Dear Prophet,

Sometimes we just want to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is normal. We busy ourselves with anything that numbs us to those quiet thoughts—those voices—that seem to be waiting for us in every quiet moment we encounter.

These are demons, and they are always trying to create havoc in the lives of those around us.

“There are no demons following me around,” you assert, but that is not true. Demons do follow us, taunting us, stirring up trouble wherever we go, and seeking to destroy us—or anyone who gets in the way.

Remember how Paul would be run out of one town and forced to go to the next? The crowds would follow him there and try to stir up trouble. Remember the girl with a demon who continually followed Paul? Finally, he became so troubled by it that he cast the demon out of her.

This is not something we want to think about, much less live through. Wouldn’t that mean we would become the kind of people no one wants to be around? Well, consider Paul again. He had a message of life for the people—a message of salvation and hope. Even though those crazy people from the other town were following him around, did it stop the people from gathering around Paul?

We tend to underestimate the agony people go through when they are not protected. Judas was fully possessed by Satan and betrayed Jesus—and what was the result? He killed himself. Not everyone kills themselves, but they can feel miserable—even Spirit-filled Christians. Yes, even those called to the office of a prophet.

No one is a superhero, exempt from everything except Kryptonite. (Smiles.) I mean, I got up early this morning and spent my time in prayer and worship. By the time I finished, I was feeling refreshed and invigorated. Then I received an email from someone I know is locked into a religious spirit. It sent a wave of “yuck” down my spine. I had to get myself together and cast that spirit away from me.

Now, don’t you think I could have simply enjoyed a good old day without that kind of stuff? Sure—but it would have meant getting up and busying myself with anything other than what I did: addressing it and casting it out of my home.

Not too long ago, I read a story about Oral Roberts and how he almost quit the ministry because multitudes were not being healed. It was breaking his heart, even though there were multitudes who WERE being healed. The Lord told him that if he quit, then there would certainly be many more who would not be healed. Oral understood and pressed on. Today, multitudes have been blessed by his ministry.

So, my dear prophet, even though some things are terribly unpleasant to deal with, consider the consequences of hiding. Repent, and get back up on that horse.

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If I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and for just a moment imagine leaving this body and standing side by side with Jesus, something becomes startlingly clear.

I have no pain. No sadness. I feel light, loved, content—happier and more whole than I have ever felt in my life.

And then I realize there is no yoke upon my shoulders anymore. The one I had been sharing with Jesus is gone. Not because it was meaningless, but because I am no longer on planet Earth, where we bore the burdens of His people and labored together. That work belonged to another place and another time.

But now I stand here free.

And I wonder…

Why does mankind fight so hard to avoid this place?

I am missing nothing. I have all my fingers and all my toes. I have my faculties. My mind is clear. I can walk. I can run. I can leap. I can stop and think. (I can even think, therefore I am.) Lol. But then I realize something else, and it leaves me with a much more serious question … one I feel the Lord putting before me:

Why do I want to remain on Earth?

Am I striving so hard to do His will and live a blessed life because, somewhere underneath it all, I am afraid of missing the mark and being taken home early? Am I trying to live well simply because I want to remain here longer?

Or is my desire to remain because I genuinely want to walk in His good pleasure—to walk with Him, labor with Him, and fight the battles He fights on behalf of the people He loves?

Is that the sole motivation behind my continued desire to live on Earth?

That is a question worth sitting with.

Why are we so determined to avoid death when, for those who belong to Christ, death does not mean losing everything? It means entering into something we have only glimpsed from here.

And perhaps there is another question hiding underneath that one: How much of our striving, our obedience, and even our good works is motivated by the hope of receiving greater reward and pleasure when we finally enter Heaven forever? Would I still pursue His will with the same passion if there were no promise of a longer life and no thought of greater reward — but simply because walking with Him and pleasing Him is enough?

That may be the deeper question.

And I think I have wandered into territory that Paul knew very well.

He once admitted something that sounds almost uncomfortable to modern ears: “to die is gain.” He did not speak of death as though it were the great catastrophe awaiting the believer. Quite the opposite. He said that his desire was “to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.” Yet almost in the same breath, he acknowledged that remaining in the flesh was necessary because there was still fruitful labor to be done (Philippians 1:21–24).

That changes the question.

