Stone The False Prophet Among You

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Okay, so the title isn’t part of an actual Bible verse, but it very well could be. In Deuteronomy 13 it says that if a prophet or dreamer among the people attempts to lead people away from the God of Israel, that he or she must be purged from the people. A bit later, Deuteronomy 18:17-22 says it in a bit more detail, saying:

The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

God calls some people to be prophets, and if someone says something is from God and doesn’t happen, then clearly it isn’t from God. If they tell people things God didn’t command them to say, or if they are a prophet for a different god, then they need to be killed. And how do we know if a prophet says something God didn’t command? Obviously, if it didn’t happen, God didn’t command it.

Here’s the problem: What about all those times that God tells a prophet to say something and then people repent and/or pray against it because the prophet sent a warning from heaven, and then it doesn’t happen? Does that make him a false prophet? I mean, what we are saying here is that Jonah, who is clearly understood by the Scriptures to be a prophet sent from God, is actually a false prophet according to Deuteronomy 18 because the destruction he prophesied over Nineveh never came to pass. While we don’t know exactly what God told him to say, we do know that all of Nineveh repented in fasting and prayer when they heard the message Jonah gave them, and God was pleased with their change of heart. So how can Jonah be both a prophet and a false prophet all at once?

He can’t.

Which means that the Bible broke the Bible’s false-prophet detector test.

Now what??

First, I suggest we need to differentiate between a few similar-appearing people: the false prophet, the young prophet, and the effective prophet.

The false prophet’s motive is deception. The goal is to lead astray. If one prophesies with an intent to lead astray and/or with wrong motives, this is a good sign one is a false prophet. These prophecies are likely to be false, but it is equally possible some of the prophecies could come true—just enough to lead people successfully astray.

The young prophet’s motive is typically at least mostly-pure, and he or she wants to encourage people in the Lord. Mind you, we call this individual a “young prophet” irrespective of linear age because this isn’t based on age, but experience—this prophet simply isn’t very good at it. Well, at the very least his or her accuracy has something to be desired. I suggest he isn’t a false prophet because his motives are pure and he has not intent to lead people astray, but he does have some growing to do. Thus, his prophecies might come to pass and might not—it’s entirely hit or miss depending on how accurate that particular word was when he received it, which makes things tough because how on earth is someone else to know if he received it accurately? That’s the tricky part, and why we each have to discern prophetic words.

The effective prophet is a different breed entirely. His words might come to pass and they might not—but when they don’t come to pass, it is for an entirely different reason than because he is false or young. No, if the effective prophet’s word doesn’t come to pass, it’s because he was, well, effective. Think about it. Many prophecies are encouraging, directive for the future, comforting, and more. Some words are warning words though, giving us insight on a need to turn away from a current course of action. If people turn away from a current course of action and the negative consequence in the warning does not occur, the prophet wasn’t false—he or she effectively incited the people to pray and act, and a crisis was averted!

I recall years ago I was at a church and each member of our intercessory group received a similar prophetic warning about a building project. We shared these words with one of the board members who was the head of the intercessory group at the time, and she told the senior pastor about it. The multiple prophetic warnings were disregarded, and years later the words did indeed come to pass. An effective prophet’s goal, at least when it comes to warning words, is to appear wrong each and every time! After all, while his reputation might be put into question by some, those with wisdom and insight will realize that instead of the prophecy being false, a calamity was averted.

This sort of thing often happens when prophetic warnings have dates attached. If a date comes and goes it can be one of a few different things: It can be that the word was false to begin with, or the date was wrong. Or it could be that prayer was effectively mobilized through the release of the word and the outcome changed. The difficult part is that we in the Church are often so quick to judge one another based on appearances that we have to take a step back and discern from the Lord what actually took place. After all, it would be silly to tell someone he was wrong if in fact he was not only spot-on, but the reason he appears to be wrong is because of how incredibly accurate he was AND how effective he was at it!

Some people believe we need to start holding false prophets accountable in the church, and while it sounds really good on paper, it really makes no sense. Look, a false prophet isn’t interested in accountability. He doesn’t really care if you tell him he is wrong or deceived or whatever other potentially accurate label you might give him. His motives are impure and his heart is in the wrong place to begin with. Do you really think telling him as much is going to positively influence the situation? Not likely. On the other hand, if mature prophets decide to take a more active and discipling role with young prophets, it is quite probable they can pass some of their wisdom and maturity on.

After all, how do false prophets become false prophets anyway? I suggest part of it is through rejection by the church. After a while, the inner wounding leaves just the right opening for the enemy, and through pride, envy, and other negative emotions the demonic are able to begin a long process of twisting and perverting the prophetic gift, turning a young prophet into a false one.

