Bob Hodgdon's Blog

A few weeks ago, God gave a verse of scripture. The scripture is from 1 Timothy 3:5 – “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Like many times when God speaks to me, I don’t thoroughly understand what he is talking about, so I pray and ask for an explanation. God showed me then the rest of the chapter where it talks about, “that in the last days, perilous times will come. For men will… I want you all to read this chapter and ask God to reveal this scripture to you. After all these things that men will become they will still have a form of godliness but deny the power of God. We so often times get into situations where the only sense we can make out of it is our own. Then the chapter talks about these people will do and then the Word says in verse 7, “always learning and never coming to the knowledge of truth.” This verse brought to remembrance a similar verse in the book of Hebrews 10:26 which says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” Now comes the hard truth to these scriptures. Jesus taught more about heaven and hell than anyone in the Word of God. We who live in this world have come to find out we have similar cares, concerns and misconceptions about the world we live in. We tend to be more of the world than being in the world. Do we really understand what being politically correct means? We conform our thinking to the worldly ways and forsake the holy scriptures that bring life, peace and everlasting life. We become so much of the world we can’t determine who’s who in this world. We have all been there. We walk about without the life, the Blood and the Spirit of Christ in us that others can’t see what is so special about you. We have a form of godliness but deny the power. Again we have all been there. Let’s take this a step further and say we attend church every weekend, participate in some sort of ministry within the church building itself or even in a home setting but our lives are a train wreck. We have this façade that says everything’s okay and I’m fine. We became so callous of the world we start to think that maybe its okay for women to have abortions, to get drunk and carouse the streets like we did before we were (so-called) saved and many other things that rarely are associated with “Christians”. Can we live a split life before a God who knows your intentions, your heart and your going in and coming out? Can we actually convince ourselves that we are alright and be living in such a sinful state that we have compromised our relationship with Christ? The only way we can lose our salvation is if we give it away, sell ourselves out and/or forsake the power of the Living God and the free gift of salvation. Believe me when I say, this message from God scared me too. We can walk around this miserable world believing we are right with God and lie to ourselves and those around us believing the grace of God will cover us when we drink and drive, look at someone in lust, hate someone, avoid contact with certain people because they don’t fit into our mold of what a real “Christian” is suppose to look like, or commit sin in the sight of God thinking there will be no retribution, correction or chastisement from the Lord who is our Heavenly Father. Our actions have and will produce results, whether in the negative sense or the positive sense. Remember to remove the plank from your own eyes before you try to remove the speck from your brothers/sisters eye. Look within yourself before you look at the outside of those around you. I pray I am never politically correct in any view but that I would have the eyes of Christ and see the beauty within others rather than being intimidated by their exterior. The church of today has lost the vision of God and so our vision is blurred. I pray will see in the face to face and not dimly (1 Corinth 13:12). We have only one life to get this right. Man has his own way to perfection that seems right to him but the way of God is the only way that will lead to everlasting life. Church, let’s come to the knowledge of truth. John 17:17 says, “Your (God’s) Word is truth." The Word of God is living and breathing, it’s sharper than any two edged sword. The gift of salvation is free, you, me, we, all of us have to accept this gift and live the life as a true Christian. 1 Timothy 2:11-13 says, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” Think about this, if we deny him, He (Jesus) will deny us too. Let us obtain the salvation Christ died for and work towards sanctification (holiness). 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Oh, where is the fear of God? Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Do we really fear God? God is the same yesterday, today and forever and does not change. He (God) is still an angry God, a jealous God, a loving God and many other spiritual personas’. I believe through this word, that God gave me, has humbled me, made me more fearful of my living God, and really made me evaluate my life in the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ. His life, His ministry, His love and all the other attributes of Jesus and His ministry. I pray this message will do the same for you. In all things, give glory to God in the Spirit through His Son, Jesus the Christ. Let’s not be so quick to forsake the knowledge of truth for a politically correct view.

