“The Voice of God Within” 2nd Ed.

An Inward Journey of Discovery and Restoration

In this video I share with you the inspiration behind the writing of “The Voice of God Within.”
If you have struggled with your belief system or have been or are a part of a controlling religion, and you need a little courage, this may just be the book for you.

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Don’t Judge Me

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“Don’t judge me” is probably one of the most common phrases thrown out there by humanity. People do not like to be judged by others because they feel like others lack real insight into their own personal situation; and for the most part, this is absolutely true. Even the bible admonishes us about judging in scriptures such as Mathew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye may not be judged” and Romans 14:13 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more.”

But the reality is, we all judge. Insomuch as you declare, “do not judge me” you are judging; you have judged those you believe are judging you.

Judge: To form an opinion about something after careful thought; to regard as either good or bad

There really is no escaping judgement- neither giving or receiving it. So what are these scripture in the Bible about? Let us look at the amplified version of Matthew 7:1-2:

Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. ² For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.

A problem arises when we sit on a pedestal, believing ourselves to be more special or deserving than the hypocrite, the murderer, the thief, the adulterous, the one who disobeys… We cease to see our own spiritual infidelities. Our hearts become unrepentant. We forget that we are all made of the same dirt and will all return to that dirt. Thinking we have judged rightly, we will find in the end that we have misjudged our own position before God. This also carries over to putting some people in higher esteem than others.

You see, the one condemned in your eyes, is the one Jesus Christ died for. The one whom you think yourself superior too, this is the one that “God so loved, that he gave his only begotten Son” for. That one that you have disregarded? That is the one that Christ is seeking to save.

Most people believe they are not judging. But let us consider some trigger words. What sort of thoughts come to mind when you read these words. Ponder them each individually and slowly:

Homosexuality. Muslim. Abortion. Christian. Jesus. Buddha. Science. Family. Gandhi. Mother Theresa. Baptism. Salvation. Heaven. Hell.

This list could be infinite. Each word will conjure up something within your heart, and for each word, you have a personal judgement made about it. The problem does not lie in what your personal perception and understanding of these words is. The problem lies when you attach these labels to people and consequently praise or condemn, befriend or avoid them.

One of the most damaging thoughts out there in our time is the thought of “toxic people.” Many quotes are being circulated in our world about staying away from these toxic-humanoids. Yes, you may as well call it something different than human. This thought process is loaded with judgement and condemnation, because as soon as you have labeled somebody “toxic” you have judged them.

Does that mean that staying away from someone that may harm you or pressure you to go against your own conscience is wrong? No! That is healthy. But, remember, those that deserve our attention the least, may need it the most. If we must, for our own safety, put distance between us and another person, do so with love, praying that this person may get the healing and help they so desperately need. But pushing people out of our lives just because they are different, difficult or not what we expected, is harmful.

Life is not easy- no matter who is in it. This life is meant to teach us lessons and lessons are not learned through ease. We all have a powerful inner-critic at work all the time. Let us not be found guilty of strengthening the inner critic of others.

“Don’t judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes.” 

Too many wear this like a badge of honor, yet do not honor this in others. We cannot sit a critic and condemner and love at the same time.

Most of religion is set up with walls- enclosing people, codes, regulations, laws, hierarchy and tradition inside walls and judging and excluding those who stay without them. There was a letter written to the Galatians dealing with this very thing in chapter 2 we read:

Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really^[b]—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. ⁵ But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. . . ¹⁴ When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? . . . And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. . . I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. ¹⁹ For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. ²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ.^[e] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Many times those who sit in judgement get angry when you highlight these scriptures, because they have turned the Bible into their God and have dissected its words and created another system of laws which was never the purpose of Christ. His purpose was to come and light the way of every man. His purpose was to turn us away from the incessant struggle of habitual fleshly sins, and to allow his light to come into our hearts and lead and guide us.

“Don’t judge me!”

This is impossible. No matter how you live your life, someone here will judge you and condemn you. But as we allow the light of Christ to illuminate our hearts and draw closer and closer to this unconditional love, we will no longer feel the need to defend ourselves, nor to judge others. God’s grace and love will suffice us!

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Fear’s Mortal Enemy

FEAR has but one mortal enemy…

LOVE!

 

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.” ~1John 4:18

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. “ 2 Timothy 1:7

“Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

“God is love” 1 John 4:8

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Remember to Whom You Belong

This morning I attended our neighborhood church service and the minister brought the thought that when ever you attend a court of law, you have both the one who stands for you and those who stand to oppose you. And so it is in the heavenly.  But when we are saved, Christ stands for us. We now have royal blood coursing through us and the Bible tells us in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [33]  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” If the king of all kings, and Lord of all Lords is standing on my behalf, who can stand against me? [34]  who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” 

Again the Bible says in Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

The popular saying goes, “You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not please all of the people all of the time.”

So I would like to encourage you this morning by reminding you who you belong to when you belong to Christ.

