Since the beginning

The Word, which gives life! 
He existed from the beginning.
We have heard him,we have seen him with our eyes,we have contemplated him,we have touched him with our hands!
1 John 1:1

Have we fallen so far?

When Believers Can't Tell the Difference Between Prophets and Psychics

10:00AM EDT 3/17/2016 Jennifer LeClaire

Why do some people, even some believers, put stock in what a psychic would say? (iStock photo )

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit, a new podcast from Charisma. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Prophets and psychics can both make accurate predictions. Accuracy is not the only test of a true prophet. Test the spirit behind the word because there are many false prophets making true predictions (1 John 4:1).

I posted that on my Facebook page last week, and it stirred up a hornet's nest I never would have expected. I thought I'd get a few thousand hearty "amens," open the eyes of some people who had not thought to judge prophecy in this crucial hour and stir up a few devils. As it turned out, it stirred up more than a few devils who seem to enjoy swimming in impure prophetic pools.
Several people asked me to give Scripture to back up the comment. Of course, the Scripture was listed in the comment. In 1 John 4:1, John the apostle clearly states by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Many False Prophets Are Rising
The backlash against the post caused me to realize just how much confusion there is over prophetic ministry, the source of true prophecy, the function of prophet and how some will defend soulish prophecy to the death.
Listen to Jennifer's podcast on this topic: The Difference Between Psychics and Prophets.
As I always say, we wouldn't have to test the spirits if it wasn't for all the prophets who have gone out into the world. Jesus warned that false christs and false prophets would rise in the end times (Matt. 24:11). We're seeing that now.
Indeed, I'm seeing blatant misuse of the gift of prophecy. Some who carry the title of prophet have been caught looking over the shoulders of closed-eyed congregants to get an up-close look at their offering envelopes. Later, these prophets give a word to the ones whose envelopes they peeped. Some faithful believers are falling for it hook, line and sinker.
We're seeing some who call themselves prophets encouraging people to sow $54.17 so they can tap into God's protection promised in Isaiah 54:17, which reads: "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, says the Lord." Some faithful believers are falling for it hook, line and sinker. We don't need to pay God for protection like He's a mafia boss—we just need to obey the Lord and believe His Word.
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Yes, I'm seeing all manner of foolishness in modern-day prophetic ministry, where prophets are operating in deceptive practices for false profits. Jezebel's puppets are running rampant in the church. And some faithful believers are not only falling for it hook, line and sinker to the detriment of their lives and pocketbooks, but they are defending it vehemently.
Unmasking the Spirit of Divination

Remember my original post: "Prophets and psychics can both make accurate predictions. Accuracy is not the only test of a true prophet. Test the spirit behind the word because there are many false prophets making true predictions (1 John 4:1)." Now consider this Scripture:
"On one occasion, as we went to the place of prayer, a servant girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, shouting, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.' She did this for many days. But becoming greatly troubled, Paul turned to the spirit and said, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out at that moment" (Acts 16:16-18).
So you see, even someone tapping into a spirit of divination—which the Interlinear Bible defines as "to practice divination, divine, observe signs, learn by experience, diligently observe, practice fortunetelling, take as an omen"—can offer an accurate word. Psychics and some false prophets practice divination. They are tapping into a spirit other than the Spirit of God to prophesy.
The woman with the spirit of divination in Acts 16 was correct—she offered an accurate word—but the spirit behind the word troubled Paul. Ultimately, the apostle cast the devil out of her and set her free from this bondage.
Testing the Spirits
So how do we test the spirits? I wrote an entire book on judging prophecy called Did the Spirit of God Say That? It goes in-depth on the topic with specific real-life examples. But let me give you some starting points because this subject is especially vital in this hour.
The primary way to test the spirits is to test it against the Bible. The Holy Spirit does not speak with a forked tongue. The Spirit of God and the Word of God agree. In Acts 17:10-11, when Paul and Silas preached the gospel to the Bereans, they were "daily examining the Scriptures, to find out if these things were so."
If the word breeds fear, for example, we know it's not from God because God did not give us a spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7). If the word exalts the person delivering it, we know that's not God because the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19:10). If the word causes strong confusion, we know that's not of God because God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). When you know your Word—when you know the Lord—you'll recognize what's coming from His Spirit and what's coming from a different spirit.
It's a dangerous game to knowingly turn to prophets who are operating in a false anointing. Leviticus 20:6 says, "The person who turns to spirits through mediums and necromancers in order to whore after them, I will even set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."
It's also dangerous to do this unknowingly. The Bible warns us over and over and over again not to be deceived. We're told to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). We must obey the Word and not automatically believe any and every prophecy we hear. We must exercise the gift of discernment and know the Word of God, lest we fall prey to false prophets.


Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.
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So you may (or may not) be wondering what my thoughts are on this subject.

This subject has been a thorn in my side and a burden to me for a VERY long time!

I always think of Jeremiah 23..... (see in part below*). 

