Why I Find The Courts of Heaven Teaching Annoying

The latest and greatest fad in Charismatic Christianity is something called The Courts of Heaven. The craze seems to have started off largely from some teachings by a man named Robert Henderson who has written a book on the subject. While he cannot solely be credited with the topic, he is a known proponent of the subject and a vocal supporter. There are a growing number of other ministers who teach and mentor on this subject, a few of the more notable ones being Mike Parsons and Ian Clayton. While I have given this subject some time and attention in the past, it is no longer something I am willing to pursue with any depth at this point–mainly because I find the Courts of Heaven teaching annoying.

For those who are unfamiliar with this concept, it basically involves going in the spirit to a heavenly courtroom, presenting one’s case before the heavenly judge (who may be God, an angel, an Elder, or other nondescript heavenly being depending on the situation), letting Satan accuse you, getting Jesus to overthrow the accusation, and then getting a ruling from heaven in one’s favor. The essence of this is as a new method of spiritual warfare that doesn’t take place on a battlefield, but is a bit more of a genteel way to do war through the spiritual legal system of the universe. Some people find this as having no scriptural basis, but if you actually sit down and go through the teachings, at least the ones I have heard are somewhat well-reasoned, scripturally backed, and seem pretty sensible. So what’s so bothersome about it?

Honestly, what I think bothers me is the intense faddishness with which the teaching has garnered in the past few years. Entire ministries are blooming overnight with the express purpose of teaching what essentially is just a new visualization of old methods of prayer. In reality there is nothing inherently wrong with ministries being centered around this, as if we are honest, all ministries are centered around some aspect or aspects of the Christian faith–no one could possibly cover them all. What I find frustrating about the fad is mostly the attitudes and the language.

There are entire new sets of verbiage that people in these groups (many of whom I am close friends with) use that are really just new terms to describe some of the same things we have been doing and saying for years. “If it is in your scroll” is just another way of saying “If it’s your destiny, or fate, or whatever” or “If God wills it.” It’s just as fatalistic but with a verbal twist. Sitting on a “bench” is something one does with their bottom. Giving a special name to some spiritual legislative body should at LEAST have some imagination to it–is “Bench” the best we can do? Why not call it the Galactic Council of the Seventeen Elders of the Great Key or the Great Gate of the Firewind Saints, or legislating on the Elemental Council of the Fifth Spire. Oh, wait–some of the names of the various heavenly courtrooms I have heard of are nearly as creative–and outlandish. And when I or someone else shares a prayer request, the increasingly common recommendation is “I think you need to do some court-work.” What does that even mean???

While I am poking a bit of fun at the terminology, I don’t actually disagree with the overall concept that there are spiritual legislative bodies over creation with varying levels of authority. I think the idea is valuable, but the faddishness needs to go out the window.

One of the things I have heard pointed out about this teaching is that it fosters elitism. I have personally witnessed a bit of this in some of the leaders teaching it, but I personally haven’t encountered the “only a few people are special enough to do this” that others have. I will say that there are some teachings that have to do with WHICH courts people are allowed to go in, having to do with their maturity level and level of authority in the spirit and such, and that doesn’t entirely rub me the wrong way, although it doesn’t quite sit right either. While I don’t see anything direct in scripture that states as much, there are a number of places in the Bible where it discusses the difference between mature and immature children of God and the resulting authority afforded them, so I can at least see some scriptural precedent that it could be possible. On the other hand, this elitism hides, as a friend pointed out, under the guise of “well, you need to do it THIS way”. The need for strict adherence to a particular methodology is some of what is so problematic about this teaching–because theoretically if one does it wrong, one could bring judgment upon him/herself from the very same courts that are supposedly designed to bring freedom to them and are (in theory) stacked in their favor.

The other thing I find problematic about the Courts of Heaven teaching is positional–when I am in the spirit I operate from my authority and decree things to get accomplished in the earth so they will be established, not beg God in a spiritual courtroom to do some legalese so I can have things he already accomplished. When I go into the heavens, I almost have to work at it to put myself in a subservient position instead of finding myself sitting AS the judge who is doing the legislating. After all, the Bible says that we are going to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3), not be judged by them. My main concern, outside the faddishness, is the issue that when I ask God for permission to do stuff instead of walking in the “all authority on heaven and earth has been given . . . therefore go” (Matthew 28:18-19) then I’m not, in my opinion, walking in maturity.

Now that I have told you why I find the Courts of Heaven teaching annoying, let me bring a little balance, as I don’t believe in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As stated before, I think there is actually a decent enough amount of scriptural principles behind it to make it at least as valuable a “thing” as the various prayer-methods that have existed prior to now. I have used it and will continue to do so to some limited extent. It is a method that works great for some, and some of those for whom who it works well and who are beginning to teach and train others to do the same are actually good friends of mine. I respect them greatly and I am well acquainted with their hearts, which are fervently after God’s. They know how to hear and be led by Holy Spirit, and I believe quite strongly they are doing just that.

I personally see this as more of a method than it is the “new life-altering transformative revelation” that it is essentially being touted by some (not in those exact words), and it’s a method that works great for some people. I find it annoying that the new “thing” comes with obnoxious super-spiritual and elitist cliquish language, but again, if it is a method working for people, then language issues aside, that’s actually a very good thing. I actually think that a lot of this court-stuff is so subjective yet with sufficient scriptural backing that even the galactic councils and such could well be true, but it’s simply not the focus to which I have been called in this hour. I hopped “on the bandwagon” a number of years ago before it really WAS a bandwagon, and eventually hopped back off after I got what I needed from it. I don’t have any draw from the Lord to continue to participate any more than I already do, but that’s just me, and may not be where the Lord is leading you.