Maybe the problem isn’t so much that we don’t hold false prophets accountable, but that we don’t encourage young prophets to be disciple-able. Or worse yet, maybe we don’t expect or encourage effective prophets to do any discipling. After all, one can want discipleship all day long, but you can only follow when someone else is leading. Maybe the problem isn’t even false prophets, but a system that values the prophetic gift more than it values the person who carries that gift. Most likely it is a combination of all of these, together with the schemes of the enemy and the wounded hearts of men. However, I believe if we aim to do things a little better on our end we won’t have to worry so much about stoning the false prophets among us—I imagine that deep down they don’t really want to be that way either, but need help finding their way back home.

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Engaging the Stars of Orion’s Belt

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As someone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere, Orion is one of my favorite constellations—quite probably because it is super-easy to find and is visible much of the year from my location. I never expected what happened to me late one night, however. It was either in fall or winter, when Orion is visible in the sky south of my driveway. I was taking out the trash when I became aware of a demonic presence on the property seeking to attack me.

I saw in a vision that it was not more than five meters from me, and I started praying in tongues. Right as this was happening, three celestial beings appeared, lined up in a row between me and the demonic assailant. While it may not seem deeply significant that three angels came to protect me, what struck me was that they weren’t angels—at least not as we typically view them. These three celestial beings were the Stars in Orion’s Belt. An experience such as this has the potential to open up entirely new realms of understanding, but the first thing it does is open up more questions? Is it possible that other spirits exist out there in the universe that aren’t angels or demons? Do spirits govern the stars and planets? Can stars and the spirits of the stars interact with and influence us in the earth? All of these things are both possible and do occur. Scattered throughout the Old Testament there are references to groups of people making sacrifices to stars and the spirits of stars—one verse in particular speaks of sacrificing to the starry host as a whole. What this says to me is that stars, or rather the spirits of the stars (whom I call stellar spirits), were coming down to Earth and interacting with mankind, leading them to their horrible practices of child sacrifice.

Furthermore, the scriptures say some strange things that only make sense if this was happening. Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” This command only makes sense if there indeed ARE forms in the heavens to make images of. After all, how does one make a graven image of a series of blinking dots high in the sky? I can only make the intelligent inference that these peoples were having encounters, like the one I had, with stellar spirits.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” This means that if something has happened in the past with the Israelites, we shouldn’t be surprised that we encounter stellar spirits as well. Ephesians 3:10 states “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” If God expects us to reveal His wisdom to rulers and authorities in the heavens, we might actually have to interact with the rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms.

Madeline L’Engle, author and mystic, spoke somewhere in her book A Wrinkle In Time about how stars are made of flaming gas, but that’s only their physical makeup, not what they are. After all, our bodies are primarily made up of atoms of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, but I think we all agree that we are far more than what we are made of. If stars can be made of flaming gas but actually have or be a spirit being, then what is to keep the planet Earth from being the same way? Is it possible that the term Mother Earth is derived from something that indigenous cultures know about a governing spirit over our planet that science simply cannot prove? While I’m not saying this is conclusively so, I find it interesting that C.S. Lewis in his Space Trilogy covers this very same subject, weaving it into the fabric of the story. His writing, too, clearly evidences that he has gleaned a deeper understanding in some way about the spiritual forces that influence our world.

Ultimately, whether one believes in stellar spirits or not isn’t going to influence whether you go to heaven or not, but it is still important. God is revealing the mysteries of His creation and unveiling revelation after revelation to us, His children and heirs of His promise, so that we can walk in them to the fullest level possible. The stars, planets, and other celestial bodies are not going anywhere anytime soon, so we had best get on board with the program—where we rule and reign as sons and daughters of the Most High. After all, the entire cosmos is waiting for us to get a revelation of who we are in Him—even the stellar spirits.

To Fling A Witch

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Shortly before I got married, my wife and I and a few other people took on a witch coven in spiritual warfare. It was a bit unexpected, and we had no plans for such activity. However, we were worshiping in my wife’s living room in the spirit I saw someone walking up the stairs to her second floor. It took me a moment to realize I was observing someone who had astral-projected into the house, but moments later I sprung into action. Sunshine and I walked upstairs as the others continued to worship and pray below. At the top of the stairs I turned left into the first bedroom, which had a doorway on the far end connecting to a bathroom and another small room.

Stepping into the room I immediately saw this person again, so I reached out and flung them across the room. While this might sound strange to some, astral bodies rarely can interact with physical objects, but nothing is stopping me, a spirit being who lives in a body, from interacting with them. Thus, I threw him. He fell, and I watched him crawl on his hands and knees through the hallway into the other room; we followed. Upon entering that room, I saw a vision of four people standing there, all of whom had projected in. We summarily ejected them from the premises.

That night and the days that followed were an intense time of training for me and my wife, as we had never dealt with anything of this level before–and for the most part hadn’t again until this past year. I discovered just how much our will directs what happens in the spirit realm. I discovered that there were prophets and prophetic people in ministry who were both aware of and able to spirit travel at will, but at that time were hiding it from the Body of Christ. I also discovered what happens when you win a battle but lose a war.