Perhaps the Christian is not meant to spend life desperately trying to stay alive. Neither are we meant to despise life or hurry toward its end. We are meant to become so secure in Christ that either direction is victory.

If I remain, I walk with Him here.

If I depart, I walk with Him there.

Then fear no longer gets to decide why I live.

And that brings me back to the question about obedience. There is something worth examining in the thought, If I obey enough, believe correctly enough, walk wisely enough, perhaps I can guarantee that I will live out every possible day allotted to me. Scripture certainly teaches us to value life, pursue wisdom, believe God, receive His promises, and expect His goodness. But somewhere along the way, faith can quietly become an attempt to control the outcome.

That is different from trust.

Jesus Himself gives us the clearest picture. He did not remain on Earth because He feared leaving it. Nor did He go to the cross because earthly life had ceased to matter. He could lay His life down precisely because His relationship with the Father had settled the deeper issue. His concern was, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).

There it is.

Not: How long can I remain?

Not even: How greatly will I be rewarded?

But: Father, what pleases You?

That does not make rewards wrong. Scripture openly speaks of rewards, crowns, recompense, and treasure in heaven. God apparently has no objection to His children anticipating His reward. But reward cannot become the substitute for relationship. Otherwise, even obedience can become transactional: I will do this so that God will give me that.

There is another freedom available: I will do this because I love Him.

I will pray because He cares about the person for whom I am praying.

I will stand because He wants someone standing.

I will fight because there are people He loves who need someone willing to fight for them.

I will remain here gladly for as long as my assignment remains.

And when the assignment is finished, I do not have to claw at the earth trying to stay.

Perhaps that is why the imagined moment beside Jesus feels so strangely free. The yoke lifts because the assignment has ended. You are not imagining becoming less alive. You are image yourself finished with the labor.

And Hebrews 12 gives us an interesting picture immediately after all those men and women of faith we study. It tells us to run “the race that is set before us,” looking unto Jesus.

Notice the language. We are not commanded merely to remain on the racetrack as long as possible. We are told to run the race set before us. Those are not necessarily the same goal. So perhaps the question is not ultimately, Why do I want to live? Perhaps it becomes:

Why do I want tomorrow?

If the answer is merely, because I am afraid not to have one, fear is still speaking. But if the answer becomes, because there is still something Jesus and I are doing together here, then tomorrow becomes something entirely different. It becomes assignment. And perhaps one of the greatest freedoms a believer can possess is to hold both life and eternity with open hands and say:

–\> “Lord, I am not trying to stay here because I am afraid to come Home. I want to stay because, as long as You have work for me here, there is nowhere else I would rather serve You.”

Then someday, when the yoke finally comes off your shoulders, you will not have lost your life. You will simply have finished your part of the work.

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Where Does a Frightened Lamb Run?

The Sojourner: Professor, a young Christian recently asked me about being friends with the Holy Spirit. She wants to know Him personally—not merely as a doctrine, a mysterious force, or a name mentioned at the end of a prayer. She wants to talk with Him during the ordinary movements of her day.

I understand what she is reaching for. She is asking whether she can speak with the Holy Spirit while driving to work, walking through a store, making a decision, or simply trying to understand what God is showing her.

But how should a believer address Him? Is there a tender name for the Holy Spirit corresponding to Abba for the Father?

The Professor: Scripture does not give us a term of endearment for the Holy Spirit that corresponds directly to Abba. Even Abba is not merely a childish nickname. It is a deeply personal family word expressing the trust, belonging, affection, and respect of a child toward her father.

Interestingly, it is the Holy Spirit Himself who enables the believer to cry, “Abba, Father.” He does not draw attention away from the Father and Son. He makes our relationship with Them living and real within us.

The Bible calls Him the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, and Advocate. Each title reveals something of His nature or ministry, but Scripture does not provide a private pet name for Him.

The Sojourner: What about calling Him Teacher?

There is warmth in that word, but there is also deep respect. A student can be close to a beloved teacher without forgetting who is teaching and who is learning.

I can imagine a young believer saying:

“Holy Spirit, Teacher, help me here.”

“Teacher, show me what I am overlooking.”

“Teacher, help me understand this passage.”

“Teacher, correct me if I am thinking wrongly.”

Would that remain within the boundaries of Scripture?

The Professor: Yes. “Teacher” is a beautiful and biblically grounded way to address Him.