What Is Your Gift(ing)


I had a conversation with some friend of mine on Memorial Day when they were over and the question came up, “What is the Will of God for MY LIFE and what is my GIFT?
Without hesitation I was given a tid bit from God about the subject and as crazy as it may sound, the answer was quite simple.

God created each and every one of us differently, with different temperaments, just different ways of handling things in our lives. Have you ever met some one in the Family of God who could love someone into the Kingdom? I know several people like that and consequently 1 John basically tells us that without love we are nothing, if you hate your brother or sister then the love of God is not in you and you are not of God, etc. So now we have to really understand what LOVE is don’t we? Have you ever, as a child or in the case of some, adults, been scolded and even spanked by those in authority over us? I had my share when I was growing up and as an adult had some tongue lashes (spankings). Although this seemed harsh and not what I thought, at the time, love, the cause was for correction and to change the way you were doing something mostly because the person either cared or loved you so much that correction was needed. We all show our love differently. God has told us that the ones he loves, he chastens as a father does his own children. We know God loves us but sometimes we put ourselves in positions that require correction and chastening. In the same way, some people, because of the way they “show their love”, may not be what we think is love. The prophets of old were very direct and most people shuddered when they saw the prophet coming in their direction. Ahab, many time said, (the true prophets of God) never say anything good (or to his benefit). He even killed the prophets of God. The prophets spoke the word of God, the word that was given to them by God, for whomever that word was for. Some didn’t like the way the prophets said it and didn’t feel the love flowing. In all this, different people have different way of expressing themselves in different situations. The testing of all this is, if the counsel, chastening or correction leads you back to Christ, then this is something to seriously consider because it may be from God. Think about it.

Now back to your gifting. Each of us, I’m sure, have had a chance to correct some one in someway back to God. We each do this differently, which is good. We are not all like the person we are sitting beside, working with or living with. We are different. God has created us all differently and it’s when we try to be like those people who are prominent in our lives that we start to lose our own identity. We forget who we are, but when that stressful situation comes along, we quickly come back to who we really are. Don’t we? What on earth does this have to do with gifts??? Simple. Be who you are, and use the tools God has blessed you with to convey the message of God. Don’t be like your neighbor (and we all know who your neighbor is) and don’t be like anyone else but be yourself. You can be angry and not sin, but be led by God in your speech because the Holy Spirit will give you what to say in that moment. I know we all say what seems to us (ourselves) stupid, but the impact those words have in that person’s life may be more than you know. I have had people say many times, remember when you said, that person said, ____________, that really meant a lot to me and made a lot of sense. Your gifting is to spread the word of God in the way God has created you. To do the work of God the way God showed you, not someone else. Be who you are in Christ Jesus and I believe we will all learn to be more satisfied with where we are and how God is using us. It’s when God gives you a direction and you immediately start thinking of how you should do it. Your gift is you. Be yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you. Go in faith and be yourself, not someone else. Your gift will shine through the more you allow God to use you for whom you are. As much as I try, I will never be a Billy Graham or a Paul or a John or a Peter, or anyone else. I can only be me and allow God to use me and for me to be obedient to God in my way. Even the 12 apostles were different in their own way, and they were all with Jesus for his time here. They didn’t talk the same, explain things the same way but their message was their own way of conveying the many things Jesus told them, showed them and revealed to them to the rest of the world. When you read the Word, you can tell by the wording and the way the message is being written, who wrote the message, just like Billy Graham, the Apostles and all the other pastors, evangelists and those who share the word of God. The main thing here is; leading people to Christ. Be yourself and be who God created you to be, YOU. Yes, God has to fine-tune us from time to time (maybe more often than we care to expose), but that is to get our attention so He can lead. We are called to follow, not lead (pick up your cross and follow). Let’s be all we can for Jesus, giving it our all with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not the way some one else would do it but the way God would have us do it. SO, if someone comes to you and maybe you know this person or maybe you don’t, and this person seems a little harsh and maybe a little to unloving, then maybe it’s God’s way of saying, I tried to get through to you but you weren’t listening, and I had to send so and so to get your attention. The bottom line is, if that word drew you closer to God, regardless how the word was given, remember he is drawing you closer to Him who loves you more than you can fathom. If that’s not love then I don’t know what else it would be. Don’t be critical of others because they don’t conform to your perfect world because God owns it all and all is His. He can do what He wants in the manner He wants without your permission. Be on your toes.