The next few years after this event I found my energy for Christian activities drained away. I still loved God but it was like I just didn’t have any emotional reserve available to actually get involved in anything spiritual. During this time I read a number of books by a range of spiritual authors, some of whom lack the revelation of Jesus Christ but who have done fascinating and informative study into a number of aspects of prayer, faith, miracles, and more. I didn’t understand why I felt so spiritually drained until I read a book by shamanic teacher Ted Andrews titled The Intercession of Spirits. In this book he discussed many things, but one in particular spoke to me at that moment–he shared how at one point he saw himself as a ‘psychic white knight’ and took on a guy who was psychically harassing a friend. What Ted didn’t know at the time was that this guy had an entire cult backing him, whereas Ted was alone. The moment I read this, a light bulb went on and I realized what I was experiencing was the result of fighting against a coven in a spiritual battle without fully understanding what I was involved in.

This is the sort of thing that I find seldom discussed, but it would have been extremely helpful to have learned. It isn’t something anyone I knew could have taught me simply because no one I knew had any experience in this arena to be able to teach–whether regarding spirit travel and astral projection, battling witches in the spirit, or anything else related. Since then I have found myself among others who have had a similar learning curve as myself–difficult but highly educational. I learned that what we oftentimes see as a one-time battle they tend to view as a long-term war. When we think we are finished, they’re just getting started–and we have to be in it for the long-haul.

While this might not seem a super upbeat or encouraging post, I believe it is important that we understand that not only is there a real spiritual battle with demonic forces, but there are humans who have willingly aligned themselves with powers of darkness and who actively seek out those whom they can attack. Over the years I have removed spiritual seals, broken curses, and in other ways dealt with the influence of witchcraft attacks both over myself, my wife, and friends and family. This isn’t a problem that goes away when we ignore it, and we must learn to become aware of the schemes of the enemy. We fight with powerful spiritual weaponry that is able to destroy the works of darkness and release the light of the Kingdom of God into the world, and I’ve read the end of the book: Jesus wins. No matter how difficult or dark things may get, keep fighting, keep your head up, and continue to pursue Heaven–for greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

Faith To Perform Miracles At Will

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Someone once asked me, “Do I have to have faith to be able to experience manifestations such as the gold dust, gemstones, feathers, and other miracles? Is it possible to experience them at will?” I have talked about this before, but I think it is a subject that bears repeating as there seems to be a variety of opinions out there on the subject, many of them in conflict with one another. The example I see from Jesus in the Bible is that faith is a big influencer regarding whether miracles happen (although it is not the only factor), and yes, the goal is to be able to perform miracles “at will.”

The whole at-will thing is usually what trips people up the most. The more religious-leaning start to get their pants in a bunch and complain that God is sovereign and we are supposed to let God do things sovereignly, not try and do them ourselves. After all, that would be witchcraft if we tried to perform miracles ourselves, right? And Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19), and we don’t want to be caught outside of God’s will. Yet if we actually looked at the example Jesus lived, he did things all the time—and quite often simply because someone asked. “Give to those who ask” (Matthew 5:42). The examples we see in the Bible regarding performing miracles are very different than the ones the overly-churched tend to spout off about.
Acts 10:38 says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” It turns out that the will of God is pretty clear regarding setting anyone free who is under the power of the devil—and if we do that, then God is with us such that we don’t really need to ask “permission”—we already have it. Not only that, but the Bible shows us something I have named “Resident Miracles.”

Resident miracles are those miracles that one performs at-will because God has given him or her the ability to do so, and there are multiple people in the Bible to whom the text actually shows this is true. Off the top of my head I know factually that Moses did them, as did Jesus, Paul, and the Two Witnesses in Revelation. I’m pretty sure Elijah did them as well, but I’d have to double check. The argument that “miracles are to promote the Kingdom” isn’t even entirely true, as Jesus walked on water when no one was watching, no one was getting “fed” by it, and he was even planning to walk past the disciples and would have kept going if they didn’t ask him to stop. Miracles aren’t just about proving that God is real to people–they are about manifesting the power of a higher authority in a higher realm to govern the natural elements in this one. Miracles are about manifesting the Kingdom on earth regardless of the time, place, or reason. I believe one of the major stumbling blocks to experiencing miracles of any kind, whether gold dust appearing from heaven or a limb supernaturally growing out, is the belief that God only wants it for special people at special times in special places, usually for extremely mysterious reasons.

Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” In that passage, the word “all” means “all”. All things. So it doesn’t matter what the religious pinhead sitting next to you says about the subject, God wants to give you all things. Alchemy, best known for trying to turn lead into gold, is just a non-saved person’s revelation that through God, all things are possible. Jesus turned water to wine, and I don’t even see people turning lead into gold by the power of God as being any different. God is not offended by such things, although the religious mind tries to meddle in the process. After all, Matthew 7:7-8 tells us to ask, seek, and knock, telling us that if we ask we will get what we ask for, and if we seek after something, we will certainly find it. We have been taught a lot of things about what God is and is not willing to do, and I believe most of it is nonsense. Our very belief that God doesn’t want to do these things is part of what holds us back. The Bible says that it is God’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom–and whether people like it or not, that includes off-the-wall and sometimes offensive miracles such as gold dust, feathers, manna, and oil appearing from heaven. It includes literally anything else our minds can conceive, as God is able to do far more than we can comprehend.