My underlying issue with the Courts of Heaven teaching isn’t actually about the teachings for the most part. While I personally take some of the things these teachers say with a pound or two of salt (as should anyone who is listening to someone teach largely out of personal revelation), that doesn’t necessarily make the teachings untrue, nor does it mean there aren’t valuable things to learn from them. At the end of the day the teaching itself is probably more or less fine–it’s a maturity issue.

Maturity is, unfortunately, the sort of thing that one gains over time. This fad, movement, whatever one wants to call it, is simply too young to have garnered enough maturity, in my mind, and so what stick out to me like a sore thumb is the immaturity in the mix. As I mentioned before, the lingo is irritating but it’s largely how the lingo is used in context of conversations and relationships, not just the actual words themselves. At the rate we are going, I perceive that a sufficient level of “maturity” won’t be brought to this particular movement for another two to four years, and until then we are left with whatever it is that we’re seeing now, which is a mixture of legalism and revelation in many cases. And in reality, as bothersome as I find it, that’s actually okay. Absolutely no new revelation came without pioneers paving the way, and while I can recognize that I am not interested in pioneering this particular method of prayer, I support the efforts of others who are doing so–I just don’t want to be deeply involved in their process. Maybe that’s immature of me and maybe it’s not, but I have other things to pioneer that I find more pressing. That said, maybe this IS what you are meant to discover and reveal–and if that’s the case, the go for it with all you’ve got regardless of people like me who don’t like the imperfection.

At the end of the day I ultimately think that people are free to use this method or not, and whichever works for them, great. I have no desire (nor spiritual leading) to join a “bench”, but as a friend recently pointed out, he and I have mutual friends (and good ones, at that) who both have desire AND spiritual leading to do just that–and one close friend in particular recently published a book on the subject. If you have heard about the courts of heaven and are either on board, curious, or completely turned off, my encouragement is this: if you find it enriching, go for it. If you don’t then be free to not worry about it, regardless of what your friends and family may say. Whether you do or don’t, be free. After all, wasn’t that what Jesus came for–to set captives free? If you currently engage this teaching and it is creating bondage in your life, then get out. If it is creating freedom, then stay the course. Yet again (unsurprisingly) this Courts of Heaven thing, as with everything else in our Christian journey, comes down to being led by the Spirit. Again, whether you do or don’t do, be free. Blessings!

For those of you who are curious and interested in learning more on the subject, you can get started with my friend Praying Medic’s book Defeating Your Adversary In The Courts of Heaven.

You can also read Robert Henderson’s book Operating in the Courts of Heaven, although as a fair warning from friends who have read it, they claim it is informative yet extremely repetitive.

Mike Parsons free blog is here and his two-year paid mentoring program is called Engaging God which from what I understand heavily involves the Courts and Heavenly travel, but is not exclusively about it.

Ian Clayton’s site is here

You can join a 2-3 year teaching-thing called The Nest by Grant and Sam Mahoney that is in some way related to this subject as well, but also is not exclusively about it and purportedly is about bringing the Body of Christ to greater spiritual maturity.

I have listened to many of Ian’s teachings and find them as much of a mixed bag as the rest of this subject, although he does not exclusively deal with court-related things either. As I have not actually read Praying Medic’s or Henderson’s books, nor have I participated in either Mike Parson’s nor the Mahoney’s training programs I am not specifically endorsing any of the above resources, but am making those connections available if they are helpful to you.

The Gospel According to Dr. Strange

***For those who haven’t seen the movie, be aware that***

***this article is filled with spoilers***

I saw the movie Dr. Strange this past month and really enjoyed it. While one could argue there isn’t much spiritual value in a movie about sorcerers fighting one another, I respectfully disagree. The movie was incredibly full of spiritual lessons, and if I can nerd-out for a moment, I suggest that there was less sorcery than one might expect. Dr. Strange has a set of, well, strange rules for magic. They are fundamentally based off of Qi, which is really just a term for the life energy that exists in everything (and which originated from God). This in and of itself is reminiscent of old-time martial arts masters, not practitioners of magic, but at some point the lines get blurred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdhu8i_4olE

The movie begins with Dr. Steven Strange, a self-centered genius who loses everything he values, and as he sinks deeper and deeper into his plight he finds himself where many of us have found ourselves in hard times—on the search for salvation. When he finally hits rock bottom he desperately reaches out to what is ultimately his savior—the Ancient One, a master of the magical arts. This teacher is hard, but overall very good to him and teaches and guides him into deeper truth than he could ever have imagined. When Strange meets the Ancient One, in search of bodily healing, she tells him that he can heal himself through the power of his spirit, which is accessed by belief. She says, “You are a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You have spent your life trying to widen it, to see more, to know more, and now, upon hearing it can be widened in ways you can’t imagine, you reject the possibility.” She demonstrates to Strange, through power encounters, that what she is saying is true. One of the key lines that stuck out to me was when Dr. Strange was searching for the truth—and she said, “You think this material world is all that there is. Open up your eye.”

