Holy moments are so special; all believers have had them. And the good news is that those can increase as we apply our devotions for God. They come in many ways and forms. The first, obviously, is the awareness of His truth. We can be told a story or be reading the Bible, and the awareness of God's truth is like a light that comes on inside of us and we see more than we did before; we get a new and helpful perpective.
Some people have seen Jesus, or angels, or had encounters that were very specific and meaningful to them. And there are many who claim that, but when they do, be observant for the fruit like Jesus taught. Some tell stories but the holiness does not accompany it.
All encounters like that are for the person who received it more than they are for others. They are there to change their lives more towards God and if they don't, you can discount the significance.
Even the devil, who can appear as an angel of light, will give inviting "encounters" but in your wisdom of learning God, you will learn to turn down those visitations or invitations. Many if not all people have those, but they are for you to learn the true from the false.
The encounters from and with the Lord are clean. They will welcome the Scriptures and a good clean life. They will build on the foundation of the Scriptures and often build upon present knowledge in a helpful and meaningful way.
We test the spirits by asking if Jesus came in the flesh - in other words, is He just "out there" or is He personal to us? Did God really manifest as a Man (the Son of Man and Son of God) and encounter men in a way that could be "touched and handled" and did He engage mankind as a loving God one on one? Jesus did. Study His life.
I John 1:1-5
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
Group settings can also experience holy moments, which is why we are encouraged to meet in holy assemblies, or holy convocations. There is a corporate anointing there, a place of unity, where the combined faith of people create an atmosphere for the Presence of God to come. This is why we can feel so refreshed after going to church meetings!
Let me also be diligent to warn that many can get carried away with their experiences and expect for people to submit to THEIR experience, dictating to others what THEY saw or heard or felt. God entreats, when it comes to entering His Holiness, unless He is correcting. Then you just become aware of His power. And this can be good and corrective if the person is willing to receive. Many come from crazy pasts, and have to unlearn a bunch of junk.
And if they had people who tried to force things on them in the realm of the spirit, sometimes the power of the Holy Spirit has to undo the damage through His Love in people. But your strongest safety zone is in the written Word of God. Even when the devil confronted Jesus (see Mark 4), He used the words "It is written" to confront and resist the devil and rightly divide the word of truth for His life. (Maybe if it is hard for you or someone else to read the Bible; if so, you can get the Scripture tapes or CD's to help you ingest His wonderful Word.) There is a lot of power sometimes in just one verse!
God can manifest in many ways and He is not beyond being natural and supernatural. Some of the most natural "coincidences" can strongly be God at work; and He can also manifest in the supernatural. I along with others have smelled fragrances, seen oil manifest on hands, heard angelic choirs, seen angels or the forms of angels, seen colors or lights, seen people fall under the power of God, spoken in unknown tongues as the Holy Spirit gave the utterance (see Acts 2), had strangers give me special words, had missing things appear in unusual places, had supernatural supply of things - these things and others are not that uncommon!
But none of those matter if they don't make you closer to Him and willing to give Him the glory. In other words, do you thank Him and give Him the credit for what happened? Even if you miss it on some things, you are not going to go wrong if you credit Him as the Supreme Life Giver. We have to learn how to be practical as well as reasonable - because it is our "reasonable service" that is required. You are not required to have "way out" experiences as evidence of your faith! Do not be deceived! Jesus came in the flesh, into the natural world that God ordained.
God tells us the way to do it:
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Life in God is a maturing experience! Because of God's goodness and His desire for health for you in every area, you can discern after a bit if something is helping you or not.
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. Your body is what gets you moving around, but inside is your spirit that responds to the Lord and to yourself and to other people. You have a presence and God has one! And spirits are motivated towards life or death. Choose Life! Jesus made the way for us to have an eternal good life. Choose that!
I have seen the shekinah glory in the past, which comes as a white cloud or mist, and lately I have been seeing more of that which prompted this article. God has given this to me as a sign sometimes of what is Him. I don't base my theology on it, but He will speak to people in a spiritual language that is often uniquely theirs and His.
When unusual things happen, ask God for the Scripture for it. If you don't get one, put it on the shelf or discount it. What is real is what really works and God has that Life for you! God is not starting new works with new people. He is building on the Plan He started from the foundation of the world. Be blessed in Him!
Our mailing address is:
Pam Clark Ministries
Moravian
Falls, NC 28654
PO Box 484
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