“[F]or through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,   having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:18-22

• You are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16)
• God has your name written in the palms of his hands. (Isaiah 49:16)
• You are God’s child (John 1:12)
• You can go to God in confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
• You do not need to go to any man, but Christ alone. (1Timothy 2:5)
• King Jesus has made you all glorious within. (Psalms 45:13)
• No man can take you out of God’s hands. (John 10:27-29)
• You are free from all condemnation (Romans 8: 1-2)
• All your circumstances are working for your good. (Romans 8:28)
• Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:31-39)

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Let Us Reason Together

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD .  .  .

Isaiah 1:18

Yesterday in my Psychology class we were discussing nonscientific sources of data- information that has no sound basis to build on or to make concrete decisions or come to absolute conclusions upon. There were three sources that were mentioned:

1. Method of Tenacity– holding firmly onto something such as a superstition or belief even though it has been proven to be inaccurate or untrue. This sort of tenacity is strong in family traditions and religious sects.
2. Method of intuition– believing something is true just because you have a “feeling.”
3. Method of authority– Getting information from an “expert.”

The third reason particularly caught my attention because of the reasons he brought to light about why this is not a secure source of scientific data. The reasons he gave caused me to think about authority figures in dogmatic church systems. First he said authorities can be biased. Second, authorities may reflect personal opinions. Third, authorities may not have the necessary credentials; They may not truly be an expert in the particular field that you are seeking help in. Just because they are an “authority” does not mean they know everything and can help with every situation. And the fourth really stuck out to me;  People may accept what authorities say without evidence.  Wow! How true that last statement is! How powerful! How careful we must be.

When we look back on history, do we not see untold, catastrophic and horrific atrocities that have been done by multitudes of people that were swayed by those in “authority”- just accepting what they said about others without evidence? And we still see it going on today. Men and women in authority are very accountable for how they sway the people. They will give an account for souls that have been wrongly vilified in the minds of people.

With every passing year we see knowledge abounding. Christ said it would be so in the last days. Christ gave us his word and his Spirit to guide us. He told us;

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  Matt. 23: 8-10

When we cease to seek Christ for ourselves each day and to listen for Gods still small voice within our heart, we will do one of two things; we will either go back to sinful ways or we will default to religious practices. We will go to church and simply “obey all the commands of those in authority,” believing that is our proof of salvation.  But our true connection will be gone and we will fall into a spiritual slumber.

One night I was driving home from a friends house. It was very late, past midnight, and I was following my husband who had come later in his truck. I was so tired I was not paying attention. I trusted my husbands lead and blindly followed him down the roads. suddenly I was jerked out of my sleepy stupor by several vehicle headlights coming straight towards me. My husband had made a left turn right into oncoming traffic and I blindly followed him into it. Luckily I was able to jump the island to the right side of the road and we made it out safely. But I never forgot how God spoke to my heart that night:

“Remember Liz, don’t ever just follow anybody blindly. Stay awake. Listen to my Holy Spirit. Follow me. I am the LORD!”

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Washing Dirty Feet

The Lord showed me in my sleep tonight, the reason for washing feet- it is not for ritual. It is for a lesson.

Peter asked him, “Lord are you going to wash me feet? No way I will not let you wash my feet.”

But then the Lord replied, “If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with me.” 

Then Peter said, “not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

Then the Lord said, “They that are cleansed need not but there feet washed.”

(John 13)

 As long as we are here walking this earth, we will need to be cleansed because we are going to get dirty- our feet get dirty as we walk the earth and they must be washed. This is symbolic.

While we are in this earthly taberbacle we will have human faults and we must be willing to bow to one another and help one another by humbly cleansing one anothers “dirty feet.” We must be willing to humbly help one another in our faults and failings.

 There is a difference of handing someone a pail of water and soap and bending down ourselves and washing their feet. Their feet is the lowest and dirtiest part of their body. But human tendency is to say, “Gross, you wash your own stinky feet.”

It is easy to get lifted up and to look down our noses at one another. Christ does not want anyone to be lifted up higher than anyone else. This is why he gave us this example and said:

Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

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Trust In God Alone

Sometimes this takes a long time to really learn. God is very clear in his word that we are not to place our trust in men. We can believe men, when they are bringing forth good fruits in their lives, but our trust needs to be solely in God. When we do that, we will never just blindly follow any man, but will ever look to God first.

We are not in the Old Testament dispensation anymore- we have no high priest that acts as the mouth piece of God in our lives. We have Christ in our hearts, reigning and ruling. He will witness to us what to follow and what to wait on.

There will always be leadership in all walks of life that is to be respected; but we individually are the temple of God- we are priests over our own temple. We will give an account to God for our own lives before God. To set up men as Gods mouth piece over your life is to set up a popish old testament system.

Thank God we can have godly counselors and leaders to guide us, but Christ is ever our head. King David had counselors, but ultimately he made the decision and answered to God alone. The counselors were a safety net about him, but God gave him reasoning and a mind to think and pray and seek and weigh things out.

When Christ’s law is written on our hearts and we allow him to rule our lives, our fruit will be holy. Holiness is simply the absence of sin.

Trust God. Put your trust in Him alone. Ultimately you will be able to trust all situations, for God will be the ruling factor in it all.

