Breathing in Jesus' Ruach

A most unusual thing happened to me today.  After a two hour business meeting with about thirty fellow brokers, one sweet woman came up to me.  She had trouble getting out the words, we knew each other from exchanges on our online group forum and I knew she was Christian from her bold expression of faith on the business forum.  She said, “I’m demonized.  I haven’t been coming for two years because I’m demonized.  Will you pray for me?”  Her directness so touched me with her suffering.  We found a quiet conference room.  And she shared for three years she has been hearing demonic voices in her mind.  She also felt prickles on her skin from demons.  And many times she couldn’t breathe and was short of breath.  I confirmed her faith in Christ and knew the church she went to.  I confirmed she knew she was fully forgiven in Jesus and not feeling guilt.  She was truly afflicted by the enemy.

So I asked if I might lay hands on her, including her head, and she smiled weakly and said yes.  I prayed for her and took authority over the enemy and told him to leave.  And I invited in the fullness of the Lord’s Spirit for healing with a hedge of protection around her.  But afterwards I realized I needed to teach her what I learned over the years, what many have called, “practicing the Presence of God.”  This sweet lady didn’t know she had inside what would make the enemy flee, the fullness and peace of Jesus’ Spirit in her.

So I led her in the meditation below for about 40 minutes continuously.  I felt I had to remain with her as long as she needed and support her emotionally and spiritually while she learned to breathe in of His Spirit.  I held both her hands gently all the time so she would have a physical connection to someone who cared.  Early in the exercise I affirmed she was a loved child of God, that she had the mind of Christ, and other affirmations of who she was in Christ.  These affirmations I would gently intersperse in my ongoing leading of her by saying, “I, [her name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.  I, [her name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.  I, [her name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.”  As I stated some of the affirmations about who she was in Christ, there were many times she cried very bitter and heavy tears of remembering her past pain and affliction.  But after about 10 minutes I stopped the affirmations and just lead her in breathing of His Spirit, and the tears largely dried up and peace visibly grew in her over the remaining 30 minutes.  Her breaths became deeper and less forced.  At the end, through still damp eyes, she had a gentle smile, her face was relaxed, her breathing much more at ease, and she said she had peace.  I explained this spiritual meditation and healing would be a process, not overnight, but it would strengthen her spiritual muscles and her peace would increase through daily practice, ideally a few times a day. 

Because this event was so unusual for me given the context of a business meeting and given she was so transformed after our time together – I credit the Lord completely for His inspiration in me of how to lead her in this meditation – I thought I would share for anyone else who might be suffering from affliction or lack of peace.

My email to the sweet lady today after our time together this morning:

I wanted to write you so that you have this spiritual meditation and spiritual exercise to do every time you feel tightness or affliction.  Please try to do what we did today at least twice a day for 15 to 30 minutes each session.  Over time your “spiritual muscles” will grow, you will become more and more calm in His peace, this spiritual meditation and exercise will become easier and easier.  You will become thirsty, wanting to breathe in and drink in of His Ruach, His Spirit.    You will be transformed by this spiritual meditation and spiritual exercise as you do it every day, at least two or three times a day.  It may not always be easy, but – through His Ruach in you, you breathing Him in – you will feel the increasing peace of His Ruach.  And the peace of His Ruach as you breathe Him in is where your quiet confidence and steady, calm peace against affliction and trouble rests.

I love you, please let me know in a couple weeks how you are doing or call me for any other reason.

BREATHING IN JESUS’ RUACH (SPIRIT)

Go to a place where you are comfortable and sit.  Close your eyes.  Don’t worry about what thoughts might swirl or flow, just let them show up but pass away.  Focus instead on breathing in Jesus’s Ruach, His Spirit.  Breathe  in, breathe in His Ruach.  Breathe out.  Breathe in His Ruach.  Breathe out.  Breathe in His Ruach.  Breathe out.  Keep breathing in and out several times.  Then, after several times, breathe even more of His Ruach into your mind and also into your belly so the breath, His Ruach, is not just in your chest and heart but also flows into your mind and into your belly.  Stretch a little to fill yourself more with His Ruach.  Breathe His Ruach into your mind and breathe His Ruach into your belly as well as flowing into your chest and heart.  Don’t work too hard or feel stressed.  Just a gentle stretch and expansion as you breathe in Jesus’ Ruach, then breathe out.  You don’t need to think.  You don’t need to judge any thoughts.  Just relax and keep breathing in His Ruach and breathing out.  The more you over and over and over breathe in His Ruach, the more you will eventually relax with His peace.  Breathe in His Ruach.  Breathe out.  I, [your name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.  I, [your name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.  I, [your name], breathe in His Ruach.  I breathe out.

