Two-Year Bible Reading Plan (Updated December 2025)

“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:27)

As I pray about how to encourage my readers to read through the Bible systematically, I am impressed with our need to let the Holy Spirit be our Teacher.  He may not always tell us what we want to hear, but He will always communicate to us what Jesus our Lord is saying.  “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (Jn. 16:13). 

When I choose to read the Bible systematically, I do not replace the promptings of the Spirit by a man-made plan.  Rather, I use the plan as a way of ensuring that I read all the Scriptures, not just the passages that appeal to me.  I do not follow the plan rigidly, but I use it as a record and a guide.  Most of the time, I will follow the readings in the order they appear, but I always remain open to the Spirit’s promptings to read other passages.  Whatever I read for the first time that year gets checked off, to make sure I read the entire Bible, at least once every two years.

Rather than hindering the work of the Holy Spirit, I have found that the Lord works with my reading plan.  Very often, the passages I read either answer questions I have been pondering, or they speak directly into my life.  I believe the Lord directs my thoughts and circumstances to coincide with the Scriptures I will be reading.

I prefer a two-year plan over a one-year plan or a few reasons.  First, the pace allows me to follow the plan in a devotional manner while still allowing the reading of other passages for study.  A two-year plan also allows for a balanced reading of Old Testament and New Testament books.  In my plan, I read the N.T., Psalms, and Proverbs twice while reading the remainder of the O.T. once. 

Although there is nothing wrong with reading the O.T. books in the order they appear, I prefer to read them chronologically.  The prophetic books are read in their historical context.  In the first reading of the N.T., the books are arranged chronologically, but in the second reading, I read the gospels in parallel.

(For the year 2026, I will post a daily devotional with the Bible Reading Plan, beginning with the first year of the plan.)

Year One:

Year Two:

Here is a link to the printable files:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TQs0_oejNJO8HInVlN1JmSClMhWcEbiG?usp=sharing

My Healing Journey

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.  And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1Pe. 5:8,9,10 NASV)

These verses above are referring to persecution, but the Lord used them to speak to me about healing.  Sometimes healing is gradual, not immediate.  When the Lord quickened my spirit with the verses above, I was still struggling with pain that resulted from a recent medical procedure. This Word from the Lord gave me hope, and grace to continue my healing journey. 

My healing process, however, did not begin with these verses.  There was an element of injury to my situation so I had to make sure I forgave the doctors for anything they may have done improperly.  I also I had to examine my heart to make sure that this pain and illness were not a result of my own sins.  I know from 1 Corinthians 11:32 that “when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.”  Scriptures like the following were speaking strongly to me.  “Experiencing many corrections and rebukes will make you wise.” (Prov. 29:15 TPT).  “When you love wisdom, your father is overjoyed.” (Prov. 29:3 TPT).  As I opened my heart to correction, the Lord convicted me of some things, and I have taken them to heart.  I do not believe in deep introspection.  If the Lord does not show me a cause, I conclude that it is not a matter of discipline.  What parent would discipline a child without them knowing the reason for it?

After the Lord shows me something that needs to change, I cannot respond by punishing myself; I must believe in the finished work of the cross.  “The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” (Jas. 5:15 NASV).  So, when the Lord gave me the verses in 1Peter, I knew that I had obtained forgiveness, and there remained only faith.  Even as I laid hands on myself to release God’s healing power, I began to feel better, but the healing was not complete.  

There are many reasons why we are not healed “suddenly”.  Sometimes it is because God wants to intervene in a different way.  Very early in my Christian walk, I received healing for a tooth ache.  It was so sudden, I even felt something like electricity go though my tooth.  I did not realize at the time that the tooth still needed to be removed.  Months followed, and another tooth ache occurred.  This time, no matter how much I prayed, the pain would not go away, so I decided to visit the dentist.  When he pulled out the tooth that was giving me a problem, he noticed that there was an abscess in the other tooth that had previously given me trouble.   Even though God would have received more glory if the teeth were restored, the experience was valuable in another way.  The dentist made it very clear that unless I started to care for my teeth, I would continue to lose them.  I took his advice to heart and my dental health improved thereafter.

Another reason why healing may not be sudden is simply weak faith.  I can believe quite rapidly for protection against viruses and flu, but for other things, it is more of a struggle.  That does not mean that this is God’s will for me.  There are times, like when I have felt threatened, that my faith is quite strong; and there are times when healing comes more easily because of the operation of spiritual gifts.  I cannot get discouraged over the process; God’s promises are fulfilled “through faith and patience” (Heb. 6:12). 

There are many methods I use to strengthen my faith as I wait on the Lord.  First, I can bring my thoughts in line with God’s Word by reminding myself of all the benefits of salvation, which includes healing (Ps. 103:2-5).  Instead of complaining, I can thank God in the middle of my circumstances.  I know that if I receive food with thanksgiving, “it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1Tim. 4:5).  I learned many years ago that if I receive my circumstances with thanksgiving, they also are made clean.  God will work to bring them into line with His promises (Rom. 8:28).  With this principle in mind, if I am fighting an injury or illness, I thank God for my health.  I do not thank Him for the negative things, but I thank Him that He is still Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord Who heals me.

