AGREE ON GOD

AGREE ON GOD

My friend Doug posted photos on Facebook of things in nature that caught his eye. A friend responded: “Are you seeking a refuge for the next virus (or continuation of this one), or just having fun?” His answer was: “A little of both, I think. Want to also show the beauty of life and that life continues.” Doug and I are opposites in our opinions politically, but when it comes to God’s creation, we agree. No person could logically argue over the magnificence of God’s creation.

 

When I want to remind myself of the magnitude and wisdom of our God, I go to the book of Job and to the Psalms.

 

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

 

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

 

“For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:6-9).

 

Psalm 96 says: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord” (Ps. 96: 11-13).

 

In Job 37, God commands Job to halt and consider. Sometimes we need to do that too.

 

“Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14).

 

“God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.

“Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.  By the breath of God frost is given” Job 37:5-6, 8-10a).

 

Then in Job 39:

 

“Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.

 

“Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? ⁶ Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

 

“Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?  Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

 

“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,  and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.  She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;  because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

 

“Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

 

“Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off” (Job 39:1-30).

Job gives us some of God’s thundering magnificence, but In the Song of Solomon, we are encouraged also to see our God as the tender lover that He is. And He does this by calling us away to share the intimacy of His tenderest creations.

 

“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Sol. 2: 10-13).

 

Whether we need to be boldly confronted with the magnificence of God like Job, or tenderly coerced into a quiet place where the loudest thing you hear is the voice of a turtle, let’s take a closer look at some of God’s creations this week and see what we can learn.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY

BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY

When I saw this photo of the Blue-Ringed octopus, I thought it was strikingly beautiful. But then I found out that it’s one of the most venomous creatures in the ocean. When it feels threatened, it strikes and asphyxiates its victims by paralyzing respiratory muscles. It reminded me of Satan in the Garden of Eden. Ezekiel 28: 12-15 describes how beautiful he was, but we quickly see that his ways were deadly to humanity. We can never trust in outward appearances. Moses and the great Apostle Paul were both murderers. Peter was somewhat of a bigot. But, in contrast, look at how beautiful and wise Satan was:

 

“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

Every precious stone was thy covering,
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond,

the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper,
the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:

The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes
was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

 

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;

Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

 

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
till iniquity was found in thee” (Eze. 28:13-15)

 

If we go one by one through the Bible stories, we see that most of the great men and women of the Bible had pretty big flaws. Jesus himself said: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). And guess what? We all fall into that sinner category. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).

 

That doesn’t mean we are okay staying sinners. The goal is to do our best to let the Lord guide us into all righteousness. Only Jesus can lead us. It’s the way God set it up.

 

We can’t make up what we think is right. We go by what the written Word of God says, and we get born again of His Spirit so we can truly understand the lessons of the Bible and get personal downloads from the Lord of spiritual understanding and instruction in everyday life situations.

 

Our beauty is from within. It’s not in the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the great book knowledge we have, or the intellectual acumen. That’s all fluff—nice fluff—but fluff none the less. And even as Bible-believing sons of God, we are going to do some things that are not so beautiful, and we are going to see others do some things we don’t like either.

 

But the lesson of looking on a person’s heart is never overstated. God does it, and Ephesians 5:1 tells us: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.” One way to pray for ourselves and others is to pray that the Lord gets to the heart and brings us and others forward into the things He’s intended. It doesn’t always look sparkly, peaceful or pretty. But integrity of heart is better than beauty.

 

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

 

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WISDOM FOR FATHERS

WISDOM FOR FATHERS

It’s Fathers’ Day in the United States, so I looked up some verses on fathers and children, and the Lord opened my eyes to some really interesting things. Ephesians 6:4 says: “Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

 

In Abraham’s time, the ways of God were verbally passed down from fathers and mothers to their children. Then later, God gave Moses written words. Traditionally, the telling of Bible stories continued in families, but they had the written word of God as a backup. God knew the people would turn away from Him and out of their mouths would come different stories, stories that erred from His truth. They would need the true physical words when they were ready to return to God’s ways. In Deuteronomy 31-32, we see that God also gave people songs that contained the truths of the Bible. Moses was given a song that he was to record for his children and generations to come. It’s a very long song, so here, I’m putting in a plug for memorization—a really useful skill for parents to teach to their children, for sure.

 

I believe that it’s important for all of us to first to all read the Bible stories, but then also to memorize them to the point we actually could tell them accurately to our children, or to anyone else for that matter. The fact that God gave Moses a song is interesting too, because it seems that memorizing a song can be easier than memorizing other things. We don’t need puzzles to work our brains; we have the ability to enhance our brains with memorization. How many adults and children actually do that anymore?

