Month: April 2018

Know God and the Bible for Yourself (Testing Revelation)

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Morning Devotion: Knowing God’s voice.

Every voice is not God. Our soul and spirit speak too. The evil one can give impressions, contaminate dreams, visions, and implant thoughts. Believers are called to test every spirit and all prophetic words/dreams/visions. Today’s post covers testing words, impressions, dreams, visions, and “God told me.”

I have met numerous people in my life who have derailed their life with “God told me.” The voice they heard or the dream/vision did not come from God at all yet it was never tested. The person had followed either their own voice or a false Holy Spirit. Yes, there are demonic spirits who pretend to be God. This is why the Bible says, “Test every spirit and see if it’s of God.”

Everything that looks good or sounds good is not God. The Bible should be the standard or compass. God is not going to tell someone to sin. God is also not double-minded, tossing someone back in forth in confusion. When God speaks, He means what He says and will fulfill what He said.

Trouble can come in several different ways:

1. The person does not cultivate intimacy with God. They are highly dependent on other people telling them what God said instead of reading the Bible for themselves, listening and testing with God.

Jesus said, “My sheep will know My voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.” Intimacy with God helps us to know His voice from our voice and our voice from the enemy.

2. They do not ask others to test what they are hearing. They have their own isolated bubble with zero feedback and they end up in a ditch.

A prophetic and Spirit-filled community also helps with learning the voice of God. This is where we invite others into what we think we are hearing from God and accept feedback. Those who refuse any feedback or loving correction do not grow.

3. Pride. “I know I hear from God, and therefore I am not in need to test this word, vision, dream, impression. I am accurate or seasoned.” Pride is the devil’s playground. Those who think they are standing sometimes fall because they refuse to acknowledge the fact that they may not have seen or heard correctly. They do not accept accountability or feedback. Or they surround themselves with people who are yes men and women, they have no one to challenge their thoughts or expressions. Pride is one way to miss fully or clearly seeing and hearing what God is doing.

4. A critical spirit or grossly wounded soul can contaminate what God is saying or doing. Our deep wounds can fracture our lenses and cause what we see or hear to not match what God has said or shown us. Our interpretation can be flawed because our wounds are guiding our seeing/hearing. Our vantage point can become our place of woundedness instead of the heart of God. Jesus spoke from the heart of God.

5. Deception. The person has partnered with a spirit of deception by believing lies. God’s word is a great place to soak to bypass gross deception and knowing God for ourselves. A prophet who does not read and study the Bible can be in big trouble as well as every believer. Know the word of God for yourself.

So how do we test?

A. Hold up whatever it is against the word and character of God. God will not tell a person to sin. He will not tell a person to run around in confusion or double-mindedness. One day God says go left, another day turn around…I have seen people run around in utter confusion because they refused to test what they sensed was God. God is not hateful, nor critical. God is not crazy. Cultivating intimacy with God and learning His character is vital to hearing clearly. You can not repeat something from someone you don’t know.

B. Pray and ask others to pray. There are several things in my life that looked good or sounded good yet I paused and prayed. I asked God to show me what was really going on and to confirm if it was Him. I did nothing until I had more insight from God. Thankful because after praying, “God show me your truth about this person, this situation, this dream or vision or prophetic word,” there was an increased clarity and wisdom given by God. Asking others to pray with me and for me or test what I think God is saying has been helpful as well.

C. Write it down and come back later. I have found that God when He gives something, knows the perfect timing for its release. God is not pushy, not in a mega hurry. He is okay with sitting something aside to pray, weigh, test, examine, etc…Sometimes in the process of writing it out and coming back later, a person can see where their soul was speaking and it does not sound like God at all.

D. Ask God for deeper revelation, insight, and to confirm what is Him. I have had several people tell me that God brought them into my life and it was a lie, lie, lie. The devil brought them across my path. As I prayed over their words, character, etc…God revealed their heart was not good. I have had numerous marriage words that were false. I tell people don’t just run with something someone tells you or even your own dreams/visions/words. Ask God, “Show me who this person really is. Show me God the heart of this person. Confirm if this is from you. Show me the source of this dream, information.” You pray and PAY ATTENTION. Some bypass red flags because, “God told them,” and they end up in devastation. Watch how that person treats you. Watch their character. Watch how they treat other people. I have seen God unravel things over time that looked like Gold in the beginning and it was gold plated.

