Amanda is a voice that speaks with a manifestation gift of prophesying among other treasures, and she makes her home here in South Carolina along with a bevy of others.
I read the following exhortation and was floored. Hence, I would like to share it with you and hope you find at least some pieces that resonate with you.
She writes:
Ecclesia Leaders,
It is imperative that we deal with ANY offenses (big or small) between us.
Personally, I am comfortable with “clearing the air”. I would prefer to confront with love and truth now, than allow something small, or even what seems to be nothing at all, to expand over time to the size of a mountain.
The Lord spoke to me back in August regarding the year of the new wine. Since the new wine is found in the cluster (Isaiah 65:8), the enemy’s greatest strategy this year would be to sow offense, dividing us, the Ecclesia. When the cluster gets divided, there is no new wine.
Leaders, we can’t preach UNITY when we have unsettled issues in our hearts with other leaders. I understand that sometimes you just can’t make the relationship work, especially if it’s one sided. That happens.
However, APOLOGIZE even when you feel you’ve done nothing wrong. Just do it! The first to apologize is the most mature. Your gifts mean nothing if you can’t humble yourself. (Stop, Amanda…that’s a whole other post!đłđĽ´)
We’ve got to get over ourselves. Seriously.
Please have the conversation even if it’s awkward, painful…or if you’re the only one to apologize. (Sidenote; texting is a horrible way to communicate when there is confusion or hurt. Motives and tones don’t get adequately expressed.)
Do your part. Act first. Don’t wait.
We must discern correctly and check our motives and heart. If you have unresolved wounds, get healing! This is a HUGE area of contention where many become so easily offended, because the enemy has an obvious foot in the door.
Not everybody is against you.
I’ve prayed this prayer for years…
“Papa, may my heart be open, healed, and compassionate, but may my skin be tough, strong, and thick.”
New wine is found not in singular grapes, but in the cluster.
Something deep there, gang. And not even just on the surface of what she is saying, though there is remarkable truth in the plain sense.
Below I have cribbed together my notes from live Facebooking for the tribe. Also, Dawn Bray kindly transcribed her notes from the live event, and I will start with those out of honor to the woman of G-d.
Notes courtesy of Dawn Bray, Reposted with permission.
Introduction
*Know your essence. *You are allowed to be crazy unique *What has God placed in you that was intended to change the world in some way / context *How is that supposed to be a significant impact in the world
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Mary / Martha / Lazarus
*Carried extraordinary label of friend (few people received that label in the Bible) *Didnât call his apostles friends till later *Storyline – doers and worshippers *There is a world of difference between timing and perspective, vs essence *(Not scoring for your team…not told their essence is bad. Itâs an event. Poor eye / hand coordination)
*Itâs not an attack on your essence when you make a mistake
*Martha owned the house! It was Marthaâs house. She is the head of the home. *(Jesus went to Marthaâs home) *Overtly her lifestyle – she is a doer, she makes thing happen *That moment was a wrong judgement call, but not a judgement on her essence *The next chapter – Lazarus died. Martha first out of the house to meet him. Her response – serious faith for resurrection *Jesus in her face with the faith to believe. And she says she is in. (This is not Maryâs moment…even though she had been at His feet)
*Many builders in scripture have high levels of faith *At the beginning, God builds the universe. No worship place, but a command to build. *A new heaven and earth at the end.
*Job 38 – God discusses his essence. He describes himself as a builder. Because he is a builder, we trust him and honor him
*Nehemiah – a builder *Joseph – built a system in Egypt *David – built a kingdom and many different structures.
*Building is legitimate construct to know their God with power and intimacy with that key of music
*Proverbs 31 *Describing a builder
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Abigail
*Described from Godâs point of view: *Beautiful *Intelligent
*Profound validation of what is important to Him about her
*Describes her husband: *Very wealthy *Cruel *Evil
*Essence: beautiful and intelligent
*He also has a hairline temper – she walks on eggshells *She didnât leave him. And earned the respect of the staff as they watched her
*Our deepest trust comes from the places weâve had the greatest challenges
*She understands angry men. So she heads off to intercept him. He is murderously furious. She falls at his feet…
*Blessed for good judgement by David *Diplomacy
*Moved from microcosm that she is in danger, into the big picture of what God is doing.
*Why could she do that? Because she has done it a hundred thousand times in her mind. *Under random and irrational leadership *Lawyer a thousand times, appealing for justice *Not speaking it out, but thinking it
*Fruit of living with Nabal and being a peacemaker in her household
*Intelligence with a keen sense of justice. She didnât dissolve and become powerless, but mastered the art of diplomacy
*Told Nabal, his heart became a stone. Shock of her sharing caused a physical problem. He died because God struck him and he died. *God himself killed Nabal. Vindication for his wife.
*No time to grieve before David claims her in lust. He sent men to take her. *Now a refugee on the run, married by force by David. *9 year period – 4 wives, each had one child, and moved on. She was wife #2 *Culminated in Bathsheba, but it was going on long before her
*Kiliab – chip off the old block (no children before, now a boy…hope) then he is never mentioned later. Died later?