 

Just imagine, what if our internet connections were totally blacked out? We wouldn’t be able to hear our favorite preachers and wouldn’t be able to look up Bible stories online. And what if we didn’t have a physical Bible to refer back to? How much Bible truth would we know or be able to communicate, before error started to creep in? I’m not trying to be negative, but it happens. God, Himself knew it would happen so He’s constantly reminding us in His Word, to remember the stories of old and to teach them.

 

I think that fathers and mothers are very fortunate to have children to teach. It’s great for the children to learn Bible stories, and it great for the parents to tell them, and tell them accurately. Parents that take the time to teach, are ones who are learning at the same time and establishing them in their own lives!

 

God inspired Moses to write a song that the people of Israel could have and could teach their children:

 

“And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day;

 

“Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: and that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

 

“Now therefore write ye this song for you and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me” (Deut. 31:1-2, 12-13, 19).

 

God’s songs, stories, and wise ways are what good fathers teach their children.

 

Love, Carolyn

OUR INHERITANCE - WHAT DO WE DO?

OUR INHERITANCE – WHAT DO WE DO?

We have a great inheritance from God, and choices as to what to do with that inheritance. The Lord showed me two examples in the Bible of people who squandered their inheritance. The difference between the two is a lesson for all of us. The first record is an unusual one for a message on inheritance; it’s the story of the man of the tombs, and the central characters are those who lived around him. Mark 5:2-4 tells us:

 

“When he [Jesus] was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.”

 

This poor man was possessed by an evil spirit, crazy out of his mind. “Always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones” (v.5).

 

The people who lived around this man couldn’t help him. They did everything they could to stop him from cutting himself. They tried to restrain him and calm him down, but every time he broke out of the restraints.

 

The people who lived in Gadara only believed what they could understand by their five senses, and it wasn’t helping them to help this crazy man. But when Jesus came, He healed the man by spiritual means. By the Spirit within Jesus, Jesus could see what was wrong with the man, and “He said unto him, ‘Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit’” (v. 8). Jesus taught by example, and the people had an amazing opportunity to tap into the spiritual inheritance Jesus was offering them.

 

They witnessed with their own eyes the transformation of the possessed man. “And they [the people] come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid” (v. 15).

 

When we don’t understand something, we are often afraid of it. Instead of being courageous enough to try it, we get angry and reject it. Mostly our reactions come from a deep fear that we’re not really worthy—it’s way too crazy, and if we reach out to take it, we may fail! That’s way to embarrassing!  

 

Well, the Gadarenes didn’t want to reach out. They said a big NO to their inheritance.

 

“And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts” (Matt 8: 34).

 

“The whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear” (Luke 8:37).

 

We don’t hear much about these people after this incident.

 

The other lesson about inheritance is one we know well. Jesus told the story:

 

“And he said, ‘A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me [his inheritance]. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:11-13).

 

This younger son squandered his whole inheritance. He rejected it like the men of Gadara rejected the spiritual answers Jesus came to give them. This son didn’t feel his inheritance was valuable.  

 

“And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him” (vv. 14-16). 

 

“And when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants” (vv.17-19)

 

This son didn’t value his inheritance. He abused and squandered it all. But the big difference between this man and the men of the Gadarenes is that when the prodigal son hit bottom, he woke up and was willing to humble himself to get right with his father again. He was going to go back and ask for forgiveness.

 

“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:20-24).

 

We’ve probably all rejected a part of our spiritual inheritances in one way or another. But let’s not be like the fearful men of Gadara, who never got to experience the wonderful treasures of spiritual life. Let’s be like the prodigal son, and go back and get every morsel the Lord wants to open to us.

 

Love, Carolyn

FREEFALLING WITH GOD

FREEFALLING WITH GOD

I’m almost done with all the business stuff I had to work on in the past several weeks. Between all the paperwork and watching and praying about all the chaos in the world, God knew I needed a break. When I draw, I feel that I get that break. I was thinking about how good it’s going to feel to start another drawing this week. When I draw, it’s my time to freefall with God. I think we all need that kind of release.

To get myself ready and inspired, I took a look at some of the drawings I did for my niece back in 2018. Then I remembered how they made me feel. It was so special at the time, that I recorded how I felt:

“I’ve done pencil drawings before, but this time it felt different. After completing two cow drawings, I was feeling so wonderful and peaceful, I sat down and wrote a letter/prayer to the Lord: “Thanks, Jesus, for new talent – talent to listen! Thanks so much for guiding my hand with the drawings, like You do with my writing. I’m thrilled to do the “fuzzy eye” thing and get what You want. What I call the “fuzzy eye thing” is when I physically squint my eyes to a fuzzy state and I see with my inner eyes what I need to draw. You, Jesus, show me what needs accenting or pushed back, and I do it. I love that, and I’m so grateful.”

