Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Idolatry of False Comfort



And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, John 14:16

The greatest gift Jesus gave to humanity besides salvation, was leaving us the unfailing friend we have in the Holy Spirit. He is essentially the loving arms of the Godhead. In our darkest moments, he lovingly embraces our hearts and whispers the promise of a better tomorrow. When we lift up our eyes to the One from which our help comes from; He immediately comes to help. He is our helper. No matter what the situation or circumstance he navigates our course if we willfully, and humbly ask. A moment in His presence is more than a lifetime of church services, counseling appointments or well-meaning advice. One word from God can bring light to darkness and is able to change our lives. Even now He hovers over the dark waters of the deep waiting for us to speak. The Holy Spirit is the healing oil of heaven, and no matter how broken we are, He is able to restore our souls. 

When Jacob wrestled with God after stealing the birthright from Esau his brother, he was visited by God. He named that place Bethel. Bethel became a place of visitation. "And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone." Genesis 35:2 Here is what God spoke to my heart this morning. "If you want to truly be comforted you must put away the idols of false comfort." Eating isn't a sin but if you do it for comfort then it becomes an idol in which you replace the Holy Spirit with something else. This is true of drinking, gaming, sex, drugs, entertainment, pornography, relationships, and etc. Drugs are chemical substances that affect the processes of the mind or body. Drugs alter our minds but God wants to be the one who alters our hearts and minds. I purposely spelled it "altar" because he wants to be on the throne of our hearts. He doesn't want other things to cloud our judgment. He wants to be the one who makes the modifications to our thought processes. He can't do that if there are chemicals in our bodies that are affecting how we think or feel. The question is, what are we running to when we are hurting? What are we consoling ourselves with? Who do we go to in our day of trouble? Let's face it we will all fail at some point but if we fall; let us fall forward into the arms of God. If you do that He will always catch you, just don't run from the only person who is able to help you. Let us struggle no longer. No more running. No more false comfort. No more turning to empty things. We must learn to fast and pray in our times of desperation. 

Can you imagine how we make the true Comforter feel when we get our comfort from other sources? This essentially is breaking the first commandment. We cannot have any other gods before Him. Jacob knew that he could not visit Bethel with idols. That's why so many of us can't seem to get a breakthrough or have the kind of relationship we want with God. Our days are spent void of His presence. We must purify ourselves, and take off the garments of old patterns and mindsets that are keeping us stuck in old behaviors. We can fill our shelves with self-help books or allow the helper to pull us up to our rightful place in Christ. We always fight from a place of victory. We are seated in heavenly places. The lie that it will take a lifetime to correct our course isn't biblical. We all think that but it did not take long after Jacob fled that God visited him. We are under a better covenant. 
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among the remnant whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:32

I would like to personally ask my kind friend the Holy Spirit to forgive me for all the times I have gone to other things including people, for help, comfort, and guidance. I ask you Holy Spirit to be my comforter, guide, friend and lead me into all truth. Strengthen me and break off all the idols of false comfort in Jesus name. If this ministered to your heart let me know. Remember, you are loved.    
If you find this article helpful or would like to donate to our ministry please do so on our home page by visiting our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Broken Cisterns



Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered? Jeremiah 2:12-14

The word of the Lord came to me last night during our meeting. There are two travesties (absurd or distorted representations) happening in the church. The first travesty is that the people of God cannot hold the living water of God's presence in their life because of brokenness. The second is the world is going thirsty because of it.

I always hear the anguish of leaders wondering why people don't come to church any more. Ever hear of the expression "it holds no water?" It means that what is being said holds no credibility, isn't reliable or strong enough to hold the weight of truth. This has been the American church. It has lost all credibility because it has been just as lost as the world. I continually run into Christians who are suicidal, on medications, addicted, struggling, and can not seem to hold the water of God's presence in their life.

Verse 14 asks the question are you a servant or a slave? A servant willingly serves. A slave is in bondage. There is a marked difference. We are supposed to be servants of the Lord but many Christians are slaves to sin, compromise, and carnality. They aren't walking in freedom. You can usually tell by how people worship. They can't even lift up their heads, hands, eyes or even their bodies off the pews. They sit oppressed day after day being beat up by the devil. Don't get me wrong in a fight we may get knocked down once in awhile but we get up. It's when we live down that there is a problem. When we never live in victory, and walk defeated in our every day lives.

The question then is followed up by this one...why are we plundered? This word plundered is used in times of war when the enemy has taken valuable and treasured items by stealing, stripping, ravaging, seizing, in acts of hostile force. In today's terms: Why are we getting ripped off? The answer is simply because we have forsaken the fountain of living waters. We have been drinking from another source. We have been sitting at the table of the devil, and partaking of his dainties instead of taking up the cup of Jesus which is; not my will thy will.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons
1 Corinthians 10:21

There is only one way to live. We are the ones that need to be plundering hell and not the other way around. 

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

I have good news for all of you who have had enough of being plundered. All we need to do is push away from the table of demons by taking up the cup of the Lord. It is a cup that is bitter at first as we deny ourselves, take up our cross to follow him but then becomes sweet as the fountain of living waters continually supplies us with love, joy and peace. I read the end of the book and it is the ones who are washed with that precious blood and keep their robes clean without spot, wrinkle or blemish that will have their great reward. Allow God to wipe away those tears, free you from oppression and fill you with His love.  


“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelations 7:14-17

If you find this article helpful or would like to donate to our ministry please do so on our home page by visiting our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez