Autopsy of Unbelief

First off I am a believer of Jesus Christ, and I believe He is the God of signs wonders and miracles; yesterday, today, and forever!  I believe God's intent for the church (us who believe) is to display His manifold wisdom to all of His creation through the working of faith with power. So in this love for my God I come against the giant of confusion and fear right now in the name of the living God!

The enemy of our souls who's name is satan is a deceiver whose main weapon is fear for the purpose of destroying faith in Jesus. He has been trying to convince believers to walk in fear and to bury their God given talents in the ground. He hates God's children especially when they move in God's power and anointing, and he loves to twist scripture to try and get people confused about God's will.

Well, it is too bad for him that God has given us authority to tear down demonic strongholds and tread evil under our feet so here we go!

God has told in scripture that evil does actually have power, even power to work signs and wonders. But don't worry God has also said that the power of evil will never stand against His Truth. It is as easy for believers to destroy the enemy's works as it is for light to expel darkness!

God has given us a grid in which we can use to discern true signs and wonders against fake ones. Check out these scriptures:

(NKJV) Mark 13:22 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

(NKJV) Revelation 13:13 "He [the evil one] performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men."

(NKJV) Deuteronomy 13:1 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, (NKJV) Deuteronomy 13:2 "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'--which you have not known--'and let us serve them,'"
(NKJV) Deuteronomy 13:3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

After looking at these warnings the key phrase to look at  is,

 "saying, let us go after other gods..."

In all of these above warnings the counterfeit signs and wonders were being done with the main intent of pointing people away from Jesus to other so "other gods."

If someone has a dream or vision or works a sign and wonder and says "lets go after Jesus", it is from God; if they say "let's go after other gods", it from the devil.

A sign points you to something like a street sign, and a wonder is something that is by definition;

Wonder-Noun: A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
Wonder-Verb: Desire or be curious to know something.

So the nature of a wonder is that it is something unfamiliar, or unexplainable that causes you to want to know more.

When you encounter something supernatural the question should not be can I explain this, but rather where or who is this sign pointing me to? Or who is this act causing me to be drawn to put my faith in?

Jesus addressed  this issue with His disciples and brought clarity about the working of miracles:

(NKJV) Mark 9:38 "Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."
(NKJV) Mark 9:39 "But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me."(NKJV) Mark 9:40 "For he who is not against us is on our side."

By this statement we can see that it is impossible for someone to work a miracle in Jesus name and for it to be done under the power of a "deceiving spirit".

Notice Jesus's response was NOT: well you're right guys, I see these men are working miracles in my Name, but we should be skeptical because these could be deceptive spirits and you can never really be sure unless you know the people really well. Hahahha!

Even though they didn't know these guys or their character Jesus didn't tell them to stop. Good things were being done through the the Name of Jesus, and Jesus saw this as the qualifying factor to whether a miracle is from God or not. He also added that if someone is not against us they are for us! Basically, He was saying that unless someone is working miracles in the name of someone else they are on God's team, and to receive them with gladness.

The reality of things is also that not everyone wants to be on God's team, and not everyone takes pleasure in His truths. These people will easily be deceived if there was a powerful miracle done in the name of someone other than Jesus. It would justify their own desire to not follow Jesus. Paul also writes about this:

(NKJV) 2 Thessalonians 2:9 "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders," (NKJV) 2 Thessalonians 2:10 "and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

So when someone works miracles, and tells people to follow someone or something other than Jesus, people who aren't saved and not interested in Jesus could easily be deceived.

This is the context of every passage dealing with counterfeit signs and wonders.

 Jesus' qualifier for a miracle to be from God was actually, "if they are not against us they are for us."

It doesn't exactly sound like Jesus was nervous about people performing miracles in His name as probable "deceiving spirits".

I believe it is impossible for one of Jesus' true disciples to be deceived by someone working counterfeit miracles, because their love for His truth is the anchor of their soul, not the lust for the supernatural.

(NKJV) John 10:5 "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

If someone goes off to become a disciple of some "foreign god" because of some miracle, it shows they were not His sheep in the first place.

In reference to the "deceiving spirits" lets take a closer look at that scripture in Timothy,

(NKJV) 1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,"

The context of this scripture is that the deceiving spirits would enter the church and entice people away from FAITH in Christ. So remember Jesus said that is it impossible for someone to work a miracle in His name, and then speak evil of Him. So in context Paul was not even referring to the miraculous in the passage, but rather reminding people of how deceiving spirits would try to trick people into unbelief, especially justification by their own works apart from faith in Christ's finished works on the cross.