Whether you are struggling with this idea of God performing strange miracles or are on board for God to do whatever He wants (and for us to do them too), God is dedicated to growing each of us from where we are to where He is taking us. I believe that as we open our minds to new possibilities, we will experience wonders and glories from Heaven that we have never considered before. May you be blessed with faith and grace for miracles, and may the Lord astound you today with His good works!

If you are interested in learning to engage the miraculous, consider reading the books in my God Signs series that discuss supernatural signs and shares you how you can engage heaven to live in a miracle flow.

Gemstones From Heaven

Feathers From Heaven

God Revealing Love Through Signs Wonders and Miracles

I use social media a lot–and for a variety of reasons. On occasion I will find a status update about God that saddens me, usually because it shows how little people understand the goodness of God. One recent status in particular stood out to me because it demonstrated how little people understand that much of the supernatural is God revealing love through signs wonders and miracles.

The status update said the following:
“Let’s not ooh and awe over feathers, gold dust and oil. Let’s ooh and awe over Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

At face value, this seems like a nice message, albeit a pithy one-liner, but it is so far from how God actually wants us to live. God is not threatened when we get excited over the amazing things He does. In fact, it would be downright strange if we didn’t get excited. Remember in Luke 10 when Jesus sent the disciples out? It says “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’” (Luke 10:17-20).

Jesus was excited with them, and the next verse goes on to say that Jesus was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit.” Jesus didn’t get upset that they rejoiced over the power He gave them, but he did refocus them. He mentioned that they needed to keep their perception fixed on God, not on controlling demons–very different than the social media post essentially telling us not to appreciate God’s works.

What I found most sad was that at the time over 60 people had re-shared the status. It points to the fact that people are concerned about being deceived and/or have legitimate concerns about the excesses in this manifestation, but at the same time it also points to the fact that the Church is really immature when it comes to dealing with signs, wonders, and miracles. The truth is that if the Church had a greater level of maturity, we wouldn’t have as many problems dealing with the miraculous. We would know how to discern what God is doing in our midst, and we would deal with people who get into excess before things get so out of hand that it becomes a serious problem. We would be able to address people who fake miracles without letting it tarnish our enjoyment of God’s awesome works.

There are a number of verses, many of them in Psalms, that talk about praising the works of God’s hands. It seems to me to be more important to praise God AND His works than it is to try to avoid enjoying His goodness as though that will somehow lessen God’s glory. In truth it’s a bit silly to think that praising God’s works will in some way detract from God’s glory. Consider a Nobel Prize Winner–does enjoying their invention take away from their glory, or does it give them joy that their work is so highly valued? Sure, it’s important to keep focus of the most important things in the midst of our joy over manifestations–such as God’s goodness and love, but we can’t let ourselves forget that these miracles ARE God showing His goodness and love.

Trying to push down one to raise up the other doesn’t do anything helpful. Not “oohing and awe-ing” at amazing stuff is not a sign of maturity–it’s absurd and immature. Rather, we need to encourage people to enjoy God THROUGH His signs, wonders, and miracles, and let signs BE signs–that point us to God. THAT’s what maturity looks like. Doing both but not letting the one detract from the other.

This sort of response is a large contributing factor behind why I wrote Gemstones From Heaven and its recently released companion book Feathers From Heaven. These books, along with the other future books in the series, are designed to bring a greater level of maturity to the Body of Christ. In them I discuss God’s purposes behind these manifestations and how we can discern whether it is God at work or not. Give a read, leave a review, and above all, let yourself enjoy both the works of God’s hand AND the goodness, kindness, and mercy of His heart. When it is God revealing love to us, we only win when we are open to receive it. Blessings in Christ!!

Faith and a Feather

Feathers From Heaven – Our Personal Story

Gems From Heaven:

Part 1: “Our Experiences”

Part 2: “What Do They Mean”

Part 3: “How Do I Know This Is God?”

Gemstones From Heaven Podcasts

Feathers From Heaven – Our Personal Story

Below is an excerpt from the first chapter of my book Feathers From Heaven–released on Amazon in Kindle and Print.

“The feathers from heaven began falling for me about ten years ago. The first time I ever saw one appear was in a church I attended while a student in their ministry school. I was at the front of the sanctuary chatting and praying for some people when I saw a tiny wisp of a feather appear in midair at around head height. We all watched as it floated slowly upwards, and then, as if by some trick of the light, the feather became hard to see and then disappeared altogether. I had heard of this phenomenon before but had never seen it. The miracle was pretty astounding.

