Tag: Religious Spirit

Follow the Anger…

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Fourth Principle, Principles, Sowing and Reaping

Gang, this is a bit of an unusual post, but I am asking y’all to stay with me.

We look for and celebrate the design G-d places in us, and, sometimes, that means we follow some unorthodox methods to identify that design.

Now, anger has often been characterized very negatively, and that is not without good reason.

However, I want to say something about anger. In most situations that include anger, there is a choice of what we do with the anger. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to “Be angry and do not sin” implies that it is possible to engage in behavior that includes anger while also not crossing lines into behavior that is sinful.

Now, I am not saying that this is the case all of the time, but I believe the blanket exhortation to avoid anger is not generally helpful.

And like Clyde Fant, I am of the opinion that “righteous indignation is a twenty letter word for anger”.

Let me say that again two different ways. The need to use the words “righteous indignation” too often proceeds, from my experience, from a religious spirit or a spirit of being afraid of the full G-d-given experience of human emotion and free will.

To respond, instead of trotting out religious language for anger and USING THAT to justify an emotion of which we are afraid, it would be better to ascertain the root of our anger so we know what to do with it. Otherwise, we could be covering up a problem that our heart, mind, spirit, soul, or reins are trying to bring up.

Often, anger is rooted in two things: our sense of that which is just, and a violation of justice. It is not just because we are being selfish, arrogant, or proud.

To be sure, too often we are guilty of accusing of pride those who do not struggle with pride.

While some of you are wrestling with the idea that some believers do not struggle with pride, I will continue.

Indeed, there are qualities Father has built into certain of us that really incite zeal for excellence and effectiveness.

And coupled with those qualities are aspects that causes us to become rankled when excellence or effectiveness are mangled.

It is not pride or arrogance; rather it is anger as the King intended it to be the tool it is for provoking us to raise standards and hunt for better ways.

For example, when believers settle for a status quo try to move into something they know the King has for them….

…are corrected by other believers who either do not understand or do not want to understand try to correct us in accordance with a lower standard, then that friction creates issues.

In order to honor how the L-rd has uniquely made us, we really must move beyond avoiding all expressions of anger, hunt for and yearn for the G-d-ordained expressions of anger, nix religious expressions that blanket judge any expression of anger or frustration, and move into allowing ourselves to be pushed for “what is excellent…”. I would even bet money that those who are easily angered by slack-jawed expressions of faith have “what is excellent” in mind and are pushing for that excellent place.

Just some thoughts.

The Religious Spirit: The Spirit of One Thing

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Seven Curses

I tend to look for a more effective way of communicating concepts than the garden-variety way of describing things. Or I enjoy describing things that keep people from the rote “amen” and “preach”.
The religious spirit is no different.
There are a bunch of ways people have described the religious spirit, but I personally like the following description.
The religious spirit, which parallels the Redemptive Gift of Teacher as the root stronghold in your gift of Teacher individual, group, community, state, nation, or organization, is the spirit of “one thing”.
Do anything or anything except the one thing you are supposed to be doing?
Engaging in a flurry of activity, even devotional activity…just do not engage with the one thing G-d wants you to do.
There is a tie-in to this concept. The Philistine Curse….which in a nutshell is, one thing short of a full package. The one missing item that leads to a life-giving package, which is usually missing because we choose to do without the One Thing we need to engage in.
And the way that curse is broken is usually with the One Weird and “does-not-make-a-lick-of-sense” solution or tool.
For Samson and Shamgar they beat the Philistines with Ass Jawbones and Oxgoads. The strange or unusual. And usually along the way, you end up looking or feeling pretty foolish doing whatever you are doing on the way to disempowering the Philistine Curse, O Teacher, since this is the third of the Seven Curses.
That is, regardless of all the other descriptions you can layer on top of the religious spirits and regardless of thr comparisons to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the rituals that are dry and full of dead man’s bones, the religious spirit will busy you doing a bunch of crap that is not His best for you.
Just some thoughts here as I head to bed, gang.
So if you struggle with the one thing, find out from the King if there is one thing you should be engaging…
Benisons…..

The Spirit of G-d Will Not Violate the Word of -G-d…What’s Wrong With This Statement?

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Biblical Studies/Exegesis, Principles, Whole Counsel

Most of you who know me, know I am an obsessive texualist; I love the written Scriptural text of both the New Testament and the Tanakh. In their original languages (Hebrew AND Greek).

However, I have also noticed a disturbing reality.

What do I mean by that?

Well, it’s a trend toward incompleteness.

For example…

“The Bible is the Word of G-d.“

“One interpretation…many applications…“

“G-d will not violate His Word.“

“To equip the saints for the work of ministry….”…silence on what happens after that…

“A team of scholars worked on this translation” …silence on identifying the names of the people who constitute this team…

“G-d is moving up here…”…people fall out, BUT there is little change in their lives weeks later to indicate G-d was moving.