A few months ago I was given a vision of a lion lying under a tree in a small field by a river. This field was small and the tree the lion was laying under was the only tree in this field and this tree was about 15 feet from the edge of the river. The river flowed straight then turned to the left as I was looking at this scene. I was told to go, and look into the eyes of the lion. Not knowing what was going to happen I was a little fearful about this move but I believed this was a vision from God, so, I went down and kneeled in front of the lion. The lion just layed there and looked at me. The lion never stirred a bit. As I looked into the eyes of the lion I felt somewhat afraid but as I looked deeper I realized I was looking at something greater. I was I looking into the eyes of the Lion, God spoke to me and asked, “Why are you so fearful of the Lion?” I said, because this is a lion. God said to me, “Is not My Son, the Lion of the tribe of Judah?” God went on to explain to me – You should fear the Lion (My Son). Not because He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah but because as the Lion, when He looks into your eyes, He see your fear, He knows your heart, He knows everything there is to know about you, whether you are going to harm Him or if you are His friend, He sees your soul. God explained to me that we, the church, fail to look at His Son with fear, with admiration, with gladness and with the Honor due Him. He said we should all look into the eyes of His Son that we might see Him as He sees us. We should look into His Son’s eyes that we may see His Heart. As the lion senses our fears, our intentions, the Son in like manner knows us but we don’t know Him as we should. LOOK INTO THE EYES OF THE LION!!!!!!

God then directed me to the river and told me to jump into the river. I gladly jumped into the river. As I was going deeper, I noticed that the river didn’t get darker, but in fact got brighter. I asked God why the deeper I went the brighter it got? God told me that the deeper we go into the River, we get closer to His Treasures. He asked me, How Deep Will You Go?

In summarizing the vision, God said to me – LOOK INTO THE EYES OF THE LION AND HOW DEEP WILL YOU GO IN YOUR WALK WITH ME. There are many things we neglect in our walk with Jesus. We fail to come to the knowledge of who we are to marry. Without knowing the heart and mind of Jesus, how do we walk about this earth and reason within ourselves that we are doing the will of God? Proverbs 29:18 says that a people without vision go unrestrained (perish). The word VISION means – dreams, visions, prophecies, a mental sight, revelation, an oracle – of God. We often times really believe we have the vision of God, but without knowing the heart of God and of His Son, we will perish and we will go unrestrained. This would explain why, we the church, are perishing in this country. We fail to see the Heart of God, through His Son. We do it the way WE think it should be because after all, God will understand. Times have changed and we have to do it this way because it won’t work like it did back then. The fact of the matter is, because of our pride, we have negated the will of our Father in our lives to we can appease ourselves. Ezekiel 34 speaks out against the shepherds of the flock. This prophecy is still true today. Read this chapter and see if you can the correlation with the church of today. Not all but it only takes a few to negate a mighty work of God. I pray we would have the Love and Compassion Jesus had for the people. God revealed to me some time ago that His Power and His Glory, His mighty works, come from His Love. When Jesus had compassion for… mighty things happened. But it all started with Jesus’ fellowship with His Father every night when He went off to pray. We want to know Gods Heart, and we want to know God’s Will, it can only be as we use the examples we are shown in His Word. The word is INTAMACY. Until we come to the Father as Jesus came to the Father and in likeness, how the apostles came to Jesus in prayer, then God will reveal His Will to us and we will walk in this vision, this prophecy, this dream, of God. With this will come the Love and Compassion of Jesus for His people, then hang on, mighty things will happen. We want to see the God in mighty signs and wonders, it’s in his Love, His compassion, which is a result of our willingness to become intimate with Him who provides His Will on this earth as it is in Heaven. Let us all come to our Father through Jesus Christ, His Son and our savior, and seek His heart expecting nothing in return except to know Him as He reveals Himself to us.

