Spiritual Wickedness in High Places

Every time we turn on the news, there’s another shooting, another person being outed for their indiscretions and so on and so forth.  It’s exhausting to watch, which is why after 9/11 I stopped watching the news.  Tried again and then Katrina.  It was only last year that I brought back the news to my life.  It’s not any less exhausting, but I realized something.  How can I effectively fight when I consciously blind myself to my enemy?  The Bible says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  (Ephesians 6:12- Emphasis added) 

Courtesy of Google Images

That scripture is one of my favorites in the whole Bible. As a matter of fact, it’s the premise for my entire book series, The Chronicles of Warfare.  As my readers know, there is a whole other world out there moving and influencing the one we live in every day.  The other morning during my boo time with God, I was musing after I had gotten a call about yet ANOTHER shooting.  The fact that an elementary school was targeted is just heart breaking.  I was reading in Psalms 133 that day about the oil flowing down from Aaron’s beard.  I have heard many a preacher say, the anointing flows from the head down.  I believe that to be the absolute truth.  When there’s chaos all around a particular body of Christ, look to the head and see what’s really going on behind the veil.  Just as the anointing will flow from the head down, so will everything else.  In the United States our “head” is the office of the presidency.  

Now before we go any further, let me say this. I believe wholeheartedly in the sovereignty of God. I believe what the Bible says in Psalm 75 about promotion coming from God. I believe one of two things happen during the election of a POTUS.  Either it's God’s choice or God allowed the choice of the people for His ultimate purpose.  Either way, God remains in control and ultimately all things will work together for the good of those who love Christ and are called according to His purpose.  Since this scripture applies directly to my life, I tend not to lose sleep over who sits in the oval, though I must admit, this new one definitely makes it difficult to understand.  Back to my point though, who sits at head (The Oval), whether it’s your choice or not affects the body (America).  

On the campaign trail, this man incited violence (encouraging supporters to harm opposition), he displayed his disrespect for women, his bigoted and racist remarks were cheered on or unchallenged by his supporters, his narcissism has been legendary and he’s basically a “mean girl” on Twitter.  Now, I don’t want 45 supporters to go ham and blow a gasket. I’m not here to talk about the man, because we wrestle not against flesh and blood. I’m here to deal with the spirits that are in play because of him, his rhetoric and those he chose to surround him on his presidential journey.  Like it or not, as a result of this man winning the election, some very nasty spirits have been unleashed.  The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue.  Don’t be fooled and think that this man’s words have no power and that they don’t influence the spirit world.  It’s not to say these spirits didn’t exist before him, because they did. However, his boldness has given them free access to flourish in the current atmosphere.  

People who allow these spirits to influence them feel like it’s okay to behave the same way 45 does.  If he can do it and get elected to the most powerful position in the world, surely, they can do it too with no consequence.  Spirits like hatred, division, anger, violence, bullying and narcissism are acting a complete fool.  Let’s not forget his sexism that fuels the rape culture in this country that is already out of control.  If you don’t believe me, just look at the news. The violence and the level of aggression is rising.  Each one of the shootings that have occurred are reaching new levels of cruelty - “Worst mass shooting in MODERN American history” or “Deadliest church shooting in American History.”  I believe that the bold and unapologetic actions of 45 are emboldening those with like spirits.  The boldness that has risen in racial tensions is absolutely ridiculous in 2017.  The way racists feel entitled to come from beneath their masks to boldly and openly display their message of hate and superiority is despicable.  I think one of the most reprehensible displays of privilege I’ve seen so far was the injustice for “60 year old white men” being jailed because they only watched child pornography, never mind the traumatic nature of whom the statement came from.  I mean, it’s like, did I just actually write that?  

As these spirits are emboldened, they are also exposing themselves. The enemy cares nothing about you. He will use you as long as you benefit him, the minute you’re no longer useful, he leaves you to the wolves.  Fret not though and see the hand of God exposing and bringing light to dark places.  The spiritual wickedness in high places also exposes the wickedness in HIGH places – the government, Hollywood, National Sports, TV executives and the list goes on and on and on.  Never think that God doesn't know what He's doing.  There is a reason and there is a purpose.  We must continue to do our part and combat the effects of this spiritual wickedness with spiritual warfare.  That is through prayer, fasting and obedience to the Almighty God.  