*Human situation that never really worked for her – from abused to being discarded and abandoned
*In the end, she still knew her God *Her final statement – âGod is my judgeâ I stayed true *Nobility in midst of tragedy
*Designed by God to be an amazing partner in life
*At the end, still dignity
*Life giving in the place of her own tragedy
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Hagar
*Egyptian *Not sure how she ended up in Abrahamâs household *Possibly given by Pharaoh, possibly purchased as a gift for his wife *Either way, given as personal slave to Sarai as a gift – she was a prize, a cut above
*Concubines were different. *Scripture is clear we have a different dynamic with Hagar Given by Sarai
*Family dynamic has shifted. No longer a slave but a wife
*Hagarâs lack of discretion isnât great. Got full of herself. *Big time injustice. Sarai complained to Abram. *Abram went back on the marriage, and gave her back to Sarai as a slave
*Sarai was very vindictive.
*Hagar runs away. God comes to her- where are you from, where are you going? *Godâs answer to her honesty – âGod has heard your miseryâ
*Promise over Ishmael *When you feel powerless, you dream of violent justice to the injustice around you
*This household is all wrong…and God gives a promise of freedom and vengeance / justice to her son. Defiantly independent and fierce. Bedouins
*Validation of essence to a resident troublemaker.
*She goes back.
*Issac is born, being weened. *Ishmael is making fun, Sarah goes on a rant. *Abraham loves Ishmael and is caught in a hard place. Hates playing peacemaker. God says emancipate them.
*Her essence: passion for justice and slavery *People deal with varying degrees
*The hatred of injustice and slavery *Matt 23
*Hagar was never a slave at heart *She accrued the favor of God
*Coyote vs dog
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*Beauty and drama, but look at depth
Queen of Sheba
*Heard about Solomon
*Two exhorters *Come with drama *Came to test with hard questions
*Not only a queen and wealthy, but considered herself intelligent.
*Talked to him about her questions. Saw the wisdom and was overwhelmed. *Didnât believe them until she saw them with her own eyes *Praise be to the Lord your God who made you king over Israel
*Never had seen so much spices and wood before or since. And returned to her own country
*A woman who liked her bling. *Her position, the intangible things – intelligent but was no pushover
*Intrigued but not impressed. How much is reality. *Was not going to embarrass herself – she brought her wealth with her
*Essence: she was competitive *For brand, for wealth, knowledge *Dignity and knowledge
*Exhorter to the core *Wanted to know about this God
*Solomon easily had the wisdom needed for the competition and the hunger
*Nothing unusual about her coming except the intensity – why is it included
*To celebrate her competitiveness ?
*Anyone that has a passion to complete is seen as being offensive or problematic
*Competitiveness is designed by God, can be a godly manifestation *Jesus – to serve not to compete. But chose disciples because they would be the ones to disciple entire nations
*That drive, to have measurables – built into humanity
*Designed to achieve *Usually becomes destructive *But to align with Godâs purposes
*Brought the treasures of her nation *Moved from competitive to awe
*Awe is not an ordinary part of conversation. *Not controversial term, generally embrace but do nothing about
*Lack of awe- *Editing: glory stories, and praying smaller prayers
*Never pray smaller!
*Highly competitive people are big people. Large capacity for awe
*What if you canât dial back and be content. *You will serve a big God, not a small god
*Contentment is often laziness *Permission to dream
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*Opposite of competitiveness: *Complacency, lacking fire and passion *Tearing someone else down – woundedness *Wholeness – want to walk because older siblings are walking *Want to have more – to unpack treasures *Building ourselves and others up vs tearing down
*Competition: Envision peopleâs design and language it for them to encourage them, champion people, cause them to desire it
*Competition is against forces of darkness *Craving to see all the power of God in our hands, tangible results
*Donât tear down, grow more in the essence of God *The drive that is God-given *Competition: To not tear down, but to be bigger than I was yesterday
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*Mercy with anger *Is your anger focused or floating? *John – gift of mercy, but 1st John is a cutting epistle *Phineas – zealous for Godâs glory
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*Exhorter gift: *Focused on presentation *African American culture – carries exhorter gifting *Clothing, bling, music – can pull it off like no other
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*Daniel – not a volcano, he was mellow man while surrounded by wickedness
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Mary
*Whiplash, got yanked every which way *Angst – external world being changed *Grounded internally or are only anchored when your external world? *No sin of her own- but hand of God and culture, to change change change
*Amazing for her capacity to remain grounded despite it all *Flawless grace through it all
*Her family had moved from Bethlehem to Nazareth – where you go when you had no where else to go. *âSingle wide on a dirt roadâ picture.
*Gabriel shows up and encounters her
*If God can pull it off, Iâm game. *From a very small environment, a poor home – sheâs in
*Profound Magnificat *Glorious time, but then goes home and has to face the shame.
*She is the only one that knows that she knows that she hasnât slept with anyone
*No big wedding, but community acknowledgement that she and Jospeh had messed up
*Census – every 10 years, except for this time. 6 years too soon. *Heavily pregnant
*You canât integrate the stable birth and the Gabriel visit rationally
*Whiplash – how did I end up here?