Jesus said:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

—John 14:26

Calling Him Teacher acknowledges both relationship and order. It says, “I trust You to know what I do not know. I am listening. I am willing to receive instruction and correction.”

The Greek form used when addressing a teacher directly is Didaskale—“Teacher!” Although Scripture does not record believers addressing the Holy Spirit by that Greek title, the word accurately describes a ministry Jesus explicitly assigned to Him.

There is no need to make the Greek word into a formula. The simple English word may be even more meaningful when it rises naturally from the heart:

“Holy Spirit, Teacher, help me here.”

The Sojourner: In our Word of Faith camp, to whom are we generally taught to direct our everyday conversations? Should we speak to the Father, to Jesus, or to the Holy Spirit?

The Professor: Our camp normally distinguishes between a definite prayer or petition and the believer’s ongoing fellowship with God.

The usual New Testament pattern for prayer is to pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

“Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”

—John 16:23

Therefore, when bringing a petition before God, a believer might begin:

“Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus.”

But everyday fellowship is not always expressed in such a formal manner. When driving, shopping, working, or making ordinary decisions, believers often speak simply to “God” or “the Lord.”

The Holy Spirit, however, is the Person of the Godhead particularly associated with our present, inward guidance. He lives within the believer. He teaches, reminds, warns, comforts, reveals, and guides. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate to ask:

“Holy Spirit, should I purchase this?”

“Holy Spirit, is this hesitation coming from You?”

“Teacher, what am I failing to see?”

“Help me know what to say when I arrive.”

The believer need not become anxious about addressing the “wrong Person.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three competing departments of Heaven. They are distinct Persons, yet one God, acting in perfect unity.

We pray to the Father. We come through Jesus. We are helped and guided by the Holy Spirit. Yet we may enjoy fellowship with all three.

The Sojourner: Then let us take the question one step deeper.

When a young Christian—a lamb—finally breaks under the pressure of fear and runs into the arms of God, whose arms should she see within her heart?

When she is frightened and needs somewhere to lay her head, should she picture herself with the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?

The Professor: Let the frightened lamb run into the arms of Jesus.

Jesus is the biblical face of God’s tenderness toward us. He is the Good Shepherd. He welcomed children into His arms. He touched those who were suffering, received those who were rejected, and invited the weary to come directly to Him:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

—Matthew 11:28

John rested against Jesus at the supper table. Therefore, when a frightened young believer needs arms, a shoulder, and a safe place to rest her head, Jesus provides the clearest biblical picture.

She may say:

“Jesus, I am afraid. Please hold me.”

“Jesus, I cannot carry this pressure any longer.”

“Jesus, I am resting my head against You until my heart becomes quiet.”

“I am Your lamb. I am safe with my Shepherd.”

This does not bypass or exclude the Father. Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The compassion seen in Jesus is the revelation of the Father’s own heart. When the lamb runs into the arms of Jesus, she is receiving the Father’s love expressed through the Son.

The Sojourner: And where is the Holy Spirit in that moment?

The Professor: He is the Comforter dwelling within her.

Scripture does not ordinarily give us a physical picture of laying our head upon the Holy Spirit. His ministry is inward. He makes the love of God real within the believer’s heart. He brings the words of Jesus to remembrance. He bears witness that she belongs to God. He comforts, strengthens, and helps her recognize the nearness of Christ.

She might pray:

“Holy Spirit, Comforter, help me receive the love of Jesus.”

“Teacher, remind me of what Jesus said.”

“Help me become conscious of the fact that the Father has not abandoned me.”

The Holy Spirit does not manufacture an imaginary Jesus. He awakens the believer’s heart to the reality of the living Christ and to the love of the Father that is already hers.

The Sojourner: Then perhaps we could express it this way:

The Father is home.

Jesus is the Shepherd whose arms receive the lamb.

The Holy Spirit makes that embrace living and real within her heart.

The Professor: Yes. That is a tender and orderly way of understanding it.

Still, we should never turn an inner picture into a rigid formula. One frightened believer may instinctively cry, “Abba, Father,” and see herself received in the Father’s arms. Another may run directly to Jesus and rest against the Good Shepherd. Both can be expressions of biblical truth.

But for the young lamb who needs to know where to place her head, Jesus is the gentlest and clearest starting point.

