For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.  2 Corinthians 10:3-6

This is a very well known passage from the writings of Paul, but I’m not sure how many Christians actually know how to use divine weapons or even know what they are.  The Greek word translated as stronghold is an ancient  military term that means a fortified place.  A fortified place implies that someone has intentionally built up defenses to protect something. Strongholds, as Paul uses the term, are well established belief systems deep within us that are opposed to God’s truth.  In the context of Paul’s writing, these strongholds or belief systems actively argue against God’s truth.

The word translated as pretensionmeans anything that arrogantly sets itself up above the word of God.  Anything that wants to exalt itself above God or his word is demonic.  Isaiah, speaking of Satan said, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” (Isa. 14:12-15). The word translated as demolishcan also mean “to dethrone.”  These strongholds are built and reinforced by Satan and contain thoughts that always want to argue against and exalt themselves above God’s truth.

Undoubtedly, each of us has to contend with some measure of strongholds in our life.  We are constantly bombarded by the belief systems of the world from childhood as we listen to television, read books, attend secular schools, pick up the strongholds of our parents, etc.  On top of that, we have experiences that establish beliefs about ourselves, God, and life in general and act as filters for every subsequent experience we have. For instance, an abused child will walk away from that abuse believing that something is so defective in him or her that they cannot be loved. Why else would a parent treat them that way? An abandoned child may grow up believing that, sooner or later, everyone they love will leave them.  Others will grow up in homes where whatever they did was “never good enough” and so will always struggle with feelings of incompetence and fears of failing.  Others will experience some disappointment and walk away believing that God doesn’t hear their prayers. These strongholds begin as some childhood conclusion we draw from a hurtful experience but then Satan reinforces those beliefs that oppose God’s truth.

Each of those strongholds will limit a person in life and in relationships. Each of those strongholds produces beliefs contrary to the word of God when it comes to those who are born again and have a destiny in Christ. God says he will never leave us or forsake us.  He tells us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ and that nothing can separate us from his love.  He tells us that he has made us competent and that we can do all things through Jesus.  He tells us that whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus that is aligned with his word will get his full hearing. As long as we have persistent thoughts that are not aligned with God’s truth, strongholds exist that war against and argue against our faith and our obedience.

When believers hear these scriptures enough, they come to believe them on an intellectual level but may not believe them in their hearts.  They tend to believe them for others but not themselves or always have a “Yes, but…” response when called on to believe a promise enough to act on it.

Those belief systems that are buried deep within us are reinforced by the demonic realm at every opportunity.  In the parable of the sower, Satan comes to steal the seed which represents the word of God before it can put down roots and bear fruit. When strongholds exist, the enemy will provide any number of reasons not to believe God’s truth when it is offered. Because these strongholds are places fortified by the lies of the enemy as he operates in the spiritual realm, it takes divine weapons to dismiss the demons that keep rebuilding the walls of those lies and divine weapons to destroy the stronghold.

Counseling and therapies that do not engage the enemy on a spiritual playing field will not be able to truly demolish these spiritual fortifications.  We may learn to manage our issues to some degree or learn coping skills, but that is far from freedom and victory over the issue.  Most churches still send their members out to counselors who do not believe in or have skills in spiritual warfare, although Paul clearly says our struggles are not against flesh and blood but spiritual powers. Even churches that have counselors on staff, typically have counselors who were trained in secular approaches to counseling.  They may pray and offer a scripture but do not know how to confront the enemy and exercise authority to break these strongholds. Because of that, only a small percentage of Christ’s body actually walks in the full freedom that Jesus has purchased for them.