Yet I think it's funny that this scripture (which is against unbelief ) is the one the enemy uses to twist and try to get people to fall into unbelief, and to reject signs and wonders in fear of getting deceived.

Most of this propoganda actually comes from people who believe the demonic doctrine that says that the gifts of the Holy Spirit died with the original Apostles.

If you are still wondering about the False Christs thing, Jesus wasn't talking about people working miracles in His Name, He was talking about people saying that they were actually Him. So yes if someone says that they are actually Jesus himself, of course don't believe them.

So in conclusion, God is not a God of confusion, and He didn't call us to a life of fear, but He had said concerning us,

(NKJV) John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."

 Jesus has called us to a life of radical love and faith, a love and faith that destroys the works of the devil and  lets the oppressed go free.

So the next time you hear of something that you can't explain being done in Jesus name, you don't have to be afraid or skeptical, just see it as a billboard with an arrow pointing to the words "Jesus loves you!"

-Tyler Worley

Who is our God?

"I have been the same height since I was 13 years old. 5 feet and 3 and 3/4 inches. I am now 25, so it's been 12 years since I've grown at all. A couple months ago, I was part of an awesome group of people that were praying for people to grow taller just because! Just because our heavenly Papa loves us and wants to show us! It was amazing. I saw people grow taller in front of my eyes. And then I thought, why not? Why not grow taller? So I asked to go next. And the most wonderful thing happened! God gave me what I asked for! Haha! I grew nearly an inch taller! I am now 5 feet and 4 and 1/2 inches tall! That is so awesome! My Papa loves me! I just have to laugh because our God is so stinking cool."

- Leah Level

"So Micah prayed at the Well for my right leg to even out about a 1/2 inch to be even with my left and it did immediately after he commanded it to grow in Jesus name. I had been to the chiropractor back in high school for it and it had been giving me lower back pain. My back has been so much better since then!

Then I prayed for my mom at Our Hero Subs and her leg grew out right in front of Krista, Cyrus, and Eli!  She was amazed and just kept walking around the store saying 'I feel even!'

While at the Vineyard youth group with the Well and Stephen Bell, I prayed for the drummer for Sun Culture who had a migraine, but he didn't even tell me he had a migraine. I was actually praying for him to be released in the miraculous at Kenton Ridge High school, and when I finished he told me that his migraine left as soon as I laid my hands on him! Praise God!

I prayed for an elderly man at the shelter house who said his pain was at a 9 with sinus pressure. He had been plagued with constant sinus issues for years, and was constantly medicated. Eli and I prayed for Him and the presence of God came and rested on him. He noticed no instant signs of being healed but we all sensed God was touching him. He came back to church two weeks later, and shared that after he left that day he hasn't taken any sinus meds and his sinus pain has been 0 ever since!

Two weeks ago at the Shelterhouse I prayed for a lady who had brain surgery this time last year, and she was experiencing headaches again. She actually had a headache at the service and asked me to pray for her, and when I laid my hands on her the power of God touched her and the headache immediately left! 

Before Krista gave birth to Levi she had been experiencing constant acid reflux in her throat, adding to her already uncomfortable situation of being 9 months pregnant. Micah, Jesse, Stephen, Eli, and I laid hands on her and the acid in her throat disappeared and never came back! God is good!!"

- Tyler Worley 

"A month or so back a group of us got together to hang out after the Sunday night Kingdom Culture meeting at RiverSong Church. We goofed off, ate food and grew each other taller. We sat down Aly, and Ethan commanded her legs to grow. We measured her before. She grew about an inch. Then she sat me down and commanded my legs to grow. I grew probably half an inch. That same night, God grew out arms and gave Sarah arches. Kahlin prayed for my fingers to shrink and then grow back out for the fun of it. Because God is fun! And He enjoys us! And we enjoy Him! Amen."

- Jesse Level

"Before I had asked for prayer, I had an extremely hard time with my ability to see words and or images that were slightly far away. This became an issue when driving (seeing road signs) and while in the classroom (viewing the powerpoints on the projector). After Micah and Ethan laid hands on me a few saturdays ago, the power of Jesus has significantly improved my eyesight, and I've had little to no issues since. I would also like to thank Papa for healing my wrist issues after brother Chris prayed for me about a month ago. Praise Him!"

- Eli Worley

"Kahlin, Kyle, Meredith and I went down to Lee University this past weekend. Many people were healed! People encountered God and they will never be the same! We met this young guy and started prophesying over him... he was comforted. We then got a word of knowledge about back pain, his back was healed. We got a word of knowledge about one leg being longer than the other. His legs grew out and aligned. He had flat feet... they aren't flat anymore. He had bad eyes... they aren't bad anymore. And he got whacked with joy and almost fell out of his chair! Jesus likes to heal! He's good and in a good mood! By the end of the weekend 5 people were healed! One of scoliosis and another person receiving a creative miracle!