James shares an important principle for effectively resisting the enemy.  Before resisting the devil, I must first submit to God (Jas. 4:7).  The devil flees from me because I am hidden in Christ.  I must take my eyes off the problem, and the enemy.  My eyes must be fixed on Jesus.  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa. 26:3).  As I rest in the peace of God, I can cast down every thought that contradicts my knowledge of God (2Cor. 10:5).  This way I can stay firm in faith until my total salvation is established.

One time, I give in to wondering if my healing was simply progressing naturally.  When I did this, my healing took a step backward.  So, regardless of what I see or feel, I continue to take God’s promises as my medicine, “for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their whole body” (Prov. 4:22). 

Is There no King?

“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

When I read this statement, I do not immediately see how this could be wrong.  We are all individually accountable to God for our actions.  The context of this verse, however, refers to a man making a graven image and hiring a Levitical priest to serve as his priest.  Before God gave the Israelites a king through Samuel, the Lord Himself was their King, but they rejected Him for idols.  The principle of individual accountability is not what is wrong, it is the condition of men’s hearts.

As I was following my Daily Bible Reading Plan, this verse caught my attention because of something the Lord wants to say.  Since first coming to Christ, I have been troubled by the lack of unity in the Body of Christ.  As a young believer, I prayed that the Lord would restore to the Church the five-fold ministry gifts as found in Ephesians Chapter Four.  It seemed to me that if these ministries were restored, the leaders would speak with authority what the Lord is saying, rather than what every denomination is saying.  I had not spoken to anyone about this prayer, but in a fellowship meeting that week, the Lord gave a prophetic word that confirmed He would restore these ministry gifts.  I received that word as a promise.  When we offer prayers like that, we are not changing what God is planning to do; it the Holy Spirit working through us to pray according to the will of God.   The Lord is preparing His Bride for His return, but He has chosen to work through us to accomplish this purpose.

Since that time, in the early seventies, we have seen many believers leave their traditional churches to form independent church fellowships.  This is a beginning, but it is not enough to remove the sectarian spirit from the Church.  We have also seen the Lord restore a measure of the five-fold ministry gifts to some areas of the Church.  What we have not yet seen, however, is the spiritual authority that should accompany these gifts.  There is still too much of man’s ways in how we conduct church services.  So now we are seeing a new trend: believers are not just leaving traditional churches, they are leaving churches entirely.  I understand the need to forsake man-made religious practices, but have we gone back to the days where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes?  Is there no King in Israel? 

Now, before we judge these believers with a religious spirit, let us consider first how the Lord might want to turn this into good.  There is great value in believers gathering, provided that when they gather, it is for their good.  There are situations where the gathering of believers may not be for their good, as was the case of the Corinthian Church when they were dishonoring the Lord’s Supper.  Paul’s advice to them was not that they should stay apart, but rather that they would do what is right.  (See 1Cor. 11-14.)  In that situation, Paul’s spiritual authority was still being recognized so he was able to give them the instructions they needed.  

The problem we face today is that we lack the spiritual leadership that is so much required.  This, I believe, is what God wants to change.  Our task is to work with Him to accomplish it.  One of the biggest problems in the Body of Christ is an independent spirit.  We do not properly “discern” the Body of Christ (1Cor. 11:29).  Since God has made us “individually member of one another” (Rom. 12:5), our individuality is essential to our relationship with Him, but the way we should function is corporate, not independent.  What we often do not realize is that even our individual spiritual maturity depends upon a properly functioning Body of Christ.  (Eph. 4:11-16). 

There truly is a King over us, but we must not reject Him as the nation of Israel did.  He promised to take away the false shepherds and become Himself the Shepherd of the flock (Ezek. 34:11-24).  This He does by raising up true shepherds.  “’Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply.  I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing.’ declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:3,4).  The shepherds He raises up are the ministry gifts to the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11).  These gifts may not yet be functioning as He intended, but He is changing that.  Those who are called to these offices must learn to yield to the ministry of the Lord through them.

As I was inquiring from the Lord what His message was for this month, I sensed Him saying that in these end times, we should not be focussed so much on what the enemy is doing, as on what He is doing.  The signs we are seeing only confirm that the Day of His appearing is very near.  Before that Day, He is building the Church to be a dwelling place for God, a Bride for His Son.  In the end, the Lord will “present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:27).  He prepares us by washing us with the Word through the anointing we have received, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and through anointed ministry gifts. (1Jn. 2:27; 1Cor. 12:7-11; Eph. 4:11).  As we focus on what He is doing, we can pray accordingly.  He will perfect the shepherds He is raising up, and He will prepare our hearts to receive them. 

