08/17/2024 In the last few years, occasionally my thoughts and heart would be saddened by the idea of something I could not articulate then, but now the matter has resurfaced where I can. The feeling of dread would come over me when I mused upon the topic, but something would distract me away. The thought I wish to express is the concept that God’s people before (throughout church history) once highly valued such things like the following: hearing from God, receiving a spiritual gift, having a gift of tears during worship, seeing an answer to prayer, feeling a bold unction to preach the gospel to someone, having a prophetic word come to them from a prophet, having a dream of something God was dealing with them with, seeing a revelation unfold before them, having a heartfelt rejoicing and a holy thing, hearing a story about an angel saving somebody’s life, hearing about a family or friend getting off drugs because of God’s mercy, etc., and the idea was present that “Wow! God is so great, that He would communicate/show us anything, Look what He did”! “He is above us, He is to be praised!” I wonder where some of the awe and wonder has gone. As I look back over the years, I recall how “moving” it was to see that He was calling, and separating people unto Himself, and how the close connection with God, that that itself – was of matchless value. That kind of reaction of being stunned for God, versus a reaction such as I’ve seen more too frequently, something like: “Well that’s great, God, What’s next?” We have turned our expectation down so low that there seems to be a void in childlike thanksgiving unto God. That’s what I’m upset about!

When I was little, there was much I didn’t understand, and now that I’m older, there is still much that I don’t understand. But what I have gained is knowledge or maybe an awareness of a knowledge of what I’ve had since I was a young girl, an understanding somehow that God was such a high and holy being, that if He bothered to speak to us for a thing when we had asked him, it was a BIG DEAL. And I mean, knowing he answered as in: like receiving a prophetic word by dream, vision, voice, having an impression that is tested and found true, a literal prophecy from a prophet or prophetess, or a matter being confirmed by the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses.

Nowadays, I’m afraid that I’ve been seeing people take the things/commands/instructions in the Bible as not having full value, and also watching others receive real prophetic words of God, and then try to manipulate them towards their end. Traps are even set by the crooked (brethren), and pitfalls put into place, to make the sincere stumble, and feel afraid.

There have been curses and lies, evil behavior in certain situations, and even more deceit in the rooms of the prayer closet. To me, there is trying to “tame” God’s voice to what those who can “hear” (but will not heed) desire, and it is truly wickedness. I have even perceived before that witches, which is what spiritual manipulators are, have blocked prayers with their prayerful skill. So, where is this outlined in the Bible? So that I can make a clear example of what I want to say. To me, it is clearly witchcraft to take a message God shares, and then try to frame it to be what it neat and tidy for the individual, but isn’t ultimately what God has said. In the book of 1 Samuel 15, it says that rebellion (is likened unto) witchcraft and the sin of presumption as in iniquity. At the moment I can think of the false prophets that prophesied lies in the book of Jeremiah, or the prophetess Jezebel in the book of Revelation reprimanded greatly, who leads the church into sexual immorality instead of worshiping God. I think the most often case is the one claiming that a message comes from God, but it has no backing, and more than likely the “revelation” came from devils. It is very HARD for the upright to practice self-control, but that is the only way to survive for Christians; and if not, we will be run over by one another in the church, and by our own whims. But I try to be patient with people, especially new believers or young people, young believers, because I know myself how wicked and crooked the human heart can be. Working with my own heart everyday, I sometimes am not amazed any more at how wicked I can be in a moment, or then again, sometimes I really am taken aback, that I’m still thinking something so bad even after all God has done. He works with us graciously!

I have seen this for years, this twisting of God’s prophetic words, but lately have been having my tolerance reaching a boiling point, and seen my patience growing thin towards those who knowingly rebel against God’s commands, and even against His communicated Rhema words. Bribes are promoted, and produced, false promises and covenants made, and the Lord sits on high and is not surprised by it. He is rather ready to build up His true church more by showing insight and revelation on how to do so.

I hope to do another article soon on “Prophetic Pitfalls”, because I know I have to watch out for those, and there are some I have found to guard against that could edify others to tell of it.

God help us cling so close that you that the heavenly is what remains, and the earthly is shaken off.

Amen.