*Shepherds: reaffirmation, God still has her number
*Living in a house in Bethlehem – 1-2 years, surviving
*Out of the blue, magi with their entourage *Mary and Joseph process another whiplash – who has ever heard of this stuff? *But itâs real – Gold frankincense and myrrh is left.
*Leaving for Egypt in the middle of the night – contrary to their nature and integrity
*Trying to be obedient. Went back to Nazareth after a few years.
*Jerusalem. Whiplash – 3 days of looking for him! Jesus duking it out with Ph.D’s of the day
*Caperneum – Mary canât handle it and grabs his brothers to take him back. But he doesnât answer the door
*Crucifixion – Mary watched *Where do you put that *What experience trains you for that moment *Against the backdrop of all the miracles
*After resurrection – who am I to Him now? *And Mary is there on day of Pentecost where Peter preaches under the Holy Spirit
*Through it all – she maintained her emotional balance from inside not the outside
*Not a lot of people that could sympathize or encourage her, about the bigger picture or what was going on
*Fluid in how she approached life and also extremely grounded
*Free spirits are usually not grounded. *One or the other *Two different tribes that donât relate to one another
*Womanhood – an expression of her essence. Grounded and fluid, on the most extraordinarily playing field of anyone in human history
*She built a life with groundedness and fluidity God placed that in her in utter defiance of her circumstances
*Tough life, but she graced that life with the essence of womanhood that she unpacked and walked out
*Amazingly grounded and incredibly fluid
*Grace for resilience *Deep Faith beyond culture *Promises that are supposed to happen that seem impossible *Believe in the nature of God when the actions of God baffle you
*God speaking of emotion of the Father
*Separated from culture so you are free to be counter culture – *Looking back to see you are on time at the right place
*Masterpiece of grace and dignity
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Naomi
*You stole vs. you are a thief = Action vs. Essence.
*âYou are..â essence statements *You canât change them *Difference between behavior statements vs essence statements
*The enemy loves damaging essence statements
*Salvation and sanctification is transformation.
*What doesnât change is core essence. Is it misused or using unwisely *The enemy will attack and condemn our essence
*God breathing on essence vs external issues
*She names her children sickly and puny, and they die
*She is going home to face the shame Does the culturally appropriate thing for her daughter in laws
*Marred by failure, grief, and hopelessness
*âThis is Naomi?â Clear difference *She said they donât know the half of it *She was broken
*One objective for Ruth – stay out of trouble (young, foreign…)
*Kinsman redeemer discussion – Naomiâs essence *Wheeler dealer. *Deal maker *She knew the rules, with a plan and package *Arrangements
*It didnât have to take a barley harvest . *God could have connected them a thousand different ways. *But used the thing that had gotten Naomi into trouble, to give her dignity back *God is aware she is broke, broken, and misrepresenting him *Wheeler dealer had gotten her into deep trouble, but God redeeming for her *Completely changed her storyline
*IBM messed up, witch-hunt *Tore up resignation, expensive mess up but had integrity *Behavior issue, but not essence *Mess up but not unsolvable *No welfare
*God did not intrude in Naomiâs life with exterior resources, but pulled the treasure out of her. *God had made her a deal maker – part of the master plan. *He breathed on it, and let her work a deal in her culture
*Saul of Tarsus *Murderer – Mr. Genocide *Brilliant Theologian *same essence
*Come to Jesus meeting on essence – didnât marginalize Him, but God equipped him. *Took legal mind and passion for religion and used it for His glory
*Exiled to Syria – didnât believe in his essence but God did
*God craves restoring essence to be as He designed it
*Mess up that everyone bet against when God bet FOR
*Gehazi – lying in the name of the prophets. Absolutely indefensible. And *Yet, he is in the palace two chapters later – healed of the leprosy *Did business with the Lord
*Durability of design *Lord, confirm to her spirit that this is her season. In her heart language. *Brood over the truth center of her being. Assuring her there is a new season – this is a new season. For that to be manifest.
*It not a 30 day wonder… *Regaining respect of community. *Set your face like flint for what God has for you
*Naomi was only hoping for survival. *But received wealth, prestige, and mention in the scriptures *Thatâs what God did for her
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Elizabeth
*Taken for granted, overshadowed *Most of the attention goes elsewhere *But the others depend on her
*Not overlooked, but sheâs overlooked
*Scripture is very intentional that she descended from Aaron *She was in the priestly line
*Very clear statement of her emotional well-being. She hid for 5 months *when she got pregnant. Clothed with shame. *Keenly felt the social shame
*Solitude – why did she hide for many months? *Because of awe, no distractions *Spirit driven person not soul driven person
*Spiritually large person, so her son was spiritually large
*Elizabeth had continued to live in faith when she had waited for so long for what she had wanted
*She refused to strut her stuff because itâs an intimacy moment with her God
*John – in the wilderness, harsh in pursuit of holiness *Forerunner, preparing the way *Spiritual realm to break things open
*Only 6 month ministry for John, with 3 month overlap *First prophet in 400 years
*Jesus compares John to Elijah – says he is greater! *Immensity and intensity in his spirit, cracking the religious spirit
*Look at his mother. Overwhelmed by gratitude and awe when she became pregnant, months in adoration. *A breaker anointing blessing of her spirit
*Cadences is our lives are biggest points of conflict between us and God. *Desires, cultural norms, and expectations…
*Explosion of the right thing at the right time.
