When Running Away Is Winning

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with some wonderful friends—kindred spirits really—at a conference. After the evening session we went out for a bite to eat, and the events that transpired showed me something—that sometimes, running away is winning.

Three of us walked into a nearly empty Thai restaurant just before 10pm. The hostess informed us they were nearing closing, so we talked to her for a few minutes to see what and/or if we could get some food while one friend went to the restroom. During this time, someone behind the two of us said something to the effect of “I hate it when pedophiles stare at my kids.” We turned around, not having noticed the family at the table behind us before, and not sure the guy was even talking to us at first.

Turns out he was.

In that first second or two, thoughts flew through my brain so fast that it takes more timeto describe them than it did to think them. First, I thought the comment was really strange. Then I realized this guy was not all there up top. I was guessing mental illness of some kind, and the best solution to the problem was to engage as little as possible. . . until my friend turned around and said “Are you talking to us? I’ve got four kids of my own, man.”

Oh No!! He just engaged! Mayday, Mayday, We are going down!

This man responded to us in negative fashion and my friend replied to each of his comments as we walked away in search of a table. The problem was that each comment from this strange man escalated the level of severity and danger of the situation. First it was “I’m in the military and I’m not afraid of you” as he stood up and walked toward us. He wasn’t tall, but he was fairly muscular and we really didn’t want any trouble. My friend’s reply was “We don’t want to fight you.” Shortly thereafter it went to “I will pull out my Beretta and shoot you.” I did my best to get my friend to disengage, and he quite graciously apologized for offending this deranged individual, who then sat down and left us alone for a few minutes.

We sat down at a table, all the while hearing him mutter under his breath about how angry he was at us, cursing, etc. Literally we had done nothing except stand near him for all this to occur. I noticed at this time that he was drinking beer, and guessed that in addition to his drunkenness he probably also had PTSD and another underlying psych condition as well. At any rate, things just felt very wrong, and with this guy ramping himself up all on his own, we were in potentially very real danger. After all, it wasn’t clear if this man’s gun threat was as close as his pocket, his car, or was sitting at home, and we didn’t want to find out. I quietly told my friend we needed to leave, so he went outside just as our other friend returned from the bathroom and sat down.

Not wanting to upset the crazy man two tables down, I very quietly said to this friend “Please leave the restaurant, I will explain outside.” He sat there and looked at me funny. Again I quietly and calmly said “Just go outside, I’ll be right behind you to explain.” He still sat there. Remember, too, that he had been in the bathroom the entire time and missed the entire situation, shooting threat included. Again I near-whispered “Please listen to me. I need you to go outside, I will explain. Please go outside.” I think he must have picked up on the urgency in my voice because he did, thankfully, so I spoke briefly with the server then followed him out. Even as we got in our vehicles to leave, this man got up from his table, walked outside, and headed toward my truck, posturing clearly to make sure he drove us off.

While none of this sounds super-spiritual at first, I think there is a valuable lesson here. The demonic realms want to embroil us in problems at every turn, and one such problem would be a situation where we have an escape route but we choose to stand our ground just so “the enemy doesn’t win.” The truth is, sometimes running away from danger is winning.

Consider this:

As best as we could tell, this man was manifesting demons in a big bad way, presumably both from the glory of God on us and in order to try to stop what God was doing that weekend. I should mention here that my two friends were also the keynote speakers at this event. Imagine if we had gotten into a brawl (did I mention this was a Thai food place and not a bar?). As long as the guy didn’t have a gun on him, we probably would have won given that it would have been three-on-one and one of my friends is a muscular beast. That said, I am positive we all would have been injured, possibly with broken bones, and might have gotten arrested as well until the police could sort things out. Any way it went, the only way to avoid a total disaster was to do what we did—run away.

Sometimes when we are faced with what are ultimately spiritual battles, we feel we strongly need to stand our ground. On the other hand, sometimes wisdom is the better part of valor, and leaving the combat zone is the best way to go.

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The Tree Across The Road

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Once, a number of years ago, my wife and I were visiting my family in Virginia. While there, we borrowed my dad’s truck and headed north to look at some belongings we kept in a storage facility we were planning to clear out. It was late at night and long since sundown when we were driving back to Virginia, roughly a three-to-four hour trip, made longer and slower by a rainstorm. We had crossed over the state lines and were officially in Virginia, on a long stretch of highway that was only two lanes. Traffic was stalled, and we were entirely unsure why—but after almost an hour of mostly sitting there and inching forward, we discovered that in the storm, a massive tree was struck by lightning and had fallen across the road.