Divine weapons include Spirit-led counseling, the spiritual gifts of discernment, healings, wisdom, revelation, deliverance, prayer, hearing God, and so forth. If you think about it, most strongholds are established as a result of some intense experience or trauma.  Most life-altering transformations also occur as a result of an experience with God –  Moses at the burning bush, Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, the apostles seeing the resurrected Christ and experiencing the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Gideon watching an angel ascend in flames, the servant of Elisha seeing chariots of fire all around him, Jewish neighbors seeing Lazarus emerge from his tomb and so forth.  Divine weapons allow us to experience the presence and power of God so that strongholds are discredited, demolished, and them replaced by the truth that comes through encounters with God. It often takes an experience with God to overwrite what we have believed because of an experience with Satan.

In addition, a huge part of destroying strongholds is offering obedience in every part of our life.  Many believers don’t experience freedom because they withhold slices of their lives from God and do not willingly submit to him in the areas of relationships, giving, entertainment, forgiveness, addictions, and so forth.  Each area that remains “unsubmitted” to Jesus is an open door for the enemy to come in and rebuild the very fortifications they are trying to tear down. Paul says, “we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2 Cor. 10:5).  In other words, when we have submitted all of our life to Jesus, then those who oppose us in the spiritual realm and the natural realm will be punished or caused to suffer by God. When we are obedient, demons can be driven out and the strongholds they have defended can be torn down.

I would venture to say that nearly every believer has some stronghold that remains within him or her – myself included. So many strongholds have been with us for so long that we don’t even recognize them.  They seem like a natural part of who we are and the enemy has provided numerous justifications for our beliefs that don’t line up with the Word.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any strongholds that exist so that divine weapons can be applied and the stronghold torn down. In its own way, every stronghold is a form of bondage though we may not recognize it is that.  A stronghold is simply a slice of our thought life that has been taken captive by Satan.  Our goal should to surrender every thought to Jesus because surrendering to Jesus truly brings freedom.  An essential part of deliverance is discovering these strongholds and pulling them down. Giving some serious thought to our personal strongholds on a regular basis is also essential to becoming all that he wants us to be.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul penned the lines above in his opening statements. The apostle had a great affection for the church there and he wrote with an almost sentimental tone that we don’t always get from Paul. “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart” (Phil.1:7). Paul is proud of this little church and writes, perhaps, the most positive letter in all of scripture to them. His heart for them is that their love for God and for others might abound more and more. Paul often speaks of that quality. He knows that abounding love will be a work of the Spirit on our lives because the natural man only loves those who loves him first and benefits him. He writes a whole chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13. But here he adds a couple of interesting qualifiers.

Paul said that he wanted their love to abound more and more but also to be guided by knowledge and a depth of insight. In essence, Paul wants us not only to love, but to love wisely. What Paul prays for this church to receive, we should pray for ourselves as well. First of all, we should pray that the Spirit of God would increase our love. Jesus said that the two great commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors. He would say that all of the Law and the Prophets hung on those two commands. If you think about it, the entire Bible is simply a set of instructions teaching us how to love God and how to love others. John tells us that God is love (1 Jn. 4:8) and although a number of other attributes describe God in scripture, love seems to be his paramount and most striking quality.

If you scan the Old Testament to see what endures forever, that phrase comes up a frequently. We are told that God’s throne endures forever; his name endures forever; his works endure forever; his word endures forever; and his righteousness endures forever. But the descriptor that is quoted dozens of time more often that the ones just mentioned is his love endures forever. Everything else flows out of that. God is good because he loves. God is merciful because he loves. God hates sin, because he loves and sin destroys the people he loves. Jesus himself defined his mission by love. Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend. The cross was the ultimate act of love and God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…to redeem us from the universal mess we are in.

If we are to become like the Father and like the Son, then we must grow in love to the point that we abound in it so that it drips off of us wherever we go and saturates our environment. But Paul attaches the conditions of knowledge and insight that are to guide our expressions of love. Knowledge, in this context, is the knowledge of God – his character, his will, and his ways. Insight is seeing to the heart of a matter.