*Submitted to Godâs time.
*Consumption of a whole lot of choices.
*Feeling blocked. Probably were *By your junk, or hand of God
*Taxi and taxi and taxi to never get airborne, or the enemy
*Fight against the block and we become damaged, *Or trust God through it and are transformed
*A woman who understood the art of gratitude
*Romans 1 – brain rot *First step is ingratitude
*Romans 12 – renewed in the mind *Gratitude at the center
*Elizabeth defines a spiritual climate with a passionate gratitude with the gift God has given her
*Facilitated Jesusâs ministry by domino effect
*Pregnant with the purposes of God *Core part of essence – but yet unseen *Hope and dream has almost died
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*Bathsheba
*All Davidâs fault or two players? *Adultery *Judgement by the prophet
*David went from grief to Bathsheba *Story becomes beautiful *Roving eye stills
*No other wives (besides Abishag that was not consummated) 4 sons with her
*4th child – prophet came, God really really likes 4th born, Jedediah *Parents donât use that name – Solomon
*Book of Proverbs *Solomon repeatedly mentioning nurture from father and mother, David learned how to do marriage from a very wrong start *Patented together and successfully *Parented around issue of wisdom
*Honorable – Bathsheba was a learner *Fail forward. *No undoing what she did, what happened
*When Solomon met with God – too young, I need wisdom *It takes a lot of wisdom to know you need wisdom
*Building the temple that David was not able to build.
*To build in the exact area of failure, takes learning.
*Freedom to run hard after God to mine after wisdom, imprinted on him *Finding wisdom is worth the work
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Moses mother – Armram and Jochebed
*Nation at war *Civilian during wartime *Involved in covert activity – whole family at risk *Defy martial law
*”Who are you to disrupt others’ survival?”, said Jochobed’s neighbors. *Jealousy *Competition over children creates strong jealousy
*Choosing to put community at risk without their permission, instead of peace in slavery
*Life and death choices *Who do you think you are *Lots of social tension
*Deal with princess
*Likely didnât live to see her vindication when Moses returned
*Essence: courage
*Gambled enormously and strategically *Vast courage
*Theme – fear based responses. Self justification *Head of the line for lake of fire – the cowards *Cowardice is rampant in the body of Christ *Uncommon courage *Believing her God is better than Egyptian gods
*The hardest changes are from Godâs order to Godâs new order (OT to NT)
*Marked with fear if you are trying to keep the old ways
*Seasonal change requires huge courage, and taking great risks
*Willing to change and disrupt when God is changing the order
Rachel Stephens out of Las Vegas (for the skeptics among my tribe, yes there are solid believers even in Vegas) is someone I have been following for a few months now.
I first heard of her through my mother who mentioned Rachel’s YouTube material, an apologetics/biblical studies channel under the ministry name Crack Your Bible, when we were talking about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text.
While we may not agree on everything, Rachel’s approach is hard-hitting and detailed with the text of Scripture. And she will challenge you to dig, dig, dig into the canon.
Recently, she posted a lucid piece on Facebook, on the topic of ĎÎľĎ Î´ÎąÎ´ÎľÎťĎοΚ (false brothers: Galatians 2:4-5). And while I could have posted my own thoughts, hers are better, and so I asked her for permission to repost, which she gave. I will also provide a link before the original post on FB for your reading. Read on:
Hey Fam!
Have you ever had to deal with false brothers in the church? You know those fake friends who turn on a dime and let their true colors show when they don’t get what they want? I know this is one of Paul’s complaints throughout scripture – the injuries from false brothers!
Paul talks about all the garbage he’s had to put up with in ministry, check out 2 Corinthians 11, verse 26 in particular:
“24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
Just today I dealt with a false brother in Christ!
False brothers are everywhere. Creeps pretending to be part of the #CrackYourBible Fam just so that they can benefit themselves and try to get an endorsement.
Beware of people that are quick to flatter!
When I didn’t immediately follow this person, they deleted their endorsement, unfollowed and then asked me why I wasn’t following them.
“For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.” – Psalm 5:9
For my family’s privacy, I don’t even follow any of them on social media, let alone strangers with a fake name, & a random profile pic that isn’t of them.
Luckily this person showed their true colors within minutes of me liking their original post, but work on not being too trusting of people, especially at church.
Two days ago, I read an article about how 93% of convicted mol esters described themselves as “religious.” https://religionnews.com/2014/01/09/startling-statistics/
Fellowship â no vetting. Trust is earned, even in God’s family.
Be on guard! Don’t be quick to trust, especially people who seem over eager to interact with you, and especially your kids. This includes church leadership! There are too many predator pastors claiming to be “Christian” and who are supposedly “vigilant” in defending the faith when they’re really just “vigilant” about getting into your pants.
Be especially weary of individuals online who have super religious screen names. In my experience, the more religious the screen name, the more secret sin the person is trying to hide, especially if the screen name contains the words “Christian” or “Jesus.” That immediately sets off red flags in my head.
Stay safe, Fam!