Well, after having waited there for so long, none of us were willing to sit and do nothing until someone else came to rescue us. I and a number of other travelers began looking through the tools with us (I opened my dad’s truck box to see what tree-destroying goodies he had packed) and we began to dismantle the tree bit by bit. It was slow going, especially since no one had come prepared to cut a tree away from the road, but there were a good dozen or two of us either sawing and/or hacking or helping pull large pieces of brush away from the trunk once freed—all done by the yellow light of car headlamps.

The event itself was somewhat fun in spite of the setback, and even the wet shoes and clothes from being outside in the rain playing with tree limbs weren’t enough to kill the overall enjoyment in the midst of what was an otherwise frustrating situation. Truth be told, it just felt adventurous. Not only that, but the overall atmosphere and attitude of all involved was pretty positive. We all just pitched in to help out, working with total strangers as a team to reach a common goal, long before we had “sanctioned help” from the authorities.

Eventually the police did arrive and brought workers with them who began sawing up the main body of the trunk, and this time with the right tools. Even *while* they were clearing the road, they turned traffic away and sent them somewhere else. We found a back-road nearby and made an educated guess that it would take us where we wanted to go, since cell service was nonexistent at that location and using a GPS map was out of the question. Eventually we got around the roadblock and back on the highway.

Reflecting on that time, I couldn’t help but see this as a picture of many in the Body of Christ. At least in the Western Church, we have been taught this notion that many things are the job of “Big names” and “Ordained ministers” when in reality, even if those we view as authority figures in the Body don’t step up, we are still going to get the job done. Furthermore, even when the authority figures do get involved, usually pastors and other leaders, there tend to be a lot of restrictions on who is permitted to do what. The police were much like this when they came to manage the fallen tree. The rest of us were already working on getting the job done, and not only did they cast us aside, but they didn’t even let us remain on the road, knowing full well that a single lane would be cleared shortly.

There are a few different responses we can have to this type of event when it happens inside the Body of Christ. The first is to give up, get bitter, and decide to stop moving forward. The second is to give ourselves over to the authority figures, give up our vision, and join them with whatever they are doing, regardless of where we were headed previously. The third option is to simply continue on our journey, bypassing those who are supposed to be on our side but ultimately are setting themselves in opposition to us, and keep advancing anyway.

That’s not to say that all pastors or other leaders are bad. Many of them have been put in positions of influence due to the call of God on *their* lives, and are faithfully walking in what the Lord has called them to do. Nevertheless, they are just as human as we are, and prone to the same mistakes and oversights as anyone else. If you have felt passed-by or looked-over by those in positions of influence within the Church, don’t let that stop you from walking in all that God has intended for you. In the same way that we began to dismantle the tree without “official” approval, you too can begin to dismantle powers of darkness and release the light of Christ into your surroundings regardless of who is for or against you.

For those who haven’t read Gemstones From Heaven, I explain in the first chapter that many of the encounters in that book came from hosting meetings at our house. My wife and I didn’t need a stamp of approval from someone else; we simply opened our home, invited people, and let God do the rest. If you feel like God is calling you to step into something, I encourage you to pray for clarity, then walk boldly forward on the journey. It’s going to be exciting!

A New Level of Trust For Provision

A few years ago, my wife’s college, Heald College, was shut down by the Department of Education in a push to try to punish its parent corporation, Corinthian College. It was a shame that Heald was shut down partly because a lot of jobs were lost, and partly because the school itself had a rich history of education without all of the shady dealings that Corinthian College engaged in, and who had only bought it a few years prior. At any rate, this also meant that my wife’s income was going away, and this meant God had to bring us into a new level of trust regarding our finances.

Almost all of our married life up to that point, my wife and I had both been employed, and for most of that time, she made far more money per hour as a college professor than I did as a nursing assistant—multiple times what I made, in fact. After graduating from nursing school and working at a rehab facility my wage rose to meet hers, but with her losing her job, we simply weren’t going to have enough money to meet all of our monthly expenses.

We had known this school-closing was coming in advance, and I had already been looking for a new job, so I was pleased to finally get an interview for a position at a local hospital. I ended up being offered the position, and when they told me how much I was going to be paid, I was blown away. I literally got a $10 per hour raise moving from my current job to the new one based off my nursing experience. Furthermore, that didn’t include a sizeable shift differential for working night shift. I accepted on the spot—so quickly, in fact, that the HR person stopped me and said “I haven’t told you the whole offer yet.” I was clearly excited to get the job.

All of our money troubles did not evaporate overnight, but my I began the new job right as the school closed, and my wife did receive six months of unemployment on top of that—which helped us out a lot as we transitioned into this new level of income which, in spite of the raise I got, was still less than we had been making before. Eventually, with cost of living increases, raises from yearly service, other bonuses, and picking up additional shifts here and there, my income has roughly matched where we were at before.