The cry of my heart is to see His purpose in the Church accomplished.  He will return when we all come to the “unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13).  We must not reject Him as our King by seeking our own earthly king.  This is what Paul warned Timothy would happen in the end, as believers reject sound doctrine to “accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires”. (2Tim. 4:3).

The Gate of Heaven

“’How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’” (Gen. 28:17)

For the longest time, I did not understand the implications of the dream Jacob had about a ladder that stretched from the earth to heaven (Gen. 28:10-22).  Even now I only understand a portion of it.  My first experience of seeing its spiritual significance came during a service where the anointing of the Spirit was very powerful.   The understanding came to me that whenever we gather in the Spirit, as the house of God (Bethel), we can experience an open heaven where the angels assist in bringing God’s blessing to us.  Lately, I have come to realize another important truth about this dream. 

While reading through this passage in Genesis, I recalled Tommy Hicks’ vision of the Church as a great giant who rose to the heavens in the last days.  (How the Heal the Sick, by Charles and Frances Hunter, pp. 8-16).  I wrote about this dream in a four-part series entitled End-Time Vision.  Suddenly I realized that the giant and the ladder were the same.  Jesus declared Himself to be the ladder that Jacob saw.  “’Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’” (Jn. 1:51).  The Church is His body on earth, but we are also seated with Him in heavenly places.  We are on earth and in heaven at the same time.  What if we saw ourselves that way?  One body that stretches from earth to heaven!

I have always been encouraged by the vision God gave Tommy Hicks because of its promise for the last days.  The giant the evangelist saw was lying on the ground, full of little hideous creatures.  “Slowly this giant began to rise and as he did, his head and hands went into the clouds.  As he rose to his feet he seemed to have cleansed himself from the debris and filth that was upon him, and he began to raise his hands into the heavens as though praising the Lord, and as he raised his hands, they went into the clouds.” (p. 10).  What unfolded in the vision was a great outpouring of the Spirit of God.  This is the latter rain that the Bible speaks about, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.” (Jas. 5:7).  The early rain occurred in the days of the early Church.  Before the Lord returns, the Body of Christ will experience another great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

When the giant got up, he was so tall that his head and hands reached into the clouds.  There is significance to this.  The head speaks of authority, but it also represents our spiritual abilities to see and to hear.  If we want to experience the great outpouring of the last days, we must see and hear in the heavenly realms; we must have heavenly encounters.  There is a lot being said these days about “ascension” as a spiritual experience.  For me, it is not a question of whether this can be experienced, but rather how it should be pursued.  There is land for us to conquer in areas that we have not been before (Josh. 3:3-5).  We must sanctify ourselves and follow the presence of the Lord into this land of promise.

Jacob understood that the place he was at was also the gate of heaven.  Christ is the gate and through Him, we have access to heavenly things.  This is not just for when our time on earth is done; it is for now.  If we can have access to heaven through spiritual encounters in Christ, should we not seek them?  I am not speaking of having spiritual experiences for the sake of the experiences, but so that we can better serve God.  The motives of our heart are important.  Jesus told us that he who does not enter by the gate is a thief (Jn. 10:1).  To enter through Christ, we must meet His conditions.  “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?  Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” (Ps. 24:3,4).  To enter through the gate requires the surrender of our lives to the Shepherd. 

The leaders in this movement do not all agree on how we should enter the heavenly realms.  As we move forward, each person must remain true to their own conscience.  For me that means I cannot use Buddhist meditation practices, like mindfulness, to experience heavenly things.  I also will not do anything that sounds too “new age” like being at the right frequency.  I cannot judge those who believe they have revelations about those things, but I will not participate in anything that to me has the appearance of evil (1Thess. 5:22).  I am careful to enter by the gate, so I present myself there.  I meditate on the Lord’s presence and His promises.  As I draw near to Him, He draws near to me (Jas. 4:8).  “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4).  We are encouraged in Scripture to desire spiritual gifts, and to me these spiritual experiences are manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

We must remember also that we have different functions in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4), which affect how and what we hear from the Lord.  We can all appear before the throne of God to receive mercy and grace (Heb. 4:16), but what we see and hear may be different.  Spiritual experiences can be edifying, but they also come with certain responsibilities which relate to our function.  Paul said of his experience, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).  If we maintain this attitude, we will be more concerned about being faithful than about having experiences.

Let us remember that the times we are entering in are different than the times we have already been through.  In the last days, the devil and his angels will be thrown down to the earth from the second heaven (Rev. 12: 7-9).  This means there will be an increase of the supernatural like we have never seen before, both good and evil.  Bad because the devil will be on the earth, but good because he will no longer be in the second heaven interfering with our prayers.  We must not be afraid of the supernatural.  The normal Christian life is supernatural.  As we go further into these last days, we can expect to do the works Jesus did, and even the “greater works” that He promised (Jn. 14:12).