The second time I found a feather from heaven was after I drove home from visiting a friend, who I am pleased to say is now my wife. She had some pretty intense spiritual activity going on at her house, and feathers, gold dust, and oil were appearing supernaturally with some level of frequency. At any rate, I got in the car and drove home at the end of a night of worship and prayer. As I got out of the car and looked back into the vehicle, a small brown and black feather was on the seat where I had been sitting! I lived in a city at the time and there weren’t any birds hanging around that would have conveniently deposited colored feathers inside the car, especially since there was no feather present when I first sat down! I remembered that when I first got in the car I had made a comment about an angel I had just perceived and had looked at the seat before sitting down. Interestingly enough the angel’s name was Herald and I suspect he was the one who had left the feather. I kept it in my Bible for years after that.

A number of years later, in 2009, I felt the Lord impress upon me to call a prayer meeting on the day of Pentecost. Only myself, my wife, and a friend showed up, but we all got touched by Holy Spirit. For the next week after I saw a feather float by at some point almost every day—once on the elevator at work, another few times randomly at home, and if I remember correctly, one appeared in my car! All of these were the tiny white wisps, but it was super encouraging to me to see visible fruit for what I had been praying and believing for—namely signs, wonders, and miracles.

Since then I have seen so many feathers I can’t even remember half of the times they have appeared. Sometimes it is when we are praying or doing something overtly spiritual; other times they just appear at random with no sort of special preparation or obvious spiritual precursor. One example of this is a day after my wife and I had been at a Christian conference in the area. We were cuddling on our bed streaming a TV show on our laptop when during the show a feather gently floated across the screen. I lightly pincered it between my thumb and forefinger then opened them to look at it. The feather was gone, but in its place, my fingertips were covered in golden sparkly dust. This dust quickly spread to cover that hand. I looked at the other hand and suddenly it was covered too. My wife held out her hands and they, too, were instantly covered. It finally stopped spreading when both of our arms up to the shoulders were covered in this fine, sparkly, beautiful golden dust. I can’t say I understood some deep purpose for that encounter, but it was certainly a nice surprise!

A few years ago I was a nurse case manager at an assisted living facility. I was talking to another nurse, one of my coworkers, about some of the miracles God was doing in our midst, and at that very moment, a feather appeared in midair and floated there. He was pretty astounded. Another nurse entered the office and he immediately started telling her all about it. It was so fun for me to hear him talk because his excitement was genuine. This other nurse wasn’t sure about it and asked him if he was trying to fool her. “Oh my God no, I swear on the Holy Bible it’s true!” he said with excitement. That comment still makes me smile to this day. There is something about the first time someone experiences a miracle that is so precious and real—the emotions are brutally honest, hard to hide, and the shock and excitement is such a joy to witness. The realness in someone comes to the surface because they aren’t hiding behind the masks we so often wear.

When I had just started to work on this book, my wife and I had the blessing of spending all afternoon and evening with a dear friend who was ordained by Ruth Ward Heflin. We spent hours discussing gold dust, gemstones, and hearing her share her own wonderful glory realm stories and memories with Ruth at the Campmeeting in Ashland, Virginia. It was a fantastically glorious time, and my heart was soaring. Late in the evening we prayed for my wife as she had been dealing with some health issues. As we began to break witchcraft off her, I had my eyes closed in prayer. When I opened them and looked down, a feather that was about two inches long had appeared on my arm and caught me totally by surprise. The angels were hard at work warring on her behalf! My wife was ecstatic and said, “They came for me!” She reported that her head felt better after the fact as well.

A few months later, we made some new friends in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and met the senior pastors of Gateway Christian Fellowship who had their own exciting feather stories that they graciously shared with us, found in Chapter 7. I took some pictures of the feather in their story and was blessed to be able to use it as the cover picture for this book. Yes, the feather on the cover is a real feather from heaven! Not only that, but toward the end of that weekend, we had feathers appear in our hotel room after we had spent much of that time discussing the glory realm and signs, wonders, and miracles.

Feathers continue to appear on an ongoing basis—sometimes more frequent than others, but each time I am reminded of the Father’s love for me, the angelic protection that is around me, and that I am surrounded by a realm that is both unseen and highly active in my life. There is something special about this manifestation, both simple and elegant. It has the ability to turn our focus toward God at a moment’s notice, interrupting the daily doldrums with the breath of heaven. It is my hope that this book—the divine revelation, our stories, and the stories of others—will open this arena of miracles, angelic visitations, and the glory realm of heaven for every reader, and that they, too, would experience and see an increase in the manifestation of feathers from heaven.”

If you enjoyed what you have read so far, check out the complete book! If you enjoy what you read, leave a positive review and help other readers locate the book. Many thanks to you and may you be richly blessed with feathers from heaven!

Kindle version

Print version

Faith and a Feather

Gems From Heaven:

Part 1: “Our Experiences”

Part 2: “What Do They Mean”

Part 3: “How Do I Know This Is God?”

