Walking with God doesn't always make sense, because His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, as Isaiah 55 : 8-9 tells us.

So many times it seems that God has lost His mind, like in the book of Jeremiah when Jeremiah repeated the word that God gave him for King Joachim and King Zedekiah. He told them that they should not resist the Babylonian invasion, but they should surrender and by surrendering they will actually save their lives.
This is contrary to our natural instinct to defend our own city and fight for what we believe. How could God really expect the nation of Israel to give in to a pagan society and a pagan King named Nebuchadnezzar? How can He think that's correct?
Many times the things God tells us don’t make sense at all.  For instance when you're in a relationship and God says, “Don't defend yourself!” even though you know you're right and the other person is wrong. He may say something like, “Submit to My authority and be quiet.  Be still and know that I am God and I will take care of the situation.”

It doesn't make sense because the natural mind is connected to what we see and feel and to what we think is right. That's why we have to learn to live our lives out of our born-again spirit which is aligned and attuned to God's ways. We need to be willing to accept God's thoughts rather than living out of our soulish realm. The soul realm is connected to the earthly ways and is governed by our feelings and emotions.

Jeremiah's prophetic word to the prophets and princes of that day made them put him in prison. They wanted to kill him because they felt that his words would weaken the hands of the warriors that were fighting for the national pride.
Yet God gave him the word that if the king and his family and the families of many in Israel were to be saved, they had to surrender and live far from the place that God called His own city. You can see why it just didn't make sense.

There are times God will speak to us and tell us to give above and beyond tithes and offerings. But when we recognize that we don't have very much to give, we just don't listen because it doesn't line up with our natural understanding of what we should do. And most of the time it doesn't line up with what we think God should do and what God should be.

Amos 3:3 asks if it is possible for two to walk together unless they agree. We must be in agreement with God and not try to make God in agreement with us. It doesn't always make sense but it will always turn out right.

Well the Kings in the day Jeremiah refused to listen to His word. In fact King Joachim burnt the scroll that the prophetic word was written on, made it seem like it never existed and he put Jeremiah in prison. King Zedekiah did listen to Jeremiah when he had a personal interview with him, but he never accepted what God said. He ended up losing his family, his eyes and he lost his soul.

It doesn't always make sense, but when God's word is spoken to you through the power of the Holy Spirit follow it. Follow it even if at the moment it is spoken to you it seems ridiculous and might seem absolutely insane.

But as the bible says in Numbers 23:19 , "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Whatever you are going through today, trust in God's word through the power of the Holy Spirit, not through your own interpretation.

Trust Him even though it doesn't make sense at all and even contradicts what seems to be natural and right. His word will bring His presence and the power of His kingdom to bear in your life. It doesn’t always make sense, but it will always produce the righteous fruit that brings prosperity to your life and to those around you. Trust in the Lord!

It sounds like a paradox, but the Christian life is one of consistent and constant changing. The Bible shows us in the Old Testament that the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of cloud by night was always on the move. This meant that everyone who was following the presence of God was always going to be in the midst of change.

Well, that hasn’t changed today and it is still the same even in our “New Testament” relationship with God. We are always changing….changing from immaturity to maturity…. changing from bitterness and hatred to love and compassion…. changing from seeing things one way to now seeing them another way. Change is always consistent in our lives as a Christian.

We need to make sure that our heart doesn’t resist change. It is the enemy's strategy to convince us that we are too tired and discouraged so we will just want to campout where we are. But God created us to be on the move with Him from glory to glory, from faith to faith, with His ever-increasing presence in our lives.

So be careful that you're not resisting change in your life. Sometimes God has to encourage us by closing one door and then placing a desire in us to move out and seek a new door. Sometimes God will allow trouble to come into our lives so we will seek Him more diligently. When He has our attention the change He wants to bring into our lives can then be implemented.

Change is a way of life. We are called to be change agents. Our change not only affects us but we impact and influence other people as we grow closer and closer to Him.  We are to be more like Him and let our light shine brighter every day but that only happens when we change.

Change is not something that's out of order; actually God has an order for the change. We start out as a baby and we grow to become children and then teenagers and young adults and so forth and so on. Change has an order.

Many times we feel like we are out of order when we are changing but God has His hand on our lives. He is a sovereign God and we need to embrace the new.

This should be your lifestyle, so if you haven’t changed recently to love God and God's people more, then you're stuck in a rut! If your pursuit of God hasn't increased with a greater passion and desire you’re in a cycle of defeat.

Ask God to help you to have a heart that's willing to change. Make a decision to live a lifestyle of change. That is the way of the Christian. God is ever-increasing and is ever-pouring out His presence in our lives. He wants us to more and more reflect who He is every day of our lives. Make change your lifestyle!