Love can be misunderstood and misdirected. Biblically, love (agape) is not a feeling or the idea of doing everything we can to make someone happy. It is not just a heart that goes out to others. Instead, it is a constant decision to always act in the best interests of another person. That may include saying no, applying discipline, or a little loving confrontation at times. In our present church culture, love has, in many ways, been redefined to mean tolerant, non-judgmental, and accepting of everything and every lifestyle. The knowledge of God informs me that I can love a person without tolerating a sin that will eventually destroy him or her and infect others on the way. Depth of insight is spiritual discernment that helps me see to the heart of a matter so that I can apply love in constructive ways that touch the deepest need or issue rather than living like a permissive parent who never says no to the demands of immature believers.

Not only is my insight for understanding people and situations around me, but it is also for me to discover which things are best, so that I can live a pure and blameless life. Scripture often tells us that our guide for living should not be simply avoiding sin or staying away from bad things. That is certainly a start, but in numerous contexts we are told that our goal is to always discern and choose what is best – not just good, acceptable, or tolerable – but best.

God wants the best for his children. If you are investing for retirement, you are not looking for average investments or adequate mutual funds, you are looking for the best – the funds that are most stable and that pay the best dividends year after year. God want his children to invest in the things of life that pay the best dividends in heaven. Paul says that the fruit of love guided by knowledge and insight is righteousness. Righteousness is where true freedom is found because it means we have mastered the flesh and the enemy has no claim on us whatsoever. We are aligned with the Father in every part of our life. When we walk in righteousness, we constantly sow to the Spirit and we reap life in everything we do (Gal.6:8).

So, we find that increasing love directed by knowledge and a depth of insight is the door to increase – more of God, more of Jesus, more of the Spirit, more effective ministry, more righteousness, more freedom, and greater harvests. Paul prayed for God to grant that to the believers in Philippi. We should do the same. Paul offered a similar prayer for the church at Ephesus where he prayed that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so they might know him better (Eph.1:7). I encourage you to add both of those prayers to your heavenly requests as well. It is God’s will for us to request those things and he is glad to give when we are hungry enough to ask. Be blessed today and may you abound more and more in love in knowledge and depth of insight.

One of the gifts I am praying about and trying to develop is the gift of discerning spirits. I believe this gift, if well developed, would make me more effective in the ministry areas the Father has called me to. I also believe that this is a gift for all of God’s children and that he wants us to live with a greater awareness of the spiritual realm than even the natural realm. The Bible is full of accounts in which men and women saw and heard in the spiritual realm. Those moments are described as dreams or visions and sometimes are simply described as experiences. Let me catalogue of few of those incidents to jog our memories.

Remember Jacob dreaming of angels ascending and descending on a ladder from heaven? Remember Moses perceiving God on Mt. Sinai? And then there was Gideon’s encounter with the supernatural. “The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared” (Judges 6:20-21). Elisha prayed and God opened the eyes of his servant to see the hills surrounding Dothan filled with chariots of fire that were already in place in the spiritual realm. Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah all saw things in the spiritual realm that were realities or that became realities. Balaam found himself talking to his donkey and then seeing an angel of the Lord standing in his path (Num.22). David saw an angel of the Lord standing over Jerusalem with a drawn sword. In the New Testament both Mary and Joseph had angelic visitations. The apostles had angels lead them from prison and Paul had a conversation with an angel one night as he stood on the deck of a storm tossed ship.

At times, God spoke out of the spiritual realm. Some heard his voice while others only heard thunder. Others felt things from the spiritual realm even though they could not see what was there. Daniel reported, “ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold round his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightening, his eyes like flaming torches…the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves” (Dan.10:4-7). All of these experiences and many more recorded in scripture reveal that God wants to show his people things in the spiritual realm for faith, understanding, and direction.

But isn’t that just for a few or for the super-spiritual? I used to think that but now I believe it is the Father’s will for all his children. The reason I believe that is because God has equipped each of us to hear, see, feel, and more in the spiritual realm.