The young man who received the creative miracle had one leg longer than the other. About an inch off. The doctors had actually moved his right hip up into his torso. So he needed something creative. We sat him down in a chair and 5 seconds his right leg grew out to match his left one... he jumped up screaming and took off running outside! He jumped up and down! We asked a few people if he could normally run and they said that he could not! Haha Jesus! He has been wrecked for life! He will never be the same! He has been seeing healing breakthrough since then! He and his friends will turn the whole University upside down! Haha!

A young lady was healed of scoliosis at Lee as well. She came out of the bathroom just as we had ended praying for the first guy, and he grabbed her and sat her in the chair because she had one leg longer than the other. I held up her legs and they instantly aligned and grew out. We stood her up to pray for her scoliosis. I asked her what the pain level was, 1-10, and she said the pain level was a 6. Also, her shoulders were literally cockeyed. I put my hand on her neck and prayed for her. After three times of praying, the pain level was a 0 and her shoulders were straight. Her scoliosis was gone!"

- Micah Level

"I've had scoliosis, or curvature of my spine, for as long as I can remember. It never has been a debilitating medical issue, but it caused a lot of discomfort. As a swimmer, I use my upper back and shoulders more than another other part of my body. So, I tended to hold a great deal of tension and stress in between my shoulder blades and those muscles would often be quite sore and tight.

I heard about Micah growing and healing people through Christ's name. Of course, I knew things like this happened in the Bible, but I was amazed to hear of things like this happening to people that were my friends. So, one night after swim practice, I was fed up with feeling tied down by the kinks in my back. Jessica convinced me to go over to Riversong church while a supernatural healing class was going on. I walked into the room and immediately the students there all knew that I came to be healed, even without me saying anything.

First they sat me down and grew out one of my legs so that I was even. Then they had me stand up so they could heal my upper back. As they laid hands on me, I felt a wave of released tension flow out of my body. I could feel my back lining up and getting straighter. Everything was tingling. An overwhelming sense of freedom came over me, like a weight had been lifted. I instantly felt taller and lighter.

This was a huge breakthrough moment for me, and I quickly called my parents to let them know the good news. My mom said that this healing was exactly what I needed. God was reaching out to me and telling me to let go of the past."

 

- Rachel Lee

"19'And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.' Luke 6:19

The stories of healings, signs and wonders are the reality in which we live today. The same power that came out of Jesus and healed people dwells in us today. A few months ago Micah dipped into that power and grew out my arms. As I closed my eyes, he began to pray silently for a specific arm, commanding it to grow out, and as he did I immediately felt a stretching pulling feeling in my left arm. I yelped out “it’s my left arm ahh I feel it!” I sat there in awe as I watched my right arm catch up to my left. That day my arms grew out a little bit over ½ inch, adding more than an entire inch to my wing span! 

 

Now some of you might be wondering why? And that’s when I reply with a why not? There was a release of an increase of faith in me and in the room, but it did not just end there. As I got back in the pool for training that following week, I swam faster than I ever had before. Some swimmers and coaches began to take notice and began to question what happened. This gave me opportunity to share with my teammates about the healing power of Jesus Christ and our loving God that would grow out my arms because He can! During that week at swim I also got to pray for two other swimmers during practice, and saw the overall atmosphere and attitudes of the swimmers lift! Thank You Jesus!"

 

- Jessica Konczak 

Remind yourself!

Have you been having a weird week? I have been. But you know what, who is our God? What has He done? Remind yourself!

"Start remembering and you start hearing." - Bill Johnson

If you can't hear Papa, or if all you're hearing is the fly pestering you, stop and start to remember! He is good! He is awesome! What has He done in you and through you? What He does is Him! So if you want an encounter with Papa, remember what He has done and you will find yourself drawn into His character, into who He is, and into His heart of honey. It's full of fresh news and daily revelation. No old bread! Ever! He always has new things for you! Just bring His testimonies to mind. Tell yourself what He has already done, and you will have faith for what He is about to do!

Mark 8:18 "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?"

Jesus goes on to remind His disciples of what He had done! Bringing it to their minds and reminding them of who He was.

Revelations 19:10 "... For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Start remembering! Speak the testimonies of Jesus in your life! It will release fresh faith, power and joy! Your heart will bubble over with the laughing, happy God who loves you! He is awesome!

Leah Level

You can rest on me, Jesus!

