Be That Voice

Anger, frustration, bewilderment, disillusionment, confusion, and dismissal are prowling our nation this morning looking for a voice. Before you respond to the invitation offered by these feelings, guard your response. The Lord has something to say. The message He wants to deliver is not crafted from any of these emotions. He is looking for people who will speak the truth in love – a message crafted in Heaven and delivered into the turmoil of this world. Be that kind of voice.

Reading Our Bias Into Another Person's Life

It never ceases to amaze me (and I admit, at times, it can frustrate me) how easily some people can read into something I wrote or said and allow their bias to be the interpreter of my intent. Our bias is a powerful filter that can cause us to interpret the purpose of others in a way the person being accused or challenged never intended.

 

We live in a world where our ability to offer quick and unfiltered responses to others is readily available.  It can happen on social media or when hearing a passing comment made during a casual conversation. We do this without pausing and asking ourselves if our corrective confrontation is valid based on what the other party meant to say, or is it just our bias talking. 

 

We live in strange times made even more bizarre when people read into our content and attempt to reinterpret our words through the filter of their emotionally-driven bias. It makes me chuckle at times, causing me to respond, “Come on, really?”. It’s like predicting who will win an election. You have a 50/50 chance to be a “prophet.” These situations can be amusing at times, and on other occasions, they can be distressing. 

I would suggest taking a humorous posture when these things transpire.  It will keep you emotionally, and spiritually sane as the levels of social insanity continue to ramp up, and our biases are given free rein to run ahead of our integrity. 

 

  

Help From Above

This morning, when I finished reading the following verse, I sensed the Lord wanted to say something. “When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:16). 

We are entering a moment in our history when against natural odds and predictions, God will reach into the affairs of our nation and adjust the course of our history. The world will take notice, and so will the Church. We will experience the supernatural help of God in our time of greatest need. Posture yourself in faith to believe the goodness of God will prevail in the end.

Redefining God

Over the last several decades in western culture, some have attempted to redefine God. The isolated halls of academia and a culture living insulated from much of the sorrow that afflicts the rest of the world has been a seedbed for this process of progressive redefinition. At the end of this process, an idol will stand before us, an idol forged by a misguided view of God formed apart from His word.

Some of these redefinitions sound appealing until they begin to stumble over Scripture. One example floating around and gaining some traction is the idea that when Jesus rose from the dead, all humanity was saved. We are told we no longer have to worry about the response of people to the Gospel since everyone will eventually end up in Heaven. After all, they say, the God we created would not have it otherwise. This version of God has no consequences attached to human action or inaction. Again, it sounds good until the Scripture gets in the way.

 

In the issue of personal salvation, words like “believe,” “receive,” and “accept” cause these redefiniions to stumble. John 1:12 is one example, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” All relationships require an invitation and a commitment. For those of us who have married, an invitation of matrimony was offered and accepted before we could enter into the life-long commitment of marriage. Love requires the exercise of our will.

 

When Jesus walked the earth, there were no altar calls or sinner’s prayers, but there was a point in each person’s life when they yielded themselves to the invitation of Jesus to receive the life He offered. There is a lot of freedom of expression offered in the exercise of our faith. But that freedom never lessens the importance of the exercise of our will when it comes to the offer of eternal life. 

 

In the days to come, those who actually take the time to read the Bible to understand its meaning and context, and remain teachable in the process, will be the ones who stay clear of the idols created by pop theology and the deceptions they produce. Even when we think we have it all figured out more revelation will come to challenge what we confidently thought was the truth, but sadly, was only an idol we created in the image of our limited understanding. 

The Scales of Truth

Many are feeling overwhelmed and confused with the flood of “evidence” that supports opposing positions and opinions. The Lord is bringing clarification that will reveal what is true and what is a lie. At first, the evidence of Heaven will appear small and insignificant, but that revealed truth will change the imbalance on the scales of social order that is causing so much concern.