While the movie is steeped in a conglomeration of ancient Eastern mysticism, using arcane tools and referencing the Third Eye, this isn’t actually too different from what Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you . . .” Dr. Strange has his own power-encounter and the eyes of his heart begin to be opened, much as God both has done and continues to do for each one of us as we learn and grow on our own spiritual journey.

As the movie progresses, a conflict between the Ancient One and one of her apostate disciples, Kaecilius, reaches its peak. Kaecilius is hungry for power, and in order to gain as much power as he can, he steals and taps into forbidden arts that access power from the Dark Dimension—a spiritual realm that is ruled by Dormammu, a powerful and ancient being of evil who could be likened to Satan, although the movie seems to give Dormammu far more power than I think Satan actually possesses.

But the conflict between Kaecilius and the Ancient One really played that out. Kaecilius grew angry and lusted after power, most especially seeking immortality, after not only seeing his loved ones die, but discovering that the Ancient One was already tapping into the forbidden power herself to support her longevity and give her a form of immortality. Unlike the immortality that Jesus gives us, this immortality was derived in almost vampiric fashion by stealing power from the Dark Dimension through the use of the forbidden magic. As a friend recently stated, “Kaecilius made a much more compelling argument than most Marvel villains. It came down to one word: hypocrite.” The Ancient One is the epitome of a hypocrite, telling others not to do the very thing she did, and yet somehow found it odd that people tried to follow what she did over what she said. This has been the age-old struggle of the believer, and is why it is so important that we practice what we preach—because people usually will respond to what we do much more than what we say we believe, and if our words and actions don’t match, it destroys our credibility, as it did with Kaecilius and the Ancient One.

One of the things I found most irritating about this particular aspect of the movie was that while they did a good job of creating characters of generally good morals and showed the main character’s total transformation from a narrow-minded, self-involved snob to a selfless savior, they left no possibility of supreme goodness at work in the world. The Ancient One laments that she is forced to use Dormammu’s power in order to peer through time and stop evil after evil, yet there was nowhere in the movie that suggested any Light Dimension of any sort that could supply this ability in another, more redemptive way, nor did it suggest she made any effort to find a better way. Mordo, one of her top disciples, demonstrated significant insight when he pointed out that what we sow we reap—and that using the power of the Dark Dimension for good only created another cycle of evil—and this played out as Kaecilius turned toward darkness due to his anger at the Ancient One’s hypocrisy. Strange ended up fighting in this battle as well.

In the same way that Stephen Strange fought darkness partly through his practiced abilities, we too have been given the same ability and same charge. Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” It wasn’t just his integrity and intelligence, but the fact that he had practiced with his powers time and time again. Much like the spiritual gifts that we receive by the Holy Spirit, Strange made the most of the talents and abilities he possessed—both natural and supernatural. This is an example of both wisdom and good stewardship, as God desires us to use wisdom in the ways we exercise both our spiritual and natural gifts and to use them to their full potential. When the Master rebuked his one servant in Matthew 25:14-30, it was because he didn’t even attempt to make use of what he had been given, and in this movie Dr. Strange emulates what we can accomplish if we are faithful to put our gifts and abilities to good use alongside God’s blessing.

While there are so many incredible spiritual parallels in this movie, As this mystical battle progressed, Kaecilius once threatened Dr. Strange, saying “You’ll die protecting this world.” In reality what Kaecilius said was in fact true—Dr. Strange took on a Jesus-like savior motif at the end. Jesus said “I lay my own life down and I take it up again,” and Steven Strange, emulating Jesus in a moment of Christ-like clarity, did the same. He laid his own life down again and again, letting himself be killed painful deaths hundreds of times in a time-loop of his own creation in order to force the Dark One to take his hands off Planet Earth forever. One of the magnificent things about his choice is that he did not find victory through compromise, nor did he attempt to defeat Dormammu by stealing power like the Ancient One did. His strength was in his newly developed virtue and integrity, along with his significant intellect and the abilities he had gained through rigorous practice. Through one man’s selfless act he purchased salvation for the whole world. Sound familiar?

One of the final lines I really appreciated in this movie was where the Ancient One first spoke to Dr. Strange. “Dr. Strange, you think you know how the world works. What if I told you the reality you know is one of many.” And again, “Through the mystic arts we harness energy and shape reality. We travel great distances in an instant.” This movie hints about the seemingly fantastical abilities God gives us by His spirit, even to the point of physical translocation, supernatural healing, power over time, and more. This movie encourages the watcher to open our eyes and minds up to a deeper spiritual reality than the physical touch-feel-see world around us. What is more, I feel it speaks to a generation of people who are hungry for God’s power to touch their lives. As the Body of Christ, we have been given a unique mandate to transform the earth and everyone in it, and to introduce them to God’s glory—His personality and Presence. If you have not yet seen this movie, I encourage you to watch it with an eye for the spiritual messages that God wants to share with you, as I have only touched the surface of the depth of wisdom and revelation that Holy Spirit can draw out of this secular film. I truly believe that even as it proclaims in Romans 1 that God speaks through all creation, and this movie is no different. Sit back, grab some popcorn, and let God transform your heart as you enjoy watching Dr. Strange.

For those interested, after the movie comes out of the theaters it should be available for order and/or on-demand viewing here.