You’ve heard it before: “Deny yourself and take up your cross daily”. What do you think or feel when you read this? Most people, I’d say, probably feel burdened. They think, “Well, I’m not denying myself too well because I’m still struggling with A, B, and C. And I haven’t been taking up my cross because I still need improvement in areas X, Y, and Z.” [insert weighty sigh of anxiety and self-disappointment]

This is NONSENSE!!

I, along with many Christians, have been taught in the past that Christianity is hard, that there are struggles, and it requires ‘denying myself’. But as I’ve been reading ‘The Happy Gospel’ and exploring Scripture with an open heart and mind and enjoying my time with my Papa, I’ve come to realize something: When Jesus said His burden is light and His yoke is easy, He wasn’t trying to fool us. HE MEANT IT!
Thayer’s Lexicon says that to ‘deny self’ actually means ‘to forget and lose sight of self’. Benjamin Dunn comments and says,

"We have joyfully given up all of our rights to a sinful, independent existence and have been enraptured in mystical union and dependence upon Christ. This is not a lifelong process; how can it be? When we came to Christ, we were offered such beauty and blessing that we instantly lost sight of anything else. This is the true meaning of denying ourselves - we are no longer in charge, even of our salvation!… Let self be eclipsed by the glory of the cross."

What about ‘working out your salvation with fear and trembling’, you ask? The A.S. Way Translation says that ‘trembling’ means ‘self-distrust’ - in other words, we cannot trust in ourselves to create a desire for God and His ways. It is God who supplies the impulse within us to be as He intended. Have reverence [fear] for the Lord who is the giver of all good things, including our salvation, which is unobtainable by our own doing! It’s been GIVEN and GIFTED to us! We have to learn to receive.

What does this mean? It means the only responsibility we have is to soak up His presence, which is full of His love, grace, and peace. All holiness that flows is a natural byproduct of spending time with Him and it comes completely effortlessly!

My fellow brothers and sisters, if you are ones who are miserable in your walk, and bogged down with all the things you have yet to do and improve, or who you aren’t and who you should be, then COME BE FREE! Stop living under a Christianity tainted with religion, and find liberty in faith and hope of GRACE as Christ intended. Jesus already paid for your shortcomings and failures - there is no need to be hard on yourselves in the Kingdom of God.

The Holy’s Spirit’s primary job in the lives of Christians is not to convict us of sins, but of our righteousness!!  (See John 16:7-11; look at who Jesus is talking about when concerning sin and righteousness!… and please note that I’m not saying He doesn’t deal with our sin.. He does and will, but He first and foremost wants to remind us of who we are in Him when we go astray) When we sin, He is not primarily getting on our case about what we need to do to make things better; He is reminding us that we are His sons and daughters, made perfect and righteous by the blood of Jesus, and reminding us that we don’t have to say yes to sin anymore and all we have to do to remove our sin is trust in His grace.When we mope around saying, “I am not”, He is dancing in the victory that He has accomplished for you and shouting, “Oh, yes you are! I MADE IT SO!”

If you’re worried about people abusing this grace, as Paul mentions in Romans, then for them, it’s not really grace to begin with. Grace is not to be used as an excuse to do wrong!

Again, REST IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. Then all things pure and good will overflow. The Bible teaches many things; the Law IS good! But it is no longer our tutor, or in charge of us (Galatians 3:24-25). Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law (do everything that we could not), not abolish it; the Bible and its commandments are still here for us to refer back to, but the OLD Testament is just that - OLD. Everything in it points to Christ, who is the NEW covenant. Which means that the Law is still good, but now if we only follow Jesus, the Law will come naturally and no longer with struggle!! (read Galatians chapter 5) WOW!! No more striving. Just resting in Jesus!

So many churches today — so many Christians today — do exactly the opposite of what Galatians 5:1 says… they submit to a yoke of slavery. Even in their wanting to be closer to Christ, they chose to enslave themselves to obligations of reading their Bible, tithing, and fasting to earn God’s favor, instead of taking up the offer and  privilege of resting in Papa’s arms for the sake of resting in Papa’s arms, and letting those actions come naturally as a result. They insist that maturity in Christ and a developed faith is based on how disciplined they are, how much of Scripture they’ve memorized, how often they fast, etc…. aka: it’s based on what they DO, not what they ‘BE’. (And I have been there…I am still in the process of believing more and more each day that His grace truly is sufficient. But what freedom has come upon realizing this and beginning that process!)

