~Daily Devotion 11th~

Also, remember I have been doing internet devotions since 1991. I sent them by e-mails only in the beginning. When my first daughter went to North Carolina School of Math and Science in the 11th grade is when I started sending devotions out. I started because of her. She wanted me to send her a daily devotion. (She will be 29 years old this year.) From then others wanted them. Since then, I have seen them come back around to me, not showing my name as the author. That happens. I just pray that they touch someone. I even have had someone say Pat I think you will like this, and I reply well, yes, because I wrote it. I do have copies of all the devotions from the very beginning. I hope that you have enjoyed them through the years.

A proper perspective will enable a believer to walk through a trial victoriously. Proclaim: "satan, you think you laid a trap for me, but won't catch me." Without my Father's permission, this trial would not have happened. He permitted it, even if He didn't promote it. He knew I would make it through victoriously if I walked with Him. And He also knew I would be more like Him when the trial was over."

Jesus was rejected, spat upon, and called by evil names. He was forsaken by the men. He lived the most. They deserted Him in the time of His greatest trial. Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him, and they all forsook Him. If we desire to be like Jesus, we must respond to our painful situations as He did to His. Though He was mistreated, He never became offended.

Only our wrong attitudes, actions, and refusal to forgive will hinder God's working in our lives. No person or situation can take us out of the will of God.

We have seen how unresolved offense can lead to serious sin. It can open us to the deception of the Absalom spirit of betrayal. As Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel, so these flatterers learn to speak in such a way in the church that unsuspecting Christians begin to admire them. This admiration produces a spiritual pride in the deceived ""Absalom"," who begin to believe they are more spiritual than their leaders.

Then a competitive spirit takes over, and "Absalom" begins to misrepresent the decisions of the leadership and the direction they are taking. He (or she) sows strife and division and draws a group of people to himself. His followers feed off his critical spirit.

After that, a bold conspiracy arises. The "Absalom" justifies the actions of his group by focusing on the minor issues with which he found fault in the leadership. Usually his accusations are not related to false doctrine or blatant sin with the leadership. Rather he magnifies the imperfections or human traits of the leader.

Soon "Absalom" leads a naive little group out to start a new church built on the foundation of offense. Since it is to built on the right foundation it cannot prosper. If the root of a tree is bad, the whole tree will be bad. So it is with every church that is founded on an Absalom spirit. It will be full of rebellion and disloyalty and will suffer continual church splits. God's judgment is on the rebellious church.

I know a minister who became the pastor of a church in California that seemed dead to the presence of God. No matter how they changed their worship, or hw he preached, the Lord did not move among the people. This pastor determined to find the cause for the lack of God's presence in the church.

"Why do you need to know that?" the chairman of the board asked. "I want to know why God's presence is not here. There must be something wrong in the church," he replied. "Do you know how this church was birthed?"

The board replied that the church began as a split from another church more than twenty years earlier. They related that the mother church now had a new pastor, different leadership, and many new members who were not even aware of the history of the church split.

"But we cannot expect to experience the presence of God in our church until we reconcile tis long-standing offense." my pastor friend responded.

Taking the board of the church with him, this pastor went to the pastor of the mother church. "You don't know us or our history," he said. "But our church began as a split off your church. We have come to be reconciled with your church and to forgive the long-standing offenses between these churches.."

The pastors and board members of these two churches prayed together and established a bond of love and fellowship with each other. After that simple confession and act of reconciliation. God's presence returned to my friend's church as the Holy Spirit began to move among the people.

God spoke a startling message to me one night as I was ministering in a church in North Carolina. He declared, "I will not, I will not, I will not allow anyone who touches My plan, My Program, My prophets, or My prophecy to be a part of, or participate in, the next move of God."

I immediately recognized the General Epistle of Jude in outline form in that statement. He had mentioned four of the seven steps that led the church into apostasy. I realized that there are sins committed against God that are much worse than sins we commit against our fellowman. It is not a light matter to be involved in criticism or betrayal of an anointed servant of God.

When we try to overthrow God's purposes by touching God's anointed leadership we can expect to suffer the consequences. Absalom suffered a humiliating and untimely death, while King David was restored to his throne as the rightful king. God's true anointed leadership, though not perfect, will triumph over the Absalom spirit as King David did. As believers and supportive leadership, we need to guard our hearts so that we re not guilty of harboring personal ambition or unresolved offense that will deceive us and make us vulnerable to the Absalom spirit. And we need to guard our relationships, not allowing anyone to undermine God's leadership by criticism. Other-wise, we could become a part of Absalom's tragic end.

We need to be prepared to guard our hearts and relationships against the attack of Absalom. But we must set a guard around our very minds as the enemy offers to opens them to freedom and instead causes great harm and emotional bondage to those who fall victim to the spirit of pseudo-counseling.