Religious Spirit

I was at the garage minding my own business when another driver asked about spiritual stuff.  I mentioned a few things I had seen and another fellow joined the conversation and said that I was full of demons. Bad thing to say to this lady!

I asked him how he knew that? He replied that "Healing has passed away and that if I was seeing demons on people then I was demonized."   I was stunned!  How could you ever think that?  That's ignorance gone to seed!

So the first thing I told him was that Healing was in the Old Testament and the new Testament and that the disciples were commanded to go heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and cleanse the lepers in Matthew 10:8, long before Holy Spirit was given. (ref. Isa. 53:5, 1Pet.2:24)

As for being demonized  I doubt it as "a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand."  Jesus's own words!(Matt. 12:25)

Also, I explained to him how I saw stuff (occasionally) before I got saved but it was always demonic and it freaked me out.  I didn't want to see!  Fast forward to me becoming a Christian and getting filled with Holy Spirit inside of me and its a brand new world! Holy Spirit has helped me to see more stuff and guided me into greater truths so I can help more people.

In addition,  it's a fact that some psychics can see, just like seer gifted Christians can see in the spirit realm... The BIG difference is your source.  Is God guiding you or satan/lucifer/familiar spirit guiding you? That's the right question to ask!

So unfortunately this supposed Christian has believed a lot of junk and not read his Bible.   Like so many others with a religious spirit he has become totally ineffective at advancing the kingdom of God.  Imagine he wouldn't even vote!  Completely giving up on his right to influence society in a Godly way.

The icing on the cake was that he kept asking me who the first angel was... Like who cares?  What are you doing with your life to make a difference for God?  That's what really matters!

I was so not impressed with this fellow!   I told him, "Right...you sit here, in your little bubble waiting for the rapture and you are totally ineffective at advancing the Kingdom of God."  He got really upset at that.  So I asked him,  When was the last time you prayed for somebody and they got healed?  When was the last time you  introduced someone to Jesus.  When was the last time you prayed and demons fled?

The poor fellow that listened to us didn't know what to think!  When I told him about certain people not being allowed on my bus because of the demons in them  he really got interested.  Then I told him about the lady that found me after 3 or 4 weeks and she was so excited because her husband had finally been properly diagnosed after I prayed and was out of the  hospital feeling so much better.

So I know which bus the listening fellow wants to be on!  LOL....   As for the other guy.... what a waste.

Life is too short. I want to make a difference every day for the Lord.   Like I've said before  my usual prayer is, "Lord here I am. Please use me today!"

Anyhow... Thanks for reading... I needed to vent a bit, LOL.  May you have courage to pray that kind of prayer and follow Holy Spirit's nudges... It's definitely a life worth living!

Big hugs and blessings,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Lord Help Us!

I get so mad when I see Christians more worried about appearances than the people God's put in their path.

It's so, so wrong.... Jesus was a friend of sinners!!!!  Do we even have a clue what that means?   That doesn't mean that the people got instantly delivered of every single sin problem they had and then and only then Jesus would hang out with them!   NO!  God always leaves a bad habit or two so people will learn and grow through the training process.  Always!

If we read James chapter 2 we see that if we fail in just one part we are guilty of it all.  According to Matt. 15:18-20 even our thoughts are dirty and unclean before a holy God!  So why do we think that we have to maintain certain standards?????  Who are we trying to impress?  What are our motives????


We desperately need his mercy and grace.... I myself run into the holy of holies and receive my robe of righteousness  many times a day. Thank God its a free gift!

I make sure that before I get a 'holier than thou' attitude that I say, "It's only by God's grace that I'm not doing 10x worse!"  We need to die to what we think people will say and think about us period!  Being a 'Living sacrifice' means just that. (Rom 12:1) The Fear of Man is a snare and a trap. (Prov. 20:25)

So this applies to our friends who aren't going to church or living a "Christian lifestyle". Who are we to impose our beliefs on them? Do we think that our rules or false judgements will draw them to Christ?  Hardly.... It's God's kindness that leads men to repentance!  Not rules and human standards.

I can only speak for myself and I tell you I am so sick of religious people who are trying to maintain their standards. They like the Pharisees conveniently forget love!  We got to look right! And oh!, what will the people say if I am seen with you?"

It was people like that that Kept me away from church for a long time! People who want to make you keep paying for your sin that happened years ago. Give me a break!

Religious behavior is concerned with Appearances and it always takes people away from the simplicity of the gospel.