“Trust is earned, even in God’s family.”
That one line is worth the price of admission.
For more of this material, give this woman a follow on her social media, and especially the YouTube channel.
Just be warned, any religious mindsets you have will be challenged. She does use the language of the culture in order to address her generation.
That scripture where Jesus curses the fig tree is the weirdest, right? And I say this as someone who increasingly finds much of scripture mysterious. (it’s Mark 11 and Matthew 21)
A couple of years ago I heard Chris Gore say that the meaning of that goes all way back to the garden of eden – that Jesus was cursing self – righteousness, man’s attempt to cover himself with fig leaves.
It resonated in my spirit. I knew it was true. But I mostly got weird looks when I tried to tell people.
So I was really blessed me to recently hear Kevin Zadai say the same thing – that Jesus told him (I’m paraphrasing), Kevin, I hate religion. And I hated the fig tree because it was man’s solution to sin, his own works, and that that’s religion and it’ll NEVER produce fruit.
He’s the only way, y’all. He doesn’t show us the way, he IS the way. We can have no righteousness apart from him. He himself IS our righteousness and he gave us himself.
When I get something in my craw, I usually write about it, and that is where much of the stuff comes from for which many of my audience cheers.
I doubt this post will do that. In fact, quite the opposite.
So, the Curse of Jotham, what is that? From where does it come? What is its outflow? How do we fix it and break it? And what does coming in the opposite spirit look like?
What is the Curse?
The Curse of Jotham is the Sixth of Seven major curses in the biblical book of Judges, paralleling the Redemptive Gift of Ruler/Judge/Deliverer, whose text comes from Judges 9. Jotham, the son of Gideon, spoke the parable that surrounded his curse in response to Abimelech’s actions towards their 70 brothers, and consequently the actions of the city of Shechem in their condonation of Abimelech’s actions of murder.
The text of Judges 9 reads as follows:
Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his motherâs relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his motherâs family, âSay in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, âWhich is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?â Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.â
And his motherâs relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, âHe is our brother.â And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. And he went to his fatherâs house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, âListen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that G-d may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, âReign over us.â But the olive tree said to them, âShall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?â And the trees said to the fig tree,âYou come and reign over us.â But the fig tree said to them, âShall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?â And the trees said to the vine,âYou come and reign over us.â But the vine said to them,âShall I leave my wine that cheers G-d and men and go hold sway over the trees?â Then all the trees said to the bramble, âYou come and reign over us.â And the bramble said to the trees,âIf in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.â
âNow therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deservedâfor my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, and you have risen up against my fatherâs house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relativeâif you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.â And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. And G-d sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, âWho is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech,âIncrease your army, and come out.â â
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying,âBehold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.â
So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, âLook, people are coming down from the mountaintops!â And Zebul said to him, âYou mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.â Gaal spoke again and said, âLook, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Divinersâ Oak.â Then Zebul said to him, âWhere is your mouth now, you who said,âWho is Abimelech, that we should serve him?â Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.â And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.
On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, âWhat you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.â So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelechâs head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, âDraw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, âA woman killed him.â â And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.
Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Judges 9 ESV
The Marker That One Is Under the Curse of Jotham
How do you tell someone is under the Curse of Jotham? Simply, there is a continual, chronic pattern of division or betrayal from within. What usually leads to the initial betrayal is a multi-step process.
some sort of violation of covenant/agreement that occurs between parties (In this case the violation of agreement between Gideon and the citizens of Shechem, who tacitly agreed to the mass murder of the 70 men by Abimelech (Judges 9:1-5)).
Someone recognizes the covenant violation and calls for the consequences of the violation to manifest, usually in an if/then format (In this case, Jotham (Judges 9:7-20)).
The”evil spirit” comes and foments circumstances that leads to the betrayal (more on the identity of this spirit later (Judges 9:22-23)).
Betrayal easily leads to a pattern of more betrayal and death of a friendship, business, church, institution, city, etc.
This curse either consumes EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH, or someone with the testicular or ovarian fortitude to point it out “mans up” or “womans up”, and begins to stems the tide, stands in the gap, repents for the covenant breaking and betrayal, incites the rest of the mesmerized parties to action.
Be reminded that demons are not usually the main issue. The issue is sin; someone did something somewhere to someone else. Once the behavior is fixed, repented of, and transformed, the demons have no ground on which to stand and must therefore leave. But, once the spirit of Step 3 takes hold, it takes:
Someone who is willing to point out the problem
A fierce intentionality on the part of THE GROUP who hears of the exposure of the curse to respond and NOT JUSTrepent of and renounce the curse, BUT ALSO begin the 100,000-step process of walking in the opposite spirit to the “evil spirit” that comes.
Who Or What Serves as the Entry Point For the Curse?
A person/group/piece of land/institution with the Gift of Ruling is the context that leads the explosion that causes this curse to manifest.
What Is the Evil Spirit?
A spirit of partiality to our given ideology that sees those who hold to opposing ideologies’ as wicked and reprobate, and, while we are willing to call out their actions as wrong, when those of our ideology engage in the same actions, we turn a blind eye.
We call that, in other arenas, a Mesmerizing Spirit.