In Chapter 2 of my book Stop Hurting Start Healing I talk about salvation being a process. Most of us were never taught that truth and some reading this blog today may not know it. But…. salvation is a process! Salvation starts first in our spirit and then it is carried over into our soul and through our bodies.

Today we spend most of our attention and time dealing with our bodily issues. We cater to the cravings of our flesh and to the emotions that come out of our hearts. Too often we give in to their persuasions and passions. But God says that we should be living out of our spirit, not out of the guidance and leadership of our flesh.

In Romans chapter 6, we are told that our flesh (our body) is just a servant and it should serve our spirit; that part of our lives where Jesus Christ lives. He rules and reigns in and through us and as He starts the process with our spirit, He wants to bring healing and deliverance to our soul which then overflows to our body.

Do you remember the day you gave your life to Jesus?  Things did happen! You began to change, even in your physical body. Your “look” may have changed, maybe people made comments like, “Hey, your eyes look brighter. There seems to be more brightness around you.” They were recognizing the presence of God that now was in your spirit being…. the nature of God flowing in you.

You are a spirit and have a soul and you live in a body and God cares about the whole person. Stop hurting- start healing begins by recognizing that salvation is a process. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, old things have passed away and we are now a new creation, but it doesn't stop there. We are to work out our own salvation because remember….it is a process!

As I look around in the body of Christ at large I recognize that a number of things are missing but there is one thing in particular that stands out the most. That “thing” is the value of honoring one another.

When we honor someone it means we show respect and give them the unconditional love that God has given to us. It is a commitment to be in covenant with each other so we can walk the journey together in the good times and bad times.

Showing honor means we cover someone with prayer when they are in their difficult times. It means refusing to listen to and participate in the gossip about a brother or sister who is struggling in doing what's right or who is falling away from the faith. We are called to stand in the gap, protect and encourage them and correct those who are spreading gossip and strife.

Honor is to carry each other’s burden as we are told in Galatians 1:1 &2, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Honor is more than just love and respect; it includes understanding the value that God places upon each and every one of His children. As sisters and brothers in Christ honor is the glue that holds us together as His body because it prevents the enemy from dividing us through seeds of discord that are designed to separate us.

Yet, today we see a breaking down and tearing apart because of a lack of honor.

And where does honor come from? It is imparted to us from the heart of God when we worship Him and spend time in His presence. It comes out of our own humility and meekness because we have been through some stuff. Our own failures help us understand that except for the grace of God, there go I!

The Bible says that in these last days the love of many will grow cold because of lawlessness….but “he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Let's begin to walk the walk of honor with one another, putting the devil where he belongs, under our feet. Let's put a watch on our ears and our lips so we won’t listen to or spread gossip because it will damage our hearts. Gossip taints our relationships with the hurting people that God has placed in our life to help and encourage.

If you are on the upswing of your life, praise God! But we never know when the time will come when we need someone to honor us in the midst of a trial

Remember the spiritual law that says whatever we sow is what we will reap. Let’s sow honor whenever we can and watch God bring healing to the body of Christ and healing to our own life.

It doesn’t matter how “spiritual” or “together” we may think we are; every one of us will have at least one cave experience in our lifetime. Even the mighty man of God, the Prophet Elijah had to go through his cave experience.

Elijah had just won the most amazing victory over the prophets of Baal and turned the children of Israel back to serving and worshiping Yahweh, the true God. God answered Elijah when he called fire down from heaven; making an open show of the false god Baal and those who served him.

Look at what happens next to Elijah in I Kings 19:3, “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.”

As we can see, immediately after this amazing act of boldness and bravery, Elijah was overcome by a spirit of fear from the words of just one woman, Jezebel! He became so fearful from her threat to kill him that this man of many miracles ran away for his life and hid himself in a cave!

Sometimes we also find ourselves in “the cave” after a great success because for every mountain there are two valleys. After a victory sometimes we can feel let down, get really depressed and fearful and even sense that maybe God is not with us anymore. Or can we feel that somehow we blew it!

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that we all face the same temptations (challenges); that they are common to all humans.  This verse also tells us that God always makes a way out for us.

That is why the cave experience is not necessarily a bad thing. God can use it as an opportunity to give us a greater anointing and calling. That’s what happened to Elijah. The Lord spoke to him at the cave in a small still voice, assured him that he was not alone in his service to God and gave him his instructions for the rest of his ministry.

Like Elijah, our cave experience can be the turning point of our life. The cave can be a womb; a place of new birth. That place of loneliness, despair; the place where it seems like we are separate from God, can actually become the place where our destiny is birthed!

Or, if we choose to stay in that place of loneliness and despair; only listening to the voice of the devil instead of listening to the voice of God, we will never be set free. Instead of the cave being a womb, the place of new life, it becomes a tomb, a place of death and darkness. It becomes a place where we bury our dreams and hopes and we can even turn away from serving God.