We are all to be led by the Holy Spirit and we are all directed to hear God. Therefore, we all have spiritual ears that, at least, have the potential to hear the Spirit as he leads us and to receive a rhema (fresh word) from God. Paul prayed that God would enlighten (open) the eyes of the hearts of the believers in Ephesus. He did not pray that God would give them spiritual eyes but that he would open the eyes they had (Eph.1:15-18). In addition, we are also promised that the pure in heart will see God (Mt.5:8).

How often did Jesus or the prophets declare that God’s people had eyes to see and ears to hear but neither saw nor heard? I believe he was speaking about spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear so that we might receive things from the spiritual realm. I believe that just as we have five physical senses to discern things in our natural environment we also have five spiritual senses with the potential to see, hear, smell, touch (feel), and taste in our spiritual environment. The capacity is there, be we have to believe in that capacity by faith and then begin to exercise those senses. We do so by paying attention to our own spirit and the Holy Spirit rather than filtering out what we could otherwise perceive or attributing the sensations we are having to natural or psychological phenomena rather that spiritual realities.

I believe all humans have these senses, not just believers, and that the devil uses them in some who distort them and operate in them as psychics, mediums, witches, etc. We are probably attuned to these spiritual senses as children although we many not be able to interpret what we are seeing. The “monster under the bed” may be simple imagination or the awareness of something evil in the room that parents could easily take care of with the authority of Jesus. Children who just “saw an angel” may have just seen an angel. As the adults in our lives discount these childhood experiences we may learn to filter out the input from these senses.

Think about it. If the idea of being born with spiritual senses as well as natural senses resonates with you, then you may want to start praying that the Father would open your spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear in the spiritual realm as a beginning place. Then start to pay attention to all your senses not just those you tune into in the natural realm. Of course, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth as you tune in. He must govern all of spiritual experiences to keep us from wandering off, but if our lives, as children of God, are to be anchored in the spiritual realm more than the natural, it seems we must have spiritual senses along with wisdom that every believer needs to develop.

But solid food belongs to those who are full of age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Heb.5:14, NKJV).

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?     Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? (1 Cor.6:2-5).

This section of scripture from Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth is set in the context of believers having differences with one another and taking each other to public courts in order to settle their disputes. Paul expresses his frustration with the church and his frustration rests on the church’s misunderstanding of who they are in Christ. Paul might say that citizens of heaven have no business dragging each other to earthly courts.

Paul reveals the standing of the church in relation to the rest of creation and the church is each believer individually as well as corporately. You are the church. But notice what Paul says about the church: the saints (that is you) will judge both the world and angels. Believers have the Spirit of God living in them and as a result should have more wisdom, integrity,  and incite than citizens of this world and even more than angels.

In so many words, Paul is saying, “Why do you go to the world for answers when the world should be coming to you? Why do you seek wisdom from the world when all wisdom and knowledge are available to you through the Spirit? Why do you submit to the judgments of the world when you will sit in judgment on that same world someday? Why do you go to people whose understanding is darkened when you are the light of the world? Why do you submit to the judgments of those who are ruled by Satan when you are ruled by the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth?” Good questions.

Paul is not saying that we should not submit to the laws and authority of the land as long as they do not conflict with God’s laws. He is saying that God’s people should possess more wisdom that the people of the world because his presence lives within each of us and that we should judge matters by different standards than world judges them.

What I see too often is the church bowing down to the world as if the world is smarter and has more wisdom than God’s people or his Spirit. I don’t mean “bowing down” in the literal sense but let’s think about a few things. There are two big trends in American churches that have taken center stage in the last 30 years in church conferences. One is marketing (How do we get the message out?) and the other is leadership development (How do we raise up and train leaders?). Both of those are essential questions but the church, by and large, has not gathered and prayed for wisdom and revelation for those matters but has looked to corporate America for answers. I assure you that corporate America does not operate on spiritual principles and yet we go to the powers of the world and ask them for wisdom to know how to operate a spiritual kingdom when the powers of the world should be coming to us. Isaiah paints that picture of God’s people when he says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.   Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isa.60:1-3).