This hasn’t been especially easy on my wife, partly due to her job loss and partly due to a much-needed transition due to health issues. Even the transition to spending more time at home raising our grandchildren and homeschooling them has presented its own challenges, none of which have been any easier than going to work. What I did discover in that situation was that God was not only ever-present to help in our time of need, but everything worked out SO smoothly! Not only did I get a higher-paying job at just the right time, but I was able to time it to get myself two weeks off for a road trip, storage clean-out, and ended up writing Gemstones From Heaven while on that trip.

What I felt the Lord show me from all of this was that His goodness and abundance are ever-present. Certainly there are times we feel and/or experience more lack than at other times, but there are other times such as this where even though we didn’t spend hours in prayer over the situation, and in fact I began job-hunting before the College closed, God positioned us just how we needed to make everything work for our good. I am reminded that in every situation God is working things in our favor, even as it says in Romans 8:28 that, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God calls everyone to His purposes, so we can trust that He is actively at work in our lives to bring good things out of those that appear less-than-good. And I thank God for that!

Christianity Versus Nudity

I was talking to a friend a while back when we were doing some home-improvement projects. It was hot out and she asked if I minded if she took off her shirt as she had a somewhat sporty bra on (which I should mention covered more than many bathing suit tops do). I didn’t care and my wife was fine with it, but that launched us into a discussion about nudity and social appropriateness. This made me think later about nudism for believers, and why it would or would not be recommended as a practice/lifestyle for followers of Jesus.

The first knee-jerk reaction I can imagine many would have is “No! That is sin!” And maybe it is. That is certainly a real possibility. And maybe it isn’t. And maybe it just depends. And that is exactly what I was pondering, so let me bring you with me to review some of what I considered and where I ended up.

First, we know that in the beginning nudism was the norm. Eden as a whole was obviously comfortable to Adam and Eve, and I would suggest the way their bodies were made that they were impervious to injury or discomfort, having the ability to regulate their temperature, etc. to meet their needs at any time, making clothing entirely unnecessary. While much of that is speculative, for the first portion of Adam and Eve’s lives, clothing simply did not exist.

In fact, even after they ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, observed they were naked, and then hid out of shame, God didn’t actually complain a single time about their nakedness. He simply asked them “Who told you that you were naked? (Genesis 3:11) God was entirely unconcerned about their nakedness. What He was bothered by was the fact that they were bothered by it, especially since that was a symptom of a deeper problem—their sin.

As I consider all of the various sex and sex-related issues that exist in our world—lust, homosexuality and transgenderism, rape, pedophilia and varying other kinds of deviant sexual behavior, and more, I cannot help but consider that the Church’s stance has largely been reactionary. “Avoid all of these things and you should be able to avoid sexual sin” is typically the Church’s go-to modus operandi. On the one hand that’s not a bad idea, in that we collectively teach self-discipline, however ineffective it often may be. Self-discipline is a healthy skill to possess, so that’s not bad in and of itself. However, the problem is that self-discipline isn’t enough by itself, and that is often what the Church brings to the table. If you discipline yourself enough, talk with other people of similar gender to keep yourself “accountable”, and avoid areas where you might give in to weakness, and pray a lot about it, that should be sufficient.

Again, I’m not just bashing on the church, because most of those above (minus the accountability one) are actually really good ideas. For example, avoiding hanging out with people who do drugs because of a propensity to do drugs with them is just wisdom. Assuming people are going to tell the truth to an accountability group, however, is probably a little naive. I suggest what we need is a different approach.

What if we were to proactively teach people how to respect and appreciate their bodies in all of its nude form? If we weren’t so incredibly prude about it to the point of body-shaming when we think too much skin is shown, we might help people, especially kids, develop a healthy self-image early on which would reduce sexual problems down the road. After all, nudism isn’t about being sexual—it’s about not being ashamed of being unclothed whether alone or around other people, and preferring that state due to physical comfort. Anyone who believes pure nudism has anything to with sexuality is misinformed.

Certainly being around others in the nude gives one the ability to lust or whatever else, but that’s part of the Church’s problem—we are so focused on the potential negatives that we completely ignore the possible positives. What if, instead of worrying so much about how someone might negatively lust, we were to teach people that it’s okay to enjoy physical beauty and that it doesn’t HAVE to be sexual? As a nurse, I see naked people all the time. ALL the time. To be honest, probably around 98% of them don’t really have bodies I consider lust-worthy anyway. Another way of saying it is that most people aren’t all that attractive in the nude, so the idea that we are going to go into some sort of sexual craze when unclothed around others is silly. Furthermore, nudism doesn’t have to be a social thing.

A small portion of nudists are social; most we will never know about. For some, they enjoy simply wearing little or no clothing in the privacy of their own home and would have no intention of doing so in public. In fact, while I am not a betting person, I am sure that I would win the bet if I were to assume that a number of readers fall into that category—those who enjoy some level of private nudism but no one else knows about it because it’s just that—private.