Finally, to my Christians, be careful with your political label – democrat, republican, conservative, liberal, etc.  Some of us are making this label an idol and putting it not only above COMMON SENSE, but above the Word of God.  But, like my mama said, common sense ain’t common.  Yes, we are to do our civic duty and vote.  Yes, we are to pray for our leaders and yes we are to respect authority, but we are also to stand up for what is RIGHT! Not what is right to man, but what is right to God.  We believers need a heart check quick, fast and in a hurry!  We don’t fight these battles and sins with hateful words, we fight them through spiritual warfare.  Like my late pastor use to say, you gotta catch the fish before you clean them.  You can’t legislate morality.  How do you justify voting for Christian values by electing hate?  This country needs an overdose of unconditional love and it is our job as believers to supply it, not add to the hate AND division.  At the end of the day, the writing is on the wall and the blood of the innocent is crying out from the ground.  The sooner we realize what’s really going on, the sooner we can actually make a difference.

I’m out y’all,

Melinda Michelle

Ways to Get at Me

When God Speaks

They say hindsight is 20/20.  If that's the case, then spiritual hindsight has to be 20/15.  I wrote this line in one of my books, "Color Me Blind:"  "You won’t always understand while you’re in the storm, but when you’re out of it, God’s hand will reveal itself to you more clearly than anything you have ever seen."

Courtesy of Google Images

                                     

My writing comes by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and I couldn't have written truer words.  As 2017 is coming to a close, I realized how challenging this year has been.  I mean I've dealt with the types of shenanigans that I never expected to hit my doorstep.  And I'm just talking about GMME world events, not actual world events, which as I'm sure you know has been just... Disturbing to say the least, but God remains sovereign.  I keep coming back to what I learned about when God speaks and yesterday it woke me up, so I'm going to share what I've learned on my journey of faith.

The Bible says that God's ways and thoughts are not ours and that they are higher than our own. So consider this, when He speaks, He speaks at the level of His ways and thoughts and not our understanding. It is up to us to seek Him for insight and revelation into what He is revealing to us.  In the recent past, I learned one of the most painful lessons ever.  As I often say, it's REAL in these spiritual streets.  I was impatient and decided that the opportunity in front of me was the promise I had been waiting for.  This was all based on MY understanding of what God had previously told me.  Even when I began to see little things that nagged me that did not line up with what I know God told/showed me, I ignored it.  I was trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole.  I was determined to make this situation fit God's promise to me.  It turned out to be one of those Father moments, I can show you better than I can tell you. 

Trust me when I tell you, that is NOT the place you want to be in when it comes to God.  After the situation came crumbling down, I threw my temper tantrum of being mad at God because He let this happen to me.  I received a phone call from a friend and God used her to politely rebuke the mess out of me.  She told me that I already knew that situation was counterfeit, but I chose not to accept it. BOOM!  I had no recourse to defend myself. So I went to my war room aka prayer closet and God began to go slap off on me.  I took what He said and ran with it based on what I thought He meant without getting further insight and revelation.  I was talking trash, but God You said this and You said that. His clap-back was, yes, but I didn't say it in reference to that. 

Sometimes, we get so comfortable in our relationship with God, we assume that how He worked the last time is going to be how He works this time.  YOU CANNOT PUT GOD IN  A BOX - HE'S TOO BIG!  God is a God of process.  He always lays out the promise in steps.  Once the first step is accomplished, He gives us the next.  In our impatience, we rush things or go in the wrong direction because we THINK we know how God is going to do something. Let me tell you, He is the ULTIMATE King of Plot Twists. You can't figure Him out, so don't assume you know His next move. Let be God be God. 

Many, many moons ago, I had a pastor tell me this guy I was SOOOOOOOOO in love with, was the one.  Never mind that when we met, I had just bought my house and he had just received another job and was moving to another state.  (First Clue) Because this "prophecy" lined up with MY will, I was here for it.  

Wait... pause, let me drop a little spiritual common sense real quick. Even though I believed that he was "the one" I never told him that "God said, he was the one."  We need to be careful how we throw in God said or the Holy Spirit said or the SPIRIT said (What spirit is that?). Often times people use that to manipulate or guilt people into doing things and I'm just gon call a spade a spade - that's witchcraft, plain and simple!  Even back when I was young in my faith, I had enough sense that if God could tell me, He would tell him and bring us together on one accord at the appointed time.  

So, back to the story.  Six months in, he said he just wanted to be friends. I was devastated, BUT my faith was on high, not really, I was just young and foolish, but I digress.  So maybe a year later that SAME pastor had a word for me at prayer.  (This was the real word from God, not the flesh of man speaking into my life)  It was, "God said, when the brook dries up, move on." I'm like huh, what?! A body of water... bruh... what you talkin' bout?! Everybody around me was like that has to be about ol' boy. I said it can't be, it's a body of water PLUS God said, he's the one.  Chile, I'm doing all this fasting and praying while this negro is living his life, dating whoever and got me in the background as "the friend."  About three years into our back and forth, we hung out for my birthday, it was epic.  Had the best time ever.  I just KNEW my prayers had finally been answered and he was going to see what he had been missing.  When I got back, he went back to the same old shenanigans!  I was HOT!  I said I didn't have the tolerance for this crap anymore.  I was done.  God brought that word back to me.  It didn't make any sense still, but this time, the thought occurred to me there was a reason He said it.  I decided to look up the word brook.  According to Merriam Webster, this is the second definition of the word, the verb: 