For years, as a pastoral counselor,  I sought out the best training I could find for counseling and marriage and family therapy. I read the books, I attended graduate classes, and I went to conferences. Sometimes I went to secular workshops with big-name speakers but more often I went to Christian counseling conferences where I heard essentially the same strategies as I heard in secular schools because that’s where the men were trained who eventually trained  Christian counselors in Christian colleges. Not only that, but because the world determines the standards and ethics for being licensed as a counselor or a therapist, the world also determines the content of the training. In none of my graduate classes or at Christian conferences was I taught the spiritual dimensions of counseling or the use of divine weapons because we have let the world determine what is best.

The result was that my strategies fell short because I was offering nothing more that the world was offering except for a prayer. God has more. God does more. God works, even in counseling sessions, in the realm of the supernatural and so should we. I also have a concern that when we import strategies from the world for counseling, leadership, or marketing we are also importing worldly values and perspectives imbedded in those strategies. We should test the spirits in these matters as well as in theological teachings.

I think we need to be cautious about importing the world’s values  but more than that, my concern is with our low view of ourselves and the church that goes to the very world we will judge to find judgments and strategies for the kingdom of God. As a result, the culture tends to shape us rather than us shaping the culture. Let’s be sure that whatever we read, whatever we listen to, whatever teaches us has the touch of God on it before we decide to employ that strategy in the church, our families, or our lives. Hopefully… some food for thought today. Be blessed in Him.

Wisdom is a huge commodity in the Kingdom of Heaven. Biblically, wisdom is the “capacity to understand and to act in concert with that understanding.” It also involves insight. Our culture doesn’t value wisdom very much. It values power, money, fame, influence, talents, and education. A person may have all of those things and yet lack wisdom. Check out the sports headlines – men who have most of the above accessories in their life are about to lose it all for lack of wisdom and judgment.

Even experience does not always bring wisdom. How many of us have dealt with people who have faced the same situations or temptations over and over and have always made the same bad decision in response to the situation. No wisdom. In addition, there are two kinds of wisdom – worldly wisdom that knows how to manipulate people and the system (street smarts) and heavenly wisdom which understands how things operate in the spiritual realm.

Here’s what James had to say about that. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.      For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Ja.3:13-17).

Notice the wisdom that comes from heaven flows from the Spirit and resonates with our spirit. Worldly wisdom flows from demonic realms and resonates with our natural man or our flesh. They are truly opposed to one another and from the world’s perspective heavenly wisdom seems utterly foolish.

I remember having a conversation on a college campus years ago with a young Iranian Muslim. He was likeable, charismatic and full of leadership. I thought how amazing he would be for the kingdom of God. We were talking about Jesus and his teachings and when we read the passages about turning the other cheek, loving your enemies and forgiving those who had wronged you I really expected this young man to be impressed with the moral high ground of the Lord’s teaching. Instead he laughed out loud and ridiculed the teaching as naïve and foolish. He said, when someone strikes you one the cheek, you must hit him so hard that he would never dare touch you again. The wisdom of the world and heavenly wisdom are not shades apart but poles apart.

The reason is that heavenly wisdom leaves us in the hands of God. We feel weak, vulnerable, and foolish at times. In our fear of being hurt again or taken advantage of we default to the flesh and judge that our situation is unique and worthy of an exception so that we don’t have to follow the teachings of Christ in our particular case. We then sow to the flesh and blame God when our conditions or relationships don’t improve.

We must make up our minds to live from the spiritual realm and understand our situations and our responses to those situations from the will of God always – not just when it suits us to do so. Heavenly wisdom drives us to God and keeps us dependent on him. Worldly wisdom strives for control and self-sufficiency. Most marriages fail because the spouses continue to operate out of worldly wisdom rather than submitting to heavenly wisdom.