I had a lady tell me she was my Jonathan and she later brought hell, confusion, pain, and craziness into my life. If I had taken what she said and asked God for confirmation, then I could have bypassed some crazy. I did not. I trusted her because she said she knew God and seemed to be on fire for Jesus. She also had another set of voices that needed cast out and deep brokenness that caused “Prophalying.” I learned a valuable lesson. Love everyone, test everything.

Some will be attracted to the anointing on your life, not you. If that anointing does not benefit them or ceases to fill their need bucket, they will go find the next person who will. There is a great difference between who loves you and who loves what they think you can do.

I have also had people drawn to who they think I am and when they find out I am not the tell you just what you want to hear, they abandon the relationship. They said, in the beginning, they prayed for someone like me and God answered, yet the reality was, I think and could be wrong, they saw something they wanted and put it on God. When it did not meet their expectations, God obviously changed His mind and they left the connection. If God leads us to someone, like He did with David and Jonathan, it is not an “I’m in as long as you do and say what suits me.” It is a committed love. It is mutual and not one sided.

E. Examine the heart and nature of God. God is not pushy nor manipulative. God allows choice. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane had a choice. God did not force Him, pressure Him, nor try to bully Him into the cross. Adam and Eve had a choice. We get to choose.

Caution: Be careful with the God told me to hire this person, marry this person, connect with this person, etc…I have seen people get a word, have a dream, yada yada and they never tested it. They hired that person, connected with that person, married that person or were rejected by that person and blamed God (He was not the source of that intel), and end up in a ditch. God does not force connections. God will introduce two people and let them choose. He does not force marriages or partnerships. And I have only met a few people who God told them who their spouse was and it was a great marriage, the rest married into hell. They did not test what they heard or saw.

Truly believe God wants us to know Him for ourselves and cultivate intimacy with Him. I also believe there are false prophets in the world and knowing God, testing what we see or hear is vital. God told us to do it. Leaning on the words of internet prophets or platform prophets or even the local prophet is not wisdom. Wisdom is getting in the word and secret place with God. Wisdom is testing ALL things. “God is this really you? I will not move or act until I know that this is you and not my soul or spirit and not the voice of the enemy trying to deceive me. God keep me in a place of humility where I am continually submitting what I see and hear to you and when needed seeking wise counsel. Help me to be an accountable prophet or prophetic person. Heal my soul of any wounds or deception so I can see, hear, and speak the clear uncontaminated word of God”

Art: Yongsung Kim

Love in Christ,

Erin L Lamb

Jesus the Greatest Prophet

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Morning Devotion: The Role & Purpose of a Prophet. Prophets do more than prophesy (speak forth the word and will of God), they are transformational agents who deliver solutions and reveal the heart of the Father.

The greatest prophet to walk this earth is Jesus of Nazareth. It was not Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Deborah, or Moses. Jesus is the perfect model for the prophet. If you desire anyone’s anointing, let it be Jesus.

Jesus walked in love, wisdom, and power. He knew when to be direct and when to speak in parables. He knew how to address religious leaders and hypocrites and could sit with the sinner. He overflowed with compassion and love.

There was no pride nor a critical spirit in Jesus. When He saw problems He also saw and spoke solutions. His agenda was repentance, restoration, and reconciliation of a sinful world to the Father.

Prophets are more than ones who speak, they initiate change and point to repentance. Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Look and see what God is doing, get on board. Turn your ear and hear what God is saying, adjust your mind to align with His.

God is the ultimate authority and calls and commissions agents of transformation on earth. Prophets have an assignment and linked to that assignment is mandate to release, speak, and see heaven invade the earth. Prophets shift not only the spiritual atmosphere, they shift culture, organizations, and congregations.