brook (transitive verb) 

to stand for: tolerate ~ he would brook no interference with his plans

Human mind: When the brook dries up, move on

God's mind: When the tolerance dries up, move on

My mind was BLOWN!  First of all, who knew "brook" had such a meaning. Second of all, God sent word to get me out of this foolishness and save me from unnecessary heartache A LONG TIME AGO.  Third, I really tried myself and could NOT blame God. He did His part.  I had just said I didn't have anymore tolerance for this crap BUT the truth is, I had long ago lost my tolerance for it, I just didn't acknowledge it because I didn't want to let go of MY will. It was never God's will AND He gave me that word to free me from the lie of man.  Not only that, but used the same pastor to do it to get him straight too for prophelying. After God sent my word of freedom, it was on me to accept it.  I just used my faith as an excuse to justify my stubbornness of not letting go of my will, when everything around me was telling me, this isn't God.   Now I know you're thinking, why didn't God just say what He meant.  Well, He did.  His Word already told us His ways and thoughts are higher. It's not His fault if we choose to use our understanding over HIS understanding. His word says: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Those are some shining examples that stay at the forefront of my mind when I hear from God and how I proceed next.  Patience has become my new best friend.  I know she's a drag and no one REALLY likes her, but she's the real deal and you better not only get to know her, but embrace her in this walk otherwise you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointments.  I am going to leave you with some things I've learned and prayerfully they'll keep you in the will of God and not led astray.

1) When God speaks, He's referring to what's to come, not what has been. Don't try to GO BACK and make it fit for something in the past, especially when you get impatient because it hasn't showed up yet. Don't get into the "well maybe He meant this" cycle. Just wait, it's coming.  Instead look ahead for His words to come to pass.  His word will not return to Him void.  God spoke so clearly to me in January of 2016.  What I heard only made sense in parts and I had to link it to past events in order for it to make the most sense, but it still didn't quite fit.  I was so desperate for this promise to be right now, I was going to make it work instead of letting God be God.  I did not receive insight and revelation until October of 2016. When He reminded me of the promise in October after many things transpired that year, everything was plain as day for me to see.  It's now November of 2017 and while I now have insight and revelation, I'm still waiting on parts of it to manifest. Let patience have her perfect work.  

2) When God speaks that doesn't automatically make it His Will. God deals in absolutes, if you ask Him something and He answers, He's going to tell you the truth because He knows the future. Ex: You ask God, "Will I get this job?"  He replies, "Yes."  However, His yes could be contingent on the fact that He knows they will offer you the job, but that doesn't make this job His will for you.  The follow up question to his "yes" should be, "Is this your will for me?" Then go from there.  

3) The timing of when God chooses to speak is not necessarily in reference to what you are going through/dealing with at the moment.  Ex: I have had God give me specific and direct instructions about my husband while dating a counterfeit.  Don't assume you know based on what's going around you.  His timing is His own and up to His choosing and there's nothing to be done about it except to govern yourself accordingly.

Always seek for insight and revelation so that you can avoid delays, disappointments, heartache, unnecessary spiritual battles AND their residue.  We are constantly trying to bring God down to our level when we should be ascending to His.  

Alright y'all, I'm out!

Melinda Michelle

Links to Get At Me

Personal Inventory

Was scrolling through my Facebook memories and this one popped up from two years ago. It's a bold in your face reminder of what this walk with Christ is all about.  It's also one I needed to revisit. It's funny how life, impatience and world events get in the way of focusing on what's really important. #Ouch

