Walk In The Spirit! Part 2

That is why natural and spiritual connections does not work; one person hears God and the carnal minded person cannot hear God because they are too busy listening to their own selfish mind! They do not even understand the things of God! This is what Romans 8:6-8 says about the carnal or fleshy mind:

⁶ Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

⁷ [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.

⁸ So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

God is a Spirit and we must not only worship Him in Spirit (by the Spirit – allowing the Holy Spirit to make a spiritual connection between God and ourselves) and Truth (Jesus – allowing Jesus to save us and bring us into right fellowship with the Father) but we also MUST walk in the Spirit so we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (old desires of the old man – old human nature – carnal self) (Romans 8:5-14 – I will write these Scriptures out at the end of the message – also I suggest you read the complete chapter). From these verses in Romans we see God does not operate in the flesh so in order to hear God and obey Him, we must have a spiritual mind – we must not be caught up in our own ways of thinking, behaving, etc. Whatever God does, it has a Kingdom purpose! God connects us with Kingdom minded people for Kingdom purpose!! The people who God connects us with (this includes marriage) has a like spirit to ours and in some way, have the same type of ministry – passionate about the same things we are. In order words, the people God connects us with are compatible with us.

God ask the children of Israel a question in Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” – NKJV. The Message Bible’s translation of Amos 3:3 say: “Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?” WOW! That says it all – plain and simple!! In verse 7 of Amos 3, after the various scenarios (verses 4 to 6), it says: “The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story.” If we do not take time to listen to the “whole story” from God, we will get in trouble by running with part of the story – we must get the full revelation of what God is saying to us – this comes from the Holy Spirit.

Unless we walk in the Spirit, we will NOT be able to hear the “whole story” from God!! Remember, God is a Spirit and unless we walk in the Spirit, we cannot hear what He (the Holy Spirit) is saying to us! God does not communicate naturally with us but spiritually (not that He can’t – God is God and can do what He want to do).

This is what Paul told the Galatians in Galatians 5:16-18 & 25-26 – I suggest you read the complete chapter of Galatians 5:

^16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

^25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original – biblegateway.com – The Message Bible.

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

Walk In The Spirit! Part 1

Scripture: Galatians 5:16

But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God) (biblegateway.com – Amplified).

On Sunday December 9, 2012 I had a bad allergic reaction and ended up going to the ER; through it all God got the glory and I got the victory in more ways than one (not having anything seriously wrong since during the ordeal my blood pressure went up to 192 over 102 and the lab test later showed I had a blood clot in my lungs). However, in the end, all tests were normal and I thank God!!

When I woke on Monday morning, I saw I had a message from Sunday I needed to respond to and as I was responding to it, God brought David and Jonathan to me. God let me knew that David and Jonathan had a spiritual connection not a natural one; that is why their relationship was so strong. He let me know not to be upset with the person I was upset with because we did not have a spiritual connection but a natural connection. Of course at that time, I had to make a decision to forgive her and I did – I did not “feel” like forgiving her – she hurt me – but I know forgiveness is a choice not a feeling. When you decide to forgive someone, you are being obedient to God – if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15; Mark 11:26). God also let me knew that to have a successful relationship with someone it has to be by the Spirit – you must know that person by the Spirit – your spirits must be in agreement with each other.

It is impossible to have a spiritual relationship with someone who has a carnal mind! A spiritual minded person and a natural minded person’s spirit cannot be connected so they can walk in the Spirit of God!

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

Word of Encouragement - Don't Get Tired of Waiting on God 12/6/2012

Good Morning My Fellow Brothers and Sisters In The Lord,

Just wanted to encourage your hearts this morning; don’t give up nor be discouraged. No matter how it looks, God is with you and he will move for you in His perfect timing.

The devil is a liar; he is not in control but God is. Don’t give up your dream, your vision God gave you, your expectations of God, etc.; God is still in total control of your life. So what your prayers did not get answered when you prayed the first time; so what that pain in your body did not leave when you prayed the first time; so what when you exercised your faith for that thing you really wanted did not happen; because they did not happen, does this change who God is? Absolutely not! God is still God and He still is sitting on the throne, He is still abiding in you (remember, He can be in more than one place at a time), working and providing for you. How do I know? Because I know God is faithful like that. It is not over until God says it is over.

Wait on God for that answer you are looking for; for that miracle you need; for that financial breakthrough you so desperately need; don’t get ahead of Him – don’t move out of position before it is your time. Remember what happened to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 when he got ahead of God? He lost his kingdom in an instant and his life was never the same; he ended up dying out of God’s will all because he could not wait for God’s prophet to come.

During this season, the enemy is trying to get God’s people to move prematurely so they can abort the visions God has given them; don’t be fooled – wait on God. Pray before you make any moves during this hour – make sure that it is God who is telling you to move out - wait for God’s clear instructions. If possible, have someone to agree with you and you agree with them; it’s time to tag team the devil. Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20 that if two on earth agree about anything they ask for, His Father in heaven will do it for them because He is in the midst; there is power in agreement. Therefore, agree with each other that you both will wait for God’s instructions before making a move. It’s no time now to commit spiritual abortion or spiritual suicide because the time is well spent and it is winding up.

I heard this person say, “Believe until you see it” and with their words this morning, I am telling you the same thing, “Believe until you see it;” wait until God brings it to pass – whatever it is - but remember, pray that God's will be done; God's will is what you want, not your will. 1 John 5:14-15 says:

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (biblegateway.com - NKJV).