The Gospel According to Shrek 2

The Gospel According to Kung Fu Panda 3

How I Received Mentoring in Prophetic Intercession

I have known Jesus most of my life, but around age 20 the Holy Spirit did a major work in my life and gripped my heart in a significant way. I was water baptized at that time and baptized in the Spirit as well, but did not start speaking in tongues until about a year after that. The Lord directed me at that time to move from where I lived near Philadelphia to State College Pennsylvania to get involved in a church there and their campus ministry. I had already started going to college at Penn State University Park (the college in that town) prior to that and had taken a leave of absence, and was excited at the direction God was taking me. During that period what I needed most, which I didn’t know at the time, was mentoring in prophetic intercession.

After I moved to State College and began to volunteer with the ministry, I went out on Friday nights with a group of guys from the church to do street witnessing. We saw some cool miracles, one of which you can read here, but the Lord began to speak to me about moving into a time of prayer. I began to spend time at home in prayer, but it was a bit of a struggle for me because I wasn’t used to it. I joined a few others at the church who were starting up a Watch of The Lord intercession group based off of Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda’s program.

The Watch of the Lord became one of the most significant means of spiritual growth for me in that season of my life, and it was there that I learned and received mentoring in prophetic intercession. Prophetic intercession is a big term but it’s a pretty simple concept–you listen for what the Lord is saying, then pray that back to Him. While that might sound silly, it’s actually quite powerful. When we hear God and declare it, we cause His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Prophetic intercession is praying in partnership with God, and it gets results.

I remember back when the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill happened, we spent time praying for the wildlife, the crews cleaning it up, and the whole situation. God gave us some clear instructions through nudges and intuitive leading, as well as through specific visions, of a particular species of bird that needed help, and we prayed accordingly. While I don’t remember what bird it was, one of my friends looked it up later and we were spot on. I remember God leading us in prayer over the 2004 Presidential Elections, and the morning of the election, at around 4:30 AM we got breakthrough. We knew in the spirit that our prayers worked and the President had been decided through prayer before the voting booths had even opened!

Sometimes we would hear visions, at other times we simply had strong emotions about a subject that we felt pulled to pray about. Still others we would hear verbal direction from God, and oftentimes that instruction was in agreement with what the Lord was speaking to other members present. One thing I learned is that one doesn’t have to be an intercessor to be able to intercede, and I discovered through experience just how important prayer is as a foundation to any endeavor.

I strongly believe in the work of intercession, and wish that mentoring in prophetic intercession was more common. Usually we would have four or five of us faithfully at each prayer meeting, and on occasion others would join us, but the core group grew in our faith in leaps and bounds during that two year period. There is no substitute for spending time with God, learning to hear Him, and engaging the spirit realm in prayer. While I cannot do that regularly in this season, I eagerly look forward to a time in the future when I can put my intercessor hat on again and get back on my knees.

If you are interested in learning more, or want mentoring in prophetic intercession yourself, I encourage you to check out the following resources, all of which were instrumental in helping me learn and grow in this area:

Watch Of The Lord: The Secret Weapon of the Last-Day Church by Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda

The Prophetic Intercessor and The Seer by James Goll

Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets

Rees Howells: Intercessor by Norman Grubb

The Gospel According to Kung Fu Panda 3

I can’t help but continue to be amazed at the way that God weaves the gospel message in Children’s videos. Some of you may recall that I shared in a previous post about how I see the Gospel of the Kingdom displayed in Shrek 2 (here) but I found the same thing happening as I watched Kung Fu Panda 3 recently with my granddaughter Sophia. As with the last movie, I found myself in tears as I watched a cartoon panda and his friends and family demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ in a powerful way (For those who haven’t seen the movie, this is the major scene at the end, so this article will be chock-full of spoilers).

The clip starts out with Po, the Dragon Warrior (panda) having just come to terms with the fact he can’t stop the enemy by conventional means, and if he doesn’t do something drastic he and his family and friends will all die. He does the only thing left that he knows how to do—he sacrifices his own life to banish the evil warrior Kai to the Spirit Realm alongside him. He is successful, but dies in the process. This is such a clear picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Colossians 2:13-15 says it this way, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Knowing that the requirements of the Law of sin and death were set against us, and knowing that Satan would stop at nothing to bring the full payment of sin into our lives, He willingly laid his own life down on the cross, destroying Satan’s legal right to our lives and taking captive the power of death.

In the movie, Po defeats Kai in the Spirit Realm, also setting free everyone else that Kai had captured and killed, then resurrects himself and returns to the land of the living. Scripturally, Jesus did the same thing. After defeating the powers of darkness, even preaching to those who were already dead and setting them free (1 Peter 3:18-20) he rose again three days later. Jesus said of himself in John 10:17-18 that, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Jesus, like Po, laid his own life down and returned to life of his own accord, having destroyed the powers of darkness that were set against those he loves (The clip cuts out just before showing this scene, but it is found in the movie).