As I pondered these thoughts, I saw the image of a set of scales. They looked like the scales of justice. One side was heaped high with false evidence. It was an overwhelming amount of false evidence – a severe imbalance. 

 

Into the image walked a solitary figure. In their hand was a very small weight. It seemed insignificant as it was placed in the center of the unweighted side of the scale. As the truth was placed on the scale, it caused the scale to move down with such speed and force that it created a surprising crash. The items of false evidence heaped on the other side of the scale had no corresponding weight to resist the weight of truth. All the false evidence fell off the scale and no longer remained.

 

Nothing is over until the Lord reveals His truth. The content and timing of that revelation are His to determine, not ours. The weight of truth is coming, and when it does, the justice of Heaven will be revealed. God’s justice is empowered by His mercy.  His mercy is a heavy spiritual substance. It has the power to unweight the darkest plans of Satan.

 

Beware of Accusation

Satan is described in the Book of Revelation as an accuser. He makes accusations based on false evidence. He is afoot today in ways that seem credible until you pry back the layers of deception and discover the hidden truth. Be careful before you toss out an accusation against anyone. Only God knows the truth no matter how persuasive the first draft of evidence might seem. A biased and profit-motivated media is not always a reliable source for truth, neither are frustrated and angry people. We may never know the full story upon which accusations or acquittals are sourced. At that point, it will seem counterintuitive to rest and wait for the Lord, but that is the way of spiritual discipline and self-control.

Surprises are Coming

Surprises are coming. When they arrive, they will adjust our interpretation of reality and bring correction to our misunderstanding of God's heart and His Kingdom. These surprises will be sourced from God’s throne, not from earthly logic, human reasoning, or our preferred religious history. 

Even the most brilliant thinkers and insightful prophetic voices will bow under the influence of this revelation. The surprises will come as an invasion of love - revelations of God’s heart and His merciful intent for humanity. 

We will all stand corrected under the waterfall of this revelation. As God’s revealed truth flows over our tired and defensive souls, a refreshment will come washing from our eyes the accumulated debris of frustration and angst that has blinded our eyes from seeing the intent and purposes of God.

Signs in the Sky

Hang onto your credibility hat. Just when we thought we could not be living in stranger times, activity in the heavens is taking a strange turn. Findings from the Pentagon’s UFO unit were recently reported by the New York Times. One consultant to the Pentagon briefed Defense Department officials regarding some highly unusual items retrieved from “off-world vehicles not made on this Earth.”

Senate majority leader Harry Reid who at the time reviewed the information, commented, “After looking into this, I came to the conclusion that there were reports — some were substantive, some not so substantive — that there were actual materials that the government and the private sector had in their possession.” 

Astrophysicist Eric W. Davis, a consultant to the Pentagon, and someone who examined the so-called off-world materials said, “we couldn’t make it ourselves.”

We are living in a moment of history where great diversions will take place. These diversions will appeal to our natural senses and could create fear in some and wonder in others. As these events unfold, God will reveal greater signs in the sky and on Earth that will affirm His Lordship and authority over even the most unusual other-worldly discoveries. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, “Thus, says the Lord, Do not learn the way of the nations and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them” (Jeremiah 10:2).

As earthly tensions build and fear mounts from things that will upend the brittle foundations of false, human-created security, God will prove Himself faithful above all things. He is seated in the place of ultimate authority. All things are under His feet in a place of submission. If and when things beyond our ability to explain begin to take place, set your eyes firmly on Jesus, and follow His lead. That will be our only place of security as our world continues to struggle in its search for reality.

Defining Freedom

There is a great deal of conversation taking place in our culture about the subject of freedom. Today, I took a look at what Scripture tells us about true freedom. It became for me a meaningful personal reminder and a point of clarity. While some may say this only pertains to matters of the Spirit, I would respectfully disagree. It pertains to everything because it is everything. This understanding takes place at the core of our being and will form the substance of our principles and how we choose to live our lives. 