Now a days its very common for people to live together.   I might not agree but I am not anybody's judge... My Father is very good at talking to his sons and daughters and the last time I checked He hadn't asked for my help. He told me to love people where they were at and to trust Him to change them, in his timing (not mine).

You know.... quite likely my daughter wouldn't have had  a father if I had insisted on this religious standard...  and many people would not have gotten saved and healed over the years as a result.  My in-laws probably didn't agree with us sharing a bed before marriage but they wisely kept their opinions to themselves.  Thank God for people like them.  Now did my boyfriend get saved eventually?  Yes... and let me tell you it wasn't my religious,  self-righteous behavior that won him... it was my non- judgemental love.

Anyhow....  that's my opinion.... I've been praying for my girls and their boyfriends and I believe God has His hand on them.....  Hallelujah!  I just want to shine so bright for the Lord!  I want to emulate love and not religious behavior! There's already too many Christians concerned about what others will think if they do this or that.   Lord help us all to die to the fear of man!
Amen!

I'd be very interested to hear how you have handled these kind of situations in your family.

Have a great day with the Lord!
Brenda Gale Thompson

No Time To Argue

I quoted Joshua Mills on my Face Book page and I looked today and a Christian decided to argue with me.

Sigh... I don't have time to argue!  I'm too busy listening to teaching on my ipod or doing the stuff, whether it be handing out a tract, putting tracts on car windshields, praying for sick people at work and at the grocery store, or speaking an encouraging word to someone on the street.

I wish people would get off their band wagons about correctness and just do the kingdom stuff.  There's precious little time!  I do not want to get involved in a argument about semantics because there are people dying out there without Jesus and I know that it takes about eight witnesses for someone to get saved.

The quote was, "God only has as much control as you will give Him." --Joshua Mills and Joshua was talking about letting God be Lord (boss) in our lives. 

This guy responded, ‎"God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WILL."  This is also true but only after we are obedient.   It goes back to my point. God only has as much control as you will give Him.
It's all about surrendering our will, ie. "Your will be done, Your kingdom come, not mine.

So that's my rant today.

On a good note, I was walking  across the Metro parking lot today to get a few groceries and I had some tracts in my hand that I was distributing.  A fellow had some pizzas and stuff on the trunk of a car while he was talking to another man.  I put a million dollar bill tract on his pizzas as I walked by and said, "Here's a good laugh."   He picked it up and started reading it.  Praise the Lord!

And you know, God will use it to minister to him.  He might have a Mom, girlfriend or co-worker  that has been praying for him to get saved.

So if you see me singing away as I am in the store, you'll know why.  I helped my King with some of the things that matter to Him and there's no joy like His.

 Let me pray for you now.   I Bless you today.  Lord you know what's going on in my friend's heart better than I do.  Help them to fulfill the call You have on their lives.  Give them that revelation that will put them in Your perfect will. Amen.

Victory Over Frustration

Hi there.  I had three phone calls the last two weeks by friends that were totally frustrated with their lives and circumstances so after the third phone call  I asked the Lord what was going on.  He told me that the enemy is trying to wear out the Saints so that they will give up or become bitter.

For  those of you who have not read my first response to frustration please use the link and read it as this article will be brief and to the point and I am not going over the same material again.
//greatcommissionhow2s.blogspot.com/2010/09/frustration.html

A) Ask the Lord for a promise for your situation then meditate on it and speak it out over your situation. His word will not return empty. (Is. 55:11) Make sure to watch your words.  Don't cancel out your faith with unbelief. A double minded person does not receive anything! (James 1:5-8)

B) Realize that the battle you are facing is not just about you.  It's about all the people you will influence.   Once you get a victory in an area of your life, you have authority to give your victory to others.  Duet 29:29 says that, "the revealed things belong to you and your children.

C) Check to make sure you don't have a stronghold, a belief pattern that stops you from taking God at His word. (Prov. 3:5-6)  Acknowledge Him in ALL your ways. Spend time daily focusing on Jesus and ask him to heal the wounds of your heart, so that you can have your promise.  Let the sun of righteousness arise with Healing in His wings.  In His light we see light.... and we all know that light has healing properties.  God's light has even more healing in it. (Mal. 4:2, 1John 1:7) God delights in the prosperity of His servants and He has commanded blessing to pursue us and overtake us. Also, He wants us to prosper and be in health as our souls prosper. (Ps. 35:27, Deut. 28:2, 3John 2)

D) Keep up the praise and thanksgiving.  He inhabits the praises of His people.  Every day worship till His glory is all around you or Holy Spirit tells you that He is there and ask Him what to say or do that will bring the answer.  Holy Spirit is the spirit of revelation and you can expect Him to reveal things as you seek Him.