This is such a touching picture of the immense love that Jesus has for us, but if you watch the clip below you will discover yet another spiritual message—that of intercession. While we can all understand and agree that Jesus didn’t need our intercession to die and rise again, the above verses saying that he had the ability to do it himself, starting at 1:05 the clip shows us the power of intercession, and what happens when we come together as the Body of Christ in prayer. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Our prayers are powerful and destroy works of darkness. As we come together and command God’s Kingdom and will to be done on earth as it is already being done in heaven, we release a spiritual power that changes things and sets the captives free. I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch the clip below and let Holy Spirit quicken these messages in your hearts as you watch Jesus speak His Gospel of life directly to our children in Kung Fu Panda 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXBS4K4oSsE

Author’s Note: The clip was edited in a few parts leaving the scenes slightly choppy. The entire DVD can be watched online or ordered at the following links: Watch Order

The Gospel According to Dr. Strange

The Gospel According to Shrek 2

Cultivating His Presence

When I first began to learn about intercession from my friend and mentor Diane, she introduced me to a practice called “soaking.” I had no prior familiarity with this concept, but when she did it, she could feel God’s presence around her, even to the point of being like a weight pressing her body downward, and that sounded so totally awesome that I wanted to learn how to do it too! While that might sound strange for those who don’t know, the word for God’s presence, “chavod/kavod/chabod” in Hebrew, means weighty glory or weighty presence, so God’s presence showing up has the potential to feel like weight, and this is seen a few different places in scripture. During our Watch meetings every other weekend we would spend hours praying, but usually around an hour of that was spent doing this soaking-thing. She would put on a CD of softer, more lyrically intimate worship music and we would lay there, cultivating His Presence.

At first I just took it on faith that this was good for me, but as time went on, I too began to sense this inexplicable something around me. An energy, sort of, but also a wind. A weight and yet not a tangible weight at all, and a bit like fire, but not hot or burning in any way. Even now it is still so difficult to describe the energetic sensations of the Presence of the Holy Spirit as He overshadows me when I soak, but I spent a season learning what this felt like.

During the Watch I would lay down and God’s presence was always right there. Holy Spirit had been with us the entire meeting so far, and nothing changed. When I was home, however, it was different. I couldn’t sense His presence around me at all, at least not just by turning music on and laying down. Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley, and others have had experiences where they simply ask Holy Spirit to come and He would, but this was after a period of cultivating a relationship with Him, so that when they asked Him to come, He would. I didn’t have that. So here’s what I did:

I began to cultivate.

An old family friend gifted me with a guitar, so I began to play the four chords I knew and looked up worship songs that exclusively used those chords. I made up my own. I spent usually an hour or more almost every day worshiping and soaking in the late evening, oftentimes falling asleep on the floor. What was the goal? I would worship until I sensed that the atmosphere in the room had changed to feel like it did when I was soaking on Friday nights. After I reached that point, I would then lay down and enjoy Holy Spirit’s presence in the room with me. Sometimes I would talk to him but usually I would just lay down and enjoy the sensation of Him on my body.

Gradually, over the course of weeks, it started to take less and less time to get to that point, until somewhere along the line I would just lay down and turn music on, and in under a minute, sometimes immediately, I would begin to sense Him drawing near. The Catholic monk Brother Lawrence described this in his letters The Practice of the Presence of God, but ultimately I had reached a point of just enjoying Him for Him, without asking for anything or interceding over the fate of the world. And while those things are good too, sometimes God just wants us to sit with him without deeper agenda, simply enjoying Him in simple pleasure.

I didn’t understand until recently that a large part of soaking is simply enjoying Him, but as we spend time in God’s presence He changes us as well. His essence infuses us with His nature–his joy, peace, and other fruit of the spirit. His voice sometimes becomes easier to hear, and oftentimes soaking is a good opportunity to expect and practice visions, spirit travel, and other visionary experiences. While there are other benefits, in the end its about drawing near to God, and as we do He draws near to us (James 4:8).

When I began I was impatient, and was afraid it would take years for me to cultivate that instant-presence appearing to me. But God is good and kind and isn’t interested in forced labor to be able to engage Him. It didn’t take years, or even months, and if you have never done this before and want to get started, it won’t take you that long either. You might even just try asking Him to come surround you and fill you, and He may come right then. If not, spend some time cultivating his Presence in worship or prayer, and as you do, God will reward you with the best gift ever–Him.

On Spiritual DNA and Inheritance

I was at work one night recently and for some reason was reminded of the spiritual legacy that I have received from my parents. Unlike most inheritance, which one receives upon the parents’ death, my parents are quite alive–and this is the benefit of spiritual inheritance, which we receive not on death, but at conception.

Our spiritual and soul traits are just as much a part of our DNA as physical traits such as height and eye color. While science is able to visualize two strands of DNA, it is posited by various spiritual groups that we might have up to 22 strands, and a few fringe groups suggest we might have 144 or even upwards of 2 million. While I think the 2-million is probably a bit over the top (I am talking about strands of DNA on a single chromosome, not DNA segments, snippets, codons, etc.) it is becoming increasingly accepted even in some Christian groups that we have more than the two visible strands of physical DNA.

The Bible supports this somewhat, talking about how we have been “born from above” in John 3, and how we have God’s spiritual seed within us. At the very least, if there is an invisible spiritual DNA that closely matches physical DNA then at minimum we have 4 strands total between the physical and spiritual, but I suggest the number is much higher, reaching at least 12 if not more.

At any rate, this spiritual DNA explains some of the “coding” and similarities we may observe between ourselves and our parents. It definitely does in my case. As with physical DNA, while some traits are passed down, others may remain dormant in the family line while others express themselves noticeably. I have seen this in my own family and life, and believe that 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 explains this concept to a certain extent. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” While the same Holy Spirit lives in both my parents and myself, and while even that same spiritual DNA exists in both myself and my parents each respectively, Holy Spirit draws different attributes of that DNA to the surface.