Mercy and Truth

“Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and esteem in the sight of God and man.” (Prov. 3:3,4)

What value do you place on mercy and truth?  Have you written them on the tablet of your heart?  Do you love and appreciate them as gifts from God?  Not only should we highly value them, but we should constantly remind ourselves of their importance.  This is what it means to bind them around our neck.  If we love these gifts and meditate upon their nature, we will be blessed by them (Josh. 1:8).

These two qualities are often quoted together in Scripture (see Ps. 57:3,10; 85:10,11; 86:15; 89:14; 98:3; 100:5; 108:4; etc.).  Maybe that is because they work to balance each other.  If we love truth but lack mercy, we will be judgemental and find ourselves walking in a religious spirit instead of the Spirit of Truth.  If we love mercy but neglect truth, we could easily find ourselves walking in a spirit of error.  To extend mercy to someone is to provide an opportunity for repentance before judgment comes.  “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4).  Truth understands accountability.  “So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).  When God judges us, He is correcting our behaviour before we appear in front of the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:14).  Speaking the truth in love is how we help people grow in Christ (Eph. 4:15).

If we walk in the Spirit of Truth, we will demonstrate the nature of God.  Like the rebuke Jesus gave the Sons of Thunder, it all comes down to the type of spirit we are operating from (Lu. 9:55).   God is merciful and to walk in His nature is to extend mercy.  Spiritual power is released when we forgive in the name of Jesus.  This power can be released to people, even when they do not know you forgive them.  The first time I witnessed this was when a young man from Toronto told me that my “country” accent was offensive to him.  I was shocked but understood that he was a new convert.  As he left the room, I silently said, “I forgive you in the name of Jesus”.  Immediately, he returned to the room asking for forgiveness.  If I had not released forgiveness in the Spirit, he still could have obtained forgiveness from God, but the process may have taken longer, and it could have included some suffering.  And what about my own spiritual condition?  If I want God’s forgiveness, I must also forgive others.  We cannot assume that forgiveness is ours, regardless of our behaviour.  Jesus was very clear in the parable of the unforgiving servant.  “And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matt. 18:34,35).

One very important reason for walking in mercy and truth is to escape the deception that is increasing in these last days.  We should always be alert to false teachings, but we should never walk in fear of being deceived.  Fear is faith for the negative to happen.  To be alert is to be on guard, fully dressed in our spiritual armour.  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1Pe. 5:8).  I do not believe in looking for the devil or his works.  Rather, I believe we should keep our eyes on the Lord and resist the enemy when he tries to distract us from serving our Lord (Jas. 4:7). 

We guard our heart against deception by walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:26,27).  Spiritual discernment comes with a revelation of truth.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn. 14:17).  He teaches us the truth and reminds us of what we have been taught (Jn. 14:26).  If we love the truth and hide it in our hearts, we will discern with understanding when false teachings come.  The way it works for me is that when I sense a check in my spirit, I turn inward to listen.  I do not immediately reject the teaching, but neither do I give myself to it.  If the teaching is false, the Holy Spirit will bring to my remembrance a biblical principle that disproves it.  I cannot rely on my own understanding for this.  Discernment does not come from much study; it comes from the Spirit of Truth.

If we value truth, we will be willing to pay a price for it.  “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” (Prov. 23:23).  The price we pay is not religious works, it is death to self.  The biblical principle is that if you speak lies, you will believe lies.  If you want to receive truth, you must speak the truth.  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that He will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7).  If you are like me, you will have spoken lies to protect yourself, or to make yourself look good.  I have come to understand by the loving discipline of the Lord that it is better to speak the truth the first time, then to have to go back and correct a lie.  If suffering comes because I must admit to a wrong which I have committed, I accept it as discipline so that I do not repeat it.  I want to be like God; I want to walk in mercy and truth.

  “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Ps. 86:15).

Angels and the Holy Spirit

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)

Angels have an important role in helping the Church extend the Kingdom of God.  They have many functions like bringing God’s protection and delivering God’s messages, but the function we hear little about is their ability to carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  If we can discern the working of the Holy Spirit through angels, we can exercise our faith to receive more of God help through them.

The way the Holy Spirit works through angels is like the way He works through believers, but in a deeper way.  “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (1Cor. 13:9,10).  Angels do not have the limitations we have of dwelling in a physical body; they are spirit beings and so can respond more easily to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. 

The important thing to realize is that the gifts of the Spirit release the grace of God through us to others.  Likewise, Angels are created in such a way that they can serve as vessels of God’s grace.   A good example of this is found in the Book of Exodus.  “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.  Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious before him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in Him.” (Ex. 23:20,21 NASB).  You will notice that in this translation they do not capitalize the word “angel” and its pronouns, whereas some other translations do.  This is because many believe that this angel is a theophany, which the Encyclopedia Britannica describes as “a manifestation of God in sensible form”.  In other words, they see this not as an angel, but as God Himself taking on the form of an angel.  I like to think of it as God manifesting Himself through an angel, rather than actually being the Angel.  There are different classes of angels and the type that God manifested Himself through in the burning bush or the pillar of fire may be one of the higher classes.   