Some time ago, God was dealing with me about belief versus unbelief. God showed some scriptures that really made me wonder about my faith. He showed me that in Matt. 13:58, that Jesus could no mighty works in His home town because of their unbelief. What is belief and unbelief?

Belief is: to believe, faith, belief, 1.) to believe, give credit to, 2.) to believe, have a mental persuasion, 3.) to believe, be of opinion, 4.) to be entrusted with, 5.) to believe in or on Christ implying knowledge or assent to and confidence in Him.

Belief and faith go hand in hand and have practically the same meaning.

Unbelief: faithlessness, or uncertainty, distrust, unbelief. To put no confidence in, not to believe or to disbelieve. Lack of faith…

So having these definitions present, let's move on... If Jesus could do no mighty works in His home town, why was that? The people in this town knew Jesus, and knew His family. They make a statement saying, "is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers and sisters still with us here? Where did this man get all these things? You see they knew all to well the story behind Jesus. They could not see Jesus as their Messiah.

How often do we see someone we have known for many years suddenly receive instruction, prophecies, dreams and vision from God, and we have a hard time understanding how someone like them could receive something that intriguing from God. After all. we know this person and they have never been like that before. We shut the doors of heaven and we don't allow God to work because of our own lack of understanding. It is this unbelief that could stop the blessings of God in our lives and in our church body. This goes even deeper than this. Let me explain.

2 Tim 3:2-5 NKJV

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Here we see a list that Paul has written to Timothy about people who are to come in the last days. Denying the power of God is unbelief. Unbelief in God, in God’s power and authority but these people seem to have the walk but not the talk. They say they believe, but actually they don’t. From such people, stay away from them.

If we truly believed the Word of God, if we truly believed and had unfailing faith in His Word, we would have less problems. We attempt to analyze situations as we see them in the world. The fact is God has already taken care of the problems if we would stand on His promises and confess them before Him.

In making ourselves wise, we have become fools.

We seek the wisdom of the world to decipher our problems and every day situations. If we would trust, BELIEVE, and have never ending faith in God’s Word all thing would work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. What is God’s purpose. Read, study, meditate and seek our Heavenly Father and He will expose His purpose to/for you.

We need to quit depending on our own intellectual, self-purpose filled thoughts (lives) and seek our Father who has all the answers. God is waiting to tell you His purpose for you in this walk of life. Be attentive, believe, even if it seems impossible in our minds and intellect. Our thoughts need to be His thoughts and His thoughts our thoughts, all working for the common goal, which is to be a good and faithful servant of the most High.

Do we really believe His Word? Do we really believe what He said He would do for us and all who believe? Do we lack in faith and belief?

God will not succumb to our way of thinking. He has sent His Word and we need only to believe. We can read the newspaper and believe a report about someone even if its true or not. Why, then, can’t we believe the Living, Spirit Breathed Word of God.

Imagine if Paul, Peter and the rest of the apostles had thought the way we think. Then the mighty acts of God in their lives never would of happened. Jesus, Himself, would only do the things which He saw the Father doing. How is it then we think or believe we are better than Jesus.

Let’s face it, we are wrong in our thinking, in our beliefs and our faith. Do you have faith in God, in His Word, and in His Son, who promised we would do greater works than Him if we believed. Oh, how we are lacking in faith. God wants His church back. The fire breathing, healing, anointed men and women who will stand in this present age to take a stand against the purposes of this present world views (political correctness) and be a non-conformant of the worldly ways.

Let us do so in His Love and Compassion that all should come to His glory. Let us confess our beliefs on the world as they pollute our minds with their beliefs. Compromise brings about conformity. We are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed be the renewing of our minds. That is not to believe everything you hear or see. We are to be transformed by the Word of God, the meditation of His Word that we may know His will for us.

John 4:24 God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit and Truth. And we know that in John 17:17, Jesus says that “Your word is truth”.