This verse of Scripture clearly shows that what we pray should be according to God's will! Think about it, do you really what something or somebody that God does not want you to have? I don't; don't care what it is or who it is!! I want to please God, not man and not my own flesh!!!

Isaiah 40:28-31 says:

²⁸ “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary (God is well able to take care of you). There is no searching of His understanding.

²⁹ He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

 ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall,

³¹ But those who wait on the Lord shall (this is a promise) renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (www.biblegateway.com – NKJV).

Do you see? There is a blessing in waiting on God.

My brothers and sisters, I pray that God will encourage your hearts this morning; that His peace will guard your mind and hearts; that He gives you His supernatural strength and ability so you can wait on Him, in the name of Jesus. Because I know in due season (in God’s timing) you will reap, if you faint not.

In my closing, I want to say, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is walking about as a roaring loin, seeking whom he may devour. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God by casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you.

I mean all your cares, everything that is causing you to lose focus on God – when you are supposed to be meditating on God, that thing in your heart is rising up – cast it upon God – give it to Him – He can carry it better than you can. That is what causes you to resist the devil by being steadfast in your faith (1 Peter 5:6-9).

1 Peter 4:12-13 tell us:

¹² “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; ¹³ but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (www.biblegateway.com – NKJV).

So you see, what you are going through is not strange; it happened to the saints before you and is happening to them today all over the world – you are not alone in your suffering. That is why it is so important for us to band together and pray for each other; touch and agree with each other. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed (biblegateway.com - NKJV). Your brothers and sisters everywhere are going through, so let’s pray for each other and with each other.

I know in my own life, if I have a pressing issue, when I begin to focus on God or on helping others, it decreases that thing in my life; I even forget about it sometimes. Therefore, I believe, if you take your eyes off your situations and help someone else (when and if you can), God will bless you and take care of your needs; when we make things happen for others, God will make things happen for us.

I pray you have been blessed by this word from the Lord this morning; it is my desire to encourage God’s people and lift them up when I can.

For more of my teachings, please visit the Abused Woman Ministries’ Inc. School of Healing (AWMSOH) web site: www.recovery4abusedwoman.org; all teachings and classes on the site are free - you can start the classes anytime and set your own pace to complete them. You can also find my teachings on my blog site, www.drdehooks.blogspot.com; there are a variety of teachings on the site.

I pray that you have a blessed day today as you worship God in all you do and that you have a Jesus filled rest of the week.

All Consuming Fire by Jesus Culture - We need to fall more in love with God!!

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

Don’t Faint In The Pit!

Don't get tired of waiting for God to bring you out of the pit! Through faith and patience, you obtain the promise (Hebrews 6:12, 15; 10:36)!

God is working in the background to bring you out so just wait on Him to do it. While you are waiting, praise God for bringing you out and have a grateful heart; be thankful to Him for where He HAS brought you from. Don’t complain while you are in the pit; it will only delay God bringing you out. We need to use Joseph as an example of what to do while we are in the pit; he never complained while he was in the pit or the prison. Joseph’s own brothers (family, flesh and blood) put him in the pit. But from the time he got thrown into the pit to the time God placed him in the palace, Joseph never complained, nor did he hold any grudges against his brothers; and that is why God could take him to the palace. Joseph thrived everywhere he was placed because he did not complain or hold unforgiveness in his heart.

Therefore, if you are in a pit today, check your attitude! Are you complaining like I use too? Asking God, "Are we there yet?" “God how long am I going to have to be in pain before my healing manifest”? These are some of the questions I use to ask God. I am still in pain, but now I am looking in expectation for my full manifestation of healing to come; I am waiting for my change to come. I know what the Word says that I am healed already by Jesus’ strips so I keep going and claiming my healing!!

Another check, are you bitter at the person who threw you in the pit (even if that person was yourself – you might have jumped in yourself – whether on purpose or by accident)? You got in that pit in one of three ways, either you put yourself there by making wrong decisions, the devil put you there by listening to him, or you got there by disobeying God; you wouldn't listen to Him and He allowed you to fall in the pit (God is a gooooooood God but He gives each of us choice and when you choose your way instead of His, there will be negative consequences.

But God will take everything that was meant for evil in your life and turn them around for your good – Yeah, God loves you just that must). But don’t get bitter while you are in the pit; begin to praise God in the pit, thanking Him for bringing you out of the pit before He actually does.

Give thanks to God with a grateful heart, no matter what you are going through. Thank God for everything He has brought you out of! You must be thankful for where you came from before you can truly be thankful for where God is taking you.

Therefore, praise your way out of that pit! Make up in your mind TODAY that you are going to let go of all bitterness, all jealousy/envy, all malice, all anger, all strife, all unforgiveness, all hatred, all blame, etc. and be thankful to God for what He has already done; look to Him to bring you out of the pit.

Your palace is waiting for your arrival! There are people waiting for you to help them; the ones (souls) that God has assigned to your hand to help. Therefore, come on up out of that pit and take your place in the palace.

Remember, God might not take you directly from the pit to the palace; you might be thrown into prison before you reach the palace; just as Joseph. God might have to do more work inside of you before you reach the palace. But stay faithful to Him; being thankful?  - being grateful to Him for bringing you out of the pit (I can't express this enough). Be patient! God knows what He is doing? He is a pro at what He does!

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Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

God’s Servant

Scripture for today:

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

Hebrews 10:36 - biblegateway.com (ESV)

Hebrews 10:36 (ESV)