She does not need impressive language. She does not need to understand every theological distinction before she can receive comfort. She may simply say:

“Jesus, hold me.

Holy Spirit, comfort me.

Father, keep me.”

Or perhaps only this:

“Jesus, I am Your little lamb. I am resting here with You.”

True fellowship with God is not proven by possessing a secret name or mastering the perfect wording. It is revealed in trust, dependence, listening, and surrender.

The frightened lamb does not need to know everything about the Shepherd before she runs to Him.

She only needs to recognize His voice—and discover that His arms are already open.

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Understanding the Path: As It Was in the Days of Noah

Every once in a while, you hear something that doesn’t necessarily give you brand-new information, but suddenly causes information you already had to fall into place. That happened to me recently. I was listening to a long interview dealing with the Nephilim, ancient cultures, the supernatural realm, and the influence that spiritual darkness has had upon mankind throughout history. I already knew much of what was being discussed, but somewhere along the way I had one of those aha moments. Something clicked. I began to see a possible path from Genesis to what Scripture tells us is still ahead.

Think of it as a timeline. At the far end of that timeline is the battle of Armageddon. Somewhere considerably before that point, put another mark representing where we are today. Now ask a question that has puzzled me since I was young: Why would Satan ever believe he could assemble an army capable of contending with God?

On the surface, the very idea sounds absurd. God is God. Satan is a created being. How could Satan possibly imagine that an army gathered from the nations of the earth could stand against Almighty God? Yet Scripture tells us that a day is coming when the kings of the earth and their armies will actually gather for battle. So whether their confidence is reasonable or not isn’t really the question. Somehow, they will believe they can do it.

That caused me to look backward.

Jesus made an extraordinary statement concerning the days preceding His return: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” We often hear that verse applied to the wickedness of Noah’s generation, and certainly wickedness was present. But Genesis 6 describes something even more disturbing. It describes a world in which mankind had become profoundly corrupted and where the boundary between the human and supernatural realms had been violated.

That world became so corrupted that God’s judgment came upon it through the Flood, while Noah and those God had set apart were preserved.

So I began asking a different question. When Jesus said it would be as it was in the days of Noah, could there be more involved than ordinary human wickedness? Could we eventually see attempts to corrupt God’s created order again?

That question caused me to look at our present world differently.

Consider what is happening around us. Artificial intelligence is advancing at astonishing speed. Genetic engineering and biotechnology are moving into territory previous generations could scarcely have imagined. Governments are openly discussing unexplained aerial phenomena that would once have been dismissed immediately. Scientists are exploring ways of altering human biology, extending life, interfacing human beings with machines, and manipulating the fundamental building blocks of living things.

None of those developments, by themselves, prove that Genesis 6 is being repeated. Neither should every technological advancement be labeled demonic simply because it is new or powerful. But neither do I believe the Church should be asleep. There is a difference between being frightened by the headlines and watching the headlines through the lens of Scripture.

That is where my aha moment came.

What if the enemy’s strategy is not merely to make mankind more sinful? What if his ancient desire is still corruption—corrupting what God created, distorting God’s order, and ultimately producing a civilization increasingly separated from the Creator while simultaneously reaching for powers mankind was never intended to possess apart from Him?

God created mankind in His image. That fact suddenly stood out to me. Is the enemy trying to create an army in his image?

Genesis tells us that God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Humanity therefore carries something extraordinarily important: we are God’s creation, made according to His design.

Genesis 6 then gives us the strange account of the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the Nephilim. Whatever conclusions we reach concerning all the details of that difficult passage, the chapter clearly presents a world experiencing profound corruption before God’s judgment came. And then Jesus points us back toward Noah.

That connection deserves our attention.

I cannot tell you that today’s reports about UFOs, genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, or alleged hybrids prove that fallen angels are presently recreating the Nephilim. There are researchers who make those claims, and their evidence should be examined carefully rather than accepted merely because it sounds supernatural. But I can tell you this: the direction of mankind matters.

We are watching human beings increasingly ask questions that once belonged only to science fiction. Can we redesign ourselves? Can we merge ourselves with machines? Can we overcome biological limitations? Can intelligence exist apart from biological humanity? Can we alter the human genome? Can mankind become something beyond what mankind has always been?

Those questions make the words of Jesus particularly interesting to me.

As it was in the days of Noah.

Then there is Goliath.