My mother is and has always been hungry for things of the Spirit, and would occasionally have visions. She was in the Episcopal denomination where fairly little is understood about spiritual gifts as a whole, and it is even less often talked about, providing little opportunity to learn and grow in that area. She is also a teacher, loves evangelizing children, and is creative, fun, and very excitable.

My father is an Episcopal priest, and he has much compassion for the sick and hurting. While he was originally planning to be a doctor, he instead works with the spiritually ill, having heard an audible voice telling him to go to seminary instead. My father also used to do deliverance ministry when I was younger. He has a lot of wisdom, is good working with his hands, and loves gardening.

As I look at my parents and the rich heritage of desires and things of the spirit that they bring me, I find it little surprise that I can see my own passions as a reflection of their own. I am exceptionally hungry for things of the Spirit–signs, wonders, and miracles. I am a seer as well, but have learned to both see and hear in the spirit, and am able to exercise a more full range of spiritual sense than either of my parents. I have a desire to preach and help teach the body to grow in all things spiritual, which can be seen as a sort of evangelism to the Church to help the Body move in the gifts of the spirit and Holy Spirit’s power. I am a nurse by profession and may one day be a doctor as well, but I greatly enjoy healing the sick by the power of God, and firmly believe God’s healing power extends even to resurrection and immortality. I enjoy gardening, although nowhere to the extent that my wife does, and I like doing hands-on crafty things although not the same kind as my father.

My point in sharing this is that I believe we all have a spiritual inheritance that helps shape who we are and who we are called to be. While sometimes it can diverge sharply from the traits we see expressed in our parents, I believe that if we dig deep enough we will find that in some cases it isn’t that our traits are so different from theirs, but that our parents’ dreams and passions were swallowed up by the cares of this world, and as we find and give those things expression we can in some way help fulfill the destiny they were designed to experience as well. It brings a whole new perspective to the idea of “honoring your father and mother” because as we discover and engage our spiritual inheritance we are igniting not only our destiny, but theirs and those of our ancestors before them. It is no surprise then that as Hebrews 12:1-2a says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Our spiritual DNA is part of the race-markers for this race, and it is a relay, not a single-person run. The cloud of witnesses include our ancestors who are looking to see what we do with the distillation of destiny that runs through our veins.

God has positioned you uniquely where you are, and to have the gifts and abilities passed down from your parents. Regardless of whether your parents were good to you or not, what unique gifts have you received from them? If you don’t know your birth parents, ask the Lord to show you the legacy He has given you–both from them and from your current family. Spiritual inheritance is spiritual by nature, and adoption is a form of spiritual in-grafting whereby you can partake of the DNA from both your birth parents and your life-parents. I encourage you to continue to seek and pursue the Lord as He reveals new aspects of your calling, gifts, and destiny to you–for as with all relay races, when one finishes, we all finish. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you as you unlock and decode your spiritual DNA.

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A friend was kind enough to point out that there are some books on the subject that may help you walk through this process. One, recently published by some friends, is called Accessing Your Spiritual Inheritance. The back cover text says:

“Alice didn’t fall down a rabbit hole but she did walk through a mystical doorway in a vision to recover blessings her ancestors failed to claim. When Alice came back and shared her experience, Seneca wasted no time going through her own door. Del’s approach differed — she wound up floating along in her bloodstream!   Through telling our stories, others went through their own doors, leading to better relationships with God, increase in finances, favor, and giftings. Although this book touches on generational curses and how to remove them, we focus on claiming the blessings your family line has lost. However, you’ll need to be open to having a vision, and we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process so that you, too, can restore your lost generational blessings. Your hidden inheritance awaits!”

Other Books include:

Repentance: Cleansing Your Generational Bloodline

In Light of His Preeminent Goodness

A few weeks ago, October 26th-29th 2016, Hearts of Fire International led by Dr. Aaron Winter (of which I am a volunteer on staff) hosted the Northwest Prayer Summit–a four day conference focused on transforming the region through prayer. The focus of the meetings was on prayer and thus there was not much in the way of personal ministry through most of the conference. The last night we held a fire tunnel after James Goll spoke on “A Goodness Revolution,” stating that God is changing our view of Him in light of His preeminent goodness.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, a fire tunnel is a fun-sounding name for a prayer line–almost a prayer gauntlet of sorts where a group of people line up facing each other in pairs and everyone else passes between them and receive prayer and laying on of hands as they walk slowly through the tunnel. This particular fire tunnel started sometime after 10pm, and as part of the staff hosting the event, we had over 2 hours of cleanup left once we finished–and with over 500 people present, the fire tunnel was going to take a while. This fire tunnel was incredibly impromptu and unplanned, taking even the staff by surprise, but attitudes were mostly pretty positive in spite of the additional hours of work it would involve (all told we arrived home around 2 am).

About halfway through, with my wife and I the first pair people passed between, an older woman stopped before entering and asked for prayer for healing her right-sided sciatic pain. I stepped out of line with this woman to keep from blocking everyone else and began to pray. After about ten minutes of working with her, praying and rechecking her pain frequently, doing some emotional healing, and asking Holy Spirit each step of the way what the next move was, her pain was completely gone but she still had numbness in her feet. At that time I sensed the Spirit telling me to send her through the line, and moments after someone came to get me to fix another problem elsewhere, pulling me away from the prayer line.