Ruach HaKodesh means Holy Spirit in Hebrew

[Jesus said,] “But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, He will remind you of everything I have said to you.  What I am leaving with you is shalom [peace] — I am giving you My shalom. I don’t give the way the world gives. Don’t let yourselves be upset or frightened.” John 14:26-27 (Complete Jewish Bible)

[Jesus] having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh” John 20:22 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Say “Yes” to Abundant Life – Part 2

Today is Good Friday and this weekend is Easter, a time of remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross and with His resurrection.  A time of remembering the free and abundant life He offers us.  So this blog post, which I started earlier this week, seems apt timing for this weekend.

I was worshipping Sunday morning thinking about the fact I haven't blogged in a long time and asked the Lord that if He wanted me to say anything, to just let me know.  Then I went on worshipping.  Please know I never feel the need to write unless there something strongly on my heart to share.  Then I happened to hear from a couple dear, prophetic friends shortly afterwards and was inspired to post this update.  I knew in my heart when I blogged last November I was stepping into a new way and new day with God.  So I hope this Part 2 update blesses you as it does me, marveling at God’s ever loving and kind ways that are meant to completely remove the shackles tying us to the paradigm of this world’s ways and to instead give us abundant freedom, an abundant life.

It has been a sensational half a year for me, over the top wonderful.  Both love and money have been flowing to and from me like oxygen.  I have been saying “Yes” to God and am not chained to my bank account.  I just don’t care about money, and it comes when I need it.  And, far more importantly, love is overflowing and even gushing in my life.  I believe all of this blessing is from not being chained to my bank account, not counting coins and massaging money, not letting digits dictate my decisions, but rather trusting my Father to provide for all my needs and not just some.

Money doesn’t provide, my Father does.  That is the core, fundamental truth that, despite my believing it all my Christian life, has sunk far more deeply into the wellspring of my soul.  Between 2010 and 2013, I always seemed to be skirting on the brink of defaulting on my mortgage, but that brink was my silly and myopic perception.  God always gave me another real estate sale, out-of-the-blue, to pay my mortgage in the nick of time.  Between 2010 and 2013, I have eaten the bitter pain of sometimes doubting that God was going to provide for expensive things in my life because I couldn’t find a Biblical passage that said, “Thou shalt have a beautiful California home.”  It was emotional pain I needlessly inflicted on myself.  Through that pain and His reliable, just-in-time-provision, My Daddy trained me well to trust in His provision only, not in money’s false pretense.  Now my heart clutches the core, fundamental truth that money doesn’t provide, my Father does.  Money is lifeless and fleeting, my Father is alive and faithful.

This year life is much more abundant, and I'm able to love and bless others more fully and freely with the overflow.  It started on December 22, 2013, just before Christmas and the month after my blog to treat money like oxygen, to say “Yes” to God, and to purchase in faith, that He will provide.  The Lord blessed me with meeting the desire of my heart, a desire I had given up hope on since I’m, gasp, middle age and instead thought I might remain single the rest of my life.  He is an incredible man who loves the Lord and loves me richly.  We thoroughly enjoy life together.  I've never been married but if you trust and wait, God will save the best for last.  More than you can ask or think.  God did it for Job after his season of pain.  He will do it for you, in His timing. Also, the last six months have been an overflow of blessings financially. I have money in the bank but I don’t care about it or trust that money.  Because money is fleeting, the Bible says it is.

It really is so simple: just trust, rest, and be free in Him in all things, esp. love and money which we otherwise want to control or stress about.  When you trust and rest, He gives you the desires of your heart, sublime desires that you didn't even know you had (Psalm 37). You had wanted something else but our Daddy gives you something better.  Or you had given up hope and your Daddy gives you a big surprise. Our Daddy is such a good Daddy. He knows what we need far better than we do. And when He gives to you, you can't help but being generous in your love and giving to others. I'm learning how simple and abundant in agape, God's love, each day truly is.