All of us have those “fuzzy eye” moments, maybe not in the way that I do, but in your way. We have those times when we know we are in the flow with God, those times when we are experiencing Philippians 2:13: “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Jesus already has endless joy, but every one of us adds to His joy. He has victory after victory in new and deeper ways. No one is like me, and no one is like you. If I draw what blesses God, then it’s going to bless some of His people too, and it will flow from their lives to bless more people than I even know. It’s the same with you.

When you’re doing, letting, following, and obeying the Lord, your life touches many more people than you’re aware of. It’s not just about obeying, though. Many of us hear the word “obedience,” and cringe because it provokes a negative reaction, drudgery, weariness, failure. We have a “scrunchy-face” reaction. But that’s not God’s will.

God loves a thrill, a freefall. Trusting God and surrendering all to Him brings those wonderful intimate, and thrilling moments into our lives. My atheist friend is a hang glider. I should ask her how the moment of lift-off feels. If you’ve been on a roller coaster, you know how the cars creep up to the top of a steep track, and there’s a slight tense pause at the top, a peak, a climax, a thrill like no other, as you begin to drop! If you like that feeling, as I do, that’s what it’s like in one way or another, with every freefall with the Lord. It’s pure elation. He’s got you, and you know it. The joy is unstoppable, and it’s the best ride ever.

Question: What gives you the freefall feeling with the Lord? Let’s try to get one of those events into our lives this week. It will clear our heads and put us in closer touch with the things of God.  

Love, Carolyn

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EXTRA ENERGY WHEN WE NEED IT

EXTRA ENERGY WHEN WE NEED IT

It was a Tuesday evening when I went out to water the flowers and throw the ball for Peanut. As I was getting ready to come in, it hit me that the next day was garbage day when they pick up extra stuff –OHHH NOOO! I desperately needed to put out as many of the cut branches as I could, but I was pretty sure I didn't have an ounce of extra energy to do it. I turned toward the door to go inside but looked around at the pile of branches and the empty garbage cans, and I made the decision just to start.

Partway through, I heard myself saying, "Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord," and I kept going until I stuffed as many branches into those cans as I could. Putting cut branches in the garbage cans may sound like a trivial task, but to me, it was important. To God, all things we do are important.

Have you ever noticed how you can think you have no energy to do a job, or you don't want to do it at all, but if you make the decision just to start it, soon you feel like someone gave you a shot of supernatural adrenalin and you just keep at it till the job's done? I think that's the Lord. The Bible says He gives us strength.  

In the book of Joel, the people were already working hard, but they also had a war on their hands. God said: "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, 'I am strong'” (Joel 3:10). The Lord made sure they would win the battle as well as having a great harvest.

When we feel like we don’t accomplish as much as we’d like, many times, it’s because we just don’t start. How much closer would we be to our goals if we’d started when we first intended to? It’s up to us to start. God can’t make us do anything against our own will. He’s given us freedom of will. When we start something, any project, anything that’s good for us, it’s up to us to start, but then the Lord, by way of the Holy Spirit in us, can energize our physical bodies (including our minds) to get the project done.

The truth of Philippians 4:13 is awesome: “I can do all things through Christ, which strentheneth me.”

But we don’t have to do everything alone. Yes, we are responsible for deciding to start, but the Lord also provides help. When Moses went to battle, God told him he had to hold up his hand to have victory. But Moses got tired. When his arm began to droop because he couldn’t hold it up for an extended period, he got two others to help him, and they won the battle.

“And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.’ And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

“But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

“So Joshua destroyed the Amalekite army with swords. And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book,’” (Ex. 17:9,11-14). 

Sometimes we can ask the Lord for extra energy to get a job done. But at other times we need to ask people to help us. But the first big step is just to get started. It’s amazing what the Lord will do to bless us when we are willing to make ourselves start. I’ve seen this work so many times. And a lot of times the job isn’t nearly as difficult or as time-consuming as we thought it would be. I love it when the Lord makes a task go at superspeed! It makes me laugh at myself, but also encourages me for the next round.

God is interested in everything we do, and He’s always right there to help us Himself, or bring along a friend or two to hold us up and keep the good stuff going!