“So-and-so is ready to return to ministry….”…same minister also didn’t reconcile with the first wife or husband he or she cheated on to begin with…

And so forth…

Oh yeah, and the only two political parties in America that merit prophetic words are red and blue…

It remains problematic when we refuse to dig into the nuance of a statement and do not ask what is and what is not being implied in that statement…

It is asinine when we are either ignored when we question the statements being made…

called religious or critical when we look for clarification…

or gaslit when we refuse to accept what is said without question…

It is one of the main threads of my calling to not settle for halfway or partial answers when they are given.

Carlene Prince once told me that I have to look for what is missing…she noted that that is something I do.

And she is right. I hate half-assed investigations.

And I know I sound rude when I question what is stated…

But I cannot accept partial answers or perceived partial answers when they are given.

Especially when some of my friends have been seriously damaged by partial answers.

And my second wife is dead because of partial answers.

These partial answers are the Reasons when you say, “obey my covering”, that I respond with a glorious middle finger.

Gang, one of those statements that is maddeningly incomplete is “the Spirit of G-d will not violate the Word of G-d.”

And we are left with Zero discussion about which “Word of G-d” we mean.

And Zero curiosity about the inverted statement.

And Zero desire to ask if there are any other immutable items which the Spirit of G-d will not violate.

So, here has always been my thought to add to the statement “the Spirit of -G-d will not violate the Word of G-d.”

“Neither will the Word of G-d, both living and written (two forms of λόγος), violate the Spirit of G-d.”

And equally important and immutable as testimony to the Word of G-D’s veracity, and equally admissible as testifying of the Word Himself, are His Works.

…that is, what He does (John 5:36) is as important as the words about him.

And Yeshua BEING THE WORD OF G-D, is blasphemously ignored in this statement in Josh’s gospel. (Hebrews 4:11-16).

We refuse to investigate it because we are told to investigate it is heresy.

Gang, it’s not enough, especially given the regularity with which we ignore the Spirit of G-d, for us to merely assert thus-and-so about the words He speaks WITHOUT ALSO AFFIRMING His WORDS that His works are admissible as much as His tesitmony. It’s ironic that He would speak words about the veracity of his works and we would ignore those words about His works.

Tree carcasses and e-carcasses, if not attended to in reading by the Spirit, who alone gives understanding, will not bring life.

Rather, they will kill.

And that suddenly.

For those who have been so traumatized by the Scriptural text, as one who walks in the authority of a scribe, I would implore you to get out into nature and allow the King to meet you there where He is also. Or whereever you find him.

His Words and His Works…

What is missing from your regular routine that is life-giving and points you back home to Dad?

Go and do that.

And know you are so loved, gang.

And, as someone who reads the text and enjoys it, I would encourage you to do things that are life-giving to your relationship with the King without feeling guilty.

Be blessed as you recover your own walk with Him, gang.

Givers and Intercession

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Giver, Intercession

DISCLAIMER: Hodgepodge of thoughts ahead.

Every morning when he dresses the lamps [of the lampstand] he shall burn [incense], and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the L-RD throughout your generations.
From Exodus 30:7-8