Prophets see and/or hear the heart of the Father and their role is not just to tell people like it is. It is to provide revelation that increases intimacy with God. People are transformed by intimacy with God. Flowery words are not the same as a prophetic key that unlocks a heart which unlocks a destiny. Intimacy with God increases revelation which leads to transformation. Transformed people transform cities. Transformed cities, transform lives.

The true prophet reveals the heart and will of the Father. Jesus said, “I only do what I see the Father doing.” A true prophet is rooted in the love of God.

It is false a prophet is a fortune teller and also false their role is to hand out candy coated words that make people feel good yet never connect them with the will of God. Jesus did not do that, nor did any true prophet of the Bible. Being rude, critical, and harsh are also not the model of Jesus, nor is denying truth or repentance. Jesus did not lie nor tell people what they wanted to hear. He told them the truth in love.

The prophet wipes the smeared lenses to reveal a clearer picture of who God is, what God is highlighting, and the will of God. The prophet often stands up for God’s truth in a time of compromise and immorality. The prophet stands against oppression, idolatry, immorality, and injustice. The prophets of old were persecuted greatly for cutting against the grain and upholding God’s truth which was counter to culture.

Heaven is constantly moving towards intimacy with humanity. Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Heaven is looking for relationship and not second hand relationship. Prophets do not replace God, they point to God. They issue an invitation that invites humanity into relationship with the heart and will of God.

Everyone who prophesies is not a prophet. Prophets are chosen, selected, called, commissioned, and assigned by God. True prophets are not self appointed, they are God ordained. God sets up His own training program for prophets. Many prophets go on to train other prophets. Prophets do not just speak, they equip and invite others into learning and hearing the voice and heart of God.

Once again if we are to ask for anyone’s leadership in the prophetic or call of a prophet, may it be Jesus. May we desire the anointing of Jesus to flow uncontaminated. He is the visible representation of the heart and will of the Father.

Love,

Erin Lamb

Sunday Morning Devotion: Sometimes We Are Delivered Through and Not From the Storm.

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Morning Devotion: Soaring with Jesus through, not around the storms and mega challenges of life. Keys to overcoming with Jesus.

One thing I loved about The Shack movie was it showed you what it’s like to walk through tragedy with God. So many Christian films send the message that if you have enough faith, pray hard enough, then magically in several hours of film the awful situation turns for good. If you pray hard enough for your troubled marriage, that person will magically turn into Jesus in the flesh. If you believe enough, nothing bad will happen to you. If you fast and declare then everything you want will manifest. This thinking is not aligned with reality of life or Jesus.

There are factors at work in life that make it not like utopia, one being the human will. Abuse of free will is why we have evil. God will not force someone to love Him, receive His love, treat us right, or change. God will pursue and woo, they can and we can still reject the love of God.

Faith is not like rubbing a magic genie lamp and everything we want magically happens when we want it to happen. If so, I promise there are parts of my life and the world that would be quite different.

Fasting and prayer are not intended to be manipulation tools to turn God to our wants and desires. Fasting is about weakening the flesh and seeking the heart of the Father.

Prayer is about intimacy with God. It is supposed to be a dialogue not monologue. It is not, “God I starved myself today so give me what I want.” It is supposed to be, “God I humble myself under your mighty hand, your will be done.”

I think about the lives of Job, Jesus, Moses, Daniel, the prophets, the apostles, David, and so many more, they walked through and not around adversity. What about what David said, “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” not I walk around it, I bypass it, nothing bad happens to me, it magically works out when I want it too. Nope.

Jesus suffered the betrayal of his close friends. Only John stood by Him til the end. Jesus was persecuted, mocked, beaten, and hated. The same people who chanted “Hosanna,” came back with “Crucify Him.”

Many of the early apostles were thrown in jail, martyred for loving Jesus, and preaching the Gospel. Jesus said, “In the same way they hated Me, they will hate My true followers.” He also said, “In the world you WILL have trouble, take heart. I have overcome the world.”