Love, Carolyn

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

The other day, I saw one sunflower starting to bloom. Then today, wow! There are lots of beautiful sunflowers, blue sky, and things are looking up!  Las Vegas is opening back up, as well as many other places around the country and the world. Don’t give up; look up. Acts 7:55 tells us Stephen “looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” But Jesus is not only in the heavenlies, He is also with us. Colossians 1:27 tells us it’s “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” As we look up, we connect heaven with us.

In Mark 5, Jesus shows us what happens when people aren’t looking up.

“And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.  And when he [Jesus] was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains.

“Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones“ (Mark 5:1-5).

This incident took place in Gadara, also called the land of the Girgashites. The word “girgashite” means “clay-dweller.” The people could only believe in earthy things, things they could see in front of their noses. But the man of the tombs needed spiritual answers. There’s nothing wrong with pigs, and some are really pretty darn cute, but unfortunately, these people were not being cute. Instead, their eyes were downcast, and their noses were buried in the mud. As God’s children, we’re not supposed to be like that. We have hope, joy, love, and strength, and God tells us there is a bright future ahead.

We need to be looking up, “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Let’s expect a great day and hook up with some heavenly!

Love, Carolyn

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HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER COMES OUT FROM WITHIN

HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER COMES OUT FROM WITHIN

On my walk home from grade school, I would sing songs in a made-up language. Later in life, I realized this was singing in tongues. Often when children get born again, they exhibit the freedom to yield to the Holy Spirit by speaking or singing in their new God-given language. When people in the New Testament times got born again, they also were inspired to speak or sing in a different language than they normally spoke in. The Bible says speaking with tongues was an outward sign of something spiritual that had happened on the inside.  

There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about speaking in tongues. People think a spirit takes over, and it’s like in the movies where a person’s eyes roll back in their head, they get possessed, and then they speak in a different language and are totally unaware of it. But it’s just the opposite. The person speaking or praying in tongues is in complete control of their actions. The Spirit from within gives the words, but the person does the speaking. They can start or stop anytime, just like speaking in their native language.

In the Old Testament times, the Spirit of God was “on” a person. In Jesus’ time on earth, the Spirit of God was “with” them. Jesus told His disciples that after He went back to the Father in Heaven, they would have the Spirit of God “in” them. Then He told them how they could build up that seed of His Spirit within.

“And he [Jesus] said unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:15-16).

Jesus told them they would speak in new tongues. Why would they need that? Well, Jerusalem and that part of the world wasn’t in a peaceful place, much like the world is not in a peaceful place now. The believers then, and now too, need to build up that Spirit in them as much as they can, to be able to be strong and powerful, peaceful, and trusting. We need to be spiritually sharp on the inside, to be able to handle the things happening on the outside.  

The devil is getting a lot bolder with his attacks, but we can get stronger spiritually by speaking in tongues. “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself” (1 Cor. 14:4). The Greek word for “edifieth” means “to be a house-builder, build up, embolden.” 

Praying in tongues also builds up our faith. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20). We want to have big faith when it comes to caring for ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighborhoods, our world. Bigger faith action is needed, and speaking with tongues helps facilitate that.

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There are going to be problems with people and circumstances where we’ll want to see solutions, but we don’t really know what we should pray for. Romans 8:26-27 tells us: “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

The Greek translation reads: “The Holy Spirit maketh intercession for us in groanings that cannot be uttered in articulate speech.” Articulate speech refers to our known languages. We just don’t know what God knows, but the Holy Spirit within us does. The Holy Spirit gives us the words in another language so that we can pray the perfect will of God for any person or any situation.

Children easily learn to speak in tongues, and in this instance, it’s great if we can let ourselves be more like children. Just ask the Lord to give you your spiritual language, then you breathe in, believe to receive your words, and start to speak them out. That’s how Jesus taught his disciples to speak with new tongues. Jesus told the disciples to breathe in, then speak out the words the Holy Spirit gives. They will be a different language than you already know, so don’t think it’s weird just because it sounds odd to you.

If you need more documentation, read the book of Acts and see how often it comes up. Regular people all over the book of Acts spoke in tongues.

The more you speak, the more comfortable you will be. Once you start speaking in tongues out loud, you can start speaking in tongues in your head, just like you would talk to yourself silently. This way, you can speak in tongues while you’re at work or the gym or just going about your regular daily routines, without people wondering about what the heck you’re doing.  

There are many other great benefits to speaking in tongues that you can read about in the book of Acts and the Epistles. And of course, as you do speak with tongues, you’ll experience yourself growing spiritually as well, in your daily life.

We can be better equipped as ambassadors for our Lord when we do what Jesus instructed: “They shall speak with new tongues.” He said: “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:39). So let’s let it flow.

Love, Carolyn