A bit later the woman found me and informed me that the numbness had left as she went through the line, but that wasn’t all. It turns out she had this pain for a few weeks, and had been asking the Lord for healing throughout the entire 4-day conference. As I stated before, we had only been doing minimal personal ministry throughout the event, and to make matters worse I had gotten a word of knowledge in the previous session for sciatic pain–but on the left side. God, in light of His preeminent goodness, decided that this woman wasn’t going to go home from the event without being healed. She received her healing at the end of the last session of the last day during an unplanned prayer tunnel. I was literally in tears when she told me this, and couldn’t help but start crying as I shared this story with others for days after.

I can’t explain why it is that God’s goodness brings me to tears, but there is something about how incredibly kind He is that overwhelms me at times, and healing is a surefire way to get the waterworks flowing. John 3:16 says that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only son that whomever believed in him would not die . . .” Sickness is simply death-in-process, and healing is a manifestation of God’s love–because God doesn’t want us to die. I am so thankful that Aaron heard and obeyed God that night when he called for the fire tunnel because I know it was an answer to this woman’s incessant pleas for help. And how loving was it of God to ensure that His daughter didn’t leave without getting her need met? Astounding.

If there is one thing that will radically transform our worldview, it is when we get a revelation of God’s goodness. The Bible is chock-full of verses that demonstrate God’s kindness, mercy, and love, but many of us have been brought up with a focus on sin, wrath, and judgment. When we start to see how stunningly kind God is, especially through events such as Him healing that woman’s sciatic pain, it shifts how we expect God to act in the future, raises our faith, and alters our experience. I encourage you to take a few moments and reframe a recent life event in light of His preeminent goodness. It changes everything.

When Do I Quit Praying to Raise the Dead?

The following is a book excerpt from my book Practical Keys to Raise the Dead, in the chapter titled “When Do I Quit Praying?” The book addresses real-life issues that come up when a loved one dies and we pray to raise them from the dead.

“The whole stopping praying thing is difficult to communicate clearly in writing because it is so situational. It is hard to know when (or if) to stop actively pursuing resurrection, and the ‘when’ will vary for each situation. Part of what makes the idea of ceasing a prayer attempt difficult is that the God of the Bible is the God of the living and it is always His will for everyone to be raised, every time, period. As such, there is never technically a “right time” to stop from a theological standpoint, but there may be one practically. The best I can do is give you some guidelines and ask questions that should help you to make the wisest decision possible for your circumstances.

Do you have the time to keep going? If you stop other things in your life, how long can you keep that up until it causes problems that will be hard to recover from whether the attempt fails or succeeds? For example, this may involve taking time off work. If the attempt fails and you keep taking time off work such that you lose your job, you may be in far more hot water than just losing your loved one. On the other hand, if losing your job is what it takes to get your loved one back, it may well be worth it. If it were my wife or grandchild and all I had to do was give up my job to get them back, it would be an easy decision to make—but there are no guarantees. You may be able to use provisions under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take unpaid time off during this period while keeping your job legally protected on your behalf. Talk to wise counsel and get advice on the best way to approach this issue for your unique situation.

Do you have the money to keep going? Financial considerations are a hard, cold, and very real part of this issue. Often the resurrection attempt involves paying for the body to be housed somewhere. If you have to borrow the money, how long will it take you to recover financially if the attempt fails? I don’t recommend you gamble on “if it works then I will be fine.” The truth is it might not work, and wisdom makes a plan based on the worst scenario, not the best one. If you blow through money in a few weeks that will take you a decade to recover from (depending on your financial situation), that may be a poor decision. Your attempt to walk in faith will put you under financial bondage. On the other hand, God may lead you to do exactly that and then provide the means for you to come out from the bondage to debt, with a resurrected loved one to boot! God is not limited by money troubles, so you don’t have to be either, but this is still a very real consideration, and there is no shame in deciding it is simply something you cannot manage. Again, this is a situational thing you will have to decide (and live with the decision). Wise counsel is recommended.

Another question to consider is are you actually standing in faith, or has this moved into denial? It is legitimately possible to couch denial in “faith” terms. In other words, you may have shifted away from believing the person is going to return, but you are having trouble coping with the loss and don’t want to deal with it. The longer you try to raise him, the longer you can push the unpleasant grief away. This is unwise and is probably a good reason to stop—at least for a season. Under such circumstances, the attempt has probably gone on for weeks already, not just a few hours or days, and you may need to work on finding a way to move on. I don’t say this to suggest that grief means you need to stop, but if it has become unhealthy, it may be time to go forward with your life.

Is the body even still there? If the body has been buried, I personally recommend you stop. This sounds like a strange piece of advice, but I know of multiple situations where people are trying to raise their beloved years and years after the fact. It can get to the point where it becomes an unhealthy obsession, completely halts the grieving process, and is essentially detrimental not just to you but to those around you. When you are emotionally paralyzed to the point where you cannot get past the fact that the person is dead and the attempt failed so you keep trying, you are most likely being bound by demons who intend to keep you in denial and/or grief, and this doesn’t bode well for your future. In this case it shortchanges your own life because you are so focused on trying to continually bring the person back that you don’t live an abundant life of your own. I am not saying this applies if it is hours or days after the fact, but if you are months or years later still trying to raise someone and it is sucking the life out of you, this is a good indicator that you need to get help to move on.