Is it so difficult to believe that God can manifest Himself through angels?  That does not make the angel a form of God, but rather a vessel of God.  When the angel speaks for God in the first person, he is merely prophesying.  I believe this is what John encountered on the Isle of Patmos.  The experience was so profound that he even “fell down to worship at the feet of the angel” who showed him those things. (Rev. 22:8).  I think that John knew better than to worship angels so the manifestation of God through the angel must have been so powerful that he thought God was present there Himself.  In the verse just before this we hear the Lord say, “Behold, I am coming quickly!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Rev. 22:7).  I believe the Lord was speaking prophetically through the angel, which led to John’s response.

It is clear from the angel’s response to John that we can also receive angelic visitations.  “See that you do not do that.  For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.  Worship God.” (Rev. 22:9).  Angels are sent to help us, so we must receive their service as from God Himself, but we must discern between the messenger and the Sender.  Please note that I am not suggesting we command these angels, just that we prayerfully receive their ministry.  They come to us on assignment from the Father with special missions.  If you read the biographical accounts of those who have been mightily used by the Lord, you will often read about the supernatural activity of angels in their ministry. 

For me, this is about working with God.  We are entering the days of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  If we want to participate in what God is doing, we must understand how He works.  The Holy Spirit executes the Word of the Lord by working through yielded vessels.  As believers, we are always being exhorted to yield our lives to God for His service, but that is not the case with angels.  They do not hesitate to yield to Him as His messengers of power.  If we can understand that God works through anointed vessels, both human and angelic, we can exercise our faith for more of what God wants to do.

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone witnesses the presence of an angel?  We respond with joyful amazement, but God is looking for a deeper response.  When He reveals the presence of angels, it is to encourage us to work with them.  Why else would the Holy Spirit reveal their presence?  For example, I was once a member of a church where someone discerned the presence of an angel with a healing anointing.  This church was known in the city as a ministry where physical healing miracles often occurred.

The discerning of spirits allows some to see the angelic realm, but it is not necessary to “see” angels to know they are present.  My ability to discern the presence of angels is not visual, it is intuitive.  I do not, however, wait for this discernment before exercising my faith.  I believe that God is always wanting to do much more than we can think or imagine (Eph. 3:20), so in meetings I exercise my faith for God to release His angels among us.  The anointing usually falls upon the meeting before I can discern their presence.  I am not looking for angels; I am looking for the work of the Holy Spirit through them and through us. 

As we see the activity of angels increase among us, it is important not to focus on them.  We must keep our eyes on the Lord, allowing Him to work through us, and to send His angels to help us.  The Scriptures are full of examples where God’s help came through them.  “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.  And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2Ki. 6:17).

Eastern Ways

“For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with eastern ways.” (Is. 2:6)

Since my early Christian Walk, I have been very sensitive to the influence of eastern religions in our culture, probably because I needed deliverance from it.  I came to the Lord as a young man experimenting with drugs and new ideas. As a new believer,  I had friends who were delving into eastern religions, and I wanted to bring to them the truth.  The problem, however, was that the enemy still had some influence over my thoughts.  I understand now that I needed cleansing in the spirit of my mind.  Through instruction, prayer, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I was gradually set free. 

Because of the things I suffered in those early days, I became increasingly sensitive to the anti-Christian nature of these eastern religious ideas.  What surprised me then was that other Christians around me, even some of my leaders, were not.  One of them at the time was reading a popular book which appeared to be about our potential as humans to achieve great things, but its real message was that this power was already in us and we only needed to realize it; we did not need a “Teacher” to enable us to fly.  The idea that we can achieve great things is not wrong, but the spirit in which we do it is critical.  We can do things in love, or we can do them through human pride.  Without Christ setting us free from our old nature, we will always do things from selfish motives. 

When I went back to Toronto to visit the group that had nurtured me in the first year of my new life in Christ, the leader took me to see the original Star Wars movie.  It was supposed to be about the battle between good and evil, but I quickly saw its underlying message of eastern mysticism.  The lead character was learning to rely on “The Force” to defeat evil.  We can say that this is like our dependence on the Holy Spirit, but actually it was about “martial arts”, which are an expression of Buddhism.  There is no life force outside of God, but not all created life is in subjection to God.  The mystery of the ages is that God is bringing all things back into submission to Christ.  “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” (Eph. 1:9,10). 

Not all things are as they appear.  There is a great deal of interaction between the natural world and the spiritual world that we do not realize by observation.  We only know it by spiritual discernment.  What practisers of eastern mysticism do not realize is that coming into union with a “mystical force” is coming under the influence of a spirit being.  These spirits were created by God, but they took what is His and submitted it to Lucifer in the Fall.  I have seen the evidence of this while praying for deliverance over people.  One of the strongest expressions of this was when we prayed for a new believer who had trained to work as a professional kick boxer.  During the prayer session, he manifested the motions of a serpent.  Christ was able to bring him freedom, hallelujah!  Our culture has tried to de-spiritualize practices like karate and yoga, but does that really remove the influence of the spirit behind them?  Maybe I am over-cautious, but I would rather do without something than to unwittingly come under the influence of something evil.

