Conversations With God

About 5 years ago, I began seeking the Lord about who the Holy Spirit is and how He operated in our lives as believers.  Having been to Bible School, I had a great deal of theology in my head.  I knew just enough to know that my knowledge was not enough.  I needed experience and a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in my life.  It was my understanding that the Holy Spirit would empower us to live the life God called us to live and that though His empowering, we could walk as Jesus walked.  One of the things I was very interested in was hearing God's voice and learning to recognize it.  I wanted all that the Holy Spirit had to offer by way of gifts and intimacy with my Father.  I prayed for Him to speak to me.  On the very night that I did this, my wife began having very vivid dreams.  She woke me up in the middle of the night and told me she had these dreams.  God was speaking to her in her sleep and I was jealous.  She did not even want it and I was the one who asked for more.  It was then that I learned that God spoke to me in a different way than he did her.  I was complaining in my spirit about her getting what I asked for.  At that very moment, a voice went off in my head (yes, I hear voices) that was very close to my own thoughts, but very different also.  The thing being said was "What's the difference?"  I was complaining that my wife got something I asked for and the Lord was telling me that her getting it was the same as me getting it; that she and I really were one.  This is one of the main reasons I recognized this as being God.  Who else would correct me, teach me and love me all in one breath?  My Heavenly Father, that's who.  God was speaking to me. 

One way I explain this is that most of us can readily identify where a natural voice is coming from if given enough time to listen and locate the speaker.  still most, but maybe fewer, can also recognize the voice of the speaker.  Now, let's assume that the speaker is speaking in a different language that ours.  We may not understand everything that is being said, but we know who is saying it.  Given time, we can learn what words are being said and how to interpret them.  I believe it to be much the same with God.  He speaks, I recognize it is Him because I am one of His.  The more I listen, the more I'm able to understand what He is saying.  Understanding His words still falls short of understanding His heart or even grasping why HE may be saying what He is saying.  As Paul wrote, "We see in part and we prophesy in part."  Not knowing all of it backward and forward is not a reason not to share what He may be saying to you.  Just remember that you may not be getting the whole picture from Him and your spiritual ears may still have some deaf spots in them.  Share what you may receive from God with humility, but also with confidence.  If you really believe it, be bold.  But don't embellish it or detract from it because it may be rejected.  Remember that the litmus test for anything you may receive in your spirit is the Bible.  It may not be a direct quote from the Word, but it won't conflict with it and the concept will be found there.  Keep in mind though that your current understanding of the Word may be flawed and God will still speak to you.  Sometimes, I fear we reject what we are hearing from Him because we don't like it and we have a poor understanding of scripture.  Many of us interpret the Word based on pop culture lenses and whatever may be trending on Twitter. 

Why am I laying all this on you right now?  I am about to share a great many things on The Refuge City that I believe come from the heart of God.  Some of it is fantastical, some of it is difficult to receive.  But I also believe it came from His heart of love.  From the very title of this blog, to the heart of my ministry to teens at The Methodist Temple or through Chrysalis, I believe that God has a destiny for this city that is much greater than just being nicer than the next town.  While I have eluded to some of these things in the past and I have spoken with many of you directly about what I believe God has spoken over this city, I have recently been convicted about not sharing things more openly.  I have another website called emberfoundry.org/APropheticJournal and I have posted much more there than I have on this blog.  Please feel free to browse that site and comment here if you have thoughts or questions.

I don't expect all of our readers to buy into everything I share in the coming posts, but I do hope that you will give it an honest read and seek the Lord for yourself.