Much of what decides this issue for each person has to do with what he or she deems appropriate. Well, appropriateness is cultural, which is something else to remember. The United States is one of the more reserved when it comes to bathing suits, especially for men, whereas in other countries, such as in Europe or South America, it is entirely normal for men to wear bikinis or bikini briefs or similar—a far cry from the nearly-shin-length board shorts that are the current trend. In some places in Europe, it is entirely normal for women to go topless, and no one thinks a thing of it because it is a cultural norm. While the Western Church is typically aghast at this behavior, again, it isn’t inherently right or wrong any more than some aboriginal dude wearing basically nothing more than a thong as his daily-wear is inherently wrong. It’s just a different culture with unique cultural norms—and in such a setting, they too have ideas of what is appropriate and inappropriate, but they would just be vastly different than what you or I might be used to.

I believe the underlying issue that many believers have with nudism isn’t actually about the practice itself, but reflect their own underlying insecurities, fear, shame, and sexual issues. I’m not saying that nudism is the solution to all of life’s sexual problems, because it isn’t. On the other hand, if I had children of my own I would seriously consider raising them in such a way as to at least be comfortable around others in appropriate settings while in the nude because I believe that minimizing the shame, fear, and insecurity of nudity growing up leads to an overall healthier perspective when it comes to dealing with sexual appetites as an adult. It is my hope that believers as a whole can stop vilifying the human body as though it were inherently evil, and I believe that if we truly want to get at some of the behavioral aspects of sexual immortality, a healthy dose of nudism might just be what some people need.

I should point out, in closing, that at the end of the day the only real solution to sexual problems is the Holy Spirit, the one who is responsible for leading and guiding us into all truth. Romans 8 explains that as we walk by the Spirit we simply will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Behavioral discipline such as that which I believe healthy nudity can provide is just a piece to the puzzle, or maybe a step in the right direction, but the transformative power of God is at the end of the day the only true solution to the issue of sexual perversions, lusts, and immorality. Regardless of how you manage your own sexual health, I encourage you to continue to be led deeper into communion with God by the Spirit of God, because as you do, you will understand and experience the true freedom found therein. Blessings!

But You Forgot To Ask Me – A Lesson about Worry

This past week and a half my hospital increased staffing due to an expected increase in admissions from over a million additional people traveling through our state to view the eclipse in the Zone of Totality. Portland is a major highway hub for part of the state, and I work for one of the main trauma hospitals for the surrounding three states. I work night shift and had packed a bag to stay with a coworker who lived close so I could avoid extra traffic the days pre-and-post eclipse. During that Sunday night, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You’re concerned about what is going to happen later, but you forgot to ask Me.”

I realized how silly it was for me to worry about this entire ordeal when God already knows the outcome, and all I needed to do was ask Him. We can make the best plans, but if God has something else in mind it would all be for nothing. I’m not against advanced-planning, and as a former Boy Scout I am all over emergency preparedness, but as a follower of Jesus Christ I have some advantages that aren’t included in the Boy Scout Manual—a Divine Guide who lives with me and in me (John 14:17).

The end result was that I drove home with sub-normal traffic, enjoyed the near-totality eclipse with my family, and then drove back to work later that evening with no traffic problems either. While we did have some gnarly traumas come through the hospital, none of the other potential issues I was worried about and planning to abate came to pass.

The Bible talks about this in a number of places. Two that come to mind are Matthew 6:34 and Philippians 4:6-7. Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I guess we all need those simple reminders from time to time.

Pursuing Maturity in Traveling in the Spirit

Recently a moderately well-known Charismatic minister has been speaking up about problems he sees in the world of Christian spirit travel, courts of heaven teaching, and similar. His specific accusations and/or concerns don’t really matter for the sake of my discussion here, but I did observe something in the overall approach that has had me thinking about what it is we actually NEED regarding this subject. I’ve realized what we need is to be pursuing maturity in traveling in the spirit.

Most often what I see when people are in opposition to any of this business is that it either isn’t biblical, Jesus never did it, it’s an occult teaching, etc. Actually, none of the above statements are true, as I explain in my book The Beginner’s Guide to Traveling in the Spirit. In reality, if we boil the objections down to their common denominator, or in the case of proponents, the benefits, it is ultimately a matter of whether one is for or against the subject.

The problem with such polarization is that things are rarely all good or all bad, and when we simplify spirit travel down to a good-bad response, we miss the mark. The matter people need to be concerned about is NOT whether one should or should not spirit travel, but whether the movement is MATURE or not.

I can say without a doubt that traveling in the spirit has not, to date, reached maturity. I can also conclusively say that the movement is in the process of maturation, so it will eventually get there, and there are men and women whom God is raising up to help steward this and bring it forward. For those who aren’t aware, I would like to review some of the common areas where one can walk in either maturity or immaturity, to open up the discussion on this subject further.