One common area that Christians come under the influence of eastern mysticism is in matters of health.  The claims of alternative medicines are often based on personal testimonies, and sometimes even supported by scientific evidence.  Even if something works, however, does that make it right?  For me, the issue is always, “What is the spirit behind this?”  If the practice involves bringing the body in line with some “life force” of the universe, it is rooted in eastern mysticism.  Examples of this are acupuncture and reflexology.  Sometimes they speak of it as coming into balance with the yin and the yang, which is the basis of Chinese superstitions.  The spirit behind the yin and the yang is divination.

In the home I grew up in, there was a divination ball.  I do not remember where it came from, but I remember that in my ignorance I tried it to see if it worked.  I wish I could say that this happened before I received salvation, but I cannot.  It could be that I was drawn to it because there was already a stronghold in my mind, I do not know.  But one thing I know is that shortly after doing this, I was shown by the Lord that I was under the influence of a divination spirit.  The conviction was so strong that I immediately began to fast and pray for deliverance.  By the second or third day, I was free!

Even as I write this message, I know that many will disagree with me.  As a pastor I was able to help some people cleanse themselves from these influences, but I also witnessed a family leave the church because of it.  Knowing that these things can be controversial does not stop me from sharing its truth.  When God spoke through Isaiah about the nation practicing eastern ways, they did not repent, and the result was further moral decline and eventually they were deported to Babylon.  There are consequences to submitting to these influences.  At the very least, they will limit the grace of God in our lives.  “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword” (Isa. 1:19,20). 

I fear that the open door the church has given to the enemy in this area may have resulted in an increase in false doctrines.  We cannot ignore the spiritual principle that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1Cor. 5:6).  Instead, we should “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2Cor. 7:1).

Releasing The Spirit

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jn. 7:38 NKJV)

Releasing the river of life through our lives is an important way to extend the Kingdom of God.  There are times that I do this purposefully in prayer and worship.  When Jesus spoke these words, He was talking about the Holy Spirit who would be given to believers on the Day of Pentecost.  Lately I have been practicing releasing the Holy Spirit into my life the same way that I would release the river of life.  When I do this, I am attempting to walk “in” the Holy Spirit as we are exhorted to do in the Scriptures.  “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25 NASB).  There is a difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit.  Living by the Spirit refers to our new life in Christ.  We have been born again by the Spirit and have a new spiritual life in Christ.  To walk in the Spirit is to express this new creation life in our daily lives. 

The process of walking in the Spirit is essentially a posture of the heart maintained by faith and right thinking.  First, it is a position that we assume in our hearts by faith, in submission to Christ.  Because we have believed the gospel, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.  To walk in the Spirit, we must recognize His presence and submit to Him as Lord.  We can develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit, but it is different than with the Father and the Son.  The three Persons of the Trinity have different personalities and different functions.  For example, the Father is the provider, the Son is the administrator, and the Spirit is the enabler.  There are more aspects to their roles but to have a relationship with each One, we need to understand their roles.  I talk to the Holy Spirit, but I only ask Him for help within what I understand to be His role.  For example, my prayers are directed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, but I pray with the help of the Holy Spirit.  I consciously lean on Him to help me to pray according to the will of the Father. 

There are many ways that we can walk in the Holy Spirit.  We can ask Him for help to worship.  I don’t know what it is like for others, but for me, when the anointing comes upon my worship, even my voice sounds different.  We can also rely on the Holy Spirit to minister, not just with spiritual gifts, but also with power.  To take authority in the name of Jesus is not a formula, it is a prophetic act.  When I do this, I release the Spirit in the words I command.  When I say I release the Spirit, I do not mean that I command the Holy Spirit; rather, I consciously believe He goes with my words to perform them.  This is how the Trinity works.  When God created the heavens and the earth, the Father decided what would be; the Son spoke it into existence; and the Spirit brooded over creation to bring God’s words to pass.  (See Gen. 1:1 and Jn. 1:1-3.)

Another practice that helps me to walk in the Spirit is the way I think.  This has to do with visualizing myself walking “in” the Holy Spirit.  When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit comes “upon” us (Acts 1:8), which is different from salvation when He come “in” us (Jn. 14:17).  When I minister under the anointing, I sense the Spirit “upon” me.  The way I think and pray as I minister is I try to see myself “in” Christ as He minister through me.  Recently, I have begun to practice this same thinking for “walking in the Spirit”.  In my time of devotions, I recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence inside me; then I consciously release Him into my life.  Again, I am not commanding the Holy Spirit, I am just opening my soul to Him, in the same way that I can open my heart to the Father and the Son for fellowship (Rev. 3:20).  I then try to see myself “in” Him as He surrounds me, and we walk together in my daily life.  To maintain this conscious practice of the presence of the Holy Spirit requires a constant prayerful attitude (1Thess. 5:17).