God's about to show us the new anointing He wants to give us. He wants to birth a new vision for our life and tell us how to achieve it. But, He may be allowing circumstances in our life that make us run to the cave, the quiet place so He can meet with us there.

So don’t be afraid to run to the cave. That cave experience can be where you find your new beginning, your new life.  But like Elijah, seek God in that place, hear Him and then, don’t stay there…. Come Out Of The Cave!

Philippians 2:3 &4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

One of the wonderful gifts that God has given us through the power of the Holy Spirit is the gift of respecting and honoring others. As we read in the above scripture, the Bible talks to us about honoring one another; esteeming others above ourselves.

That can never be accomplished if we are ruled by our own feelings and emotions. If we lack self-esteem or if we are easily offended, we are likely to tear other people down so we can make ourselves feel better and more important. But that behavior is not being Christ-like. As Christians we are supposed to build each other up, pray for one another and love one another.

In other words we are supposed to treat other people with unconditional love. In our own strength it is impossible to love like that but we can walk in unconditional love if we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

That’s why we MUST be baptized with the Holy Spirit! There is no way to live the Christian life unless we are baptized with the Holy Ghost. He is the one who gives us the strength, courage and the tenacity to overcome our natural feelings and emotions. That’s what it means when we are commanded to “deny ourselves, take up our own cross and follow Jesus.”

Hebrews 13:7 , “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

Let’s think about the people who are in the places of authority in our life who we should be honoring, like our parents. One of the Ten Commandments tells us that we should honor our mother and father so that it may be well with us. In fact, this is so important to the Lord that He says if we obey and honor them we will have a long life!

There are great promises that come with honoring those who God has placed over us. He doesn’t tell us to only honor them if they are the kind of people we like or we would choose to be in authority. But God knows that, and as we honor them and submit to their authority our character will develop and God will honor us.

Unfortunately, this type of message is ignored because of the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion that is so prevalent in today’s culture (even in the church culture).  People no longer see the need to respect their parents, their elders, their teachers, their employers or government, etc.  I believe this is a sign of the end-times as Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:12 , "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

Let’s not be counted among those who are lawless, rebellious and whose love has grown cold. Let's honor one another and put others before ourselves. When we do that we'll find that we are more willing to forgive each other and walk in God's love.

What are we doing when we walk the walk of faith, believe God's word and then declare His word through every trial? We are declaring the end from the beginning, just like Jesus did. Jesus is the word and He brought revelation to His word when He became flesh and dwelt among us.  John 1:14 , “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

From the time that you take God's promises for your life and begin to confess them, holding fast to that confession and not wavering, you're already walking in victory.  The fight is fixed from the beginning if you don’t allow the circumstances, the strife and gossip and discord that come your way to talk you out of God’s promises.

In other words, if you stand on God's promises and you don’t let yourself be moved by other people’s opinions, at the end you will ultimately walk into that victory. You have to get it settled in your spirit that you already have the victory before you even enter into the battle.

You’re just like a fighter who knows he is going into a fight that has been fixed in his favor. Before he enters into the ring and throws the first punch he already knows what the outcome is going to be. That’s you….. you are the winner! And when you know, that you know, that you know you are the champion it changes your attitude.

You have the “bragging rights” and what I call a righteous attitude, a right standing with God attitude. It’s not a selfish or self-centered attitude, but it’s having confidence the battle has already been won because Jesus defeated our enemy 2,000 years ago.

So, whatever you are going through, take God's promises and trust in His word. Begin to confess the end from the beginning and don’t be moved by the naysayers or even what your circumstances tell you. Know that the fight is fixed. Before the end you can start to rejoice and praise God because the victory is yours.

You are a world overcomer. 1 John 5:4 , “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.” The Bible tells us that we overcome the world and get the victory through our faith and trust in God.

So tell somebody you meet today that the fight is fixed. Change your attitude and begin to have a right-standing, righteous attitude because you know the truth.  And the truth is that ….. The battle is the Lord's so we can't lose. The fight is fixed! Rejoice!

One of the most controversial subjects that the body of Christ is still debating over is the issue of forgiving one another.  It’s interesting that we would struggle with that but more so than not we do.

One of the reasons that we struggle is because we’re trying to intellectualize it, emotionalize it and try to rationalize it. The question that comes up most of the time when we think about forgiving one another is that we feel something should be done when a person doesn't come to a point of repentance.

Many people believe that we should forgive, but only when the person that we’re forgiving repents. Sometimes that can be a little confusing when we are reading some of the Scriptures, but we always need to read in context.

The best solution to any controversy is to look at Jesus who is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is the initiator and definer of what forgiveness is. When He died on that cross He took all of our sins upon Himself.