OUR FREEDOM WAS GIVEN WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED - Once we believed in Jesus Christ, we were set free. To remain free, we must continue to believe and trust in the Lord. “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22).

OUR FREEDOM IS MOBILE - We carry our freedom with us wherever we go no matter what the circumstance. “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (II Corinthians 3:17).

OUR FREEDOM IS NOT PROGRESSIVE – It took place once and for all and was made available to us by the death, resurrection, and enthronement of Jesus Christ. It is absolute and forever unchangeable by even the most challenging circumstance of life. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7).

Today, the Lord is inviting us to live and speak like free people. Our words and witness regarding freedom may upset some who still think their freedom is tied to the promise of a nation or a set of cultural ideals. While those can be noble and good, they do not promise the same freedom found in Christ. Nations will rise and fail, and human ideals will change over time. Only Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What Happens When a Bully Gets a Bloody Nose

There are times when a punch to the nose of a bully is all that will stop their quest for dominance. As a chubby insecure pre-puberty kid, I remember landing a punch on the nose of our playground bully after repeated calls for him to leave me and others alone. After that confrontation, he lost his place of dominance. Peace, laughter, and child-like joy returned to our playground.

A bully is prowling the playground of our culture. He is using fear to push people around. During this time, when the truth is being turned upside, redefined, and trampled under the hooves of a spirit of anarchy, it seems like the bully is getting his way. As this bullying spirit tries to gain a greater foothold, a group of David-like individuals is emerging. They will enter the fray and bring down the bullying spirit of deception with a single stone of truth. 

God’s mercy, justice, and compassion, all components of truth, will empower these men and women to execute a strategic punch that will stun and disempower the spirit of fear that motivates the bully.  God's truth will be the sword that beheads the false thinking of this bully. The bully of fear has had his way for far too long. It is time for peace and order to return to our playground. 

Blessing of the God Who Will Do It Again by Jan Elkins

Isaiah 51:9-11; 35:9-10  

There is a reality of evil. Israel is reminded that when they were threatened with Egyptian genocide, they experienced a demonstration of divine power.

In the Name of Jesus Christ,

      I bless your spirit, soul, and body

      with great victories in overcoming

      the forces of hurt and evil.

Though He is not the author, creator,

      or instigator of all that disrupts you

      or threatens to destroy you,

      everything is under His sovereignty—

      even to the point that He sovereignly

      turns hardship into blessings.

You have the sure word of the Lord Jesus:

      the Cross was the final blow in Satan’s

      attempt for world dominion;

      the work of redemption made Satan

      of no further significance!

Just as the Red Sea became an escape

      route for the redeemed,

      may every skirmish to disrupt

      and destroy you become an exit

      to safety and promise;

      your divine Kinsman-Redeemer

      can turn every circumstance

      into a way of escape.

Make this your prayer:

      God, it was you who made a way

      to rescue your redeemed—

      do it again!

May you experience the demonstrations

      of His divine power.

Influenced by the certainty of His historical

      acts, signs, and wonders,

      may you now have confident faith

      that He journeys with you,

      He comforts you, He delivers you,

      He takes all your needs as His own.

Confident in Him, depression and despair

      will disappear, sighing and sorrow

      will turn to celebration—

      you will be overwhelmed

      with never-ending gladness and joy.

Conflicting Sounds

It’s a bit after 2:00 am. A few minutes ago, I woke up and could not go back to sleep. I had a few things on my mind I needed to deal with so, I quietly got up and went into our living room to talk with the Lord. A few minutes after rising, I started my audio bible program to listen to the book of Ezra while following along with an open bible in my lap.

As I started to listen to the narrator, I also heard a beautiful piano soundtrack that accompanied the reading of the text. The music seemed out of time and confusing, not like what I was used to hearing. It soon became apparent to me the sound engineers made a mistake and placed a flute soundtrack on top of the piano music. It was hard to follow along, listening to the person reading the text with the conflicting soundtracks playing in the background. I was glad Ezra was only ten chapters long.