This is dangerous stuff. For all concerned. For the prophets of G-d who have fallen and those who follow them. An area where serious  discernment is needed.

*Jeremiah 23:25-32

“I have heard what these prophets prophesying lies in my name are saying: ‘I’ve had a dream! I’ve had a dream!’ 26 How long will this go on? Is [my word] in the hearts of prophets who are prophesying lies, who are prophesying the deceit of their own minds? 27 With their dreams that they keep telling each other, they hope to cause my people to forget my name; just as their ancestors forgot my name when they worshipped Ba‘al.

28 “If a prophet has a dream,
let him tell it as a dream.
But someone who has my word
should speak my word faithfully.
What do chaff and wheat
have in common?” asks Adonai.
29 “Isn’t my word like fire,” asks Adonai,
“like a hammer shattering rocks?
30 So, I am against the prophets,” says Adonai,
“who steal my words from each other.
31 Yes, I am against the prophets,” says Adonai,
“who speak their own words, then add, ‘He says.’

³² “I am against those who concoct prophecies out of fake dreams,” says Adonai. “They tell them, and by their lies and arrogance they lead my people astray. I didn’t send them, I didn’t commission them, and they don’t do this people any good at all,” says Adonai.

G-d have mercy on us all.

The Walk

 Wow, so...I got to thinking  today...again.

About that day. That GlOrIoUs WoNdErFuL DAY! I remember it like it was YESTERDAY.

:)

I was walking down the street and I heard my name, 
"Amy."

Okay, you're probably wondering what I'm talking about right? Well I am referring to the day I audibly heard the LORD call my name and save me from eternal damnation.

You see there is a lot of history leading up to that . moment in time. Bringing me to just that place,
on that street in Santa Barbara in 1976. Those circumstances, though quite dramatic, are not what stand out to me. No, it's the walk down Anacapa St that chilly afternoon having lost all hope and in complete despair. On my way to take my own life.  It's The walk I remember and it's the voice of the LORD and what he said to me, I will never forget. 

The experience literally saved my life and that day was the beginning of a whole new me. A new journey.

It was brief. It was powerful. It went like this.

I was 15 years old. I was sitting in  what is probably one of the most beautiful Catholic Churches I have ever seen. Yes, I was raised Catholic.

Huge and glorious.  Arrayed in every way that one would imagine for a Catholic cathedral established in 1782. One might describe it as majestic.
There were stations of the cross that surrounded the pews on both sides of the church. As well as corridors on either side of the church that contained statues of saints with candles for knee pads for lighting and praying. The ceilings were high as the sky and the choir loft was home to a grand pipe organ that filled the cathedral from the back of the altar. Where the outside light shone through a most inspiring, glorious and ominous painting of majestic colors!  I remember this because I spend HOURS just staring at it. Truly....hours. I remember seeing the Star of David.
This was truly, and still is truly a most beautiful sight!

I sat in the church for over 6 hours. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I prayed every prayer I was taught. 

Then I just fell on my face before G-d. Literally fell on my face and began to weep. I cried out to the LORD. I was desperate from all I had gone through in the past 15 years. All I had done. All I had experienced. All I was feeling.

At this point I felt nothing at all but completely alone. Completely lost. Completely desperate. Knowing no other way to escape my torment other than taking my own life, I cried to G-d one more time hoping he might answer and save me,
"Please G-d I don't want to die....But I don't want to live like this anymore....PLEASE G-d if you are CARE make yourself know to me."

I waited a while longer and heard nothing.

I gave up.

I left the church and started The Walk. I just took one step at a time and headed for the beach.

That's when I heard my name,
"Amy."

I stopped and turned around looking for someone as I heard my name.
I didn't see anyone so I continued The Walk.

I heard again,
"Amy. I'm here and I do care. I love you."

That was all it took. At that moment I knew it was G-d and I knew I wasn't alone anymore.

 Ephesians 1:4
In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence.

As a believer in Yeshua/Jesus...ever wonder why...

You stumble? 

We all do it. 

Ever wonder how to keep from stumbling...so much?

As I was reading this morning I came across this little gem.

It's found in the book of Peter.
Straightforward - Peter tells us how it is - what we need to do to keep ourselves in check so we don't stumble in our walk with the LORD. 

Have a look and be encouraged.

I was!

2 Peter 1

1 From: Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah

To: Those who, through the righteousness of our G-d and of our Deliverer Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah, have been given the same kind of trust as ours:

2 May grace and shalom be yours in full measure, as you come to a full knowledge of G-d and Yeshua/Jesus our Lord.

3 G-d’s power has given us everything we need (wow) for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share in G-d’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world. (wow)

5 For this very reason, try your hardest to furnish your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with perseverance, perseverance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if you have these qualities in abundance, (so important) they keep you from being barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah. 