Just before His life ended, Jesus said in Luke 23: 34a, “Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." This verse shows that He forgave us before we ever came to the point of repentance.

The fact of the matter is that because of His great unconditional love (forgiveness without needing repentance) we eventually came to that place, we were drawn by His love and we repented.

So the answer to the question is that every one of us is commanded to forgive, not based on the condition that a person repents or not, but based on the love, compassion and forgiveness that God gave us. Freely we have received and therefore freely we give. Even though that's very straightforward and biblical (no ifs ands or buts) we still find that this is very controversial in the body of Christ because we live our lives many times in the emotional realm rather than the spirit realm.

Let’s be led by the Spirit, let's follow the example of Jesus and be His disciples and forgive! The greatest blessing that we can ever give to someone is to set them free through forgiving.

Release the presence of Jesus Christ to deal with their hearts. Holding back forgiveness keeps them bound up by the devil; doing the same old same old. Forgive unconditionally… that's the only way to forgive.

Most of us are familiar with the old saying that the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. Of course that refers to our belief that other people don't go through the same thing we go through and that their life is better and easier than ours.

But, when you take a closer look at other people’s lives you realize that everyone goes through difficult times. Maybe they aren’t dealing with the same issues that you are but they are still difficult.  1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

The best way to go through your own difficulties is to look for other people who are struggling and help them get through their hard times. Let me tell you a little story about two men who shared a hospital room. The man in the bed next to the window had major breathing issues and a diseased spine but he was able to get up every now and then, but the man in the other bed was completely bedridden and could never get up.

The patient that was next to the window would look out the window and share all the wonderful things that he saw. He described the beautiful lake, a meadow filled with flowers and the lovely colorful birds that were flying over the lake. The bedridden man used his imagination and was so excited about seeing all these wonderful things in his own mind. Several times a day, his roommate would update him on the activities outside; a parade in the distance, a young couple strolling hand in hand. Time seemed to fly by when they were discussing the world outside.

All of a sudden a thought came to the bedridden man. He said, “Why can’t I be next to the window? Why do I always have to hear this man sharing the things I should be seeing?” He tried to fight off the bitterness but eventually he wound up being very bitter towards this man next to him.

One night the man by the window was having difficulty breathing and he was starting to choke. The other man could have called the nurse but he was so filled with bitterness he never did. The next morning the nurses came in to find that the man by the window was dead.

After the other man was taken from the room, the nurses asked the bedridden man if he wanted to have the bed by the window and of course he told them he did. He was excited to finally have a chance to see the beautiful scenes his friend described. Although he had a very difficult time, he struggled to pull himself up and he looked out the window… at last! But….all he saw outside the window was a brick wall!

Sometimes we don't recognize the good things in our life; we think life’s better for everyone else, we stop caring about others and we just feel sorry for ourselves.  That bitter man finally recognized (too late) that the man by the window bed was really loving him and caring for him.  He was trying to make his bad situation better for him.

Look around and recognize that even in the midst of your trials, God has placed people to speak words of life and to reveal the beauty of life to you. Let’s begin to thank those people and to be one of those people! Let’s be like the man next to the window, putting our own problems aside to bring joy to someone else.

I pray that you are enjoying and cherishing one of the most precious gifts that God has given to you…… that precious gift is the gift of relationships.  I think that sometimes it’s easy to forget the wonderful blessing that God has given to us through friendships, covenant-committed relationships.

The Bible says in Psalm 133 that when we come together in unity in it's like the dew that comes off the top of the mountains of Mount Hermon. Our unity allows God to release a blessing of life and life everlasting. There’s a special and powerful anointing that comes forth from the relationships in our life that we can't receive any other way.

When we come together and work together for the glory of God we are stronger than when we are alone. Ecclesiastes 4:12 , “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”  Jesus said that whenever two or three of us are gathered in His name, He's right in the midst of us.

Let me also define unity. Unity doesn't mean that we are exactly the same and we can only have a relationship if you agree with me on everything! No…there can be diversity in unity. Although we are different in many ways we can still share foundational principles. Even with our differences we can have the same heart, the same values and the same vision; which is to love God with all of our heart and to serve Him with everything that we have.

Unfortunately, too often we allow that gift to be stolen by the enemy, but some things are worth fighting for and our relationships are definitely worth the effort. (That is not to say that sometimes the timing of a specific relationship may not be right and in that case we need to wait on the Lord so His perfect will can be done in our life.)

The devil hates our relationships, he hates our unity, he hates covenant relationships like marriage and he does everything he can to bring division and sow seeds of discord. Let's fight the good fight of faith against the enemy for our marriages and our covenant friendships. They really are a great gift from God.

Recognize that Satan doesn't want this great anointing that comes out of unity. When it comes to protecting covenant relationships like marriages and very close friendships, we need to open our eyes, draw the line and declare, “Satan no more!”