The real danger I see is believers trying to operate out of both as if some situations require worldly wisdom while others require heavenly or a hybrid of the two. There is no hybrid. One is from above. The other is from the devil. Do you remember that worldly wisdom that counseled Adam and Eve to take and eat? How did that work out for us? Be blessed today and be wise. And ask God for more and more of his wisdom. He is eager to share.

I have frequently made the point that power and authority flow from the top down in any organization or government and it flows best when we are aligned with our commander’s purposes and strategies. That is also true in the kingdom of God. The more aligned we are with the heart of God – his values, his purposes, his vision, and his ways – the more his Spirit will speak to us and manifest his power through us. One of the ways in which we stay aligned with the Father is by recognizing the leading of the Spirit. Paul tells us, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom.8:14).

That statement prompts the question, “What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?” Being led by the Spirit is actually the process of discerning God’s will in any given situation and responding to that will. The Spirit is not so much leading us as he is conveying the Father’s lead to us. On several occasions, Jesus said that he only spoke what he heard the Father speaking and he only did what he saw the Father doing. Since Jesus operated as a man I don’t think that he heard God directly (except on rare occasions) and I don’t think he literally saw the Father doing something. Rather, by the Spirit he heard from the Father and by the Spirit he sensed God’s activity, direction, and purposes in given situation and participated in what he sensed God was doing.

For instance, in his healing ministry there were times when hundreds of people converged on Jesus asking for healing and the gospels tell us that he healed all who came. That situation seems fairly easy to read but there were other times when Jesus walked through a crowd of sick and disabled people and picked out only one for healing. That required sensitivity to the Spirit who directed his eyes and heart to one person out of many. After healing the one, he would usually move on even though all the rest needed healing as badly.

One thing I have noticed about Jesus throughout the gospel accounts is that he never seemed in a hurry even though he only had three years to teach, demonstrate the kingdom, and to save the world. I believe he was never in a hurry because he was being led by the Spirit and engaging only in the things presented to him each day that were part of God’s strategy for him. Many of us who serve the Lord often feel overwhelmed by the amount of ministry opportunities that land on our plate everyday because we think we are responsible to take every opportunity to speak or minister. My guess is that we are not very Spirit-led and are engaging in many things that are not on God’s agenda for us. The things we undertake are all good and even consistent with the values of the kingdom – evangelism, good works, helping marriages survive, feeding the poor, etc. but they may not be on God’s strategic agenda for us. I’m betting that our days and lives would slow down while being more effective if we sensed more clearly the leading of the Spirit in our day-to-day lives and only did the things that were on God’s To-Do list for our day.

If that is true, then the next question should be, “How do I develop that kind of sensitivity?” I don’t have it all figured out but let me suggest a few things. First of all, we should pray for that kind of spiritual discernment on a daily basis. We should ask God to teach us to hear him even in the crowds and in the business of our day. Many of us have learned to hear him in our quiet times and in the midst of worship but what about during all the other times that comprise most of our waking moments?

Secondly, we might practice being led by the Spirit by stopping five or ten times a day in the car, at the mall, in the grocery store, or on the job and asking God what he wants us to know or see or sense about that moment. Then listen for the small, still voice of the Spirit. Any gift or ability is only developed through practice.

Thirdly, when we sense that he wants us to do something we should do it – even, and especially, if it takes us way out of our comfort zone. Have you have ever had a friend or family member who would frequently call you late in the evening to ask advice but then always went his or her own way and never followed through on your counsel? When that pattern emerges, it’s usually not long before you lose your willingness to give any more advice or to pick up the phone late in the evening. I think God may feel the same way when he speaks to us and we never follow through on his urgings. Obedience is critical even when we “mishear” God. Our consistent willingness to follow his lead will bring more leading.

Fourthly, fill up on God’s word daily. Sometimes we become lazy about Bible study and simply depend on the leading of the Spirit when we want to know God’s will. The Word is the constant plumb line for knowing whether the leading you are sensing is from God or from another source. When we honor God by studying his Word he will honor us by speaking to us.

So…..practice being Spirit-led this week and have fun!