Walking in the Spirit this way may appear simple, but it is not so easy in practice.  It requires faith and surrender.  The hardest part is to surrender.  When I decide to release the Holy Spirit to take over my soul, I “feel” the resistance of my flesh.  In faith, I take a position of victory which is based on what God says, rather than on how I feel.  By faith, I consider myself dead to the power of sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).  My spirit is quite willing to obey the Lord, even if my flesh resists it (Matt. 26:41).  Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ gives me the victory.  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20).  I like how the NKJV and the NASB say “I live by faith in the Son of God.”

To release the Spirit, I must position myself submissively in Him, prayerfully “see” myself walking in Him, and maintain this position with an attitude of faith.  The benefit of walking with the Holy Spirit this way is the immediacy of His help.  He is ever-present and always available to help.  I only need to acknowledge Him and request His help.  Not only does He help inspire my daily activities, but He also directs my prayers, and He helps me to grow in the fruit of the Spirit.  As in any relationship, if I resist or grieve Him in any way, I must be quick to repent and commit again to obedience by faith. 

Dividing Soul and Spirit Part II

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2Cor. 10:4,5)

This verse tells us that strongholds of the enemy are “thoughts”.  They are “arguments” that chip away at the pillars of truth that help support sound doctrine.  When someone gives in to these false teachings, they become more and more focussed on those “arguments”.  The power behind these teachings drives them to convince themselves and others that they are right.  They begin to repeat the same isolated verses as “arguments” and change the meaning of biblical words that do not agree with these “arguments”.  They are not “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim. 2:15). 

I am convinced that when true believers go into error, the Lord works to bringing them back, but if they refuse, they will experience the discipline of judgment (1Cor. 11:32).  There are false teachers who are not true believers.  They belong to the enemy, and for them judgment is delayed because the Lord judges those that are His.  My desire for true believers in error is that “God perhaps will give them repentance, so that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2Tim. 2:25,26). 

Before we go further with this message, I would ask that you would take a moment to pray.  Ask the Lord to guard your heart and mind against pride.  If you have given in to a false teaching, pride will keep you from receiving the truth that will set you free.

The doctrine I started to address in my last article is the message of “Inclusion”.  It teaches that all of mankind was included in Christ in His death, so everyone is already saved from sin and death.  Doctrines like this have the appeal of emphasizing the kindness and goodness of God.  I agree that God is good, but I also know that He is just.  Christ has paid the ransom for our freedom from sin and death, but He has not removed our freedom to choose.  The problem some have with this is it seems unfair because people are blinded by sin.  There are foundational principles of the Gospel like repentance from dead works, faith toward God, and eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1,2).  We are exhorted by the writer of Hebrews to move on from these foundational truths, but that does not mean we reject them.  They provide a firm foundation for other truth.

I agree that the traditional doctrine of heaven and hell seems unfair but rather than reject the foundational principles of the Gospel, we should trust God to be both loving and just.  I personally am not convinced that after this earthly journey we live eternally with God, or we face eternal punishment in hell.  Hell, or Sheol, is the keeping place of the dead; it is not the eternal lake of fire.  At the final judgment, those who reject Christ will be cast into the eternal lake of fire.  Death and Hell themselves will be cast into that lake of fire.  What happens between this life and the final judgment is up to God. 

The Apostle Peter tells us that Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah” (1Pe. 3:19,20). “The gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1Pe. 4:6).  The understanding Peter had about this is still a mystery to us.  For example, why was the gospel only preached to those who died before the flood?  It seems to imply that there was a dramatic change in creation at the flood which also affected where spirits are kept after death.  Note also that Christ preached to the spirits of dead men, not to their souls.  If they accepted the message, would only their spirit be saved?  One thing is clear, if Christ preached to them it implies that their forgiveness was not automatic; they had to accept the message.  It also implies that if they chose to reject the mercy of God, they would stay in their prison until the final judgment.

This doctrine of “Inclusion” is closely related to the hyper-grace doctrine.  That false doctrine takes aim at the religious spirit which has become so much a part of the Christian experience.    We must resist every influence of a religious spirit, but this also should not be at the expense of truth.  The challenge we face when understanding salvation “by grace through faith” is the part that obedience plays.  We are justified before God by faith (Rom. 5:1); we do not have to work for it.  Why then does Scripture also say, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)?  Like a seed that sprouts it must continue to grow, but because it is spiritual, it must still be “by grace through faith”.  Romans Chapter 5 says that since we are justified by faith, we have access to grace.  We need to abide in this grace to complete the process of salvation.  When we are justified, our spirit is saved.  When we walk in grace, our soul is sanctified through obedience of the truth (1Pe. 1:22).  This is not obedience by our own power, it is God who works in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13).   