Practically speaking, if the body is buried underground, for the resurrection to succeed the body will have to be both supernaturally translocated to an aboveground location and simultaneously resurrected. We don’t typically have crypts or tombs that someone can climb their way out of if he returns—he will have to break out of a coffin in a sealed vault beneath a layer of dirt in the middle of an otherwise uninhabited field. And while God is the God of the impossible and *can* do anything, there comes a point where you do have to move forward on some level. I am probably the first to suggest resurrection any and every time, but you have to use wisdom and learn to recognize when enough is enough. I suggest that unless God has clearly spoken otherwise, when you decide to bury is a good time to stop attempting a resurrection. If it is someone else’s decision to bury and you are praying from the sidelines so to speak, then I recommend stopping once the body is buried as well although it seems entirely reasonable to me to pray up until the minute the body is in the ground and being covered over.

If you or those around you are able to get clear guidance from God, ask Him to show you what to do, and if it comes to that point (which hopefully it will not), to lead you in when to stop. Two different women I spoke with who prayed for their deceased loved ones, the Lord gave specific dates by which the family member would either be raised or the family should stop praying. When those dates came, even though it hurt their hearts, they stopped praying according to the Lord’s direction. If you don’t know how to hear from God, then look at the situation with the recommendations and questions shared above and make your best decision possible. At the end of the day you can’t really make the “wrong” decision if you do your best. God is very kind and will generally let you know one way or another what to do.

If you are interested in reading more, you can find the book Practical Keys to Raise the Dead on Amazon by clicking the photo below:

A Message from Your Angels

This past September (22-24, 2016) I helped a friend, Dr. Aaron Winter of Hearts of Fire International host the Encounter God conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference was pretty awesome, and many people received a touch from God in a variety of ways. I saw a friend there who I hadn’t seen for a few years, and we talked about angels for a little while. I shared with her some revelation a friend had shared with me a while back that really spoke to me–that angels are drawn to our worship, but it’s partly because they get healed in the glory. Angels love the presence of God, and when they are here on earth they are relatively bound to the same experience of God that we have–which means when we don’t engage God’s glory, they don’t get to either. When we worship, soak, and pray, and engage God’s presence and glory, however, they are able to heal and get empowered to battle and carry out God’s will in the earth.

As I shared with this here, I began to spontaneously cry. I could sense the emotions of the angels around me as I spoke, and I heard in my spirit some of them saying “Share this. Share this message. Tell this story on our behalf–the people need to know.” I didn’t get the feeling that conference was the appropriate forum for that particular message, but I knew in my spirit I needed to write this article, because it is a message from the angels–my angels, your angels.

I once heard someone share a prophetic word during a service (not at this conference) that they sensed angels flying in from miles around to be there and to participate in the glory that was present.

God wants you to empower your angels because YOU are the gate of heaven to earth. You are the convergence point of the glory, and your ministering spirits are connected to the glory that you bring into your life. It is a nice idea to think that angels are constantly connected with God’s glory when they are around us, but in the same way that we can actively experience God’s presence at some times and not at others, angels have the same experience. While they are far more familiar with His glory than we are, they still require spiritual rejuvenation as they carry out assignments on the earth, and we are the solution to that problem.

Angels aren’t just mindless slaves that God sends out to do His bidding. They are created beings who have knowledge, reason, and will. They have no sin and are fully obedient to God, but they have different personalities, appearances, strengths, and weaknesses. When they are attacked by demons, they get hurt and they feel pain. This isn’t just some imaginary happening–angels deal daily with the demonic forces set against our lives, and while they may not be plagued by demons when in God’s presence in heaven, the same cannot be said of their time spent here.

Please keep in mind that your angels are sent to partner with you–they need your help. If you feel open to it, choose to take a few minutes, or longer if necessary, to connect with some of your angels–your guardian angel at the very least. Ask him or her what they find most difficult about watching over you, and how you can help them do their job better. I think you will be surprised at what you discover, and if you heed their advice, you may find things going just a little more smoothly in your life in the coming days.

Practical Keys to Raise the Dead

My latest book, Practical Keys to Raise the Dead, is now available on Amazon in both print and on Kindle!

God has taken me on a journey these past five-plus years to gain wisdom and understanding about raising the dead, including conversations with others who have tried, whether they succeeded or failed. Unlike the other books out there on resurrection that talk mostly about faith and testimonies, this book is all about practical things–the nuts and bolts of actually “doing it”. How and where to store the body, how long it can be kept above ground, ways to actively and practically walk in faith to see it through, and even how to figure out if you need to stop praying and move forward. This book is short–only 47 pages in print, but it is chock full of simple and practical wisdom not otherwise in print. Please share this news with your family and friends and help get the word out, and I pray this book blesses you as I share with you Practical Keys to Raise the Dead!

Why I Find The Courts of Heaven Teaching Annoying

The Gospel According to Dr. Strange

How I Received Mentoring in Prophetic Intercession

The Gospel According to Kung Fu Panda 3

Cultivating His Presence

On Spiritual DNA and Inheritance

In Light of His Preeminent Goodness

When Do I Quit Praying to Raise the Dead?

A Message from Your Angels

Practical Keys to Raise the Dead

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