Ethics:

The topic of ethics in spirit travel is not, I find, often discussed, or if so, it is not labeled as such. If we are going to continue to pursue spirit travel, and teach and train others to do so, we need to have guiding principles that help us use this ability appropriately. I caution against people setting up actual hard-and-fast rules, as God is not interested in legislating morality, nor is God interested in creating firm guidelines, as He is likely to be the first to tell us to break them under the right circumstances. Rather, we must be ruled and guided by love in our spirit interactions, and we must encourage and remind one another to continue to walk in such a way as we move forward.

Protocols:

There are a growing number of spiritual protocols people use, especially when engaging in what is known as the Heavenly Courts, or the Courts of Heaven. Protocols can be very useful, providing a framework for how to progress in heavenly court interactions. On the other hand, they can be extremely restrictive if we let them, moving from helpful guidelines into rigid to-do lists that must be completed just-so for fear of a negative outcome. Any protocol, whether for physical healing, spirit travel, inner healing and deliverance, or anything else, must ultimately work for us, not us work for it. There is a definite danger in using protocol that we can shift into legalism with these practices, so it is wise to be aware of the risks and be vigilant in our hearts, so we can continue to reap the benefits without any unintended consequences.

Groupthink:

Another risk we face associated with spirit travel, especially with the popularity of various teachers who teach and train on these topics, is the issue of groupthink. This is essentially how cults are formed—people have a set of “accepted” teachings and beliefs, and as they gather in groups with others who share their mindset, they begin to put emotional pressure on anyone who does not adhere rigidly in thought or action to those beliefs. I have seen this issue beginning to crop up in certain places where spirit travel is a subject of importance, which is why I mention it here. While I don’t believe most people engaging this related to traveling in the spirit do it intentionally, it is still a problem. In truth, we run this risk anytime God brings new and exciting revelation along. People get fired up about what God is doing and want to share it with others. As groups of people get on board, and especially as people work to help shepherd and guide others, we risk moving from open guidance into rigid control. Groupthink has a greater potential to grow in any environment where a leadership attempts to guide the beliefs and ideas of a group. While most organizations fall into the “potential risk” category, it is important that we self-police moving forward to ensure we who practice traveling in the spirit do not allow this unhealthy behavior in.

One-Size-Fits-All

Traveling in the spirit is an amazing ability, with the ability to experience an incredibly diverse spiritual world. As we move forward, we have to remember that the spiritual realms are far more diverse than we can imagine. The same God who is capable of such diversity is capable of a myriad of solutions to life’s problems. It is vital that we remember that while the Courts of Heaven are a very good and helpful tool to address life’s issues, the Courts are not the *only* tool. While this might seem obvious at first, there is a growing undertone of comments and interactions that seem to suggest some people believe the Courts are the solution to all of life’s problems. The truth is that if all you have is a hammer, then every problem must become a nail, whether it actually is one or not. The Heavenly Courts do not have the ability to fix every problem, but they do have the ability to address many problems. We must continue to learn and grow, as well as diversify our tool chest, so to speak, of solutions to life’s problems. We cannot reasonably expect that the Courts are the solution to everything because they simply are not, and as such we would be wise to conduct ourselves accordingly.

These are just a few areas where maturity and growth is needed, and I expect it will continue over time. As mentioned previously, we can separate the matter of traveling in the spirit into a polarizing issue of for-or-against, but we would be wise to avoid such unfruitful arguments. Instead, if we are able to help steward this movement into greater maturity, many of the dissident voices will simply fall away.

If you are interested in learning more about the above subjects or similar, please pick up a copy of my book The Beginner’s Guide to Traveling in the Spirit, available on Amazon in print and on Kindle.

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Learning To Rest In God

A week ago Monday I helped a friend pack up to move out of her house. My wife and I had driven two hours south with our new puppy (who gets carsick) and the grandkids a few days prior, but this time I went by myself, taking my truck with an 8-foot bed, planning to arrive early in the day and come home late to get a ton of work done. On the ride down I listened to a message titled The Body of A God Part 1 by Silas Valentine of Ekstasis Culture. He covered a number of things in this message, but the main point I took out of it at that time was to learn to rest in God—that I can do work without it being toil, and that as I focus on remaining in communion with God and let Him help me perform tasks with joy, I can live in peace. Well, this day was a great day to put it into practice.