Of course, Aaron was a Mercy.  And yes, Mercies and intimacy are somewhat second nature, though intimacy is the birthright of the Prophet more than the other six in terms of ROI.
But intimacy and friendship are different.
Moreover, the Altar of Incense is a Giver Picture.  And while Mercies do intimacy, Friendship is the purview of the Giver.
And read that dual phrase with me, ponder it.
Every morning, burn incense.  Every evening, burn incense.
Every day and every night.  Find some of the incense of G-d’s heart and G-d’s friendship to burn on the altar.  And the incense is as vast and varied as the Givers are.  Whales, birds, fish, serpents, monsters, eagles, terns, penguins, sharks, squids, octopi, mollusks, crustaceans, hummingbirds, and all their vast and varied homes from the second day and third day.  A variety of nests and nooks, abover the ground and under the sea.
And it was not just any incense, not just strange or unauthorized incense or even unauthorized fire for that matter (Leviticus 10:1-5) that they were to offer, but rather the most holy incense.  The camp’s best incense.  Incense that the L-rd knew.  Incense that has the right feel to it.  Not just soulish incense, but spirit-driven incense.  Not just blinded incense that does not pray with precision, but sharpened, discerning, perceptive incense.  Not just incense that prays only for the prodigals of believers, but for all prodigals.  As you recall, there was a movement of believers in the 60’s that prayed for prodigal, hippy kids of believers, and they were so short-sighted that they failed to include the children of unbelievers in that intercession.
Our job is not just cry out for our kids, but to also pray for the lost and the things that really do matter in their lives.  It is right and good for the plight of the lost to also touch our deep places.
G-d will let the bowls of incense in heaven fill up so that He can get the ROI not just among believers, but also from unbelievers.
Are you, Givers, willing to step into a place of alignment and agreement with that desire of His heart?
Or are you just content to complain about what the Left or the Right is doing?  Are you content to complain about the agenda of the homosexual community?  Or are you willing to spend time in the holy place, talking with the King about His heart?
Execute His heart and in the process, He will help you bear the things that are on your heart, your mind, and your reins.
A most holy altar demands appropriate incense (Exodus 30:10).
Givers are designed freshly for Intercession, in the same way that Prophets for Sacrifice, Servants for Cleansing, Teachers for Fellowship, Exhorters for Revelation, RJD’s for Execution of G-d’s commands via life-giving systems that Execute His work, and Mercies for the burning fire of consecration and mystery.
We in the Giver tribe can do the good work of providing resources out of our own strength, or we can walk by faith (our cardinal virture).
I use “we” not in the sense of “me”, because I am not a Giver, but rather in the sense of my tribe of Givers.  So, don’t let that sentence cause you to stumble.
I know I am no Giver because I don’t have Giver face.  Not a poker face, but in the words of Anna Zimmerman, it is a face that can mask the emotions exceptionally well.
Back to the topic at hand.
Because of your capacity for friendship with G-d Most High, Givers (Jas 2:23), you have a capacity to connect in intercession and keep it from becoming a religious thing that is unparalleled, if you will choose to walk in it.  It is better to intercede out of the friendship you have, instead of the religious spirit that you can so easily walk in.  And Givers and Teachers can walk in a reigious spirit if they are not careful.  They, like Teachers, can walk after the good things instead of the G-d things.
And we need both to militate against the religious spirit.  We need both to connect with G-d and to do the one thing He is telling them to do.
The bottom line for the AOI (Altar of Incense) is that it is designed to be the home for burning the best incense, instead of the leftover junk, or the other stuff that came into being without Father’s permission.
Keep the strange stuff away from the altar, and burn the best stuff from the King’s heart on it.
Keep all the good things you want to pray for away from it, and hunt for the specific one thing that He wants to show y’all.
Engage with the Prophets in your life and connect with them, to consecrate those altars, to apply blood from the sin offering (Exodus 30:10) to the horns of the Altar.

The Curse of One Thing

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Curses, Seven Curses

The Philistine Curse is one of those things about which I have thought very deeply, so let me see if I can over-simplify it.

A Better Definition For the Religious Spirit


Our definition of the Religious Spirit does need some refining.  We like to define it as not doing the stuffy things that certain denominations do.  And then we list our favorite denominations that exemplify this behavior.  And we bash Catholics, and Anglicans, and Methodists, and Baptists, and anybody except our own favored special group, who somehow does it right and is somehow more special than others.


Bologna.

I define the spirit of religion as “doing everything except the one thing that G-d told you to do”.

Dear Charismatic, if G-d told us to quit engaging in whatever our pet sin is, and we are engaging in this flurry of activity that includes passionate worship, flagging, dancing, prophesying, and a bevy of “spiritual” or “spirit-filled” charismatic activity, accidentally or intentionally, when we should be giving our energies to overcoming whatever that sin is, then that is a religious spirit.  We can claim to be free of a religion and yet change the color of the religion.
In another vein, the religious spirit can also be identified by those who squelch their design and act in a way that is incongruent with how G-d designed them to act.

Yeah, worship can become a sin if we are engaging in all kinds of displays of activity at the expense of the one thing.

This is why G-d through the Teacher Isaiah was so concerned about the Israelites practicing justice with certain groups (the widows, the orphans, the fatherless, etc.) and correcting their own systematic practicing of injustices.

The One Thing and Squelching Ourselves

In our execution of the One Thing G-d gave us to do from season to season, He also gives us the gift our our unique design to complete the execution. So, the same One Thing given to two different people, will probably look different in the process of its execution.

If G-d told us to quit squelching how He made us, and we accedentally or intentionally do that in order to fit in, we can end up in trouble.


When we squelch our design in order to fit in, and resist doing the One Thing or series of things He is leading us to do, we then are:

  1. Rejecting the One Thing that Father hardwired us to do,
  2. Rejecting our One Principle, One Gift, and One Design,
  3. Rejecting the One Place where we will have disproportionate ROI,
  4. Rejecting the One Reason G-d made us,
  5. Rejecting the One Pathway of His grace flowing, disproportionately in our lives (contra Romans 12:6–gifts given in accordance to the grace in our lives),
  6. Resisting the One Thing that will cause us to possess our birthright,
  7. Resisting the enthronement of the One Man, Jesus, on the land that is our lives,
  8. At risk for Empowering the Religious Spirit, the Spirit of Anything But the One Thing
  9. At risk for Empowering the Philistine Curse, the Curse of One Thing
  10. At risk for Lacking the One Thing that we need constantly, because the One Man is not enthroned in our lives, and we are rejecting the One Key that will turbocharge our lives.

All I can say is, I am guilty of doing this as well, and I am in desperate need of liberation, so I am not throwing stones at anyone before I throw them at myself.

So let’s look at the One Thing and intentionally go after dealing with it, because if we do not, and we keep doing what we have always done, then we will keep getting what we have always gotten.