9 Indeed, whoever lacks them is blind, so shortsighted that he forgets that his past sins have been washed away. (if we forget from how great a height we have fallen then there is no hope for us)

10 Therefore, brothers, try even harder to make your being called and chosen a certainty. (this is the key) For if you keep doing this, you will never stumble. 

11 Thus you will be generously supplied with everything you need to enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah.

*An amazing thing happened at the doctor the other day.*

We ALL need a little good news now and again - ESPECIALLY now!

So I shared the story of what happened when my husband took me to the doctor the day, in his full  camouflage military uniform, on facebook. There was such an AmAzInG response - I felt I needed to share it here as well! 

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As we were getting ready to leave, my husband stood there dressed in his camouflage military uniform, getting ready to wheel me out in my wheelchair.One of the ladies in the waiting room called out to us and said,

"Thank you sir for serving our country."

This struck up a conversation between us. One thing led to another, and the woman said,

"Can I pray for you and for your safety?"

My husband nodded, "Yes."

The woman laid her frail little hand on my husband's shoulder,  and began to pray

 like the lady in the movie war room! 

The entire waiting room came to a hush.

I sat there in my wheelchair, laying my hands on my husband as well, quietly agreeing in prayer. When she was finished I just said, "Amen"

Suddenly another older woman came shooting across the room. With a heightened tone in her voice she shouted, almost scolding us, and said,

"Did I just see you all praying over here?!"

I said, "Yes?"

The little (literally she was like 5 feet tall and weighed about 90 pounds and probably was about 90 years old to boot ) woman continued, she said,

"Then can you please tell me why you didn't come on over there and get me and ask me to join in with you and pray for this man? Don't you know there's power when more than one person joins in and prays?"

I apologized and explain that I didn't know she wanted to pray with us.

At that her daughter called her back to her seat and told her that she was embarrassing her.
THAT got her going all the more (little fire cracker)
Her mother told her,

"Don't ever be embarrassed to pray in public! You never know who may need a prayer and you never know when you may not  be able to pray in public anymore!"

WoW

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Only one love greater than a mother's love, God's....

Just LOOK here for a few samples

There is nothing you could do that could ever dim my love for you!

My most precious gifts from God!

Your Mumsey 

I'm so excited about this!

Okay, so... I was reading the Psalms, again. I started over from the beginning. THIS time I began reading from my mobile device on biblegateway.com. (wait for it) The reason this is important to my point is that, I have read and reread the Psalms many, many times...and...I never noticed this before!
I guess that is why I am so excited about it.

(Now for those who already knew this, please just click to the next page and let me be excited. For those who haven't realized this like myself well...this is the deal.)

In Psalm 107 King David prophesies about the Messiah Yeshua calming the storm for his disciples. Almost right down to the letter. I think it's pretty cool.

I was just mentioning to my daughter this morning how cool it is that every time we read the word of G-D he has something new for us.

  Okay, so here are the scriptures.

First the Psalm. 107. Then following below are the scriptures from theNew Covenant from the Book of Mark and Matthew. No highlighting required as it is quite obvious when you read the scriptures (all three), that  the Psalmist was talking about the very moment in time that Yeshua calmed the storm for his disciples.                                                                                                 

   Psalm 107:25-30

For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

26 

They mount up to the heavens,

They go down again to the depths;

Their soul melts because of trouble. 

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 

Then they are glad because they are quiet;

So He guides them to their desired haven.

Mark 4:35-41

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”[a]41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Matthew 8:23-27

23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

What's the Problem, then?

 Haven’t I ordered you, ‘Be strong, be bold’? 
So don’t be afraid or downhearted, because Adonai your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1

After the death of  Moses the servant of Adonai, Adonai said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. So now, get up and cross over this Jordan, you and all the people, to the land I am giving to them, the people of Isra’el. 3 I am giving you every place you will step on with the sole of your foot, as I said to Moses. 4 All the land from the desert and the L’vanon to the great river, the Euphrates River — all the land of the Hittite — and on to the Great Sea in the west will be your territory. 5 No one will be able to withstand you as long as you live. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will neither fail you nor abandon you.

6 “Be strong, be bold; for you will cause this people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers I would give them. 7 Only be strong and very bold in taking care to follow all the Torah which Moses my servant ordered you to follow; do not turn from it either to the right or to the left; then you will succeed wherever you go. 8 Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed. 9 Haven’t I ordered you, ‘Be strong, be bold’? 

'So don’t be afraid or downhearted, because Adonai your God is with you wherever you go.”

A place to run to

The Empty Chair...REGRET.

It's just not worth it.

***

“Honor your father and mother” — this is the first commandment that embodies a promise.

Ephesians 6:2

“Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you."

Exodus 20:12

***

Matthew 15:1-20

Then some Pharisees and Torah-teachers from Jerusalem came to Yeshua and asked him,  “Why is it that your disciples break the Tradition of the Elders?  They don’t wash their hands before they eat!

He answered, “Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  
But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,”  
then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.’ 

Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God!

 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you,

 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
 Their worship of me is useless,
because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines."