Hi Everyone,

Well FINALLY! After three years of waiting, the downloads for my next book began arriving last week. If you are interesting tin the gifts of the Spirit, then this book is for you. I can't wait to spend time writing.

I'm also speaking this weekend at my church's women's retreat. I can't wait as I'm teaching about one of my favorite topics, our authority in Christ.

So, I remain busy. But I started to think about what teaching do I have on video that I can share here. And actually, there is a lot. So today, I'm sharing another video teaching from my archives. I pray it blesses you. 

Pray for our retreat. I'll be speaking on Friday morning, September 30th. Also remember Rosh Hashana is next Monday. New beginnings. Believe and receive. In Jesus name. Love you, Lynn

Hello! This is Jeanne wishing blessings on your springtime, wherever you are!

A few weeks ago, someone asked me out of the blue, “Where do you get the idea of tongues?”  I could picture myself twenty years ago asking the same question.  Growing up, the only exposure I had to the “idea of tongues” was in the account of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11).  To me, it was a one-time event that happened 2,000 years ago, and had no bearing on my life.

Since that time, I have explored the concept of tongues through Bible study and my own experience, as well as that of others. 

The gift of tongues has two different expressions.  There is a public gift, where one person speaks in tongues and another one (or the same person) interprets the tongue in the common language.  I’ve only seen that in operation once, and can’t speak to it outside of what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 14.

On the other hand, there is praying in tongues or in the spirit, which all believers are encouraged to do.  

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God… they utter mysteries by the Spirit… Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves… I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays… I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. When you are praising God in the Spirit, you are giving thanks well enough… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  (1 Corinthians 14, selected verses)

I purposely left out the limitations Paul gives in this passage, because he was addressing a church where people were going overboard with their tongues and prophecies.  He clearly was not saying the gifts were bad, but that they weren’t helpful to the church assembly if they weren’t expressed decently and in order.  I don’t think it’s possible to privately pray in tongues too much. 

One key is in verse 14: “If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays.”  We have talked before about how each of us is body, soul, and spirit.  The body is our physical flesh; the soul is our mind, will, and emotions; and the spirit is where we become a new creation in Christ when we believe.  Our born-again spirit is where we are the righteousness of Christ, holy, perfect, and blameless.  And when we pray in tongues (or pray in the spirit) we are uttering mysteries by the Holy Spirit. We are praying the perfect will of God, and we are building ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude v.20).  Jesus says that God desires those who worship him in spirit and in truth.  We can pray with our flesh, reciting words without even meaning them.  We can pray with our souls, pouring out our emotions. But praying in the spirit involves yielding our tongues to the Holy Spirit, letting God choose what we say. 

Praying in the spirit involves yielding our tongues to the Holy Spirit, letting God choose what we say. 

James describes the immense power of our tongues.  If they can steer us down such a dark and evil path, imagine the incredible blessings on our lives if we turn them over to the Spirit!

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body. Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.  And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  (James 3:2-6)

Jesus addressed this same topic:

For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure. (Matthew 12:34-35)

When Jesus speaks, the Father acts!

The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. (John 14:12)

When I was first filled with the Spirit, I rarely prayed in tongues.  My first experience with it was when one of my children was in a crisis situation that I had no power to affect in the natural, and didn’t even know what to pray.  For years, the only times I prayed in tongues were when I had reached the end of my human strength.  I gradually learned that this yielding to the Spirit brought with it peace, strength, and wisdom or revelation regarding the situation.  I’ve come to realize that these are the very words of God, coming through my mouth. 

I’ve come to realize that these are the very words of God, coming through my mouth. 

Whether I feel a mighty move of the Spirit while I’m praying, or nothing at all, I know that what I’m speaking is incredibly powerful in the spiritual realm.  I am watching God do things in my life that I wouldn’t have known or dared to ask for. To God be the glory!

Please share your experiences and questions in the comments. I'm excited to hear what you have to say!

Artwork by StudioJRU

Jeanne here!

Did you know that before you were breathed into existence by God, he wrote a book about your entire life?  That book is in heaven right now.  God created you with a set of absolutely unique gifts and talents and abilities and strengths.  There are things that God put inside you that he didn’t give anyone else.  And then he planned out a whole lifetime of ways for you to use those gifts to benefit the people around you and bring glory to him.  He designed you so that when you use your gifts to do the things he planned, it brings you great joy and a feeling of fulfillment. Your book is not just about you, but about the thousands of lives you will touch, all woven together.

 You are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he planned for us to walk in.  Ephesians 2:10

I always pictured “good works” as passing out sandwiches and socks to homeless people, but this verse isn’t necessarily talking about acts of charity.  It concerns all the things God designed you to do in your little corner of the world.  For most of my life, I didn’t know what my purpose was.  I’m really just now starting to get it.

When He created you, God had a very specific set of characteristics that he built into you so you would be equipped to accomplish your purpose.  God has big dreams for you! Sadly, a lot of us grow up and never use or even discover our God-given design.  sin and violence. I believe we can determine whether we are operating in our giftings when two things are true: One, it blesses others or brings glory to God, and two, it brings us joy. 

We begin life with the unconditional love of our heavenly Father and a world of possibility.  But in ways big and small, the enemy kills our dreams, steals our joy, and destroys our vision.

So, what if we don’t know what our gifts are?  Or what if we use them for selfish purposes?  Does God give up on us?  Not at all. When it comes to us, God is a little bit like that annoying parent who thinks their kid can do no wrong.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.   1 Corinthians 13:7

You’re not a disappointment to God.  He’s still working in your life trying to line things up to go well for you.  He doesn’t ever think about or even remember the times you messed up.  He is still as crazy about you as he was the day you were born.  He sees your potential; he is looking for ways to get you into position to receive all the blessings he wants to give you.  You are tremendously valuable to God, but not in the way the world judges value.

My mother had twelve children, and once when I was a kid I asked her which one was her favorite.   She answered, “The one who needs me most right then.”  I’m pretty sure God is like that.  He wants us to realize that we need him. He wants us to come as children, trusting him and loving him and just wanting to be close.  He isn’t waiting until we have it all together or until we have accomplished what he created us to do.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  Hebrews 11:16

We need to realize that God is good, and that it will be tremendously rewarding to seek him. It absolutely requires sacrifice and commitment on our part.  But God’s mercy and grace are far more than enough to pick us back up when we fall.   For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross.  You and I were that joy.  The Father wanted us back, and Jesus was willing to pay the ultimate price to give us the opportunity to be in full, intimate relationship with him.

The next time the devil tries to whisper that you don’t measure up, remind him (and yourself) that you are God’s masterpiece, his beloved child intricately designed, bought with a price, and that no one can snatch you out of God's hand.  I encourage you to come into the presence of your Abba Father like a child, and ask him to read to you out of your book.  Share what you hear in the comments!

Do you want to know what your supernatural gift set is? How about how to grow in another area of gifting. Why does the New Age movement call "Empath" something that is a gift from God? And can Christians walk in this gift? What are you supposed to do with your gifts to use them to honor and glorify the Lord?

This seminar will explain all the gifts. Offer you a gifting inventory. Share how you can ask and receive other gifts from the Lord. We will walk through how to discern spirits. Prophetic gifting. What is foretelling vs. forthtelling and why does the Lord place this gift within the body of Christ.

I PROMISE you this. This is be one hour that will be fast-aced and filled with exciting information. You will not be bored and take a ton of notes. My purpose is to release you into your original design and bring His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

Sign up today. Thursday, August 26. 11 am Pacific. (You will receive a link to the video teaching afterward.)

One more thing. Last Friday I published the sign up page and the paid page for the Spiritual Gift Seminar. Oopie. That info is obsolete. A new Zoom meeting was established. If you already signed up, I'll be sending you a link to the correct meeting. 

Love you, Lynn

In this seminar you can expect:

• Biblical teaching about supernatural gifts
• Defining the difference between gifts and how they manifest in an individual.
• Discover your gifting set. 
• Discover your children's gifts, your spouse. 
• Exercises to continue to develop supernatural gifts.
• Pray to reactivate your gifting, cleanse it from demonic interference and dedicate it to God.

There is new material in this class that isn't in most teaching on the Gifts of the Spirit.

This will be a one hour Zoom seminar on August 26, 2021 at 11 am PACIFIC. The live seminar will offer you the most effective portion of our prayer time. However, if you are unable to attend, you will receive the video. All purchasers will receive the video link after the seminar. 

Sign up now. $10 for the class. Live Q&A at the end. Come with your questions. I can't wait to help you launch into your gifts. Hugs, Lynn

Click on the Buy Now button.

Jeanne here:

A couple years ago, my family adopted a mixed breed dog from a rescue organization.  Tasha is a friendly, playful, goofy dog.  She’s a good companion, but she’s no working dog.  She isn’t particularly fast or strong or smart or protective, and she has zero interest in retrieving.  She’s well behaved and she makes us laugh, and we are happy to have her as a part of the family without expecting her to do anything.

A few months ago, our indoor cat Allie escaped outside.  Our yard has dozens of tall trees and a ton of places for a cat to hide, so we wanted to catch Allie before she got herself into trouble.  When I went out to look for the cat, Tasha bolted straight for Allie, and kept her contained by circling around her until I came across the yard to pick her up.   Who knew?  Tasha must have inherited a herding instinct from one of her doggie ancestors, and it kicked into action that day. She was enormously pleased with herself for doing something useful.

All of us have traits and abilities that we inherited from our parents and grandparents, whether we knew them or not.  I inherited my bone structure from my mother’s mother, and my eye color from my biological father.  But what traits and characteristics have I inherited from my heavenly father? According to Scripture, those of us who are believers are children, and heirs, of God!

John 1:12-13: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Galatians 4:6-7: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” 

2 Corinthians 6:18: “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 

Romans 8:17 says that we are God’s children, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

What does it mean to be part of God’s family?  The Scriptures mention our heavenly inheritance, the riches and glory of Christ himself, held safely for us in eternity.  But Holy Spirit also gives us godly traits and talents in this life.  It’s not our human heritage that empowers us to love the unlovable, to heal the sick and raise the dead and turn the world right-side-up. It is our place as children of God that enables us to take authority over all the power of the enemy.  But most of all, we were bred (so to speak) for a purpose: to love God and to bring glory to him through our own unique giftings and circumstances.  To very loosely paraphrase 1 Corinthians 12:29-30, we are not all sled dogs or retrievers, but each one of us has a gift, or multiple gifts, to use for the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.  

You are an answer to someone’s prayer.  You were designed and created to be a blessing to specific people at specific times in specific ways.  Just like Tasha’s latent herding instinct, there is some gift or talent in you that will bless others, and make you come alive while you’re using it.

If you aren’t aware of what you have to offer, sit quietly before the Lord and ask him to bring to mind times in your life when you felt fully alive and connected to something or someone outside of yourself.  It could be when you were nursing a baby, or painting a landscape, or tutoring a teenager, or a million other things.  These memories are clues to the way you were designed to be used by God.  Ask God to reveal your gift to you and unwrap it.  Then ask him to show you one small step you can take on the path to living out your purpose.  If he doesn’t give you something specific right away, keep asking and keep your heart open to his still, small voice that says, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

If you already know or suspect what your gift is, then your mission is to ask God how and where and when to use it.  Then whatever he says, DO IT.  That’s where I falter most often.  Many times I know what I’m to do, but I place a higher priority on any number of other things.  God is faithful to forgive me, but meanwhile the people that he has sent me to bless are left praying and wondering why God hasn’t answered them. And I’m left with the empty things I have chosen instead of the joy that comes from being used by the Lord.

Don’t be like me.  Be like Jesus, and choose to fully carry out God’s mission and purpose for you on this planet. It’s work, and it takes sacrifice, but it’s well worth it. There is nothing that compares to the joy of partnering with the Creator of the universe to show his love to people.  When this life ends, you will hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Start right now. What is one unique aspect of your design?  Share it with me in the comments. See you there!  Jeanne