The day started out well, with a very enjoyable and peaceful drive. I arrived at my friend’s and got to see another old friend who had come up from California, and that was great. I loaded up my truck with recycling, drove to the local dump . . . and it was closed. Because apparently they are closed every Monday, opting (wisely) to be open on Saturday instead. Well, I asked in the office and the only place open was a dump just shy of an hour away. I drove back to the house, unloaded the recycling, loaded the Goodwill donations and dropped them off, rented a Uhaul trailer, hooked it up and drove back to the house, loaded the trash, recycling, old tires, and some more Goodwill donations, and headed off to make my rounds once more.

This entire time I was enjoying resting in God. Things could have gotten stressful at a number of points, but I found I was not only doing quite well, but was free to encourage others as well. I dropped off the donations and tires, then realized I forgot some trash, so headed back to the house to pick it up before driving to the dump. It was around 4pm when I made it back to the house, and while the dump was an hour away, it closed at six. I walked in the house, asked for a hand loading something, and one of the women asked “How are you going to make it to the dump in time?”

“It closes at six, so I’ve got lots of time.”

“No, it closes at five.”

Silence. . .

Problem!

I turned and ran out of the house as I yelled something like “If I go quickly maybe I can make it!” I didn’t come close. I even had someone call the dump and ask them to stay open late on a mercy-mission to help us since I was on the way. No-go. I stopped partway at an always-open recycling center to at least offload the recycling, then planned to take the rest of the trash back to Portland with me to dump on Tuesday. I was still doing okay, and remaining in rest. However, the things I picked up at the house on that last trip back made the trailer just full enough that when I offloaded the recycling I didn’t have enough room in my truck (which has a cap on the bed). I spent the next hour or so rifling through the bags of trash in my truck, pulling out every recyclable item I could find and tossing it in order to make room. I kind of lost it at this point. I called my wife, not knowing what to do since I was supposed to come home that evening, it was already almost 7pm. I had borrowed an adapter for the electrical system on the Uhaul and had to return it to the rental location, so couldn’t come home with the trailer.

My wife is one of the most caring people I know. She could tell I was super-stressed at this point (and that whole “rest in God thing was totally out the window by now), and just told me to stay the night. I stopped at a store and picked up a cheap t-shirt on my way to get some pizzas and meet everyone else back at the house to continue working and eventually go to sleep.

I dumped the trash the next morning and returned the Uhaul before it was due and everything worked out, but I learned a valuable lesson. Life was SO much easier when I remained in God’s rest. And a day or two later I was stressing about chores we needed to do at home, and again reflected on how I was living completely outside of that rest yet again. By no means do I pretend to have arrived, but I have had some pretty clear object lessons this past week or so that have taught me the importance of learning this. As we learn to enter into God’s rest, living in His peace and joy even while we work, we will never live under the curse which forces us to toil. This is a reality that God has for us here and now. I saw a glimpse of what Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

I pray God teaches each of us to enter into His rest in a deeper way on a daily basis, that we may enjoy His presence and peace always.

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Forerunners and Imposter Syndrome

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I have a friend who regularly reminds me that I am a forerunner. I didn’t used to understand why, but as I have pursued the revelation of life and immortality (get a copy of my book on the subject here) I have come to understand more of why he, a fellow forerunner, always reminds me of that. It’s because he has been there, knows how difficult it can be, and is trying to ease my way.

When I put out my book Faith To Raise The Dead, I had multiple people ask me the question “How can you write a book about raising the dead if you haven’t raised the dead yet?” While writing the book I wrestled with this very idea. What I realized is that lots of people teach things they haven’t done and we consider it perfectly normal and/or reasonable. Science teachers teach about volcanoes, water currents, outer space, atoms and subatomic particles, cellular respiration, and all sorts of other natural phenomenon and physiological processes they have never personally witnessed. History professors teach about cultures they have never actually encountered personally. People teach business courses all the time who have no actual experience running a business. It is actually quite common in higher education to do exactly that, and it happens in the Church as well.

End-times prophecy is a perfect example of this. We have well-known speakers, authors, and teachers who have deeply involved understanding of their subject matter, but at the end of the day it is technically 100% conjecture considering not a single one of them has ever actually “experienced” the end times they are speaking about. People flock to conferences, buy books, and are glued to television programs with these individuals discussing these theories that don’t even really influence our day-to-day lives, but when someone talks about raising the dead, living in divine health, or living forever the first thing many point to is the fact that I haven’t lived it all experientially yet.

The thing about forerunners is that we don’t always have all the details worked out yet, but we are the people who get everyone moving in the right direction to begin with. We are the innovators who spread the message to get the early adopters on board. As with any new idea, invention, etc. the innovators and early adopters face the most ridicule because they are willing to step out and take a risk with no guarantee of return. However, that risk-taking eventually pays off when everyone else hops on board and wishes they had started earlier.