Believe that God has a purpose for you today. Believe and have faith in God’s word and His promises to them that believe. We must believe. We must have faith. That would be like only believing those things you understood or choosing to believe in and left the other promises of His word to unbelief and faithlessness. That would be like reading a newspaper article about yourself and knowing the story was not true. God feels the same way. Believe in My Word, Believe in My Word. Believe My story.

I will leave you with this thought: Predictive Christianity:

Matt 11:16-17 NKJV
16 But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,
17 and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.'

They –We want to orchestrate how people respond and when … we want to keep in control – if we play the flute, the people will dance.

We prevent God from doing what He wants to do and how He wants to do it because we don’t understand God. We confine God. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, fed 5000 and 4000 people (Matt. 14:13-21 & Matt. 15:32-39) with very little food, then he walked on the sea (water) because He believed. People were healed of sicknesses, and people who were tormented by unclean spirits, by the shadow of Peter as he walked by them (Acts 5:12-16). Handkerchiefs and aprons were brought from Paul that they may be placed on the sick, diseased and demon possessed people and they were healed and delivered (Acts 19:11, 12). If you went through the Bible and looked at all the miracles done by God, Jesus and by those who believed, you will notice the people healed, delivered, saved, fed, etc. believed God was able to do these things. All the great men and woman of the Bible believed God was able to do these things, never doubting.

Ps 78:40-41 NKJV
40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

We Limit God in many ways. We fail to receive because it has to happen in a certain way or scenario. Expecting God to be able to do things ONLY when this happens or that this is the time. This one or that one has to lay hands on me…

Let’s get out of the conformity of this present world and stop believing as the world believes. Jesus said in John 3:12 – “If I had told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” God is still speaking today. Are we listening? Are we hearing?

Lord, help me to here your voice more clearly. I want to know your heart, I want to know your will and desire for me in this world today. Lord, help me not to restrict Your will by being self-centered in my thinking. Help me Lord to see beyond the natural and to see into the spiritual to see you more clearly and to do those thing you would have me to do, just as Your Son has shown us. Lord, may Your will be my will and may I see clearly the path you have given me to travel.
I want, I desire to do your will Father. Help Lord, and forgive me for being carnal in my thinking. I want to be more like Jesus, in every way in my life. Thank you Lord, for what you are about to do in my life to accomplish this, in Jesus name, Amen.

As most of you know, I’m really into the intimacy with God. I want to share a couple of things with you all that may help and show what I’m talking about.

The word GAZE means: : to fix the eyes in a steady intent look often with eagerness or studious attention.

It also means to STARE: to look at with a searching or earnest gaze.

So having this in mind, let’s continue…

Remember the story in Numbers 21:4 – 9 where the Israelites where in the wilderness and they were complaining about being in the wilderness and having no food or water and they even said that their “souls loathed this worthless bread”, which was the Bread from Heaven (Manna). God sent fiery serpents and whoever was bitten by one of these serpents, died. The people, realizing their sin asked Moses to intercede on their behalf that the serpents would stop and they would not die. After Moses interceded for the people (again), God told Moses to make a BRONZE FIERY SERPENT and God told Moses to place this serpent on a pole, that all who had been bitten by the serpents could LOOK ON, or GAZE or STARE at this BRONZE FIERY SERPENT, that God told Moses to make, and the person who was LOOKING, GAZING OR STARING at this serpent on a pole, would not die.