All of these things are good things… but unless they are preceded with an encounter with Christ Himself, and are a byproduct of the encounter of His love, they’re useless. God can use them still, sure, but then you’re missing out on His greatest gift through salvation - a real relationship with Him! PERFECT UNION with Him! You cannot earn more favor with Him by doing these things, and less favor by not doing them.
Jesus Himself stated, “Mary has chosen what is better” (Luke 10:38-41) Unless you come with the faith of a child, you will not enter the Kingdom (Matthew 18:3) This is why His burden is light and His yoke is easy. We literally have to do NOTHING except rest in Him. And He will do the rest!

"Yes, of course He is the perfect example of holy living, but His purpose was not to show us how to live, but to live it out for us — in and us and through us!" - Benjamin Dunn

Aly Todd

Joyful in Hope

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Nehemiah 8:10 says,…"the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Jesus was able to draw strength from His hope in the promise of joy to endure the agony of the cross.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

By faith Jesus was able to tap into the substance (joy) even though outwardly (things not seen) there was only extreme pain. His faith allowed Him to enter into supernatural strength to overcome in the trial he was enduring.

Now in our lives we will never experience a trial such as Jesus did in bearing the sin of the world, but we will experience trials while on this earth. Jesus modeled that the thermostat of our heart is not controlled by outward circumstances but by faith in the promises of God.

In John 15 before He is preparing for His crucifixion, Jesus was teaching His disciples a kind of summary of the things He had been sharing with them over the course of the three years He had been ministering among them, and He was exhorting them to love when He said,

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

I think it is quite remarkable, that Jesus would say at that point in His ministry that the main reason He shared all of His teachings on the Father's heart, and on the Kingdom of God, was so that His disciples would have fullness of joy!

If this is true (which it is) than the sign of true reverence to God would be a life overflowing with hope and joy. The devil tries to convince us that this is not true, because he knows that great power would be released in the church to destroy his kingdom of darkness if we were experiencing this level of joy. The devil is working so hard to make us think that reverence for God is to be very serious looking and stoic. He is trying to convince us that God doesn’t have emotions, and that He looks more like “Honest Abe” sitting at the Lincoln Monument in Washington, than a happy father singing and dancing over His children, as He is revealed as doing in Zephaniah 3:17 GNT,

“The Lord your God is with you; His power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you, as joyful as people at a festival.”

Furthermore, the book of Hebrews explains the joy that Jesus has,

“You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” Hebrews 1:9 NLT

Ok, so picture the most joyful person you know; ok now realize that Jesus is, and was, and will always be way more joyful that that person you are thinking of. The scripture said that Jesus is more joyful than any other person ever!

The Bible also says that God is blessed forever. If you look up the Greek word for blessed you will find out that it literally means to be really happy.

So be God-like brothers and sisters and overflow with joy and happiness, and be reverent to God by dancing and singing like drunk people at a festival!

*Ephesians 5:18* on the Holy Spirit not alcohol of course. : )

Tyler Worley

Whack Theology

Grace and Peace to all! Delight yourselves in God; yes, find your joy in Him at all times.

In the old testament God's glory would show up, and the priests were unable to do their duties in the temple because of the weightiness of His presence; but now in the new covenant we are the temple of God offering Him spiritual sacrifices. We actually minister out of the glory not unto the glory. The Person and Presence of Christ is the reason we gather. The Well is a place for people to come encounter the love of the Living God and it is a place for travelers to come through and be refreshed and encouraged by the the Holy One. If you have thought to yourself: why is it that I come to the Well, or what is my place at the Well? I would say that you are joining in on earth with what is going on in heaven: a 24/7 victory celebration for what Jesus accomplished on the cross!

I believe that Like a Child will blow up and travel to the nations and I believe the Well will partner with them in discipling nations in Christ's Name. I believe Like a Child and the Well will be known for selfless love and miracles, signs and wonders around the world. If you are feeling like you are not fitting in at the Well, it's probably because you are fitting in. The Well is all about unique living stones coming together into a dwelling place for Gods presence! We at the Well believe that God loves diversity in all of its brilliant colors and flavors, and that it's His way to express His wisdom through the church. Individuality is precious to God and to us.

Notice God did not call us living bricks. Bricks are all basically the same shape, size, and color. But stones are all different in shape, size, and color, but they are of the same substance and family: rocks. And so are we, and our substance is Christ and we are in the family of The ROCK Himself. If He would have said we were bricks you would be right in saying that you don't fit in because of your "difference." In that way of thinking being different would be the very thing that would disqualify you in being used in the building project. When a mason sets bricks uniformity is the idea, but when using stones the mason searches for interesting looking stones as well as plain ones alike for his creative composition. He looks at each one carefully and decides where it would fit and look best. All the stones are unique and the end result is a beautiful lasting work. Our heavenly Father is a master craftsman and loves your uniqueness.

