And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? I Kings 19:11-13
“Jesus asked, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”(Matthew 7:3 NIV). Christians seem to be uncontrollably motivated by some deep need to “take the dog by the ears.” (See Proverbs 26:17.) They are always meddling in other people’s stuff. This is one of the main reasons the world hates the church. We have declared ourselves to be the world’s police force. We are the self-proclaimed militant army that is here to police and judge the world, when we should be a loving family who brings hurting people into the family circle by adoption! Our concept of presenting what we mistakenly call the Gospel is to let people know they are sinners so they will realize their need for Jesus. This erroneous concept leads the Christian to think that the best way to let people know they are sinners is to point out their faults-that is, to find the speck in their eye.
Your Heart Dictates How You See
The way we view something is the product of our heart. If we have a critical eye, it is because we have a critical heart. The Bible says, He that hath a froward heart findeth no good” (Proverbs 17:20). A ‘froward heart”is a crooked heart. It is a heart that has been reshaped through the pressures of sin, legalism, religion, or life circumstances. It is a heart that sees only the bad; it cannot find the good. Some people seem to have mistaken criticism for discernment. Criticism is not a gift of the Holy Spirit; it is the product of a corrupt heart. Religion has forged the church into a critical, reactionary society not much different than that of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.” James B. Richards. How to Stop the Pain. Kindle Edition.
WELL INTENTIONED DRAGONS
As a New Creation, I sometimes look to other, wiser, Christians for sound advice. There are some, I have learned through experience, who see through my questions, and hear what my heart is actually asking. This is a gift of discernment I find most mature Christians have.
There are new Christians, like me, who need to spend much more time in the Bible and Prayer, so we can develop a finely tuned sense of God’s Voice, and God’s Will.
Then there are the well-intentioned dragons. These are the ones who genuinely love God, and are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and even know scripture very well, but something about them sets my teeth on edge. Figuring out what that something is has taken me some time. I took that time to look for patterns, and build a baseline that demonstrates the difference between what I hear them say, and the way they say it, against what and how Jesus spoke to people.
THAT IS WHEN I FOUND IT!
Jesus, being God, and unchangeable (YHWH), speaks, and when He speaks…
He doesn’t change, but loves eternally, speaks gracefully, and uses the truth to heal, not hurt.
He is Lord of Lords, meaning His word is the first one, and the last one, because His judgement is true.
He is the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, as these three are one…when He speaks, all have spoken, they are their own witness, and need no outside verification.
He is the Lord Most High, sitting eternally on the throne…and because we have accepted his free gift of life, we sit next to him, as he is our brother, and GOd is our Father. THere is none beside him, and no one higher in authority than him.
His word and will is our provision. He meets all our needs, to grow, to love, to show mercy, to be graceful, because when he became all sin in our place, he gave us all that he is in exchange.
His word smites sin. No other has this authority. All other judgement is accusation and comes from the father of lies and his children. God’s judgement is true, and he deals mercifully with us, as he destroys sin, in us, and in the world.
He is the one and only one who sanctifies us. His death on the cross paid for your fall, and his resurrection gave us new life…if we will accept this free gift. He alone is what sanctifies us.
He is the one who marks us with his banner and ensign. We are his, paid for with His blood. Our mission in life is to become like Him so that when people see us, they see Him only. We are his banner, and he is ours.
His blood, and his word heals us. All he gives us in His love, grace and mercy. He will do us no harm. He is not mad at us. He heals us by the stripes he bore.
He is my ever-present shepherd. He guides me in the midst of trouble, and leads me to his peace, even in the midst of the storm. Even His rebuke of me brings me hope and life and health. No other has this ability, or authority. He keeps watch over me day and night.
Well intentioned dragons will use the scriptures and their overrated opinion and religion to criticize, destroy, rob you of peace, take your joy. THe well-intentioned dragons are the first to point out what you did wrong. Why you should have done it better/different/ or not at all.
Well intentioned dragons have no faith in the genuine work of the cross because they are too busy being religious. That is why, when GOd sends you to do a thing, they rail against it, they fail to see your vision, they try to improve you so that you will better resemble their opinion of the truth, and fail to comprehend what real truth actually is.
Well intentioned dragons do not feel ok until they have spoken their judgement over you, and “improved” you, and judged you inadequate. They did this to Jesus, and they will do the same to you.
IF YOU LISTEN
If you listen to the dragons, you will end up worse than they are.
If you listen to the still small voice of the Lord, you will know joy, peace, healing, direction, purpose, strength, courage, and you will know HIM.
IT IS ALL A CHOICE OF WHOM YOU CHOOSE TO BELIEVE.
Do as he sends you to do, even if it makes no sense, and seems crazy, and no one else trusts you, believes you, understands what and how you are doing it. You were sent by God, not by well-intentioned dragons.
His presence will calm you and empower you through even the hardest trials and storms.
This is the God I serve. This is the God I choose to obey. No matter what it will cost, I have no desire to give ear to the dragons. I will wait for the still small voice.
I love you,
David Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Let’s be about it.
David G. Perkins 