Now let’s look at John 3:14, 15… Jesus is speaking here and had just spoken to Nicodemus about how one “can see the kingdom of God”. Jesus goes on to say, in verse 14; “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son Man be lifted up, v15. that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”. Why would Jesus liken himself to this particular instance in History? Jesus was trying to show His disciples how to see the Kingdom of God. Also, on how to be saved from the death of sin. As the Israelites looked, gazed and stared at this serpent, they would not die, so if we continually gaze, stare and look on our Lord and Savior, we too shall be saved. But there is more…

We come into the Kingdom of God by gazing, staring or looking upon the Son of God to the extent that as we are gazing, staring or looking upon Him. Everything around us fades away until all we see is our Lord and Savior. Remember when you first met your spouse, how you could spend hours just looking at each other? Nothing could bother you and nothing in this world could draw you away from them. If you focus on a clock on the wall and look so intently at this clock, eventually everything in the room will fade. Even if there is noise or other people in the room, these will fade until you become so fixed on what you are looking at, to the point there is only you and that clock on the wall in that place. So, we come to Jesus in that way. If we will look, gaze or stare at Jesus, eventually, it will come, that only He and you are in that place. This my friends, is the place of intimacy. When you and your Lord have come to a place where there is no one, and where nothing can separate you from Jesus, there is intimacy . When everything in this world has been shut out (the cares of the world, the problems of life, your job, all that consumes us in this world are shut out) and you and Jesus are alone, together, there is intimacy. Now you are in “YADA” time with your Lord. Jesus can now become intimate with you.

Our Lord is gracious, and would have it that all would come to His Glory and that none would perish. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, so when the plans were made in the beginning for us to be intimate with our Heavenly Father in the garden, and if His plan is for those who believe in Him is to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, then this principle has to be true for today. God is seeking those who are seeking Him. Jesus said to ASK (it will be given to you), SEEK (and you shall find) and KNOCK (and it will be open to you). Wouldn’t it be great to ask Jesus to show Himself to us, to seek Him and to find Him, and to Knock and have all the doors of Heaven opened to us? Think about that for a moment. No secrets, only intimacy with our Lord.

Seek the Lord with your whole soul, body and mind and come to a place of intimacy that you and Jesus share. Are we truly seeking God, or are we satisfied with what we have? Do we really want to know Him as He want to expose Himself to us? If you are intimate with your husband or wife, how many secrets are shared between you? Our Father in Heaven has many secrets He wants to share with us. But like us, how can we share our feelings, our hearts, our minds and our bodies with someone we don’t know? Jesus wants us to know him, intimately. We are the bride and He is our Bridegroom. How dare we marry someone we don’t know. We are engaged to be married. We have to know everything about our groom. The thing is, He wants us to know everything about Himself.

May we come into intimacy with you Lord Jesus. I want to know everything about you. I desire to look upon Your face and to share my heart with you. I desire more so to know your heart for me. Lord Jesus, I gaze upon your beauty that I might be known by you. Lord, you said that if I come to you I would be found by you. I desire, I seek to be found by you, that I may see you more clearly. I desire to have your heart and your desire, Lord Jesus. Reveal yourself to me in that quiet place, that secret place, where I find you, the lover of my soul. Make me a sweet smelling aroma, a living sacrifice for you Lord. I love you Jesus, Amen.

This Blog is long but I believe this will be a blessing to you. If there are any questions then, please ask them. I would be more than happy to answer them for you. I would be neglecting God if I didn't have something posted on our spiritual man. The Apostle Paul put it, "The New Man"( the Spiritual Man) in contrast to the "Old Man" (our fleshly way of doing things). We must come into a place, in our prayer time where we seek Jesus and nothing else. Read my Blog on “A Call to Prayer”. We don’t seek or ask for anything from Jesus but we come seeking Him, nothing else. When we seek Jesus in this way He has free access to reveal Himself to us and to reveal the hidden things or the mysteries that He would have to learn. There may be times where He reveals something in your life that may need to be corrected or He may just fellowship with you and may only give you a word that will refresh you and raise you up (exhortation).

There are several thing Jesus will do for you when you come into His presence with nothing on your heart but to seek your Lord and Savior. I have included some scripture that when studied out will help you with this.

John 4:23, 24 - 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

We are called to worship our Heavenly Father in Spirit and truth. You will see in

John 17:17 -17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth

- that the Word of God is truth, so there has to be a balance. You must understand or at the very least have some knowledge of the Word, the truth. How will we know what truth is spoke if we ourselves don’t know what the truth is? Spiritual Advisors (2 to 3, 3 is preferable) are very important in these matters to assist in discernment of what is revealed. Never assume you know anything and always go in and come away with the thought and understanding that you know nothing. Being in this humble state will keep you from the dangers of pride and self-righteousness. We must have an understanding of Spirit, Soul and Body.