Scripture and life can only be interpreted correctly when you view it through the perspective of God being a perfectly loving Father who is working all things together for the good of His children. Many are offended at the liberty that is in Christ. When I speak of liberty think living stones not bricks. This can be shown at the Well with all the various forms of expression in worship. Some dance, some laugh, some fall down under Gods weighty presence, or "get whacked" as we affectionally say, and some quietly receive Gods presence without much outward show at all. All of the above are equally legit. If you are thinking bricks then you would be offended when someone expresses their relationship with Jesus differently than you. When someone is thinking in the way of bricks they see their way of connecting with God as the only form that is "of God". But if you are thinking "loving Father" and "living stones", you would see differences in expression as a revelation of the different flavors of Gods wisdom.  Does a loving dad relate to all of His children in an exact uniform way? Does every child enjoy interacting with their dad in the same exact way, with the same activities, games, and toys? No, and the same is for the Kingdom of God.

God has a unique way of connecting with each of our hearts and we have our own special way of connecting with Him and each other. God is good and perfectly loving and He loves our uniqueness and He loves our unity in that we are all His and that we are all known by our love. Jesus never gave me liberty to be unloving, but He has given me limitless ability to love and to be creative, and to most importantly be like Him. His issue was never with me being me, it was with me finding my purpose, pleasure and identity outside of Him. He hated that I was under slavery to sin, which caused me be to be bogged down with fear and bitterness, which kept me from being myself. So in conclusion, be totally Gods' and totally be yourself and don't worry about making yourself fit in because The Master Builder will take care of that.

In my happy place,

Tyler :)

Fly Swatting

I heard the enemy say "I am going to shut you down." Then I saw a vision: the enemy was a fly on my table (it made me laugh). I saw a fly swatter whacking on it. The fly was darting around trying to dodge it. The fly swatter is the presence and glory of God flowing from the work of the cross (the unstoppable one, the unmoveable, unshakeable one). The enemy has words but no substance, no reality. It is all hot air: intimidation and fear tactics. The only power he has is what we give him or allow him. Don't buy into the bait and lies. Why do we give power and place to someone who is already destroyed and defeated? He is under our feet! Leave him there!

He is the most religious entity I know and his main tactic is performance, fear and lies. He looks to the interests of man, endeavors to keep you focused on yourself: what you are doing and not doing. He undermines and endeavors to erode your confidence in God and His word. He endeavors to rob you of your rightful place in Christ. He tricks us into thinking (through fear and lies) that we don't have what we already have. Prove, perform, compromise. "If you are the Son of God...." He plays head games. Shut up, little fly! Big Brother Jesus already conquered you!

Listen to the voice; the one that points you to Jesus and gets your eyes on Him and the finished work of the cross (His performance) is our friend and helper Holy Spirit. The voice that causes you to look at yourself and your performance (How's your devotions? You in the word enough? Are you praying enough? etc.) is the little fly.

Let's get real. My devotions and my performance suck. If my worth and value to Christ was based upon my devotions and performance (human effort) I would die. Fortunately, I am not resting on my devotions and performance; I am fully resting on my Jesus! I have been placed in the pleasing one, in Christ! His devotion and performance is perfect and is enough for us all. How did I get in Christ? By His doing! How do I stay in Christ? By His doing. I don't do what is already done. By faith through grace we stay in this place.

Years ago I was struggling with "devotions", falling short and feeling condemned. I remember at this meeting I asked an old saint and apostle to pray for me. It was short and simple. He put his hands on me and said "The devoted one is in you."

A big fat selah!

Love D-Love,

Duke

by Jon Finney

A friend of mine sent me a link to a popular Youtube video titled "Why I hate religion, but love Jesus" and its a pretty good video if you haven't already seen it. After watching that I saw a response video from an atheist which was titled  "I hate religion, and Jesus too. " His video was disturbing, no doubt, but not as disturbing as some of the comments people were writing. So many people who are claiming to be Christians were saying very non Christ like comments to him, then summing it up with "I'll be praying for you my friend."  I don't know about you, but before I was saved comments like that would drive me further away from the gospel.

I understand why people were posting the things that they did, because I found myself starting to get angry with this guy; I mean he's bashing my Jesus. The Lord spoke to me in that moment of my anger and reminded me of the things I used to think of him, the things I would say about him and how I was no better than the man in the video. I have no grounds to be angry at this man and neither does anyone else who's being led by the Spirit.

I looked through several pages of comments and found none that were encouraging. None that gave him a little taste of who Jesus really is. It was judgement after judgement all the way down.

