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| Volume 1 Letter 6 - May & June 2004 God’s Ways: Communing with His Own In this series of
letters, I have brought to your attention some of the ways God communicates with
His own. I believe it is of
considerable importance to acknowledge and understand that indeed God does speak
to His sons and daughters and He does so in a number and variety of ways. Since my awakening in
October of 2001, I have experienced the following ways God uses to commune with
His own: In this letter, I will
discuss two of the ways God has communed with me: 1) Through the Holy Spirit’s
“still small voice” and 2) The Holy Spirit’s process of revealing God and
His ways and of teaching / bringing to me some of His wisdom, knowledge and
understanding. In future letters,
the other ways listed above will be discussed. 1)
The Holy Spirit’s “Still Small Voice” or “Quiet
Whisper” The Holy Spirit spoke
directly to me for the first time shortly after my “born again” experience.
The Holy Spirit’s direct voice is not audible. His voice always comes as a
“quiet whisper” into my spirit. This
“still small voice” could go unnoticed if it wasn’t for the fact that God
makes it known that the Holy Spirit is directly speaking to me. Thus far, the
Holy Spirit has always spoken in short phrases, sometimes as short as one word.
In many instances He has used phraseology / terminology that I would not
normally use when I speak. The ministry
revelations I have shared with you were spoken to me with the Holy Spirit’s
“still small voice.” In addition, I have already shared with you some other
phrases the Holy Spirit has spoken including “put your house in order,”
“this is but a prelude of what is to come,” “literal,” “spend
time with family” and “take possession of your destiny.”
Many more direct phrases will be shared in upcoming letters. A number of months
after the first experience with the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit,
I watched interviews on two different Christian programs during which the
“still small voice” of the Holy Spirit was mentioned.
This “still small voice” was described in the same way as I have
experienced it. 1 Kings 19:
11&12- The Lord said,“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of
the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the
rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
earthquake. After the earthquake
came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and
went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 2) The
Holy Spirit’s Process of Revealing God and His Ways and of Teaching / Bringing
Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding When I have said to
people God told me this or God speaks and speaks to me, I have received strange
looks and responses (or lack of responses) that seem to indicate what they were
thinking, which is something like, “Dorothy, you have an active
imagination.” What I have learned
over these past 2 ½+ years is that the Holy Spirit uses a process
as He reveals God, His character and His ways to you and brings you wisdom from
God and knowledge with understanding. In
a very real and literal way God has and is speaking and speaking to me. The process works
something like this: The Holy Spirit introduces a topic. This topic may be introduced through a sermon, God’s Word, another
person, a Christian TV program, reading material or in some other way. Then, the
Holy Spirit draws my attention to this topic over and over again
and feeds me until I have pondered, digested, and discerned the knowledge that
leads to an understanding of God’s truth. Oftentimes, shortly
after the topic is introduced, I feel bombarded with information
about this subject. Everywhere I turn the topic seems to be going through
dissection for my benefit. This process that includes information
gathering, going through experiences
and witnessing demonstrations may
take as little as a couple of weeks, may go on for many months or is still
on-going. The process continues
until the Holy Spirit decides I have pondered, digested and discerned
enough to have obtained the knowledge needed to reach a point of understanding. Then,
this understanding is taken into the depths of my soul and becomes a
part of who I am in God. Depending upon the depth of the subject matter, understanding may be
deepened and taken into my soul at progressive levels. (Jesus
speaking) When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He (Holy
Spirit) will guide you into all truth. He
will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He
will tell you what is yet to come.
He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known
to you.
John 16:13 & 14 Following are just a
few examples that share some of the wisdom, knowledge and understanding God has
revealed to me and I have taken into the depths of my soul:
Full surrender -
The truth that God wants each of us to fully surrender to Him is probably the
first understanding I took into my soul. It
is when we are in a state of full surrender that God can truly work within each
of us and we can become that new creation in God. Seek God with all your heart - With great desire and passion seek God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to
you. Ask Him to teach you His ways. He is extremely faithful. In His loving,
gentle and patient way, God faithfully reveals Himself to you and responds when
you seek Him with your whole heart. “You will seek Me
and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 & 14 Take time to sit in God’s presence – God
desires greatly to have a deep personal relationship with each of His sons and
daughters. Sitting quietly in the presence of God is an awesome experience and
vitally important. Simply, you cannot even begin to know God if you do not take
or make time to develop and nurture a relationship with Jesus Christ. Spending
time eagerly absorbing God’s Word and talking to God through prayer is key.
I have found the most
awesome and uplifting experiences happen when I just sit quietly in God’s
presence and allow the Holy Spirit to direct my thoughts. These quiet times have
contributed so much to the process of bringing me to the point of understanding
what God wants me to know and then taking these understandings into the depths
of my soul as they become a part of who I am in God. I love these quiet times
sitting in the presence of God. They are by far the best times of my day.
God prepares you for His Calling - During these past 2 ½+ years it has become very apparent that when God calls you He prepares you for the work He is calling you to do for His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit teaches, prepares, disciplines and comforts you. It can seem like a long and difficult process. For me, this process has also included experiencing persecution from well-intentioned Christians. The process includes the need to be patient and remain steadfast. It is only when God has decided you are ready, when He has woven together what and who you are to work with and when His timing has come to pass that your work for the Lord will succeed and receive God’s many blessings. You must stay the course. When the Holy Spirit
revealed God’s assignment to me in October of 2001, He included the phrase
“five years” without further explanation.
