Tag: spiritual growth

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The Great Warning Of Apathy Through The Book of Jonah

I was reading the Book of Jonah this morning and Jonah’s heart posture stood out to me in greater measure than ever before.

(If you haven’t read the Book of Jonah, I encourage you to stop reading and go do so. This will help tremendously as you continue to read. )

What I came to see was that after Jonah had reluctantly obeyed God and after Jonah had been shown mercy, He had a really hard time dishing out to Ninevah what He has just been given. In fact, Jonah was angry at God for forgiving the people of Ninevah so much so He wanted to die. But, God came back with a question and I believe it is important for us to ask ourselves too.

We need to ask ourselves this question, do I have a right to be angry about this? Or is this what God has ordained?

We should never look at someone angrily because of a repentant heart. It doesn’t matter the weight of the sin, God looks at murder, gossip, and a white lie all the same. It is sin that needs to be forgiven. And truth be told, we all have fallen short and are in need of forgiveness.

You see, Jonah had became apathetic towards God’s own work-God’s people. We can learn from Jonah’s example that it is important to watch ourselves for pride or a biased expectation in the way we believe things should go. We must watch when we attempt to take place of God in judgment if we are not looking through the same heart of love God has for who He has created.

Rather, we should have an eagerness to willingly obey God and trust Him for whatever results obedience may bring. He desires no one to perish. We must look at everyone through eyes of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

If we cannot do this, we must check to see if our hearts have grown cold towards the very thing God loves most, His creation, His people.

When we are going through conflict we should remember these two things:

1. As God asked Jonah, do we have a right to angry about this? (See Jonah 4:4)

2. We also must remember the heart of the Father.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
Psalms 86:5 NKJV

Unlike the example of Jonah, let us willingly obey the Lord without reluctance or apprehension and through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, give what God has delighted to give us.

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Battle Ready Bible Study

Join me on January 5th for the launch of Let Love Be My Motive’s Battle Ready Bible Study! 🎉
Every other Tuesday, join together with me and other Children of God for a time of equipping and sharpening through God’s Word! 🙌🏻

Join Group Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/763712957485604/?ref=share

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Unity And Growth Through The Gifts Of The Spirit

If you are reading this and are filled with the Holy Spirit, He has given you gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, the kingdom of darkness has always attempted to quench the Spirit of God in whatever way possible, even if that means working from the inside out. There are many people who are afraid to step into the Gifts of the Spirit because of an abusive leader, spirit’s behind people coming against them as they step out, or even self-sabotage. What remains the same is the motive of God’s heart for giving these gifts to His children.

Spiritual gifts are earned as much as salvation is earned, they are not earned at all. THEY ARE FREELY GIVEN. We are given gifts and salvation out of the pure love of our Heavenly Father’s heart. With God’s mark of approval and Holy Spirit living inside of you, you are enough right where you are. You do not have to pay for gifts. If you did, that is not a gift at all, that is a purchase. Be free from the lie that you are not good enough or God cannot use you where you are. The truth is, in Him you have all you need. Thankfully, God uses us even when we do not feel like we have all our ducks in a row. To my surprise, I have come to find when my ducks are wandering, God calls me out to help get other people’s ducks in order.

As I have personally continued to step out in obedience, there has been a lot of spiritual warfare. I am sure you have felt this too. Many times, spiritual warfare can come disguised as a critical spouse, a jealous friend, or a mentor who does not believe in the vision God has given you. The enemy attempts to steal our vision and turn our focus on people rather than the true enemy at hand, him. There is nothing more the enemy wants you to do than to stop where you are. The enemy knows if you do not continue to walk in obedience, yielding to the development of the Holy Spirit, the church will not be built up and people will continue to spiritual regress.

What does it mean to “build up” the church? The word build up means to bring spiritual advancement or an act that promotes spiritual growth. The gift that God has gifted you, your brother and sister in Christ desperately needs for their very own development. We can say the same about our brother’s and sister’s gifts. God designed the body of Christ in such a way that we need one another to develop.

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”

-1 Corinthians 12:14-25 ESV

It is important to note that God intentionally made us different not only in giftings up but in our personality too. What I can do, you cannot do in the same way as me. What you can do, I cannot do in the same way as you. The enemy has done an excellent job of distracting the saints with comparison and jealousy to cause strife and division. When he does this successfully the body is being tore down and the works of darkness and are being multiplied rather than being destroyed. Your God given gifts and the way you walk in them will not be the same as your neighbor. That is okay, that is the way God intended it to be.

The results of the Children of God walking in the Gifts of Spirit is spiritual growth. But, how do we walk in the Gifts of The Spirit while being unified? The answer is a lot simpler than you may think! We walk as Jesus walked-as a humble servant. Jesus had no room in his heart or spirit for jealousy or comparison. In fact, he called envy and jealousy demonic because of the very division it causes. Jesus did not think of himself better than others. Jesus was so focused what God had set forth for him to do that he did not give His hearts attention to anything else that attempted to hinder that. We need to do the same. As the warriors of Christ, we must be so focused on the mission, we no longer have time for civilian affairs. The Body of Christ can only be unified when our own selfish motives are not involved. Unity is birthed when all we care about is what God has set forth for us to do, TOGETHER. As Jesus walked, we must deny ourselves and the way we think it should go. Instead, we must give a listening ear and an open heart to the Father. We no longer do things for ourselves, but our motive is all for His glory and the spiritual growth of others.