                                                                                                         Photo courtesy of Google images

My favorite scripture is Ephesians 3:20. I think about it all the time, trying to wrap my mind around how powerful it is. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Am I the only believer who feels like because I’m a believer my life should be extraordinary? I mean not necessarily fortune and fame, though some assignments/calling might lead there. I’m talking about walking in power, anointing and spiritual authority and God getting ALL the glory. I don’t feel like I’ll ever be satisfied in my Christian walk until the fruit of my life has tangible results in the form of people being healed, set free, delivered, and changed. Well maybe it’s just me, but if Christ said, “Greater works will we do, if we believe in him…um…yeah…it’s been like two thousand and fifteen years. I ain’t seen these greater works…at least not with any consistency or on any large scale. So then, why is that? Well that’s on us, the Body of Christ…ALL of us. In all honesty, we’re just lazy, selfish and fearful. We are too lazy to put in the work for our relationship with God that it can be more than surface or just lip service. That is spending one-on-one time with God daily, fasting, praying, etc. We love to say we don’t have any time, but we got time to complain and we got time to watch those around us perish. If God told you to do it, he will give you the strength, time and resources to do it. But that takes discipline… I think TV might be most of our problem. We definitely waste so much time watching other ppl work… Ijs. We are selfish because all we care about is our own salvation and our own ticket to the pearly gates. We don’t care if our brother right next to us is headed straight for hell. Which brings me to us being fearful… We are afraid of what it will take for us to have that spiritual authority. We are afraid about what we will have to give up to have that spiritual authority. We are afraid of what we will look like to others to have that spiritual authority. But aren’t we supposed to look different from everybody else? Are we not supposed to stick out from the crowd? We’ve become too accustomed to conforming to the world vs transforming it. When did the church become such a hateful place? There is a church with a website called “God hates fags.” SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY?! I am not here to condone anybody’s sin…including mine, but what happened to love? Not man’s made up definition for it…God’s love… you know the 16 characteristics he laid out in 1 Corinthians? God hates ALL SIN, but he LOVES every single person he created. I wouldn’t want to come to a church where you are openly hostile to my struggle, and think that your sin is less than mine because it yields a different consequence. Ppl should read the whole Bible. Try Ezekiel 16:49 for Sodom’s sin. Hmmm…sounds like America to me and it has nothing to do with THAT sin. Meanwhile… people are so concerned with the sins that are open for everyone to see, but not the ones hidden in our wicked hearts. It was that kind of stuff that kept the Children of Israel out of the Promised Land, Ijs. Yes our hearts are wicked and deceitful. What about that envy, lust, bitterness, jealousy, un-forgiveness, malice, RACISM, anger, drunkenness, complaining, selfishness, nasty attitudes, and all the other stuff we’re walking around holding on to. (Please note: I am ONLY talking to believers here) I have a question… Has holding on to any of this stuff, made your life better? Has it enhanced your life in ANY way, shape or form? Has it made you a better person…at all? I’m thinking…no… let it go. There’s too much at stake. Why would God put his anointing and power in us, when he can’t even trust us with the basic stuff about our walk? We want to participate in everything the world does and then we wonder why we have no power. I’m not anti-fun. I have fun all the doggone on time, but do I lose my WITNESS in this state of fun. That’s when the problem comes in. We are so comfortable in our sinful selves that we don’t want anybody correcting us. Some of us, can’t even FEEL the Holy Spirit’s conviction, we’re so far away from God. We are SO QUICK to say…Don’t judge me or only God can judge me… That baffles me. Have y’all read the Bible? Is God’s judgment something you really want brought on your life?! Seriously? 'Cause he won’t necessarily wait until the end of your life to judge you. Galatians 6:1 tells us we who are spiritual are to restore our brothers/sisters when fault has overtaken him in the spirit of meekness. It also says to consider ourselves unless we are also tempted. So…we GOTTA get that plank out of our eye before we come for the beam in yours…but make no mistake…that beam still has to go whether the plank remains or not. When we are judged we can’t say…well…well…what about what so and so did…it was worse…Nah bruh, that’s not how this works. See, we don’t have time to judge each other, but we do need to correct each other and hold each other accountable. Ezekiel tells us, if we are the watchman and we don’t warn, that blood is on our hands…Ijs… that’s the Word. There has GOT TO BE MORE. But are we willing to live a life of FAITH and OBEDIENCE to see it happen? Will there come a time when people just walk up to a believer and say, “There’s something different about you? What is that? Can you tell me how to get it?” Does our light ever shine? There won’t be any arguing about whether or not our God is real, because his signs and wonders will speak for themselves. Miracles should be so common place that we walk around like my late pastor saying “Who’s surprised?” Do you know there are actually Christians who believe that miracles and such was only in the Bible times? UGH!!! Listen…what is the point of this walk if all we do is live and die. Why even make the choice if we’re not going to go all in? Am I the only person who feels like there has to be more? But we must be willing to do more. When are we going to stop asking for God’s hand and seek his heart? When are we going to surrender our will to his? When are we going to stop fighting the yes in our spirit and JUST SURRENDER? I’m not saying it’s easy…'cause it’s not. But greatness never is. If it was everyone would do it. It’s time to get to work. I don’t know about y’all, but I want a life where evil has to stand down just because I am there, with the spiritual authority God has entrusted to me because I put myself in a position where God can trust me with his power. Every time we turn on the news, tragedy, tragedy, tragedy…and it doesn’t have to be. Anyways, those who have ears to hear, let him hear.

MM

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