Sanctification of the soul is a process.  It is not instantaneous like justification.  We become conformed to the Word of God through repentance and faith.  After obtaining salvation, we must not turn back to works of religion to complete our sanctification.  We obey the commandment of love by grace through faith (Gal. 5:6).  Our faith must be in the finished work of Christ.  We must live as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:11).  As we allow Christ to live in us by His Spirit, we bear the fruit of the Spirit.

The difference between walking in the Spirit and living by religion is freedom.  With freedom comes responsibility, and with that comes accountability.  A basic weakness in man is to shy away from responsibility because of accountability.  We are afraid to fail.  By grace, however, we can overcome fear and do what pleases God.

Dividing Soul and Spirit

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)

Discerning between soul and spirit is not easily accomplished.  It is compared to the separation of joints and marrow and the discerning of thoughts and intents in the heart.  This is not too difficult, however, for the Word of God.  I believe one of the challenges in understanding our redemption is the lack of distinguishing between soul and spirit.

Lately, I have been hearing some concepts of redemption that are alarming to me.  What makes them threatening is that they are coming from people who love God and have a clear calling on their lives.  As I mentioned in my last article, we cannot walk away from believers just because they have different views than us.  We are a family.  Even so, that does not mean we cannot have a conversation about these disagreements.  I am referring to the doctrine of Inclusion. 

The idea that all of mankind is included in God is not a new concept; it is a basic doctrine in Buddhism.  It is based on the concept that God is everything and we are part of Him because we are part of the universe.  If we already exist in God, we do not need to get saved, we only need to become aware of our oneness with God.  The pursuit of spirituality, then, becomes not holiness or redemption, but enlightenment.  Even though there is a big difference between the Buddhist concept of God and the Christian belief, what happens if we try to blend their different ideologies?  The result is a syncretism which accepts all religions as different expressions of the same truth.  

The Scriptures are clear that God is “in” everything, but can we say that He “is” everything?  There is a passage in the Bible that says something close to this, but we must be careful to interpret it with other Scriptures.  “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Cor. 15:28).  This verse does not say that God already “is” all in all, but that He “may be” (i.e. become) all in all.  Looking at the context of this verse, we see that it is referring to authority.  God is bringing all things into subjection to Christ, who is Himself in subjection to the Father.  Other passages referring to this are Ephesians 1:7-10 and Hebrews 2:5-9.

The basic belief of Inclusion is that when Christ died on the cross, He placed all of mankind in Himself, so we were all crucified with Him.  The Evangelical belief, however, is that when Christ died on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself.  We are not united with Him in His death and resurrection until we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Spirit (1Cor. 12:13).   If all of mankind is included in Christ without the need for repentance and faith, then there is no longer any accountability for sin.  If this is the case, then there is no judgment, and thus no need for mercy.  The spirit behind the Buddhist concept of inclusion is antichristian in nature. 

Just because believers are becoming entangled in these doctrines does not mean that they have departed from the faith.  It is a sign that there is something lacking in traditional Evangelical doctrines.  As we enter the end-times, many Christians are experiencing heavenly encounters.  In these visions, they are seeing things which are shaking their traditional belief systems.  Is it possible that more people go to heaven than we originally believed?  I believer the problem with the traditional view of heaven and hell is the lack of dividing between soul and spirit.  If we take Scriptures and apply them to the whole of man without distinction between body, soul, and spirit, we risk misapplying them. 

A basic evangelical doctrine is that the soul is eternal and will either live with God or be separated from God eternally.  Is the soul eternal because of the spirit?  Is it possible that the soul, like the body, has no life without the spirit (Jas. 2:26)?  Does the spirit of man stay connected to the soul forever?  God can distinguish between soul and spirit, but does He separate them?  If He does, a person could be saved in spirit, even though suffering the loss of body and soul.  In Ecclesiastes 11:7 we read that the body returns to dust and the spirit returns to God.  What this verse says about the spirit is interesting, but it does not mention the soul, so it prevents us from drawing conclusions.

These are concepts that concern mankind in general, but what about for believers? Does salvation mean that because the spirit has eternal life in Christ, the soul and body do also?  In the book of James, we read that even a believer’s soul can die if they return to their sins.  “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (Jas. 5:19,20).  Can a believers’ spirit be saved but not the soul?  The Apostle Paul seemed to imply that when he said he was delivering someone to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that their spirit may be saved (1Cor. 5:5). 

There is another verse that is used to justify inclusion.  “To this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” (1Tim. 4:10).  This verse seems to imply that there are different degrees of salvation, which would make sense if we divide the soul from the spirit, but we cannot conclude this from one verse alone.  It could also be implying that salvation is available to all men, while it is received by those who believe.  In any case, the gospel must be preached, and men must receive the message before it is applied to them.

It is not wrong to ask questions but what is important is that we “rightly divide” the Word of God as we ponder these questions.  We cannot base our conclusions solely on one aspect of God’s nature, like His kindness.  God is love, but He is also just.  Without justice, we cannot have a kingdom of joy and peace.