I encourage you to invite Holy Spirit to examine your heart daily to see if your motive is still His. We are in a time that this broken world needs a unified church that continually builds one another up. We can only fulfill our God given mission by being unified with His heart which overflowed humility, honor, love, and servanthood.

So also you–since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

-1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV

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Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft-Jennifer LeClaire (Book Review)

Book Information:

Title: Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft: Exposing the Supernatural Divination that is Deceiving Spiritually-Hungry Believers

Author: Jennifer LeClaire

Publisher: Destiny Image

ISBN: 0768456010

Book Review:

I want to start off with the bad news about Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft, because there is much more good to talk about in this review. In the very beginning of the book Jennifer LeClaire talks about ‘out of body’ experiences being from the Holy Spirit. I can assure you that out of body experiences are witchcraft/new age. I know this only because before I came to the Lord, I had them and it was because of dabbling in occult that this happened. I am so thankful that the blood of Jesus has washed me clean and set me free from my past. However, I am thankful that I am able to share with you to stay away from out of body experiences due to it being a stumbling block and hindrance to those who truly love the Lord. I would love to sit down with her and hear what she has to say concerning this topic. The only other thing I feel led to critique was that the first couple chapter’s it was a slow start. However, the rest of the book makes up for the critiques given above. (Let me add, no book is perfect and as an author myself I find it necessary to share ways that can correct but also exhort. This is not only helpful for the author but those who are reading!)

Do I think you should stay away from Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft due to the above critiques? Absolutely not. This book has helped equip me by sharpening my discernment and open up my spiritual eyes. I would advise you to read slow to be able to fully digest the depth of the content provided. Jennifer LeClaire is full of wisdom, boldness, and love for her God given assignment to equip the saints in the prophetic. My love for this tool starts with the amount of scripture used to understand where she is speaking from. We should be weary of books who speak about such subjects from their own wisdom rather than God’s Word. Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft had me step back and ask the Holy Spirit to examine my heart. Have I ever unintentionally prayed witchcraft prayers or been exposed to such false doctrine? LeClaire writes with authority and conviction given from the Holy Spirit. She shares her wisdom to equip you and I to be aware of the increasing amount of wolves in sheep’s clothing sitting in the pews and even on stage. LeClaire has wrote Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft in a way that gives room for repentance for those who had unintentionally fallen away from God’s heart. But, she is also very firm against those who purposely deceive which is conveyed through the emotion in her writing.

Overall, I give Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft 4 out of 5 stars. I would only recommend this book to those who are actively in the word of God. This is not spiritual milk for babes, this is meaty and full of wisdom. I want to leave you with this final thought before you think about investing in this book. Jennifer LeClaire has a love for the prophetic and the saints that is evident through her writing. I believe that this tool, despite the critiques, is a must have for those who are actively participating in waging warfare. Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft is a heart checking, eye opening, book on Prophetic Spiritual Warfare.

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Deeply Devoted-Devotion That Lasts For Generation’s To Come

“I promise you that as this wonderful gospel spreads all over the world, the story of her lavish devotion to me will be mentioned in memory of her.” -Mark 14:9 TPT

The statement above was right out of the mouth of Jesus. He was speaking about Mary after she has just received criticism for pouring a very expensive perfume all over the head of Jesus which in turn prepared him for burial that was soon coming forth. Wouldn’t you love for this to be apart of your testimony once your life passes away here on earth? Your devotion to God being so profound that it is talked about for generations to come. While I do not solely think being talked about for generations to come is a good motive. I do believe that our surrender to our heavenly father should be so deeply rooted in heaven’s bliss that others can’t help but realize that the God we serve is as good as it seems. Our devotion should express the deep love that he has for us and that we share in return.

If today was your last day here on earth, what would your hearts devotion say about you?

We see in the life of Mary that she constantly chose what Jesus said was important, laying at his feet (Luke 10:39-42) and devoting all she had to God even with the risk of criticism. Jesus is after the same thing he was many years ago, our whole heart. He does not just want a piece of our heart when it is convenient, he wants us to be unrelentless with our devotion to him.

This is going to look different for every single one of us. Which is why it is so important for your heart’s motivation to be pure! If we seek the applause of other’s this can bring us to shambles. In the case of Mary’s devotion, she received criticism from those closest to her, like her sister. This could have derailed what God had for Mary. But Jesus stood up for her once again in the midst of her laying all she had at his feet. Another example of this is the widow and the two coins.

Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.  Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.  Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.” -Mark 12:41-44 CSB

What the world would have saw as little, two coins, the Lord saw as all she had. Comparison has been the death of many dreams and stolen joy for ages. Let’s refuse together to not compare our journey with anyone else. The heart of Jesus repeats itself here. Jesus was after all she had, not just the left overs.

For me, ‘all I have’ is writing to you, investing in writing, taking care of my husband and our home. For you your “all I have” is going to look different, but is significant in the kingdom of God and in the heart of Jesus. I want you to encourage you today to give to him all you got! Our heavenly father see’s our heart and knows the role we have in his redemption story. May we take each day as an opportunity to grow in deep devotion towards our heavenly father, giving him all we have, and all of our hearts.

Reflection Question’s

  • Where does your devotion to the Lord stand right now?
  • How can you grow closer to the heart of the Father?
  • Why is it so important to not listen to the criticism’s of the world and focus on what Jesus is speaking?
  • What is your “all you have”?