At the time I went through my “awakening” or “born again”
experience, I felt a strong sense of urgency.
However, God’s thoughts and timing concerning urgency may not be the
same as how I view urgency. When the assignment was revealed to me with the
“five years” included, I thought about the fact that I would be 61 years old
by then and rationalized that the “five years” must mean my ministry would
be peaking in “five years.” Now,
I believe that the main part of my ministry will actually begin when these five
years have lapsed. I believe that the writing and work I am doing now is still
part of the preparation process. God has distantly revealed the scope of this
ministry. I clearly understand the
great need for perseverance as this preparation process continues. I believe many people
have missed or dismissed their ministry calling because they thought what Jesus
was calling them to do was “too hard.” We need to remember that it is the
Holy Spirit who is doing the work through you and with God everything is
possible. I believe many people have dismissed their calling because they were
unwilling to stay the course. God is the only One who determines when you are
ready, when everything has been put into place and when the timing is right. “Faith
is not faith until it is tested.” I believe I have
learned what this verse means: God has a plan and
purpose for each and every one of His sons and daughters. Do you believe you are
being called or have been called into a certain ministry? (Truthfully, each of
us are called into some form of ministry, some form of service for God’s
Kingdom.) Pursue your calling with your whole heart and with the understanding
that God will prepare you. You must stay the course for as long as God
determines the process is to go on. Do not give up on God’s perfect plan for
your life. Do not substitute His plan with your own plan. The Need to Fear God – I
have a healthy fear of God and instilled in me is the understanding that
“fearing God” is a vital component of God’s love for His own. I have learned that you
are sealed with the Holy Spirit when you truly belong to Jesus Christ. And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption
of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1: 13 &14 I love this promise
spoken by Jesus: I view the need to have
a “fear of God” as a form of protection from God. It is in our best
interest to have instilled in us a healthy fear of God.
It is imperative to
take into your soul the understanding that God will do what is in the best
interest of each of His own. A key principle to know and cherish is that God
will not allow any soul that belongs to Him to be snatched from Him. Our sinful
natures and the work of Satan affect our daily lives. Our thoughts and our
actions often are not pleasing to God. These thoughts and actions make it
necessary for each of us to go through various trials and suffer consequences
for our lifestyle as well as experiencing discipline and sometimes punishment
from God. This is done out of His great love for us. It is allowed by or brought
about by God to get us back on track and to keep us on track. We simply must
strive daily to not stray and to stay on the narrow path that leads to our
eternal destination, which is never ending existence in the presence of our
loving and almighty God. Throughout God’s
Word, our Lord provides us with examples to learn from and to follow.
He provides us with the example of a relationship between a father and
child. A good father always does what is in the best interest of his child.
His love for his child will include discipline and punishment.
When the child strays from his father’s guidance, he or she suffers
consequences. In Hebrews, God tells
us straight out that He practices a form or “tough love” as necessary. “My son
(daughter), do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and he
punishes everyone He accepts as a son (daughter).” Hebrews 12:6 “Endure hardship
as discipline; God is treating you as sons (daughters). For what son (daughter) is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined, and everyone undergoes discipline, then you
are illegitimate children and not true sons (daughters).
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we
respected them for it. How much
more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but
God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for
those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:7-11 Straightforward – it
is a fact that when a son or daughter of God is disobedient, he or she will
suffer consequences. It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit will
cause or allow things to happen to remind you of how much you truly
need Jesus. The Holy Spirit will not allow
you to stray far from Jesus. For a good number of
months, the Holy Spirit has been placing upon my heart the need to help others
understand this need to “fear God.” We are fast approaching the end of this
age and God’s wrath (punishment and elimination of evil) is soon to fall upon
the nations and people of this sinful very stubborn world. Personally, I am
exceedingly thankful that the Holy Spirit through my confirmation pastor
instilled in me the need to “fear God.”
Pastor Harvey Carlson taught me about God’s wrath and about the Second
Coming of Jesus. I believe having this taste of understanding, that poked away
at me for many years, was an immeasurable factor as I reached a point of
desperation and turned in full surrender to God and committed the rest of my
life to following and serving Jesus. A fear of the wrath of
God that is coming soon upon the nations and individuals of this world is
essential. The upcoming wrath of God (the Great Day of the Lord) is something
that must be greatly feared if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ.
As a follower of Jesus,
a person is not a subject of God’s wrath. Our eternal destiny has been
determined, Heaven. We have been
purchased through the perfect sacrifice, the blood of Jesus Christ. However, until such
time as you surrender yourself to Jesus Christ, accepting Him as both Savior and
Lord and turn from your sins and from participation in the evil ways of this
world, you are subject to God’s wrath. You are subject to eternal separation
from God in a place referred to as hell or the lake of fire.
Actually, God does not
send anyone to hell; each person chooses his or her destiny. It is your choice.
If you choose to follow Jesus, heaven awaits you. By choosing not to surrender
to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have rejected Him, and thus remain subject
to God’s wrath. You have chosen your eternal destiny, the lake of fire. Understanding the need
to “fear God” definitely works as a deterrent to disobedience. I have chosen
to follow Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Savior.
I have chosen to give control of my life to God and submit willingly to
the Holy Spirit as He works to prepare me to carry out His assignment and
achieve His mission. I have chosen
to submit willingly to the Holy Spirit so He can work to sanctify me. How about
you?? |
| Last Update: May 29, 2008 |