E) Day dream with God. (1Cor. 2:16)  Envision the solution. Plead the blood of Jesus over you before you worship and then as you wait in His presence ask the Lord what He wants to show you.  Use your faith to believe that He wants to show you things and then ask clarifying questions to sharpen your mental pictures.  (Eph. 1:3, 2:6, 1:17)

F) Remember that the vision or the dream is just the beginning.  Once you have a dream or vision then take it to the Lord when you are in His presence and speak it out.  Call in what you are seeing or what you dreamed every day (in His presence) till it manifests.

You know God waited for Holy Spirit before He spoke. If God waited till Holy Spirit was hovering/moving  upon the waters before He spoke... how much more should we? (Gen. 1:2-3)

Therefore, to sum it all up, practice Psalm 100:4, "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise..." and then speak what the Lord leads.... decreeing the things Holy Spirit has laid on your heart so that they will be established. (Job 22:28 )  Make sure you ask for  joy and strength too! "In his presence there is fullness of joy..." and  "the joy of the Lord is our strength." ( Ps. 16:11, Neh. 8:10)

Remember you are more than a conqueror.  You are called to rule and reign on the earth for the Lord.  ( Rom. 8:37, Rom. 5:17, 19, Heb. 10:13, Heb. 1:13) For example, when the devil tries to attack me with sickness I rebuke it. If the symptoms try to linger I stand with a good confession and I pray for my family. If they still linger then I go on a major assault praying for every single person I know and all those I don't know in town.  Be an expensive target!  Make the devil pay for every second he tries to oppress you.

Be encouraged, He is working while you wait on Him.  I know your life is busy and it's hard to make time to seek Him but it is so-o-o-o- worthwhile.  "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him" (Is. 64:4)  That is why you keep Him first. The Lord told me once that if I would spend my anointing on Him, one hour a day, that He would work on my situation for me.  I obeyed and found out it works!

Let's pray: Thank You Lord for giving us joy in our journey with You.  Thank You Lord  for protecting our praise and worship times with You.  I declare that no evil comes near our dwelling.  Thank You Lord that You are sanctifying us completely and that we are more than conquerors through You. We command all these trials to turn into blessings for us.  Show us Lord what to decree in Your glory regarding all our situations.  We give you all the thanks and praise and  glory for our victories now. Amen! (Is 61:3, 1Thess. 5:23,  Rom. 8:30-38)

God's Leading

I can remember driving by this company called Computing Devices twenty two years ago. I felt a nudge to investigate it but I ignored it because I thought it was a software type of company.

Now that I think about it the Lord nudged me about that place a few times over the two years that I drove by.

At the time I was working in sales and I was not happy. God was trying to answer my prayer but my preconceived ideas and snap judgments precluded me working at this place.

You want to know what's funny? Twenty one years later I got a job there. It's now called General Dynamics and I love it there. I am kicking myself for not listening to the Lord so many years ago.

Learning to discern Holy Spirit's nudges can take some training so I beg you, "today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts," as the Israelites did in the wilderness." (ref. Heb. 4:7)

So many times we blame God for where we are and how things turn out in our lives and many times it's not His fault. He's trying to lead and guide us but we are not listening. Or worse still, we figure we know better and dismiss His guidance.

So I say to you (and myself), "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your heart (path)." Prov. 3: 5-6

Daily quiet time will help you to hear His voice and discern whether the little nudges are something you should revisit or explore.

I let the devil run me ragged back then and if I remember correctly I was more interested in reading science fiction novels then spending time with God. I was of the mindset that "I deserved a break today." No, actually we all deserve hell apart from God's mercy and grace. I have come a long way since those days and so can you. All things are possible with God. (Matt. 19: 26)

Beware of snap decisions and preconceived ideas because they usually lead to trouble. Act in haste... repent at leisure is a saying I heard many a time. I remember vowing that I would never go out with an Engineer because there were so many boors in my classes. Well guess what? I had to eat those words because I married one! We've been married almost twenty years now. It's too funny.

You want to hear something else? My husband always used to say that he would never go out with someone that had a kid. I had a three year old little girl. God made him eat his words. His friends even reminded him of what he used to say. God's got a sense of humor.

Therefore, let's acknowledge God's leadership in ALL our ways. As we listen for the little nudges we get, we will be blessed because that's God's plan for us. He delights in the prosperity of his servants. (Psalm 35:27) Hallelujah!