Why I Love Gemstones From Heaven

Gemstones From Heaven Podcasts

The Rainbow Angel

Today’s blog features a guest writer, missionary Jonathan Brenneman, who is also a blogger and author. In this article he shares some of his experiences learning about spiritual gifts, and an encounter he had with an angel during this process.

Impartation

It seems I have experienced the most impartation just by being around people who are exercising various gifts of the Spirit, seeing the gifts in action, and thanking God for them. Somehow, it seemed that this grace rubbed off on me and the same thing started to happen in my life.

When I first became involved in healing the sick, I spent many hours reading testimonies of healing. Sometimes I would read testimonies for three hours until I was either laughing or crying. It is important to thank God for the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and to focus on the goodness of God that is revealed through those manifestations. That is the main point! There is a principle that whatever we thank God for tends to increase. We value what we are thankful for.
We should always thank God for whatever the Holy Spirit is doing. When our focus is on the work of the Holy Spirit, we are walking in faith. We grow strong in faith as we give thanks to God. When we are around other people who are exercising a specific spiritual gift, we can see how it blesses people and we begin to focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing in that area.

The Discernment Of Spirits

This was how the gift of discernment of spirits began to operate in my life. The gift of discernment of spirits allows us to sense, in some way, what is happening in the spiritual realm. This is often related to seeing how the Lord uses angels to minister to people. It can also show us when a demon is interfering in a person’s life, so that the demon can be rebuked and dealt with. This gift is the ability to see or feel spiritual things.

I met a young guy whose eyes had been opened to see angels. Some of what he said sounded a little strange, but I could see how it was blessing and encouraging people. It made me desire this gift in a greater way.

While he was speaking, I looked at the other side of the building and with my naked eye I saw a 40 foot long rainbow across the wall. Ten minutes later, this guy said that he saw a rainbow-colored angel in a certain place, and it was there to strengthen and encourage people to remember God’s promises. He asked people who felt discouraged to go and sit in the place where he saw this angel. As the people were sitting there, I again saw all the colors of the rainbow flash across the head of a man sitting there. God was working to encourage him.

That was the only time I saw something like this with my natural eyesight, but I became aware of the presence of angels in other ways. I would feel a wind blowing on part of my body which showed me where someone had a sickness or injury. People began to see angels around me or in my house. People I prayed for would feel a hand on their bodies even though I was not touching them, and they would be healed.

If you have never experienced the gift of discernment of spirits, you may easily wonder “What’s the point?” When I saw this gift in operation I understood how it encourages people and causes us to thank God for what he is doing. It can help us discern what God is doing so that we can pray in agreement with his will. It can show us when an evil spirit is harassing someone so that we can rebuke it. Seeing the gifts in operation helps us to understand and value what the Lord is doing through them.

Jonathan Brenneman is a missionary in a fairly dangerous part of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has a blog called Go To Heaven Now, and is the author of multiple books–“Power and Love Sandwich” and “I Am Persuaded.” His book trilogy titled Go To Heaven Now is expected to be out in the future. Jonathan’s blog shares an honest and up-front perspective on his walk of faith, including both the struggles and victories as a missionary sharing the power and love of Jesus in his city.

Give Me Your Time

Today’s blog features a guest writer, author Rebecca Clayton. She unveils some of the things God has revealed to her about dominion over time. Read on!

It’s been a bit of a struggle to get this post done. I’ve been really busy lately and just never seemed to find the time, which is ironic because the subject is just that – time. Over the last few years God has been talking to me, on and off, about time. How it works, and more importantly – that He can bend it, at will.

It began around 2009. I was in church one Sunday and we were singing “How great is our God.” When we sang the line “Age to age stands, and time is in hands” God suddenly spoke to me. “Give me your time, and I will multiply it – just as I did the little boy’s lunchbox.” No sooner had I written this in my journal than the speaker got up and said, “I wasn’t going to preach on this today, but I really feel like we should talk about the feeding of the 5,000!”

Over the next few years God and I talked about this, on and off. I was kind of stuck with the mindset that what He meant by “give me your time” was to spend more time focused on Him in worship and prayer. Of course that isn’t a bad thing but the problem is, it isn’t really me. Try as I might, I’m just not the quiet, ordered contemplative type. I’m noisy and chaotic and full of new ideas. I also have three kids, a dog and a husband – time is at a bit of a premium in my life! So I kind of got stuck, thinking that I couldn’t do what God wanted – give Him more of my time.

Then about 18 months ago, something started happening. The first time was one morning. The family had all gone to work and school for the day, and I had an appointment booked to call someone at 9am sharp on ministry business. At about 8.50 am I thought I would do a couple of chores whilst I waited for the time to come. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, fed the dog, wiped all the kitchen worktops down…then I got a bit carried away and folded a huge of dry laundry and put it all away upstairs. As I was finishing this I remembered about the time and glanced at the kitchen clock.

