leeann@leeannrubsam.com

April 12, 2019April 12, 2019

Doin’ the Bible Dance

Some of us are natural-born dancers. You might be thinking, “Not me. I have two left feet.” But let me explain. Those of us who read the Bible dance through God’s Word, and each of us has a preferred style.

Steady, methodical dancers
They read each verse carefully, because they don’t want to miss a thing! You never know, God might have a golden nugget hidden in the middle of those genealogies or descriptions of ceremonial law! (This is my style of reading most of the time, by the way.) But methodical dancers just about go into cardiac arrest if the Holy Spirit whispers to skip over a few hundred pages and read something out of sequence temporarily.

Spirit-led dancers
They follow whichever way Holy Spirit’s wind blows. They read in Daniel one day and Deuteronomy the next. But some spend the next two years reading Psalms and nothing else, and their biblical balance gets a bit tipsy after a while. (Maybe we aren’t all as Spirit-led as we think!)

Hopscotch / hot coals dancers
Some of us dance through the Bible as if we’re on hot coals. We become very uncomfortable when God puts His finger on areas of our lives that aren’t in line with Him. So we take a quick hop over any verses that bother us and move on to safer territory. This may be a giant leap: “You know, I’m just not getting much out of Romans today. I think I’ll read Isaiah for a while. Isaiah always builds me up.” It doesn’t take long for the hot coals dancer to figure out where he’s most likely to get his feet burned. He quickly learns to avoid that chapter or book altogether! (After all, who said we have to read the whole book from Genesis to Revelation?)

Victory dancers
These are the prayer warriors. They are intensely serious about their dance moves. They stand on the Word part of the time and swing it the rest of the time to accomplish the purposes of heaven. They do “mighty exploits” like Daniel spoke of (Daniel 11:32).

So, how do you dance through the Word? Do you even read it? Are you dancing lightly to avoid the hot coals, or are you planting your feet firmly in a victory step? Are you letting Holy Spirit lead – really lead – in the dance, or are you doing your own thing, all by yourself, and finding it’s kind of a drudge?

Dance with the Lord through His Word. Whatever method of steady reading you use, if you’re listening to Him and applying what He says, your dance will be awesome!

If you are interested in teaching on intercessory prayer, the prophetic gifts, or practical Christian living, visit Lee Ann’s Out of the Fire blog or her website, Character Building for Families.

February 21, 2019April 18, 2019

Is Teaching Christian Character in the Home Necessary?

Are character building studies really necessary for Christian families? Let’s take a look at some of the questions parents have about this: Why is teaching character to my children important? Won’t it just sink in naturally? After all, we teach by example more than by our words, don’t we?

Well, yes and no. Being a great example is important. Speaking the right words, but not following through by living what we speak is not generally very effective. But teaching by example alone can be rather haphazard. We probably won’t be able to thoroughly model everything our children need to know about integrity based only on isolated incidents that arise naturally. There are bound to be some gaps.

It is important to show them how, but also to give them a “why” which is founded in God’s Word. Seeing a concept clearly laid out in the Bible, and taking the time to study that concept together, anchors its truth in our hearts. And, if we build a foundation one brick at a time, “line upon line, precept upon precept,” the results are going to be more solid.

Isn’t character education just behavior modification? I’ve heard this criticism a few times, and my answer is, “Not if it is done correctly.” The goal should always be heart-change. Our aim should be for our children to desire good character because they want to be like Jesus, not just so that they can avoid unpleasant consequences, impress other people, or be successful. Outward change without inward transformation is hypocritical, and it can rarely be upheld for any length of time. Somewhere along the line, the real person will leak out!

That is why, in our own character education materials, we focus on applying the presented concepts to the heart. We tell people using our Character Building for Families manuals that Mom and Dad are going to have their character built right along with their children – and we’ve had quite a few parents write to us, testifying to the truth of that statement!

