Thoughts From the Deep

I realize I don’t post as many original thoughts as I used to, but that does not mean I am not thinking. 😊A few things I have been pondering and considering have been:

a) This political climate

b) The seemingly constant stream of media reports regarding outrageous acts of racial violence/bias against people

c) The (Pharisaical) thinking that permeates most Christian comment feeds on news articles, personal opinion posts, blogs, etc.

d) The constant flow of everyone’s (correct) thoughts and feelings about the state of things

There really isn’t very much about which I haven’t thought. I have not come to any specific conclusions regarding any of these particular thoughts, however there are some thoughts I’d like to share. You may or may not agree and that is okay. I’m not trying to win people to my side of things, I’m actually writing them out to process them.
This political climate:
The Lord showed me a long time ago this would be a vicious political season. I also know He revealed there would be many surprises this election season. Some prayer points He gave me over the last two years:

• Our borders – it is vital we have designated borders, that we pray for the lines and markers to be visible and protected; for the things that move in the dark to be blocked from crossing the border (in both directions); for a revealing of nefarious motives and enemy plans among those that have already entered this nation. We are to love the refugee, but we are to pray for God to reveal the hidden motives in the hearts of those who enter to destroy.
• Our governmental candidates – whether we like them or not, we are called to pray for ALL MEN, including our leaders. We do not have to agree with them, but we do need to cover them with prayer. By refusing to pray for our leaders, or praying manipulative prayers we have played into the devils hand. We are so much better than that! We should be hearing Gods heart and praying it back to Him regarding our government. We cannot call hellfire and brimstone down upon them because we dont personally agree with them. God desires all men be saved, and He can do it, we simply need to agree with heaven regarding our candidates. God hardened Pharohs heart on purpose, and He showed Saul the road to salvation; we know him as Paul the Apostle. Instead of condemning our candidates, raise them up to heaven and declare heaven in their life. I guarantee this is a much better way to pray. Bless, do not curse!
• Our upcoming generations – the generations behind us will one day reap the harvest of our actions today. We must teach them the importance of prayer, seeking God and loving people. Not only the importance of, but how to do them effectively and in ways that depict the heart of Christ and leave the fragrance of heaven in their wake. We must also teach them to get involved in government, in leadership, in community, in secular work – to be where God has designed them to be. We must advocate for our children and teach them how to advocate for themselves, to push back when necessary, to question everything (testing the spirits), to stand for what they believe. They will learn these things by observing our generation. So, what are we standing for and what are we allowing to crush us?

The seemingly constant stream of media reports regarding outrageous acts of racial violence/bias against people

The Lord revealed to me last year that Satan seeks to start another civil war on a few fronts. The land of this nation has had so much innocent blood spilled upon it and it cries out for justice, the devil seeks to deafen our ear to the words of the Spirit concerning this by continually ripping off the scab when healing begins. He does it by using the voice of the media to continue bringing it up along with other voices. Please do not misunderstand me, my heart is very hurt for every victim and family, no matter the skin color, income level, race, creed, sexual orientation. No human deserves a brutal and violent death for any reason, and I know God’s heart weeps as well. We have got to see things on a spiritual level, sometimes more so than the natural. Some prayer points God has given me:

• The blood in the land cries for justice, yet the Blood of Jesus is louder than any other cry, and it is a healing balm for the wounded. Declare the Blood of Jesus over our nation, draw a Bloodline around your neighborhoods, your workplaces, your families. We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Let us declare and decree both over our nation.
• Satan is a defeated enemy, we need to stop giving him the means to terrorize underhandedly, sneakily, or boldly. Prayer and pronouncing God’s word is one of the best ways to do this. God’s word NEVER returns void, EVER!
• Stop agreeing with the negative reports, instead give aid to victims’ families. We have lost a precious person and they have lost a loved one. People are irreplaceable and this is why we are precious in God’s sight.
• Pray for police on every level – pray that they have clarity of vision and self-control. Protection is not enough, I believe that some of the reported incidents were because Satan clouded the vision of the officer, making them see what wasn’t  really there. While praying for the police, pray for every encounter they have while on their shifts – safety, wisdom, self-control and for every traffic stop, incident report, house call, accident to be handled with dignity and integrity. Pray for those they respond to, that emotions will be kept in check and the encounter with the officer will result in a good outcome. Rebuke the spirit of death that Satan has sent to wreak havoc within our police departments and neighborhoods. Do not give it any more ground.

The (Pharisaical) thinking that permeates most Christian comment feeds on news articles, personal opinion posts, blogs, etc. 

This one is a more recent thought. My heart cries for the believers who do not know how to respectfully disagree with each other, slinging condemnation and out-of-context Scripture at other believers. How does this give Jesus a pure Bride? We are cannibalizing each other. God desires us to be in unity, and again I say, we need to learn how to disagree with each other. Most of our issues are because of our personal perspective and personal (or generational/denominational) interpretation of Scripture. Anyone can find Scripture to back up a belief system, this is because Scripture is living and active, but we should not force our belief system on others. Jesus is our example, and while he was a maverick and challenger of thought in His day, He never once forced Himself on others. He spoke out against that very behavior. We are under a new covenant of grace, bought by the Blood of Jesus, and that grace that was given to us needs to be shared with others. It is the goodness and kindness of God that draws people to repentance, not our vitriolic responses and condemning comments to each other when we push our opinions and perspectives as truth. TRUTH and truth can sometimes be opposite things. Jesus is TRUTH and that is the only truth we should be speaking.

The constant flow of everyone’s (correct) thoughts and feelings about the state of things

We are all right in our own eyes. It is a wonderful thing we have the Holy Spirit to yank our chain once in a while. This particular thought, though, ties in with the one above. Sometimes the thoughts we have and the feelings we experience are not correct because we don’t have the whole story. I have recently come to the conclusion that unless I seek the Lords thoughts, feelings and heart on the matter/person/situation, I have NO room to talk about it. Zero, Zilch, Nada. To speak about that which I have not prayed about, or went to the source for, is idle talk. It will always be misconstrued and can be tantamount to gossip. My opinion or insight is not a fruitful addition to any conversation if I only have half a picture.

The Holy Spirit is truly our guide, and companion, He is steadfast and faithful; listening and following His lead will always result in a release of heaven. These are just a small peek into my mind and the considerations of my soul. You’re  welcome to agree or disagree, even sharing some of your own.