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The Desert Fathers Series | The Letters Series | Following God in Low Seasons
Tired of feeling like you're constantly striving for perfection? Do you long for a deeper connection with God that goes beyond rules and regulations? This post explores the profound truth that true freedom comes not from rigid discipline, but from a deep and abiding relationship with the Father. Discover how to break free from the 'bit and bridle' of performance-based Christianity and embrace the joy of living as a beloved son or daughter.
When it comes to life and following God, the Father will always be a few steps ahead of you. He cannot be surprised. He is already where we will be. He has prepared each step before we take it. Each step of the journey serves to convince us what he has already forged deep within our inner man. And there is a glorious treasure in each of us waiting to be discovered.
In Psalm 12:1, the lament resonates: "With flattering lips and a double heart they speak." This confession strikes a chord as we reflect on our own actions, for who among us hasn't spoken with a hidden agenda, seeking the favor of others rather than genuine care? It's the mark of a double heart, preventing us from truly loving when our words and actions are driven by ulterior motives. Like a double-edged sword, we aim to build ourselves up while feigning altruism, veering away from the path of authenticity. Jesus, in Matthew 6:22, reminds us that a single, healthy eye sees with clarity, while a tainted, double eye distorts reality and places self at the center. When we pray and live with a double heart, God remains a stranger on the other side of the street. Yet, with a single-hearted focus on loving devotion, we break free from the shackles of double-heartedness, repent, and turn towards the Father's loving embrace, acknowledging the need for a clearer lens through which to view the world.
In Psalms 1:6 and the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (Didache), we find a profound contrast between two ways of life: the path of the righteous and the way of the ungodly. These are not rigid rules but fundamental aspects of being that shape our existence. Jesus didn't impart a doctrine; He offered a life journey. Delighting in God's law, as described in Psalms 1:2, goes beyond fear of punishment – it's a deep love for the divine. Meditation becomes a means to gather our scattered thoughts amidst life's distractions, as Jesus suggested in Matthew 6:25-29. Delight in Christ transforms us, not through rules, but by revealing who we are and who the Father is. So, what truly brings you joy today? Let your prayer be, "God, let my delight be in You."
Many times throughout the Old Testament we see prophetic words bringing significant blessing and prosperity. Take for instance the prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah:
Ezra 6:14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built…
A pertinent example of God building through the prophetic utterances of Jeremiah is seen when God promises to bring the captives back from Babylon:
Jeremiah 24:3-7 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying…
When Jeremiah was called into prophetic ministry at a young age, he was given 6 charges:
Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”
The basic tenor of prophecy is summed up in the aforementioned verse. To edify, exhort, and comfort can be simply caricatured as to lift up, build up, and cheer up. This is a good place to start when understanding the nature of prophecy as it should be practiced in our modern age. Edification, exhortation, and comfort are the baseline principles for the activity of prophecy.
Paul’s prayer gives us two distinct functions of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and both those functions are seen in prophetic ministry: to reveal God (the knowledge of him, Christ made known by the prophets) and to reveal mankind (eyes of your heart enlightened). True prophetic ministry always has these two core facets as the center point of prophecy: the revelation of the heart of God and the revelation of the heart of man.
One of the Hebrew words for vision is the word “mar’ah” (H4759). While it is most often translated as vision, it can also be translated as mirror. As a vision is one means by which we engage with revelation, taking the Hebrew word mar’ah into account, revelation can act as a mirror. What is the purpose of a mirror? To reflect back to you your own image.
What began as an appeal to love, kindness and compassion quickly descended into a threat. I was struck by how quickly the gate attendant changed the source of motivation. When an appeal to love does not work, we quickly descend into the madness of fear. While it is excusable for a gate attendant to use fear as a motivator, we do it in our Christian communities all the time.
Much of what constitutes personal prophetic ministry and corporate prophetic utterances are conditional prophecies. Conditional prophecies are prophetic words that are dependent upon the people that receive them. There are, of course, prophetic words that are not conditional, but those tend to be more rare.
I watched a “prophet” on a well-known prophetic show share a word about the US president and specifically reference the infamous “Q” drop conspiracy ring as proof of the veracity of the prophecy. “Q” had mentioned the same thing two years prior to the prophecy, and, according to the prophet, the Lord was speaking the same thing that “Q” had said about the president.
A few months ago, I was sitting in the airport in Kelowna, BC after a fruitful trip to British Columbia. I had met with many pastors to strengthen and encourage them in their efforts, equipped believers in the love of God, and ministered prophetically on several different occasions.
The Air Canada gate attendant was looking for people to check their carry-on bags. The appeal had been made a couple of times. The flight was full and they were offering a free baggage check at the gate. The announcement went something like this:
Gregory the Great, the 6th century leader of the church in Rome (making him the most influential man in Christendom at the time), gives us the language we need to understand what is required of those who purport to speak on behalf of the Father. First, we ought not be quick to prophesy:
“…during the early years of our adolescence or youth we must abstain from prophecy, so that the plowshare of our tongue does not dare to cleave the land of another's heart. For as long as we are immature, it is our responsibility to contain ourselves, lest while we show tender virtues too swiftly, we lose them.”
John Cassian was an incredibly influential man in the 5th century. He traveled throughout Egypt learning the spiritual life from the Desert Fathers and Mothers near the end of the 4th century. Cassian chronicled their teachings in his two main works: the Conferences and the Institutes. The Institutes were a codification of what the desert monastics practiced and were written for the western church. The Conferences were a collection of conversations Cassian had with the monastic fathers in Egypt. Though the voice was the Desert Fathers, the pen was Cassian. What comes across is not the exact teaching of each Desert Father, but a reinterpretation for the western church.