Lord help us all to hear Your voice more clearly and not to over rule or dismiss Your gentle nudges. I bless the person reading this blog.  May they be blessed in all their ways, mentally, spiritually, physically and financially in Jesus' name. Amen.

Puppy Turn Around

The puppies are cute at 4 weeks old. They were not very good at licking up the pablum at first. They started licking it off my fingers initially and then I would draw them to the plate edge. Once they realized the food was there they got excited and tried to climb into the plate. Well that was hilarious as all legs skidded out on them.

It took them a while to realize that walking across the plate was not a good idea. I had to keep pulling them back.
The mother is from a little town way past Kitchener and the Daddy is from Missouri.   I was really happy with their markings and their health, so you can imagine my shock when the vet told me that one of them had a heart murmur.  I had done everything possible to make sure the parents were not related.

"What is that?," I asked in my ignorance.

She replied, "It's when the heart valves don't work properly." 

"Is it serious?," I probed, looking for more information.

"No, 95% of the time they go away on their own by the time the dog is full grown," she explained.

Hmm.  I couldn't get her to try the stethoscope again and she wrote the damning information on the vet report. This was horrible news. Sick puppies don't sell and I was counting on the money to pay off the summer bills because I didn't have a job. Never mind that fact that I was going back to work and didn't have time to look after an additional puppy.

By the time I got into the car to head home I was upset to say the least.  I told the Lord, "This is not blessed. You told me I was blessed, so show me what to say or do to change this into a blessing."

Immediately the words of the vet came back to me.... it goes away on it's own 95% of the time.   So what I needed was for God to speed up the healing process.  She was an otherwise healthy pup and played as hard or harder than the other pups, so I had peace to pray that.

As soon as I got home I got  my son and daughter to agree with me that Ruby was supernaturally healed and that she would never have a heart problem again and neither would her future puppies.
Nothing happened that we could see, no physical witness, tears, heat, tingles.  Therefore we stood by faith. I wouldn't let anyone confess anything but health and blessing over Ruby.

It was the longest 4 days ever.  I had a hard time sleeping at night because so much was hinged on this puppy selling.  I disliked not telling the lady about the situation, but the Lord kept telling me to wait whenever I asked him if I could let her know.  Ruby was scheduled to fly out on Tuesday so we went to the vet on Monday.

The senior vet examined her and when she had the stethoscope on her, she kept moving it.  Laughter and tears hit me as I realized that she couldn't find the murmur.  I had brought two business cards from church and was sharing about all the miracles that had happened recently in the meetings.

She didn't want to acknowledge the miracle and said, "Well, hang on a minute." Bringing out a pediatric stethoscope, she again listened to Ruby's heart from many different angles.

Well it's not there," she stated.  "It could be that it was intermittent," she offered by way of explanation.

We know better.   Ruby got her miracle and I got my testimony and the opportunity to witness to the receptionist and the vet. To God be all the glory!

Incidentally, this is what the vet put on the travel document:
"Innocent Heart Murmur noted on first exam Aug 19/10. 
Unable to detect today - maybe intermittent but unlikely pathological."

I emailed Ruby's new owner with the news and a pdf of the Certificate of Health and gave her the option of taking her or I would refund her money.  She decided to take her and Ruby flew out via West Jet on Tuesday.

I rejoice in how it worked out.  God is on our side and there is a devil/bully on the loose trying to kill, steal and destroy any area of our lives he can, especially our finances.  That is his last stronghold because he knows that money makes the world go around.

So the challenge is to renew our minds and then ask the Lord what we can say or do that will change things.  He says that all things will work together for our good, to those that love Him and that we should have no fear of bad news, so now we have to dig in to the word and put it to work for us. (Rom. 8:28, Ps. 112:7-10)

Rejoice!  Again I say rejoice!  The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.(Psalm 35:27) That's good news in these economic times.

I decree you are blessed with God's wisdom  today. May you have His joy in your journey and may you know His love more and more, in Jesus' name I ask. Amen.

Justice or Grace?

Someone was complaining to me today that God was unfair and that He would help someone and then maybe not.

I cannot agree with that.  God does not have multiple personalities.  He is the embodiment of Love.  His mercy and grace are over all his works and even in the old testament He extended grace to King David, a murderer and an adulterer because he cried out for forgiveness.  Of all people King David deserved to lose his throne, his kingdom and his life, and yet God forgave Him.

So what's the deal?  One thing I have learned is that our mouths get us into more trouble than we ever realize.  What we speak about God limits what we will receive from Him.  God asks us every day to choose life and much of the time we won't.