Tragically, the Church has often fallen into the mistake of telling our young people that if they will just “be good,” God will love them and take them to heaven. That is behavior modification. And, it’s a false gospel message. True character education gives the student an understanding of Who God is and how we should become like Him, coupled with the knowledge that we can only accomplish this through asking God to do it in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our goal should be to raise up disciples who have a passion for the Lord Jesus, not merely to make them valuable community citizens. The outward good behavior will naturally come, as we address and repair the issues of the heart.

Will character training solve our home problems? I’m sorry I can’t promise you that. It would be nice if it did, wouldn’t it? My children did not become perfect by repeatedly studying our character materials. Neither did I. But we made progress together. The Character Building for Families lady still messes up sometimes.

Every one of us is in a lifelong process of growing into the image of Christ. We learn to be kind, and somewhere down the road, God takes us into deeper levels of learning to be kind. Step #1 is to equip ourselves with the recognition of where our old, selfish nature is still at work and the knowledge of how to overcome it, but the walking-out process is challenging and ongoing. Character studies are a tool, but we must learn to wield the tool we’ve been given.

Are you still interested in stepping into the journey? Please visit us at our Character Building for Families website. In addition to our books, we have many free Christian and homeschooling helps there to serve you.

February 14, 2019March 19, 2019

Which Spirit Is It?

Every Christian needs to exercise spiritual discernment in these last days.

When I’m uneasy inside about a teaching I hear, I ask Holy Spirit to bring something from the Bible to my remembrance to help me know if it is true or not.

For “the Spirit of truth … will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019

God’s Wisdom and You (Part 2)

Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known to me now what we desired of You”¦.”
– Daniel 2:20-23

In our last post, we began looking at what this passage teaches us about living prophetically. We talked about God’s desire to transfer to us the wisdom and might He possesses. We also saw that God is the changer of times and seasons in our lives and how being aware of that helps us to flourish. Let’s continue.

He gives wisdom and understanding to those who already have it.

Remember the parable Jesus told of the ten pounds, in Luke 19:11-26? A rich man entrusted equal amounts of money to each of ten servants, intending that they would gain more through investing. They accomplished varying levels of increase, but one man did nothing with the money he had been given. He just hid it. His master was angry, and gave a surprising directive:

He said to those who stood by, “Take from him the pound, and give it to him who has ten pounds.”

The other servants objected, “Lord, he already has ten pounds!”

The master answered, “I say to you, that to everyone who has shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (verses 24-26).

Things work a lot differently in God’s kingdom than we might expect. The Lord wants to give more to those who appreciate what He has already given them. If you are a child of God, you have an open offer of wisdom from Him. He promises it to us in many places in the Bible. If you value wisdom, you will seek Him for more – because we never have all we could have. He will gladly give it, for “”¦ He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

If you don’t value wisdom, you’ll be lackadaisical about seeking it – and your contentment to stay at your present level will hinder you from receiving all the wisdom and understanding God really desired for you to have (which is much more than you currently possess). We can never have too much wisdom, so go after the Lord for more. He’ll be happy to give it to you.

He reveals the deep and secret things to those who want to know.

This goes along with our previous point. God’s secrets aren’t reserved for a few hotshot prophets. He will share them with anyone who is serious about being His friend – whoever takes time to read His Word and ask Him about it; whoever inquires, “”What’s on Your heart, Lord? I want to know Your concerns. What do You want to talk about?” (and then listens for His response).

“”¦ His secret is with the righteous.” – Proverbs 3:32

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him”¦” – Psalm 25:14

You are righteous in Christ. You qualify to hear His secrets. He loves sharing them with you.

He knows what’s going on in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

In context, “He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him” is continuing to speak of God drawing out the deep and secret things and revealing them to us. However, I see an additional application we can make.

Recently, I was upset about a wacky teaching an influential prophet was disseminating. (Praying for the American Church is a major focus of mine, so when I see error going on, it really bothers me.) But the Lord reminded me from Daniel 2:22 that He is very aware of what is going on, and I can leave it to Him. I don’t have to get worked up about the dark things. Instead, He wants me to fasten my attention on Him, to lift my eyes to where He is, in the light. In due time, He will take care of it, just as He says about the tares and wheat in Matthew 13:24-30. I can pray for the Church to be delivered from deception, but I should do it from the place of gazing on the Lord of light, not fuming about the stuff of darkness. It changed my perspective, for sure!

If we’re going to be overcomers in our tumultuous times, we must refuse to focus on the darkness around us, get our eyes on the Lord, and have confidence that He is on top of things.

Let’s sum up the lessons we can learn from Daniel 2:20-23:

1. Believe that the Lord delights to impart His wisdom and understanding to you. Seek Him for more of it.

2. Ask Him to share His deep secrets with you, because He wants to.

3. Don’t focus on the darkness. Instead, keep your eyes on Jesus, in the light.

4. When life seems to be shifting uncomfortably, remember that He is the One Who changes times and seasons. Stay close to Him, and move with Him.

By doing these things, we stay safe in His care while growing in His wisdom and knowledge.

Growing in the Prophetic,
Audio Teaching by Lee Ann Rubsam

The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019

God’s Wisdom and You

Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known to me now what we desired of You”¦.”

– Daniel 2:20-23

Daniel was giving thanks to the Lord for revealing to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Less familiar portions of the Bible can have gold nuggets hidden in them, and so it is here. There’s a lot of treasure for prophetic people in this short passage, so let’s take a look at what God has for us.

God desires to share His wisdom with us.

Daniel starts out by extolling God for His wisdom and might. He mentions that these two qualities belong to the Lord: they are His. He ends with thanking and praising the Lord, “Who has given me wisdom and might.”

Isn’t it amazing that the Lord of the whole universe delights to bestow on us what He possesses? Paul says in Romans 8:32, “He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” He also stated, in 1 Corinthians 3:21, 22, “”¦All things are yours, whether ”¦ the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.” We so easily take the gifts of God for granted, but if we would think about them more deeply, our hearts would be inspired to overwhelming awe.

All true wisdom originates with the Lord. We cannot get it anywhere else. We should not even attempt to glean wisdom from so-called wise men who do not worship the true God, nor should we attempt to use their techniques for achieving peace or revelation. In Christ alone “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Furthermore, “Beware, so that no one spoils you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:8, 9).

Now, the Holy Spirit might enlighten us to a portion of His wisdom through another person. He does that through sermons, godly counsel, and the word gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. We should also expect to receive wisdom directly from the Lord. But there is no other source of wisdom besides Him, and we get ourselves into a mess of deception if we go looking for it outside of Him. We can have confidence that, if we ask Him, He will be eager to give it, because He has already promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all men liberally and does not upbraid [reproach], and it shall be given to him” (James 1:5).

God changes the times and seasons.

Whether it is what is going on in our personal lives, or in our nation and the world, we need to stay keenly aware that God has specific times and seasons for things. When His season is up, He moves on. We must stay attuned to Him, so that we don’t miss His shifts from one thing into another. When He is breathing life into something, it continues, increases, and thrives. But when He is done with it, it’s dead. You can enthusiastically kick that horse all you want, but without the Lord’s life in it, it’s not going anywhere.

Most of us like staying put in what is familiar. Change is disconcerting. Jesus commented on this tendency, when He likened the old and new covenants to wineskins. He said, “No man also having drunk old wine immediately desires new: for he says, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39).

When upheaval is happening in our personal lives or in the nation or world, it is often because God is preparing a new thing. If we understand this, we will not let what we observe in the natural make us afraid. Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who does all things well (Mark 7:37), and be ready to move with Him – even quickly. There is blessing for the person who is open to the new works of God.

Lately I have been praying, “Lord, help me to recognize when You are shifting the seasons, give me Your understanding of how to respond, and help me to keep up with You!”

There are a few more lessons we can learn from Daniel 2:20-23. We’ll continue with them next time.

More at Out of the Fire