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Famous Quotes From Dictators

Sometimes its good to study the tactics of the enemy- his greatest weapon to bring people into bondage is FEAR! But God does not want us to be entangled with the yoke of bondage. He wants us to cast out fear. Fear has torment.  God wants us to be FREE in him. Listen to what Christ said to his disciples:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Matthew17: 24-26

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Galatians 4:30-31

Famous Dictator Quotes:
I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.~Adolf Hitler

“The oppressed peoples can liberate themselves only through struggle. This is a simple and clear truth confirmed by history.” – Kim Il-Sung

“Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

“Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship.” ― Bruce Coville

“Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted. By that point he loses steam; in result, he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner.” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

“When we’re afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators’ repression.”
― Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

“The true essence of a dictatorship is in fact not its regularity but its unpredictability and caprice; those who live under it must never be able to relax, must never be quite sure if they have followed the rules correctly or not.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

“The lesson we are indebted to Egypt for, our future generations learned that in the face of oppression silence is never golden.”
― Aysha Taryam,

“Dictatorship, by whatever name, is founded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only one that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the state.”
― Harry S. Truman

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Who Is the Teacher?

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

We are all teachers. Everyone has something they can teach someone else no matter who you are, what your station is in life or your age. You have something to teach and you have many things to learn. The Lord wanted us to edify one another to come to the fulness of Christ.

God gave us all gifts that we may edify one another.

Christ taught his disciples when they were arguing who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God;

Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:25-28

Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10: 42-45

The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. Luke 22:25-27

It seems to me that the spirit of the world is to be in a position just above someone else. This spirit can be very subtle, or it can be very blatant. But mark it down when it shows its ugly head, its not from Christ.

Christ made his entrance into this world in a barn with a feeding trough for a bed. His parent were very poor. He was a carpenter by trade and not considered an “educated” man. During his ministry he walked the streets and had not a place to call his own. He died a poor man,  next to common criminals, in the most disgraceful way known to man.

He was the Son of God. He was the Prince of Peace. He lead us by example. He taught the people to love God, to trust God to give all to God.

I am convicted in my soul today, that the reason such confusion abounds in the religious world, is because so many want to be the teacher or the preacher; They  want the show, the pomp, and the reputation. But they do not want to do the one simple thing that God said, search for HIM with ALL their heart.

Everyone is calling, “Listen to me! Listen to me! I have the right answers!”

Or, “Come to my church, hear my pastor, go talk to this man or that man!”

But you know, everyone has something they can teach us, no matter who they are.  But if we want to find God, we must be still and know, God says, “I AM!”

We must get alone with God. We must search for him with all our heart. We must search for HIS mind, HIS heart, HIS spirit. We must put aside our own understanding and allow him to take us to new dimensions.

So many seek for him for awhile and they become “enlightened” and get excited but they begin to follow the source of the enlightenment rather than God himself. They begin to worship the lamp and forget that the lamp is just a vessel that carried a light. What they need is the light that is in that lamp, to illuminate thier own vessel, then the Bible says, “You have no need that any man teach you…” (1John 2:27)

You see, there comes a time that you come to the fullness of Christ yourself. Christ is the light within and there is no need of the moon nor the sun- the old testament nor the new, for Christ himself giveth thee light. (Revelations 21:23)

In God’s true kingdom- the kingdom that is within you, there are no popes, powers and authorities. Christ is our head and we all teach and edify one another. We are all royalty. Believe it. God said it was so!

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Salt That’s Lost it’s Savour

Dead Sea Salt Formations

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13

During the age when Jesus was depicting his people as the “salt of the earth” the salt that was widely utilized was taken from the Dead Sea. Its most common purpose was to salt dung that was then rendered usable to burn as fuel in the earthen ovens outside their homes. This salt was differnt from the table salt we use today, which cannot lose its flavour. This salt had to be kept dry and free from earth, or it would be changed into a powdery substance that was no longer usable. At that time people tossed garbage out into the streets (garbage was probably very scarce) and hence we have the analogy that the salt is no longer good for anything but to be tossed out into the streets where men trod every day.

The Jews reffered to the law as “salt and the light.” Salt was considered a purifying agent and a metaphor for wisdom. It is noteworthy that Jesus follows this statement about salt and light with;

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5: 17-20

He then enters into what is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” with a well known Old Testament Law- and then defines its “fullness” of meaning. The whole sermon expands on what the people had been taught out of the law.

In light of this study, it stands to reason that the Christian is to be careful to maintian the purity of the word of God in their daily living. Also, if the Christian begins to mix that way with the ways of the world and its varied philosophies, that Christian’s message will become good for nothing. We cannot explain away the authority of the Word of God. It is the Word of Life.

We must be the salt of the earth, by living the truth out in our lives and not compromising what we know God’s word says to appease the mulititudes of Bible critics and naysayers. The law of God is to be written on our hearts and lived out in our lives.  (Hebrews 10:16) The ways of God must be preserved. We are the salt of the earth, the preserver of this way of life. To say that its okay to live any way we choose and to be accepted of God is to water down the message of God and become a useless Christian.

I repeat the words of Christ, “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

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