It said 8.50. I panicked because thought that the kitchen clock had stopped and I must have missed my appointment – running to the lounge I checked the clock on the mantle – only to find that that, too said 8.50am! I had completed around 30 minutes housework, but the clock had not moved. As I marveled at this, God reminded me of those words He spoke to me years before — “Well, I did say that if you gave your time, I would multiply it.”

I was floored! In that moment He stripped away layers of religiosity that I didn’t even know I had built around my thinking. Giving God your time isn’t about religious service or meditation – it’s about acknowledging His Lordship over every area of your life and letting go of your anxieties about time. Since that day I have often seen time “bend” – though so far, I have not been able to bend it when I choose. It’s as if it only happens when I’m not looking. My husband, however, made an accidental discovery recently.

One Saturday morning we decided to drive into the city for a spot of shopping. As we neared the outskirts of the city, the traffic slowed right down. It was around midday on a Saturday – so I wasn’t surprised. “And it starts” I said – being a bit gloomy. No one likes sitting in traffic. My husband corrected me.

“No, we won’t get stuck – we will have a clear run.” From that point on the traffic flowed smoothly. Not only were we in the centre no time, but there was no queue as we entered the multi-story car park – after we parked walked back past the entrance – there was a queue reaching back around fifteen cars! As we continued our day – we noticed the pattern repeating – the queue for the changing rooms in the department store somehow evaporated just at the point we needed it. When we came out a few minutes later there was again a long line of shoppers waiting to try on clothes. Similarly, throughout the day whenever we needed to go to the checkout – there was suddenly no one in line, where moments before there had been a long line – suddenly there was none.

At lunchtime when we went to a diner the waitress told us there was a ten-minute wait for a table – but was back to show us to our table within moments. My husband – who’s not one for “fluff” – was first to remark on this phenomenon we were experiencing. He firmly believes that his declaration in the car cleared the way for us as we moved around the city.

These experiences have permanently altered the way I think about time. I used to have a stock phrase in moments of stress – “I don’t have time for this.” God has been gently reminding me that in fact, I have the same amount of time as everyone else- perhaps more – it’s how I view it that counts – is it mine, or His? He has also been reminding me of the power of my declaration so if I catch myself saying, even just thinking, that do not have enough time – I quickly correct it by thanking God that He created time, and there is always enough – because time is infinite.

I’ve also been pondering this: Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8)

As a believer, we are one spirit with the Lord. He lives in us, and we live in Him. (1 Cor 6:17, Col 1:27)

So that means… that we also exist outside of time. Which might explain how people report phenomena like being in two places at once, for example. Now, if I can just master what I am learning then my next guest post might not take so long to write. 😉

Until the next time,

Rebecca

Rebecca Clayton – AKA “The Supernatural Housewife” is an author, mother and passionate follower of Jesus. She lives in Norfolk, UK with her husband Peter, their three children and a very boisterous cross-terrier dog called Narnia. In 2009 God healed all three of her children of ADD/ADHD and ASD, and this is the subject of her first book: “When the Lion Roars”.

Her second book, “The Supernatural Housewife” is a field guide to getting started in the Supernatural Ministry of Jesus – with no complicated theology!

The Time for Figs

I was listening recently to a podcast by Justin Abraham of Company of Burning Hearts out of Wales. In it he was talking about time, and how we are not meant to be subject to time, but rather reign over it. I have given this subject some thought over the past number of years as I have explored what I refer to as time and space alteration miracles, but have had minimal success duplicating results. In addition to the revelation contained in the message, it sparked a number of thoughts in me as I listened.

Romans 8:19-21 says: ” For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” This is a key verse in understanding our intended dominion over time–that time itself, as part of creation, is under bondage to decay, and that as the children of God it is our responsibility to bring time out of the domain of decay and under our dominion, where we will rule and reign over it and steward and direct time as we see fit. It is only from that place that we can understand our purpose over time, and then get an understanding of Jesus’ perspective on the same matter.

There is a story of Jesus and his encounter with a fig tree that always struck me as strange, because it did not appear to demonstrate his heart toward creation in any way. In fact, his attitude toward the fig tree seemed downright heartless, but in looking deeper I believe it illustrates an important lesson about who we are meant to be and how creation is meant to respond to us as the sons and daughters of God.

“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.”
“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (Mark 11: 12-14, 20-25)”

I always had trouble with this passage because Jesus cursed the tree for not bearing fruit when it wasn’t even the season for bearing fruit, and I can safely assume that Jesus knew that. I also don’t think he was just in a bad mood and releasing his temper on the tree. No, this is about time and seasons. As a son of God, Jesus lived (and still lives) in a realm where all creation can respond to him according to his desires. He passed this legacy on to his disciples in John 15 when he said “ask whatever you desire and it will be done for you.” (Verse reference here). What was really happening is that Jesus desired figs, but the tree did not respond and give him figs in spite of his ability to change the flow of time and to live out of a different realm of time than the creation. When Jesus is around, time can go forward, backwards, skip around, or even stay still–it doesn’t matter because the sons of God reign over creation–they are not subject to it.

I confess to not understanding why the tree didn’t produce fruit under those circumstances, but the scriptures have many references to time not working how we always have assumed it does. Joshua fought a battle where the sun stood still. Hezekiah prayed and time turned backwards by hours. Jesus was slain before the moment of conception of time and space–he was the slain lamb outside of time! Time has no dominion over Jesus nor does it have dominion over what he purchased on our behalf. We have been brought into the inheritance of the sons of God–those who live outside of the constructs of space-time, outside of the finite rules of mass and conservation, energy and motion. All things are possible with God because we are now born from above–from heaven, from the eternal outside-of-time-and-space realm where there is no law. As He is NOW, so are we in this world.

Time Warping

Translocation: Shifting Space and Time

Translocating Under The Tuscan Sun

Why I Love Gemstones From Heaven

My wife and I had the delight this past weekend to spend time with friends, both old and new, discussing the wonders of God, including the manifestation of gemstones. There still remains so much controversy in the body of Christ over the miracle of gemstones from heaven. In spite of the issues that abound, the matter of divine jewels couldn’t be any simpler for me, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember the first time I ever saw a gem appear. It was a small amethyst teardrop–I still have it in its own special bag. I remember feeling so loved by our Heavenly Father because He gave me such precious gifts! These weren’t just some way that He blessed me, but God dropped gems at my feet, on my body, and at times even over my head as a demonstration of love. He knew exactly where I was at that moment, and lavished His abundance on me.

A year later we held a series of gem parties at our house–hosting the minister through whom this manifestation of gems first came to us. Those gatherings were a special time as well, and a time I will always cherish. There was always excitement in our household and among our friends as a gem party neared. We always cleaned the house extra just to make it special for all the guests, and my wife made sure to prepare enough food that no matter what people did or didn’t bring, there would be food aplenty. My brother in law was a cleaning fiend, and he wasn’t even all that into the gems, at least at first.

The gems for me are more than just a trinket from heaven. They represent the amazing and boundless love of our Father. Some people squabble about whether gems point to Jesus or not, and whether the devil is incarnating in our midst or some such nonsense, but the Father’s heart couldn’t be more clearly displayed. I remember the many lives that were touched each time we hosted a party. I remember the one time God sent a woman to the party an entire day early to help get everything ready when the house was in particular need of help. I remember that one night we prayed for supernatural weight loss and one man went home and lost ten pounds by the next day! I remember the day a young man spelled his name out in gemstones upside down on the ceiling by the kitchen, the gems being held up by nothing other than simple faith. I remember people crying, faces in shock, as God touched their hearts, whether it was when gems appeared, during worship, or at any other time of ministry during a party. One woman was in shock as we gave her gems to take with her when she didn’t have any. Other guests were emboldened to step out and host their own parties and the love of God was spread even wider through this manifestation than my living room alone could have reached.

When the parties ended it was a bit of a disappointment to me, and while the gems occasionally appear here and at other houses of party-goers, and continue to regularly appear for the minister we hosted, I cannot help but look back at those days with a sense of gratitude. I value miracles very highly, because I believe they are meant to transform our minds and change our lives forever. The gemstones from heaven are tangible reminders that God knows where we live, what is going on in our lives, and that He cares enough to send us with physical presents that shimmer and sparkle in the least bit of light.

The jewels are a prophetic pictures of Jesus adorning His bride, making them blameless without spot and wrinkle before He comes to reclaim his pure bride. Sometimes the gems will even appear in settings, ready to be worn! My heart aches as I think about the deep, deep love that Jesus holds for us, and the many ways He manifests that love. It’s not even really about gems. It’s about love. It’s about the immeasurable love of God that can’t be expressed with words, but that God attempts to communicate to us anyway, and in every way.

I have seen so many gems appear that I can’t help but desire this manifestation for everyone. I want to not only be able to host someone who carries this, but I want to carry this gift to the world. I want to walk in signs, wonders, and miracles at such a level that people have no choice but to have their own experience–to pick up a stone for the first time that God created out of nothing in front of their eyes–to witness firsthand a creative miracle that God performed just for them. Not everyone will understand gemstones from heaven, or what they are all about, but my deep desire with this manifestation is that God’s unending love is passed on, and that through it we come to know and experience Him even more deeply. If you have never seen this miracle before, I encourage you to ask the Lord to send you your own, and to see if you can find someone who has this happen around them regularly. I can promise you, your heart will never be the same.

If this subject speaks to you, check out my 3-part blog series on this topic here:

Gems From Heaven

Part 1: “Our Experiences”

Part 2: “What Do They Mean”

Part 3: “How Do I Know This Is God?”

Catch some podcast interviews I have done on the topic here:

Gemstones From Heaven Podcasts

To get your copy of the book Gemstones From Heaven, click on the picture below! If you enjoy what you read, leave a positive review and help other readers locate the book. Many thanks to you and may you be richly blessed with gemstones from heaven!