Ghandi said "I like your Christ.  I do not  like your Christians." I think the word Christian can loose its meaning from time to time, so in my mind I try to say Christ like. That little word change for me goes a long way on how I think and react to people.

I decided to go back to the comments page and post a little encouragement and show that he is loved right where he stands. I never did hear from him but within a few hours I received comments from three other people thanking me for what I wrote. One was an unbeliever who said: "If more people said things like this Christians would'nt have such a bad reputation".

To sum this up I just want us all to be reminded that we are being watched by unbelievers. We don't need to put effort into being different as long as we stay in tune with the Lord.  The amazing Spirit and love of God will make our light shine so people will see a difference, even if we don't think we are being "Christian" enough.

I love all you guys and gals so very much!

Jon

Scratching an itch

Have you ever had an itch that you just couldn't reach to scratch it? Oh how bothersome, distracting, annoying, almost to torment! That is what is going on in the Body of Christ right now! God, our Father has placed an itch for Him, in your spirit man. You can't reach it, You can't stop it and you can't control it. But our Good Father knows exactly what to do. He has given Holy Spirit to scratch this overpowering itch! There are some of you reading this who may say, Kenny you are really weird, I know, but that doesn't change what God is doing in this hour in the hearts of men everywhere.

Do you feel hungry!?
Do you feel thirsty!?
Only He satisfies!
Only He refreshes!

Some will eat and drink what He is providing. Some will stand outside with their noses pressed against the window and watch with wonder at the good things that The Lord is giving His Children to feast on. Yet, they are hesitant to come inside at His invitation. Come and Dine, Come and Dine......

Others will stand across the street and protest with their arms folded and mumble that the table isn't set correctly. Just look where the forks are placed and the napkins are folded incorrectly. Look they are even chewing with their mouths open!!!  This surely can't be The Lord's table!
                            

                     How uncouth, how scandalous really.

Just then the music starts and those who have eaten freely begin to dance.....A dance of Joy...a dance of Satisfaction....
                                                                   a dance of Love.

Some of those who had their noses pressed on the window will see this dance of joy and love and be compelled to enter in.

Others will join the protesters saying that it was ok to eat but all this dancing...surely not of God. just look at those foolish ones...How Undignified.  ( remind you of anyone?).

     IT IS TIME TO DANCE WITH THE LORD,  He leads, just sayin'

Please let your experience catch up with your Theology.   Come and eat, Come and drink, Come and dance!

Let The Lord whom delights in you lead you in Him. Let Him scratch that itch that He has placed within you to come and know and be known.

                        Oh Yes Lord.. Just a little to left please.....oh, ohhh, that's it.
                     
                                                      Always His, yours when I can be; 

Kenny Ronk

Praise

One of the distinctive attributes of The Well is the worship. We are at the forefront of a new praise movement that is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Spontaneous worship is nothing new, but what we are doing is just sheer craziness. Songs have formed over time, but still every week we sing new things, and sometimes everybody in the room is singing separately. Because what is worship? What is praise? Worship comes from the heart and not from the mouth. Praise is an expression of the worship in your heart. And praise requires sacrifice. Praise involves the body. What we are doing at The Well is joyful praising! 

When we get together to sing and dance, it is first and foremost an expression of our joy in Christ. We are jump up and down / clap your hands / dance like a wild man worshippers. Ha ha! We approach praise like we approach any area in the Kingdom: like a child. Because like a child is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God. And what are children like? Dependent? Of course! But that's not all. Children are goofy, silly, playful. Sometimes they make messes. So do we. Ha ha! But I would rather enter the kingdom like a child making messes than lock myself out like a man afraid of making messes. Messiness is a part of freedom. Our praise is messy. Sometimes it's downright cacophonous. Ha ha! But that's okay. God loves it. He loves freedom! He loves seeing His Bride praise Him without inhibition. Because He deserves it! He deserves me looking like a fool. And I do look like a fool when I lead worship. But you know what? I don't care. I love it! I love praising my Papa with all my body, heart and soul! I love dancing and clapping and frolicking and laughing! Because it's all about Him! We love Him! We are in love with Him, and that's why we praise the way we do.

Jesse Level

More!

There is only more and more with God. There is never less. He only has more for me, for us! More and more and more. Of every good thing. Not more of punishment or pain or hurt. More of love, grace, mercy and happy bubbly joy!

He is my answer to every question! My peace in every storm. My joyous strength in every circumstance! There is nothing outside of Him. The minds of men strive to reach His greatness, seek to overcome the unsolvable mystery of His presence, only to come face to face with their own lack. There is no logic to His love! No logic to His joy! He is above and beyond and outside of the parameters of earthly knowledge! I can only marvel: He loves me. He loves me. He loves me!