Ďὸ ĎκΏνδιΝον: The Stumbling Block
Now for the offensive part
Washington D.C. has the gift of Ruling, and we have fed into the evil spirit Mesmerizing Spirit as both Republicans and Democrats see only what they want to see.
The same attitude that says “expand the powers for our party” but “curb the powers for the other party”, is the spirit that fuels and justifies all sorts of betrayals.
Some Examples of Jotham’s Curse in the United States
Calling a political party “the party of murder” for one crime, while justifying other types of murder in our own party.
Taking offense at the comments “made against a sitting U.S. President” while being perfectly fine with comments of the same spirit made against another former U.S. President of the opposing party.
Making exceptions for one group of politicians/legislators with whose philosophy you agree, while castigating/castrating/shaming those in the opposing party when they engage in the same actions.
A stubborn refusal to call sin out in our own camp when it happens. When one president from the opposing party is a known fornicator and predator, we say “impeach him”, but when the president who comes from our party is in office and guilty of the same actions, we say “we elected a president, not a pastor.”
These attitudes will lead to justified betrayal in any arena, and these actions are to blame for the uncivil dialogue and debate in which we currently find ourselves.
Is it possible the reason some of us are news-obsessed is because the MS and the Covenant-breaking mentality have taken hold in us?
This spirit of partiality also pollutes the “Prophetic movement” in our nation. When partial Exhorters tell us how godless one party is but won’t call out the sin in the camp of the party they support, then something is deadly wrong.
What is the Opposite Spirit?
Fostering trust among those against whom we have sown betrayal and with whom we have broken covenant.
Repenting of the covenants we have broken and being willing to sacrifice ourselves and our comfort to see others liberated.
Instead of coaching G-d on what to expose, asking Him to shine his light on and expose whatever He wants expose. Even if that means He first exposes stuff that we are engaged in.
Resisting the temptation to coach G-d on what evil He is supposed to see, or what sequence He is supposed to use with us and in exposing evil.
It is painful, and the cost might be some people view you way differently than they are used to seeing you.
With credits to Tim and Chelsea Clark for the pic.
WARNING: Esoteric and potentially weird and experimental post ahead, in the eyes of some. Not sure where I land, or where many of y’all will land with this.
As many of y’all know, my wife and I have been tracking with Sapphire Leadership Group for some time, and one of our strengths as a couple is in working with land, and noting certain land dynamics.
I am the kind of person that will often reflect the attitude of the land I am on. For better or worse.
So, I was busy writing on my friend’s walls, doing some maintenance after a long day, praying, working, and I came upon something in a pic belonging to a friend of mine. And I barely have words for this, so don’t take this as hard-and-fast; it is just a possible theory for what I am seeing.
I was looking at the above picture, and saw a portal in Tim and Chelsea’s closet here, where Tim was laying with his dogs, and the caption for the photo reads “Iâm just gonna go spend some alone time in the closet. Five minutes later…”
So, there was an anointing of rest in the closet, according to Chelsea, and I looked again, and I saw something. A structure….a portal.
And I know about Time Portals, Fragrance Portals, Sound Portals, and Earth Gates, but not this kind of portal, and it occurred to me, the portal that creates rest.
A portal that reflects the Seventh Day, paralleling the gift of Mercy.
And then it hit me.
The principle for the Seventh Head of Leviathan (Essence). The concept of rest and being, and following the account of the seventh day, we see the following physical dynamic, which could have a spiritual equivalent in Genesis 2.
âWhen no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung upâfor the L-RD G-d had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist/a spring/streams (depending on your translation/manuscript/rendering) was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the groundââ
Genesis 2:5â6 ESV
Walk with me through this one.
Man did not have to do anything to water the surface of the ground. Rather, the L-rd provided whatever the source of water was that watered the surface of the ground. It was all done by the L-rd. In a Teacher plot of land (the Garden of the L-rd, eastward in Eden), the L-rd walked and provided the thing needed.
So, this mist/spring/streams represents something that just is. The water’s beingness, is what provides the means of irrigation. Man can rest after doing the work assigned to him, which is a picture of what is happening to Tim in the above picture. It just bubbles up, as a boil from a spring or a gusher.
In essence, ethereal as it might seem, I think we are dealing with a Mist Portal/Essence Portal/Rest Portal/Spring Portal/Streams Portal.
And what I saw was something bubbling up, providing something that Tim did NOT have to strive for, or build,or make, or do. All he had to do was receive. And his dogs were knocked out with him.
Oriented like so.
Bubbling crude, Black gold, Texas Tea….
So, just some Mercy-esque thoughts.
Mercies, be reminded and encouraged. There are times to fight and do the struggling work, granted. There is a season and a time for the filial (sonship) work of building. But be at peace in your essence and being knowing that you do not have to work like a dog to earn Dad’s mercinate conffectiompassion.
It is not yours to fight for, any more than Jephthah had to sacrifice his daughter as a burnt offering in order to win the favor from G-d that he already had. He already had G-d’s heart and emotions and the victory in hand.
Sometimes, there is no formula for getting something done. Sometimes, you just have to led Father speak into you and just be with you.
Sometimes, you just need….
To be….