One of the threats forerunners face is Imposter Syndrome—the fear that you risk being exposed as a fraud for what you are doing; that someday your areas of lack will be exposed and people will see you for “who you really are.” As I said before, I really had to fight this idea as an author because I haven’t raised the dead yet, but I realized that I’m not an imposter just because I haven’t been successful yet. I have learned a lot through my experiences as I have pursued resurrection, and God has taught me even more as I have continued on this path. The same is happening with the revelation of abundant life and immortality—God is revealing new levels and aspects of this truth even though I have yet to live in the fullness of this promise that Jesus gave his disciples.

The apostle Paul ran into this same problem, to the point that he repeated himself twice when speaking to the Philippians about this in Phillippians 3:12-14, saying, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul was very clear that he had not already attained the fullness of the revelation he was preaching, but he didn’t let it stop him from proclaiming the revelation.

I had a dream the other night that seemed to suggest there are two main ways God gives us a message He wants us to carry. The first is as a prophetic revelation, and this typically comes first. Prophetic messages are often those given by the forerunners, as they are speaking of realities that have not manifested as of yet. The second are apostolic messengers—those who have lived out the message, have struggled through the ups and downs as they have pioneered the experience, and who have become the living embodiment of that which they speak. Neither means of carrying a message is better than the other, nor is either inferior to the other; they are simply different. Apostolic messengers carry the experiences within them, while the prophetic messenger is often speaking of things he or she has yet to attain to. It is important to understand whether a message is prophetic or apostolic as defined above, as prophetic messages are those that place us in greater danger of Imposter syndrome.

Finally, it is important to have our approval grounded in God’s love for us instead of in the accolades found by other humans. If we find our solace in the encouragement and agreement of other people then when discouragement and discord come along we are not going to be able to stand firm and carry the message strong. If we are grounded in the Father’s love and approval of us, then it doesn’t matter what trials or tribulations come our way because we will be filled with an inner strength to hold our ground and lift our standard high.

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How My New Puppy Healed My Heart

This past Thursday my wife, grandkids and I drove about 3 hours north to get a puppy—a nine-week-old German Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix. We have been looking at dogs for a while and have been discussing it for years, but held off for various reasons. My wife had dogs much of her adult life and my family had a few different dogs when I was growing up. My wife and I have wanted a dog for a while but have held off for a variety of reasons. We have had rabbits and chickens, but this would be our first dog as a couple. All of us were excited.

The event itself took all day. Between six hours of driving to this farm, helping the wife of the couple deliver a baby goat, and meeting the litter and picking a puppy, the hours flew by. The ride home was stressful as well, as the dog got carsick early on and we still had a long drive ahead of us. It all worked out, the puppy arrived at our home safe and sound, and we have been having a both enjoyable-yet-stressful first week with the puppy. What surprised me the most about this entire process was the inner healing I have received during this past week—all from getting a new dog.

To back the story up a bit, when I was younger, all of our dogs were SPCA rescues. The first was Mosby, a golden lab who we ended up having to give away years later. I was probably eight or nine at the time. We had Jeb for a few months, a pitbull puppy who we took back because he was a biter, and at some point we found Ginger. She is the only dog my parents have had in the past thirty years who was not given some sort of South-related Civil War name—and I named her. 🙂

Ginger was a total sweetheart, and I loved that dog. I think our family pretty unanimously agrees that she was the best dog we have ever had, and I remember the day we had her put to sleep. She was old, and I forget all the details, but I was in my teens and I was very sad—we all were. I remember her laying on the table on the right-hand side of our vet’s office as he injected a blue-colored substance into her, and she closed her eyes and passed away. I will never forget that moment; I loved that dog.

Fast forward again to this past week, and this new dog (whom we named Rowan Bronx Delta the I) has helped bring me inner healing I didn’t know I needed–grieving over Ginger’s death. I have found myself thinking of my favorite childhood dog multiple times this past week—when I haven’t thought of her in years. It’s amazing how something so simple—and what would usually be thought of as a good thing, can bring about such painful memories. And while this might not sound like a good thing, it’s actually quite wonderful.

You see, grief, and all other painful emotions are stored in the body, and over time they contribute to physical disease. Even when they don’t cause disease, they remain behind the scenes and negatively impact our ability to make good decisions. When situations arise that feel similar to the one that caused our pain, we naturally and unconsciously react to protect ourselves from further pain. This means that we aren’t actually free to make good decisions because we tend to choose whatever will keep us from the pain we don’t realize we are carrying.

I am thrilled to have added Rowan to our family. I am blessed that I had the opportunity to have Ginger as a pet. And I am very thankful that God has used this encounter to help set me free. How has God been bringing about healing in your life?