Leah Level

Glory!

"The Well" is a church planting my Dad started over 6 months ago with a core group of young leadership. The Well is like nothing I've ever seen. Its meetings are full of wild worship, revelatory teaching, healings, prophecy, drunken laughter... all wrapped up in the presence of God. We have grown to over 50 people attending a week, but continue to meet in the home. We are looking for a building! Haha! 

One unique thing about The Well is that it really is an eastern expression, in terms of the way church is done; but it's right here in the west! Haha! I have seen footage of Heidi Baker church plantings... It looks like that. I have even talked to a guy that has seen revival culture in the mission field... he said The Well looks like what he has seen. Haha! Revival is a part of life! Just look down at your belly and say "hello outpouring!" Go look in the mirror and say "hey revivalist!"... now go and release revival! You can have revival anywhere you want to! Haha! The kingdom is wherever the king is present! Bless you! Let the fire burn! 

Micah

Communion in Nature

Romans 1:20 in the Moffat says: "For ever since the world was created, his invisible nature, his everlasting power and divine being have been quite perceptible in what he has made."

As most of you know we moved from Washington state almost two years ago. Washington is an incredibly beautiful place, displaying the wonders of God's creation; in mountains, forest, beaches and water.

One of my most favorite things to do (to be with you Papa or practice his presence and cultivate communion) is wander alone in the woods or take long walks on his beaches. I would lose track of time and spend hours alone, away from people, noise and stuff. In all that he made we see his qualities, his nature, his power. What a wonder is our Daddy. I would stop and feel the breeze blowing against my face, listen and watch the pounding waves. Pick up rocks and agates, spit on em, rub em and hold em in the light. Wow Papa! Wow! How amazing is all that you made. Like a little kid I get excited about his creatures and his creation. From sand fleas, to jelly fish. From seagulls to his majestic bald eagles. Sand dollars to wild flowers, from the distinct smell of fir trees to the sweet taste of honeysuckles and blackberries. All that he made is good!

Many times we would walk or sit in silence together, enjoying each others company without a word. Many times I would pour out my words in tears, in joy, in anger, in full outspoken access and freedom to his heart. Many times I would listen and he would speak comfort, clarity and teach me lessons from his creation. From the stars, potato bugs, salmon and sweet williams. He is so great and so good!

One lesson he spoke afresh to me while at Buck Creek last week. "Learn the lesson of the kingfisher" I thought it had to do with fishing but he said no. The kingfisher has the ability to see beyond the surface of things into the depths of the water, to catch the fish. This quality amazes me. How many times do I look only to see the surface of things (the external) and make conclusions and judgements based upon what I see rather than what is in the heart. Make me like the kingfisher Papa.

I am so thankful in Springfield I found Crabill Homestead and Buck Creek; places to go to be with Papa. Last week I was marveling at a cardinal, at the bright of it's red feathers, to it's shapes and sound. I ask stupid questions sometimes. "Papa how did you come up with this one?" Only to stand in awe, "You thought it; you spoke of it and it came to be!" He is the greatest artist I have ever met ... such beauty blows me away! Through his art work, I have discovered our Daddy is happy! Joyful, playful and fun!

Come on! For the first time in my life I saw puff balls the size of watermelons! I did a little dance and jug, giddy over a fungi!

If we give time to "smell the roses" of his creation, communion is so sweet.


Love D-love,

Bro Duke

Witt Wonders

His presence is the movement. And oh boy is He moving! There has been a group of us meeting on Thursdays at 7 in the Student center on campus. We simply get together and enjoy the living presence of our God. In this enjoyment we have been learning and growing more and more in God’s heart for us & Wittenberg. My heart desire is for others to also know, and live in this mind-blowing love and joy of our Maker.

As a senior at Wittenberg I have spent a majority of the past four years of my college career striving and performing to meet others expectations and standards. The Lord has delivered me from this yoke of performance. Jesus Christ met every expectation and standard for me on the cross and finished what I could not. I have found my greatest joy and freedom in Him and Him alone! He is my “A+”! Best looking transcript I have ever seen! As I finish my time here at Witt, the Lord continues to remind me, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Romans 9:16 And that I have everything I need in Him! I’m excited to see how He continues to use us to display His power and love at Witt. By His grace we continue to make ourselves available for His purpose through each step of obedience to Him. We find our greatest joy in His living presence. Keeping our eyes focused on His radiant presence, He continues to grow us in strength, grace, and glory!

Jessica “The Joy Bubble” Konczak