When I finished reading, I turned off the audio bible. The piano music that accompanied the audio bible stopped, but the flute music continued to play. At that moment, I realized my error. Last night, Jan and I were listening to some beautiful flute music on YouTube. When we went to bed, I closed my laptop but did not turn off the YouTube channel. When I opened my computer this morning to listen to the word, the flute music started once again.  I had two channels playing music at the same time, YouTube and my audio bible program.

Then I realized why the Lord had me get up to take care of some personal business. The day before, I made two decisions that were in conflict with a previous instruction from the Lord. The unresolved conflict did not allow me to sleep. My soul was restless. Just like the competing soundtracks on my computer that made it hard for me to hear the word, I had given the competing voices of human reasoning the freedom to speak. Their sound compromised a word the Lord had given to me previously.

This is a very unusual time in history. We need to be focused and clear in our thinking. We also need to be quick to rectify those things that impede our ability to hear His voice.  The Lord desires clarity in our lives. If we continue to allow outside voices to create a conflicting sound in opposition to the Lord’s voice, we will struggle to hear His instruction just like I struggled to hear the bible text being read through my computer. 

This is a loving warning for all of us from the Lord regarding the days ahead. He has things to say to us that will not be heard if we continue to allow competing voices to obscure the sound of His voice. 

Let Your Voice Be Heard

You have a God-given right to address any ill of humanity no matter what color your skin, your gender, or your social status. Do not let any person or social movement try to silence your voice through shame. The only requirement is that when you speak, you are speaking the truth in love.

Accelerating the Rights Things

I recently read a term I had not seen before - Accelerationist. The word is used to describe people who live on the extreme edges of the social spectrum, either far left and far right. An accelerationist is someone who uses social causes that might not even be their own as a chance to create disorder and invoke people to respond in violence.

While those of you reading my words would hopefully be nowhere near these radical edges, I want to offer each of us a word of caution. Our voice, if we represent Jesus Christ, must be monitored and disciplined to keep us out of the vile stream of ideologies that motivate the dark aspects of fringe accelerationism. Discernment is not just something we relegate to a religious setting to cast out demons or prophetically deliver a word of hope. It is also meant for the public sphere. God gave us discernment to see through the opinions being offered to discover their motivation and to make sure we are not naively being used to foment angst and further division.

Today, I was impacted by the words of Paul. I have included his words below as a refresher for many of us. Paul wrote the following words in a chapter where he was trying to help people deal with relational disagreements, appealing to them to live in the joy of the Lord and to confront the worry that can rob us of our peace. 

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

Our thoughts will either accelerate the goodness of God or accelerate agendas contrary to the values of His Kingdom. Paul used the phrase, “Fix your thoughts." "Fix" is a word in the original language that means “to consider, take account, weigh or mediate.” It is not a reactionary word. It implies deliberation, consideration, and moderation. When we fix our thoughts on God, we will accelerate the kind of actions and conversations that an accelerationist mindset has not conceived in their quest to sow disorder and fear or to prove a point. 

Restraint and Wisdom

The Lord is about to reward your restraint. You have bitten your lip on several occasions as foolish and harmful words have been tossed about without discernment. More than once, you almost spoke, but you did not. Heaven has taken notice of your discipline. You have become a trusted voice. Words of insight, wisdom, and healing will be released through you that will not only amaze those who hear you speak, but it will amaze you because you will know God was the source, not a pool of polluted and indisciplined emotions.

Preference vs. Principle

Years ago, I had an insightful conversation with a friend. He shared a story that helped me create a decision-making process in my life. 

