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A pastor is not in charge of your ministry gift any more than an auto mechanic is! Now we seriously need both of them in our lives, or we may not get too far down the road we want to travel, but the gift is given by God, to be discovered, discerned, and then trained and employed! Many pastors are pastor-teachers, or are pastor-evangelists, etc., meaning they have a primary and then a secondary gifting. But the Anointed One and His anointing is the Giver and Employer of all the ministry gifts.
A friend of mine recently told me that a good friend of hers started withdrawing from her, even though they were close and had done ministry together. When she finally asked this friend why she had pulled away, the woman admitted that a "prophet" in her church had given her a dire warning that was supposedly from God. The prophet advised the woman to stay away from her friend because "she is trying to steal your spiritual mantle."
Today is Yom Kippur - it is considered one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. We are no longer under the Jewish law of Moses but, prophetically, the Lord speaks during this time of year. There is a lot happening right now and we are in a major times-and-seasons change. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21 NIV We are in a major shifting in the times and seasons. We are entering into a new era and preparing for a major move of God.
I once heard a testimony where the Holy Ghost was falling upon the people during worship. The preacher, R.W. Schambach, testified how the piano player got so filled with the Spirit that she fell off of the piano bench and the piano kept right on playing. No other explanation could be found except, "Jesus knows how to play a piano!" I believe we are entering into a time and place of worship and praise where we will experience some unusual anointings upon musical instruments that will be played, at times, with heavenly fingers - either through His people, and sometimes without them.
God speaks to the positives of what we are and what we can become, rather than emphasizing the negatives. For example, God does not speak to our sickness and disease; he speaks to our health. He does not speak to our poverty or lack; he speaks to our wealth and abundance. He does not speak to our failure or mistakes; he speaks to our success. He does not focus on the past; he speaks to the now and to the future.
When I was living through the darkest and loneliest days of my life, I developed an addiction. I was in the throes of depression due to years of infertility and repeated miscarriages. I sent five babies to heaven - each between 12 and 20 weeks in utero. It was a time of non-stop grief, dashed hopes and raging emotions. The addiction that I developed was not to over-the-counter drugs, alcohol, shopping or binge-eating. I became addicted to the Word of God.
We all want a deeper relationship with the Lord. We want to experience His presence in the calm and the storm. But how do you step into the presence of God when life gets busy? Whether you are a parent, grandparent, working professional, or retired traveler, you are either in a busy season or have been in one. You can get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, which have the potential to crowd out devotional time with God.
During the days of Nazi Germany, there arose a Confessing church movement that rose against the German church movement, which became the religious arm of the Fascist Nazi Socialist movement. Of the 18,000 pastors in Germany during that time (from 1933 to 1945), less than 5,000 were aligned with the Confessing church. Hence, only a remnant held fast to the biblical position, with about half of the confessing churches eventually conforming due to political and societal pressure.
God is expanding your secret place. The secret place is the place where you meet with God. It begins inside your inner being. John 7:38 says "out of your heart (belly, inner being) will flow rivers of living water." Your inner being is the hidden sanctuary of the heart where you commune with God. The secret place is also the "room" you go into to pray and talk with God. Matthew 6:6 says "Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
As we've watched current events unfold, there is a temptation to feel powerless. The truth is, behind every negative headline and evil agenda is a redemption plan of the Lord. Recently the Lord has been highlighting five responses or postures for the church that partner with the "working all things for good" that He is doing behind the scenes. As we've watched inflation soar, the Lord has reminded me how, in the natural, inflation is caused by deviating too much from the gold standard.
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