers himself “better” than another, that is an affront to Our sovereign will in creating them. We value each one. We love each one. We desire to meet with each one. We desire to redeem each one. All are made in Our image, yet all are unique. Who is man to say one is better in Our sight than another?

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22: 24-27)

Do you consider yourself a “benefactor”? Do you have the attitude that no one else can do the thing that needs doing and do it right? Do you think if you don’t do it, it won’t get done? Consider whether you are applying yourself diligently to the thing I Am calling you to do. Recognize that you have nothing to give except that which you have been given. Look to Jesus’ example. Follow Him. Remember the yoke; work alongside, don’t try to pull ahead. The one who pulls ahead shoulders the load. Neither lag behind. I Am helping you.

Me:
Thank You Holy Spirit! This has been a marvelous time we have had together! Thank You for teaching me!

Holy Spirit:
You’re welcome! I love you!

Discernment

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” John 6:63ff

Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” John 6:70

Me:
Good morning Father!

ABBA:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
As, of course You know, I was listening to the Spirit yesterday about the redemption of our minds from death to life and from darkness to light and the subtlety between the mind and spiritual perception. Today, I noted these two passages about spiritual appraisal (discernment) and that process at work in Jesus’ life. Could we talk about that? Would it help me understand better?

ABBA:
We can! I want you to understand the example Jesus laid down for you.

Me:
Thank You Father! My quandary is that I think You have made it clear to me that Jesus operated from the same resources as are available to all men (Philippians 2:6, John 17:5, Matthew 4:3…), otherwise he would not be an example I can actually hope to follow.

ABBA:
Yes, I have made that as clear to you as you can yet accept. Go on with your question.

Me:
Well, what does this part mean in John 6, ‘Jesus knew from the beginning’?

ABBA:
Please look up ‘the beginning’ in that passage in Strong’s.

Me:
http://biblehub.com/greek/746.htm

Definition: (a) rule (kingly or magisterial), (b) plur: in a quasi-personal sense, almost: rulers, magistrates, (c) beginning.

746 arxḗ – properly, from the beginning (temporal sense), i.e. “the initial (starting) point”; (figuratively) what comes first and therefore is chief (foremost), i.e. has the priority because ahead of the rest (“preeminent”).

ABBA:
This is exactly the same word for in the beginning that John uses in proclaiming Jesus’ deity and eternal existence and identity as Agent of creation and Author of life. John’s commentary in chapter six is precisely an observation about that beginning. Before His incarnation, before He took on flesh; He knew these things. It does not mean at the time He selected Judas that He knew already that Judas would betray Him. How would it be a betrayal, if he knew it to be the plan? The revelation of this knowledge came to Jesus the same way it would come to you. It did not come because the mind of the babe in the manger was the mind of God as it was at the creation. Jesus, being born in the flesh, had to come to the decision to seek a relationship with Me in the same way that all men do.

I want you to see this: Jesus knowingly laid down the knowledge of Judas’ betrayal. The human proverb, ‘forewarned is forearmed’ should tell you that He considered, along with everything else He laid down to save you, that He would go into that betrayal without any special knowledge of it. That is, he made Himself vulnerable in the certain knowledge of the eventual attack. It was not just Judas; the cross was the plan.

Also, arxḗ was a carefully chosen word. It carries the connotation of foremost or preeminent. Think: necessary to the plan. Therefore, as Jesus gradually discerned in the Spirit the truths John is talking about, He reconciled Himself to the acceptance of them. On your account, He accepted them without mounting a defense; on the account of all who would come to know Him He was willing to be betrayed and to suffer death on the cross. His discernment in the Spirit, enabling Him to send Satan packing when tempted is a model for you. Think of Noah, suffering ridicule for over 100 years during the construction of the ark on dry land. I want you to have that kind of conviction in your discernment.

Me:
Thank You Father! I pray You will help me in my faith to attain that kind of sure expectation, for You are utterly reliable! I love You!

ABBA:
You’re welcome! I love you!