Essence
Mist
Being
The Mist Portal seems to provide the treasure or treasures of rest, wholeness, affirmation of essence, and/or affirmation of being.
The teaching album touted here is worth every penny, for those of you who have been damaged or controlled by the Fivefold Ministry (most of which is fakery).
Arthur writes:
THE APOSTOLIC PARADOX
One of the hardest things to process in life is when the things God has designed are destructive.
Marriage was designed by God, but when marriage goes bad, it sure can eviscerate a life.
God designed parenting. But there sure can be a lot of destruction that comes from parents gone bad.
And God developed the institution of apostles but these days there is such a trail of pain from some of the current expression of the apostolic office.
If you have been chewed up and spit out in the name of God by the apostolic, you may wish to explore a bigger perspective in the album “High Impact Christians.”
There is a reason why some apostles have become so horribly toxic.
And there is a strategy for going forward for those who have experienced the pain of apostles claiming divine authority for destruction.
I de believe that there is a righteous apostolic office.
But I think the Body of Christ would do well to examine the parameter I laid out in this teaching, so as to minimize the abuse of the office.
It is hard to recover from abuse done in the name of God.
Here is a download link to the teaching. It is also available as an album, from the CD section of the store.
This is what gives me pause about the lion’s share of Big Medical.
Medically-incestuous research, I like to call it.
For the anti-vaxxers, quit with the dumb memes and toe-deep logic.
Collins writes with some neck-deep gravitas here. Please slow your roll and develop your logic and argumentation such that it matches your passion.
For those in the traditional medical community who see one way of doing things and acting as though any branch of science is settled, you might want to reconsider.
Behaving as though “settled science” exists, and behaving as if we should be controlled by governments into putting stuff into us is NOT the way we go about making America the way she was designed: liberated.
Further, “settled science” is a good way to provoke the L-rd to send Feynman, Rutherford, and Einstien.
“Settled science” is the purview of the Pharisees, and when G-d does a new thing, those who have settled their neat little paradigms will be in for a rude awakening.
#rejectamedicalreligiousspirit
With those elements out of the way, the following is what it will take for us to consider even looking at supporting the option of vaccines. But be warned, mandating vaccines is one way to start a revolt.
Oh and I don’t recall which thread it was in now, but to clarify what I meant about anti-science: Any person, news outlet or doctor who says vaccines are completely safe are anti-science in my view because it is not good science to deem something safe that has ever been studied long-term for safety or for their synergistic effects.
There may be a few studies suggesting single shot efficacy, Iâll give you that, but most were paid for by the industry, so those unfortunately discredit themselves due to the conflicts of interest.
As a preamble, itâs wise to remember that efficacy and safety are not the same thing.
For example, nuclear bombs may be effective in eradicating some terrorist cells. But nuclear bombs are not safe. Too many casualties of war and life-long impairments, including death of those who were never a threat to begin with.
There are so many safer, more humane ways to strengthen the immune system without vaccines. (But they donât get airtime by Pharma since their business model only makes money from disease or disease management, not from healthy people.)
Anyways, back to your question, here are a few answers for starters (I came up with most of these myself and asked a few friends who have studied more than I have what they would add and included their answers too)âbecause we donât even know what we donât know yet.
Findings from any of the following would naturally lead to more inquiries.
First, before anything else, remove the legal immunity from the vaccine manufacturersâso the pharmaceutical companies are once again subject to liability for injuries and deaths. There is no incentive for Pharma to make them safer since there is no liability. Your and my tax dollars should not pay for negligence by corporations. (No liability, no deal.)
* Several independent meta analyses (gold standard reviews) by independent scientists, researchers and doctors from diverse training (allopathic, naturopathic and more) who are not funded in any form by pharmaceutical interests. (Medical pluralism is a strength, not a weakness.)
* Vaccine inserts say it has not been studied for carcinogenic or mutagenic properties or ability to impair fertility (so thatâs a good place to look.)
* Independent studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. (Hasnât been done.)
* Several generational studies examining the lifetime health and generational health of those who have been vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated. (Hasnât ever been done.)
* Independent studies investigating the multiple interacting factors, both short- and long-term synergistic effects of the current vaccine schedule in large samples. (Also never been done.)
* Research exploring the effects of bioaccumulation over time and its impact on neurological functions.
* This is a big one: Genetic research studying susceptibility to vaccine injuries so we have better data to âdo no harm.â (MTHFR gene mutation for example are highly susceptible to adverse effects.)
* Go beyond the surface for autism and vaccine links and look into the genetics specifically of different populations. Especially when studies already show that African American children and the Somali populations in the U.S. and abroad have higher rates of autism. The CDC already does their Community Report on autism every 4 years or so, but they need to continue to do research on why it is, not only reporting what is.
* Environmental studies â how do different environments shape susceptibility to adverse effects.
* Research showing no correlation to autoimmune diseases. (There are SO many linked possible side effects that need to be explored with intensity.)
* Safe adjuvants (for all vaccines) and safe cell substrates (for live virus vaccines). Both of which would need to undergo individual testing using the gold standard double blind randomized saline placebo. And the testing would need to be carried on long term at least 10-15 years before marketing the vaccine so any late effects (especially cancer, diabetes and other autoimmune illnesses ) could be studied.