A troubling situation was taking place that required him to make a difficult choice. He said the decision he was asked to make violated his preferences, not his principles. He eventually made a choice that was not his preference but allowed his principles to remain intact. My friend made a choice that preserved harmony in the group in which he held a leadership position. Over the years, I have come to know him to be a person who did not take the easy way out of tough decisions to maintain a false peace. As a man of integrity, he spoke the truth when required, even when he voiced a principle that did not align with popular opinion. He chose his relational battles wisely.

After the conversation with my friend, the preference vs. principle issue became a personal decision-making tool for me when I faced similar situations requiring my input or decision.  

When we fail to make a distinction between preference and principle, we can become reactive instead of proactive when facing the issues of life. A reactionary way of living fails to exercise wisdom. Wisdom doesn’t choose sides as its first response. Wisdom helps us form our life-principles from the essence of truth, justice, and honor and those principles are what we use to create our response. Without making a distinction between preference and principle, the impact of our voice will disappear in the din of the cultural shouting match.

At No Point

When we allow our personal opinion to become doctrine, we will always harm and divide the unity of the Church. At no point in my lifetime have I seen the importance of making that distinction as it has become in this moment of history.

Silent Running

God has been inviting some of us to go to a deeper place, away from the overwhelming and never-ending surface clatter we hear in the public sphere. Fear has bullied its way into our cultural dialogue. Some of what is being vented is our unresolved fears – fear of what is happening in our world, fear of a loss of control, or simply a fear of the unknown. God is coming after our fear because fear and love cannot coexist. One will be supplanted by the presence of the other.

In submarine maneuvering, there is a tactic called silent running. It is a stealth mode of operation that allows a submarine to move undetected through the ocean to position itself to gather intelligence or set up a tactical operation.  During silent running, all but the essential systems of the sub are turned off, and the propeller speed is reduced. The crew is told to remain quiet and not make any noise that could transmit through the hull and alert enemy detection systems of the submarine's presence. 

Positions on a variety of important issues have been declared on the surface of our current cultural conversation. We know where most people stand. Maybe wisdom will ask some of us to take a moment to go deep and run silently. In going deeper, we will take our opinions with us to a new depth. In that deep and silent place, apart from the noise of human opinion, the Lord will speak either affirmation or adjustment to those things we thought were so right while we were still cruising on the surface, confident that we saw everything with such clarity. When our voice finally returns to the surface, we will bring with us a new understanding and insight that only comes when we have allowed God to take us deep and run silently in a quiet place.

“In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 32:15).

Reassembling Relationships

Soon, our culture will begin to reassemble. In our reassembling, we will also have to reassemble fragmented relationships that were divided over divergent opinions on what has taken place during the pandemic and how we should have responded to the challenge. As we come back together, choose to be a person of mercy and forgiveness. That is the only safe way forward. Remember, even our most heart-felt opinion can only see in part the greater truth. The wise ones will allow the humility of that understanding to direct their steps and craft the content of their words.

Going Deeper

When something crosses our path and challenges our perspective, our first response is many times crafted from a variety of issues like our unresolved fears, pride, past acts of betrayal, or the pain of relational abandonment. These are surface responses that are reactive in nature. They can hold us captive on the surface until we choose to break free and go deeper. 

This deeper place is where the Spirit reveals truth with greater clarity. It is where we need to go to receive a healthy evaluation of the content of a message that is currently challenging our reality or perspective. This deeper level is where the Spirit brings insight and wisdom that is not crippled by a first-level interpretation fueled by our emotional response to the painful events of life. 

The prophetic voice of the Church is a shared calling for all who believe. It is not limited to a group of people who are known to speak prophetically. God wants to take all of us deeper. The deeper place is where revelation is waiting to be discovered that will shift human hearts and redirect the destiny of nations to align them with the mandate of the Great Commission.

When we finally arrive in that deeper place, we will have an opportunity to humbly allow God's Spirit to counsel us and craft our message. In some cases, we might actually be asked to recraft our message for greater impact.  In that deeper place is where we will discover our prophetic voice, a voice that speaks the truth in love.