Spirit: That which is of God. Our spirits will return to God. The spirit cannot get sick but can be influenced by the soul. This is the battle which Paul fought against. Holy Spirit came to dwell with our spirits. The spirit of man is referred to as the Heart of the Man.

Matt 15:18 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

We are called to live in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Soul: Our souls can be very strong, especially in the western civilization in which we live. The soul includes our thoughts, our emotions and our desires. These can be very strong in our lives and hinder the spirit which lives in us. The soul is so strong that we can believe we are praising God in spirit but in reality we are praising God with our soul (emotions). We can believe we are in the will of God because we think this is the best thing to do and it makes the most sense. Remember, God’s wisdom is higher than ours. Our reasoning and rational thinking have no place in the spiritual realm. God is not interested in our reasoning or rational thinking. Can we impress God with our emotions, our wisdom, our intelligence? I don’t think we can even compare to the wisdom of our Heavenly Father who created all things. Our emotions get us into trouble because they are “now” oriented and are easier to display. We must be careful to discern whether our soul has taken over. Out of the soul comes the feeding of the flesh, what feels good and what we want. We must crucify the flesh and the desires thereof.

Body/Flesh: The part that we see with our physical eyes, that which is controlled by the soul (for the unsaved). This is also the part that gets sick and needs to be hampered. The “new man” is led by the spirit but the “old man” is being led by the soul. This is the carrier of the spirit and the soul. When we lose the body, we lose our purpose on earth, in that we die. Yes, we must crucify our flesh. Just know that if we are in Christ Jesus, then our flesh has already been crucified, we need only to subject our Soul (MIND) to the realization that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The body has many cravings that must be taken care of. The body must come under subjection of the spirit in you and must live for the glory of God. Needless to say, the battle between the spirit and the soul and body can become quite a battle. God revealed to me through this revelation, that we need only to align our spirits with His Holy Spirit and bring our spirit under subjection of the Holy Spirit and the rest of the body has to come into alignment with God. The more closer and intimate we become with God our Father, then know, that the flesh and the soul must decrease and Christ Jesus must increase.

Study out the following verses of scripture. I pray that you will be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and you will receive revelation knowledge of this. God has a purpose for us all and we need to come into His presence to understand what His will is for us, each individual.

Habakkuk 2:1 - 3 - I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

Psalms 46: 10 - 10 Be still (cease striving, be quiet), and know that I am God.

Matthew 7:7- 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 - However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross has given us access to the Heavenly Places

Ephesians 2:4-7 - 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:17 - 23 – 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Notice how Jesus always took time out of his busy day to spend intimate time with His Father. Jesus said that He could do nothing on His own, but what He saw His Father in Heaven doing. He was looking and expecting from His Heavenly Father, daily, and walked in this truth.

Read the Book of Daniel and notice how he was always looking into the spiritual realm to see what God had for him. Daniel sought understanding and revelation for what God was doing.

We should be doing the same.

John in the book of Revelation (Rev. 4:1), was looking and then God revealed himself to John. Notice how John was looking in verse 1. You will never know what God will give you when you are seeking him.

I’m not saying that everyone will have these types of visions and revelations, but we have to understand that God is still talking. If God is still talking then why not have the ears to hear and the eyes to see what the Lord may be speaking to you.

God is no respecter of persons and will reveal Himself to those who diligently seek Him. Let us be found knocking, seeking and opening doors in the heavenly realm. God’s waiting for you.

In talking with a friend about this subject, the main objective is CHOICE. We must CHOOSE, how intimate we want to be with our Heavenly Father. How close do you want to be to and with Him? Service comes from knowing your leader and understanding his ways. We have to choose to want to know. Phariseeism is still in the world today. I will explain this some other time. Just know that they could not discern the times because they were full of themselves instead of being full of God. They had every opportunity, as did everyone in that day and time, to receive the message that Christ gave. They choose not to believe.