* Testing every vaccine for safe amounts of adjuvant for different patient weights, (applying the same standards other drugs are subject to.)
* Studies that show repeatedly that an IgG inoculation (blood born) increases an IgA (gut born immunity) response safely. (Because science can rarely proveâŚthe results or findings merely suggest.)
I look forward to your reply. No rush.
This. This is a proper anti-vax response. And “Amen”!
Anne Hamilton has a penned a profuse number exceptionally well-thought-out posts on Facebook.
This post responds well to the concept of the Lenten season.
She writes:
Back about forty years ago, someone told me that if I wanted to give up sugar in coffee, I would have to do it forty times before I broke the habit. That turned out to be true. I suffered all the way through 39 cups of unsweetened coffeeâonly to discover that, on the 40th cup, my desire for sugar had gone.
A couple of years later, I applied the same principle to milk and gave it up too.
Forty, of course, is a number found repeatedly in Scripture. Perhaps most famously in the number of years the Israelties spent in the desert and the number of days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.
So let me offer a challenge that only Jesus can help you fulfil. Instead of deciding what you’ll “give up” for Lent, ask God to put His finger on a “false refuge” that He’d like you to give up permanently. Ask Him to identify a place of consolation, a subtle stronghold empowered by an idol, and – over the next forty days – ask Him to help you lay siege to it and bring it down.
It might not take that long. But if it does, ask Him for the strength of endurance that Jesus showed in the face of repeated temptation.
Just wow. I add a hearty amen. During this season, consider listening to what Father tells you to PERMANENTLY remove from your life.
So, I was listening to Arthur Burk’s Redemptive Gifts of Individuals, and heard the following, using the Romans 1 “spiral of sin” as a background.
I’m not sure I fully understand what goes on in the mind and the heart and the soul of the teacher: why it is so difficult for them to embrace the truth of who G-d says they are and step into leadership. But I do know that for those that have grown, for those that have changed…the beginning place has always been to engage their emotions in the celebration of who G-d is and what He has done.
I refer to this very simply as the upward and downward spiral that creates brain rot or cures brain rot in an individual. This applies to everybody but it is central to any Teacher who has grown up in a system that has a professional relationship with G-d, not a personal relationship with G-d.
Arthur Burk, The Redemptive Gifts of Individuals, Disc 4: Teacher, Cut 7: Letter To Pergamum, Timestamp: 10:59-11:44
The concept of the Brain versus the Heart is often times preached, and that poorly in the Evangelical Church on the whole. Yesterday, we were taught that the primacy of our identity and relationship with G-d begins in the heart and not the brain. There have been reams written that say we need to have a heart transformation and not just an increase of knowledge or a knowledge download.
Then there is Heidi Baker’s “Too Big <points to head>, Too Small <points to heart>” statement.
I have always had a profound issue with the concept of being forced to choose one or the other.
But in this case, I heard Arthur, in the context of the above, state the following that helps brain and heart fit together.
And once we have allowed a little bit of brain rot in to where we are not thinking as rationally as we used to, the next sin, the sin that we wouldn’t’ve committed yesterday becomes a little more plausible, and we can reason our way to the next sin, which causes more brain rot.
Arthur Burk, The Redemptive Gifts of Individuals, Disc 4: Teacher, Cut 7: Letter To Pergamum, Timestamp: 12:46-12:53
So, where did the downward spiral into this Brain Rot cycle begin? Romans 1 details a destruction of the MIND AND THOUGHT, not the heart. It is the destruction of the rational mind that leads to a rotting relationship with G-d.
So, where does the heart fit in, and how do we recover the brain/mind?
The first step, where we put one foot into the doorway to the downward spiral and a heart that is calloused to shame.
Verse 21.
” For although they knew G-d, they did not honor him as G-d or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Arthur relayed the start of the spiral back to this verse, and this verse pairs the heart and the though/brain together. A fractal of two and a picture of fullness.
The baseline between brain rot and wholeness is being able to recognize G-d’s fingerprints in your life and being able to celebrate them. And when the Teacher becomes purely cerebral and has no EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH G-D, he already has one foot in the downward spiral.
Arthur Burk, The Redemptive Gifts of Individuals, Disc 4: Teacher, Cut 7: Letter To Pergamum, Timestamp: 14:06-14:27
Let me assimilate the above into the following line.
The emotional component of the heart protects and defends the brain from destruction by the kingdom of darkness. Our emotional capacity to see G-d’s fingerprints and celebrate those fingerprints is like a Vitamin booster, a clove of garlic, and echinacea for the brain and thoughts.
Our inability or refusal to see, recognize, and emotionally engage, especially the Teacher, is what leads to the destruction of the brain, mind, the rational processes and thoughts.
They are designed to work in tandem.
It is not one over the other, anymore than it is a gift over all others, or a person over all others. It is a pairing for the turbocharging of fullness.
The purpose of a strong emotional component is a sharp mind, intellect, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. All of our days, instead of picking one over the other, I say pick both.
Bless the heart and the emotions and protect the brain in order for the spirit to do its finest work.