We want justice, whether it be the person driving without regard for the rules of the road or the coworker that got the promotion we thought we needed.  Wanting justice costs us grace and the price is too high, in my estimation.  We can't walk in justice and grace at the same time.   Wanting justice shuts down our faith and paralyzes our praise and worship.

God has promised that 'all things will work together for our good' and we have to take him at His word. (Rom. 8:28)  If He really is God almighty then it's high time we start asking Him to turn our troubles into blessings.

As we stay in grace the promise of Galatians 3:13-14 becomes available to us. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."  Since we have the blessing of Abraham on us (as we walk in grace) we have the right to ask God what to say or do that will turn this circumstance, that's coming at us, into a blessing.

He's our Daddy and as we run to him, with the right attitude He'll show us what to do.  He wants to help us.  He gets no glory when we suffer with lack and hurt and torment.  Rather, God gets glory when His people get breakthroughs financially, physically and mentally.

Bless you as start to command your troubles to turn around into blessings!

ps. Testimonies are coming. It's been a busy summer and I've been keeping my journal up to date with lots of nuggets from the Lord and testimonies... so check back every so often.
Bless you again in Jesus' name!

Toothpick Testing Christianity

I love to bake "goodies" for my family and whenever I try a new recipe I always test the baked squares or cake with a toothpick to see if they are completely baked. A "gooey" toothpick means the cake is underdone and will need at least ten minutes more in the oven. A toothpick with crumbs on it means it's almost done and a clean toothpick means the cake is ready to come out of the oven.

No man can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. (John 6:44) It is our job to use our little toothpicks to see whether the person is ready to hear about Jesus.

The best way to test to see if they are "baked", or ready to hear the gospel, is to be excited about what God is doing in your life and church and just share it with people you meet. Tell them about the person that got healed or the person that got a prophetic word etc.

Another way to test to see if they are "baked" is to ask questions. You can ask, "I'm curious. Do you ever think about spiritual things?" If they say, "Yes," you can ask another question, "Do you think there's a heaven or hell?" Then ask, Do you think you'll go to heaven?" then, "Why?" This is where you want to listen very closely, because they will give you clues about what they believe or don't believe.

When they are finished telling you why they think they would go to heaven you can ask the most important question, "If you were wrong, would you want to know about it?" You want to be very tactful with this question so they do not get offended with you personally.

If they say, "Yes," you can explain how the Bible has been proven: by history, by the fossil record, by the number of fulfilled prophesies in it and by the discoveries of science.

If they say, "No," at any point in the conversation, say, "All right," or, "Okay" and change the subject. Your work is done. The toothpick test came out "gooey" so they are not ready to hear about the things of God. Let Holy Spirit work on them. (When I get a burden of intercession for someone I have seen them come back to me in days, restless, wanting to know more about Jesus and the Gospel.)

If they seem half interested you can proceed with Holy Spirit's discretion, asking Him what to say to them to help them in their journey. In this case the toothpick has crumbs on it... so they are almost baked or ready to learn about Jesus and what He did for them.

If they are very interested in talking about God and Spiritual things, that means their toothpick has come out clean and we will have an opportunity to share with them and perhaps pray with them. As we pray, remember that we have the Kingdom of God or Heaven inside of us, (Luke 17:21) so let's ask Holy Spirit to touch them with some of that Kingdom. He will take any opportunity we give Him.

P.S. Do not worry if you cannot answer a question about their religion or belief. Just tell them, "I don't know the answer to that question, but I will find out." Then when you get home you can check out www.livingwaters.com and look up the answer. They have the most amazing resources for answering objections and questions about other faiths.
A question you can't answer immediately will give you the opportunity to talk with them again. In the mean time you can be praying that God will soften their hearts towards the Gospel and you can bind the "strong man" blinding them to the Gospel (2Cor 4:4)

That's "toothpick testing" Christianity in a nutshell. It doesn't take a lot of time out of your day. The key is to be available (Rom 12:1) and God will give you opportunities in your daily routine to talk to others.

This works well with acquaintances as you want to test every so often to see how ready they are for more of the Gospel. It's okay to check every so often to see if their "toothpick" comes out clean. As we keep praying for them... they are baking away and soon enough they will be ready to hear the gospel.

Just today, I used a toothpick on a lady I used to work with, that was hostile towards the Gospel. I asked her how her family was doing and she told me about her grandson is in the children's hospital. She gave me his name so I could pray for him. That's a huge softening in her heart! Praise God! I'm claiming miracles for her little guy and when he gets healed I will tell her about the Love of God and go from there.