Are we believing that this is all God has for us today or are we expecting more from our God and our Lord Jesus Christ. As for me, I expect every promise in His Word, to come to pass in this age and every age, past, present and future. Amen.

Are we all called to prayer? I believe and know the answer to this question is YES!!! What exactly are you talking about? I pray and I believe God will answer my prayers. Can I tell you something, we aren’t praying enough. We aren’t praying long enough. We aren’t praying until we see results. We aren't praying for the right things and we aren't praying as we should. Is the church the church Jesus called us to be or are we just a shell of what He has called us to be? If we were the church of Jesus Christ, then why are there no miracles, healings, deliverances, the dead raised, the lame made whole, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, etc. Jesus said that the works He did, we would do, and not only that but greater works than He did, we will do because He went to be with the Father. When Jesus went to Heaven He sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in us (if we are truly sons of God and followers of Jesus Christ) and this is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from dead, heard what the Father was speaking in Genesis and did what God told Him to do (Let there be light, create the land and sea, etc). Where is this power and this authority in the church today? Where is it? Do we want to know the Father’s heart, the Father’s will? Then we have to get on our faces and pray, as the Spirit gives us utterance. 1 Corinthian 2 says that the Spirit that lives in us, searches the deep things of God. Are we truly interested in what God wants or are we only doing what seems best to us? Are we allowing God to speak to us through the Holy Spirit or are we saying what we think or believe is best for the situation and leaving it at that? My friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not be deceived. Jesus has much more for us than attending church on the weekends or getting involved into some group and then not seeking Him, and knowing the mind and heart of God that assures us victory in whatever it is He wills for us. These things can only happen if we pray to the Father, through Jesus our Lord with the help from the Helper, our Guide, the Holy Spirit. Don’t you sense there is more to this Christianity than what we are experiencing today, now? There is. We have only touched the hem of His garment and Jesus is asking us to stand up and give Him a hug and a kiss and to walk hand in hand with Him. He wants to share with us His desires, His plans to counteract the work of the evil one. We have that choice to enter in to the Holy of Holies to seek the Father’s face and know what He want from us and what is required of us. Are you willing to seek Him as we should? We need to pray. Are we praying against the schemes of satan, as God directs us? Are we so wrapped up in our own world that we have forgotten that we are the light in the world, and we are to be used to bring that light to others? Are we walking IN Jesus or are we walking WITH Jesus? I believe there is a difference. Yes, Walking WITH Jesus is a good thing and is required, but are we believing that Jesus is going to do all the work Himself? If so, then why would He raise up disciples to take His message into the world if He, Jesus, was going to do it all Himself? If we are walking IN Jesus, then we are seeing with His eyes, feeling with His heart, and speaking as He would speak. Are our hearts beating with the same rhythm that His heart is beating? Our whole demeanor would be “Jesus Like” because we are One-in-One. We have to seek the Lord Jesus through prayer. We have to come to know Him as He wants to reveal Himself to us. No, I’m not rapping on anyone. I just wanted to share what God has been showing me this week. I pray we will all want to know the Father better, closer, intimately. If we don’t know our Lord and Savior, then how do we discern who to follow. Pray with me: Father, I come into your presence to seek your face. I come to know your heart and your mind. Lord, I’m grabbing the hem of your garment and I won’t let go until you bless me with your presence. Lord, I want to know you intimately. I want to know your going in and your going out. I want to know you as my best friend and my Lord and Savior. I need to know you, Lord. Lord, I want to be used by you. I want to be your servant. Come and reveal yourself to me. Lord, use me for your good pleasure and may I be found willing to do your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Press in and don’t let go until He reveals Himself to you. Get with others and share what God has told you so no one is running around with wild ideas (accountability). Remember, by the mouths of two or three witnesses, all thing shall be established. Let God reveal Himself to you today. You will never forget it. Amen