We usually meet Goliath when we are children. He becomes the giant in the wonderful story about the shepherd boy who trusted God. David takes five smooth stones, confronts the giant, and wins. But when we grow older and study Scripture more carefully, we discover that Goliath belonged to a much larger biblical story involving giants and peoples associated with extraordinary size and strength.

—> Suddenly David and Goliath isn’t merely a children’s story.

It is another reminder that the Bible describes things considerably stranger than the modern Western mind is sometimes comfortable acknowledging!

And that brings me back to the timeline.

I do not know exactly what the world will look like immediately before Armageddon. I don’t know how advanced technology will become. I don’t know how much of what people presently claim about hybrids or nonhuman intelligences will ultimately prove true, false, misunderstood, or deliberately deceptive. But I believe I understand the direction more clearly than I did before.

That realization removed some confusion for me. Instead of looking at every strange development individually and wondering, What in the world does this have to do with anything?, I can step farther back and look at the larger biblical picture.

I can watch. I can pray. I can test what I hear against Scripture.

The purpose of studying these things isn’t to become fascinated with darkness. It isn’t to make Satan appear bigger than he is. And it certainly isn’t to make Christians afraid of what may be coming. Quite the opposite.

If Scripture has already told us that difficult and unusual days will come, then recognizing them should not produce panic. It should produce discernment, prayer, steadiness, and confidence in God. Perhaps that is what changed for me. I didn’t suddenly receive all the answers. I simply began to see the path. And once you can see the path, you can watch where you’re walking.

I will continue sharing some of the things I discover along the way. You don’t have to accept every conclusion I reach, and I don’t want you to. Take these things before the Lord. Search the Scriptures. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Ask questions. Test what you hear.

I simply want to help people watch. Because whatever the days ahead eventually look like, I suspect they are going to be very interesting days indeed.

[below is a link to the video i was listening to that gave me deeper understanding… you’ll need some coffee. lol]

#end times, #nephilim,

https://youtu.be/VqlAg3Ua2YA?is=APwZX9a2XOSWyS0J

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He Left Judaea MT. 4:12; MK. 1:14; JN. 4:1-3

‘When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized disciples more than John…He left Judaea.’ John 4:1,3

This is an interesting passage of scripture. On the surface, it might look like Jesus was running from a fight. Now that John the Baptist was out of the way (he had been imprisoned), it was inevitable that the Pharisees would attack Jesus. One thing we can be sure of is that there was no fear on our Lord’s part.On other occasions He demonstrated that no one could do anything to Him if He didn’t allow it (Lk. 4:29-30; Jn. 7:30, 44-46; 8:20, 59; 10:39). Therefore we can assume that Jesus left because He knew it was God’s will. On another occasion when His half brothers dared Him to go to Jerusalem and confront the Pharisees, He told them that it wasn’t time for Him to go yet (Jn. 7:1-6). A lesser man would have been intimidated into showing His superiority. Jesus was the most selfless person who ever walked the earth. He did not come to earth for Himself, but for us. If He would have defended Himself, we would have never been saved. The humility of Jesus was surely interpreted by some to be weakness, but in truth it was love. Not love for Himself, but love for a dying world of which He was the only hope.

#spiritualwarfare

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Fleecing

A Charge to Shepherds

If you are going to lead the sheep, feed the sheep, and care for them, then you must take the responsibility seriously. Shepherding is not casual work. It requires diligence, discernment, and a commitment to teach well—because what the sheep are taught will determine whether they stand firm or are easily taken advantage of.

There are those who will seek to fleece the flock. If the sheep are not protected, and if they are not taught to recognize danger, accountability does not fall on the sheep alone. It falls on the shepherd. Scripture is clear that leaders are entrusted with care, not only for nurture, but for protection.

At the same time, wisdom requires balance. Just as there are those who exploit congregations, there are also those who, knowingly or unknowingly, are used by the enemy to wound, undermine, or destroy leadership. This too must be taught plainly. The flock must learn not only how to guard themselves, but how to walk in honor and discernment toward those called to lead them.

A healthy body requires mutual understanding. Shepherds guard the sheep. Sheep honor and do not exploit the shepherd. Where either side is left untaught, the door is left open for harm.

Be wise. Be discerning. Be cautious. These are not abstractions—they are people, precious to God, the very apple of His eye.

🦋Sj

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