For those who need or want help with inner healing, check out the following:

Flower Essences — these are designed to help release the negative emotions stored in our bodies and make it easier to receive inner healing. Freedom Flowers is the company I recommend to everyone, and if you are new to essences there is a free introductory course you can sign up for on the main page .
Emotional Healing Prayer — there are a number of great books out there, but two in particular come to mind: Praying Medic’s book Emotional Healing in 3 Easy Steps and Karol Truman’s book Feelings Buried Alive Never Die. The first is a quick and easy method to receive simple healing and is very effective; I use it regularly. The latter delves a good bit deeper, and can help identify hidden emotions as well as help heal them.
Prayer Counseling: There are a number of prayer counselors out there who can help you, but a few I recommend are Emotional And Spiritual Healing and Debalm Ministries.
I have written a few other blog posts on this subject including The Weight of Sorrows, Five Steps To Emotional Healing, and Divine Healing That Works
Check out my new coauthored book Broken to Whole: Inner Healing for the Fragmented Soul. In this book you will learn not only how to identify fragmented parts of your soul and spirit that need healing and integration, but you will uncover why and how they got broken to begin with, as well as what problems they have been causing in your life. You can use the “Fragment Finder” flower essence from Freedom flowers alongside the book to help move your fragment-healing journey forward even faster.
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When Spiritual Beliefs Work

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] I had a fairly challenging night the other night at work. When I got home, I found myself wondering if I had done the right things—not because I had said or done anything wrong, but because the situation itself was so incredibly bizarre that there was a lot of room for reflection, introspection, and generally being conflicted about the entire matter. I struggled with societal beliefs and ideas about judgment versus the immeasurable and boundless nature of God’s love in the face of really unpleasant circumstances. I wrestled with the various roles and responsibilities I have, along with moral, ethical, and spiritual values that I hold, and looked at how to best mesh them in the situation. And while I cannot go into details on the subject itself, I had a very meaningful conversation with one of the chaplains where I realized that times like this are when spiritual beliefs work. After all, if they don’t work when the going gets rough, what good are they? In the conversation with this chaplain she asked me how I dealt with stress, and how I felt my beliefs helped me to deal with this situation the way I had. I shared how I had grown up in the Episcopal Church but now loosely define as a Nondenominational Charismatic Christian, and that as my beliefs have drastically changed over the course of my adult life, my views about God, love, judgment, heaven, and hell have changed as well. I explained how the core foundation of my spiritual beliefs now begins with the premise that we have a God whose nature and essence is, above all else, pure love. I spoke of how this God of immeasurable love does not send us to hell or whatever one believes is a negative afterlife, but that we in our own limited thinking choose our own inner darkness over the surpassing love He constantly extends toward us, but that even our own ability to choose darkness in the face of God’s love is like pitting an ice cube against a forest fire. The ice might last for a few brief moments, but ultimately it doesn’t stand a chance. I heard myself saying that in this situation I had a choice to make, whether to choose to sit in judgement in a situation where that wasn’t my job to begin with, or to choose to walk forward in love and compassion regardless of the outward circumstances, and that it is this undergirding belief in the immeasurable goodness of God that provided the encouragement for me to do so. As I replied, I found my own words to be somehow very therapeutic, and they seemed to touch the chaplain as well. She literally thanked me for being the person to deal with the problem, and for being someone who could share love in that way in a scenario that needed it. I realized that while the situation itself was taxing in a hard-to-describe way, I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to manifest the love of God there. I began to gain a broader perspective on how God had orchestrated things, positioning me in a unique way to become the solution to the problem.

I was reminded that THIS is when spiritual beliefs work.

Jesus instructed the people in Matthew 5:14 saying that we are the light of this world. When darkness threatens to close in and doubts, fears, and uncertainty seek to steal the life from a circumstance, the love of Jesus Christ that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit IS the means by which we light up this world with the ever-burning flame within us. In any situation, God has prepared us to become the solution to the problem. He has positioned us to carry His love into dark circumstances, and even as we do this, like a holy virus that love spreads out in ever-widening circles, transforming those we come in contact with. I don’t know that I will ever know the true extent of the impact I had on this situation. I know that I am blessed to have been a part of it, and my wife pointed out it was almost as if I passed a test. I believe that my words, much less my actions, touched this chaplain in a profound way—and not because I even meant to. She was helping me, and in doing so, I believe I ended up encouraging her in turn. It is humbling to know that this hope we have in Jesus Christ works even in those times we aren’t meaning for it to. That His transformative power works in us whether we work on ourselves or not. That in the same way that water wears down a rock over time, the river of God’s love flows through us whether we are paying attention or not. In the end, this is the true test of whether spiritual beliefs work or not—when in our weakness, God is strong through us. Go be the light of the world, but don’t try so hard. Just go and be, and watch the God of Wonders do His thing. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<script type=”text/javascript” src=”https://app.getresponse.com/view_webform_v2.js?u=B40ZB&webforms_id=6653905″></script>[/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments admin_label=”Comments” show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”on” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″] [/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]