For those discouraged because you believed, you decreed and declared, you fasted, you had tons of “big name platform” people pray for you, you tithed and sowed offerings, you did the prayer lines and retreats, you anointed with oil, you commanded, and your situation did not change-break free from guilt, shame, and possibly thinking that God loves you less than everyone else. Maybe you watched others grab onto significant breakthrough and you were told to pray more, decree more, fast more, walk around the building with trumpets and blast them 7 times. Little secret, breakthrough is not a result of our works or striving. It is a result of His power! God’s power brings breakthrough and He tells us to abide in Him, not operate in our flesh (John 15:4-5).

Sometimes the only way out is through. These are some things learned in the wilderness.

1. Look for God.

In the midst of the storms Jesus was at peace. He had peace and released peace. The most important person in the midst of it all is God. The was a fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had help with them. They were not delivered from, they were delivered through.

2. Understand the pit is not always a reflection of something you have done wrong. Sometimes it’s because of what you are doing right or someone else’s sin.

If we are not in gross sin, going through hardships is most likely just a factor of living in a sinful world. Sin has collateral damages. It harms someone. The drunk driver who kills your kid most likely did not intend to be a murderer, yet their sin damaged others. Sin always, always hurts someone. Don’t buy into the lie it’s just about you or me. Even if no one sees but God, the wages of sin is death. And some are storing up destruction for their offspring.

Joseph was thrown in a pit because his brothers were jealous of him. People say it was because he was proud and sharing his dreams with his family. Yet healthy and secure people can see another person elevated and not want to kill them for it. Lets call a spade a spade. Jealousy is linked with a murdering spirit. Sometimes suffering is a result of someone’s gross sin.

3. Stop comparing.

Maybe Suzie lives like the devil and seems to be mega blessed always. Stop comparing your life to Suzie. Why would the devil want to attack Suzie and she’s on his team and advancing his agenda? Yes there are people who propagate evil who suffer because sin brings with it destruction, there are also very godly people who suffer simply because they are displaying the Light of Jesus against the darkness.

4. Understand God is not the author of hardships, gross sufferings, and chaos.

Satan is evil. God is good. What God does not stop is NOT the same as what God chooses to happen. Every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of Lights. God longs to give good things. He will allow us to walk through some hard things. This does not mean He authored them. God gave mankind dominion on earth. We are the reason there is evil and trials and tribulations. God gave Adam and Eve Utopia. They forfeited it to Satan and Jesus took back authority. We still have evil because not everyone on earth is yielded to God.

5. Soak in the love of God.

I can not think of a better way to rise above the storm than to rest in God’s love and the finished work of the cross. Jesus paid it all. The love and grace of God is sustaining power in every season. God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. There is nothing like His love. It may be challenging to be with the One you know has the power to transform it all in an instance, to shift the dead to living yet does not, to transform the situation, to make the pain go away, to fix it all yet chooses to deliver you through instead of around or from the storm.

Soaking in God can also involve listening. God what part of your heart are you trying to reveal to me in this season? Show me how your power is manifested in my weakness.

6. Let God heal the soul in the process.

Tragedy, prolonged sickness, trauma, death, pain, and seemingly unanswered prayers can bruise and wound the soul. Our soul is comprised of our mind, will, and emotions. When the soul is wounded, if not healed, it can create great turmoil or torment. Inviting God into the soul to heal, mend, restore is vital to coming out on the other side healed and whole instead of battered, beaten, and worn. Unhealed souls can lead to further brokenness.

Taking disappointment to God during hard times is a step to healing. Our souls can ache and break. Quoting scripture and praying does not always link to feeling better. Sometimes those painful memories need processed with God.

7. Understand God wants you to win and overcome.

The wilderness is not intended to be a lifestyle. It is intended to be a season and we learn and move on to the next season. Christianity is not intended to be moving from being under one dark cloud to another. We are to fly through storms and have some seasons of joy. Not live in the pit for the rest of our lives.

Papa God I ask for healing for those told if they had enough faith they would not suffer or hurt in life. Break off that lie in Jesus name. Bring freedom from guilt, shame, and pain. Heal to the soul and cellular level. Increase awareness of your love. Fortify each person with your strength and joy. Build them up where the enemy wants to tear them down. In Jesus powerful name, amen.

With great love,

Erin L Lamb