Separation

Now that we are in a new year and the fall feasts have passed, the Lord has once again been letting His Bride know that there is change in the air. To be specific, it seems that the time of separation has come to a fullness that we have not seen before. Like a woman separates from the child she carries for 9 months, so too the Bride will be separated from the world she has known to be with Him. For a long season the Bride has been tested, and separation has been a tough lesson she has had to learn in the wilderness. Today I want to focus on the very important lessons of separation.

Wanda and I have spent many long hours discussing our journey and trying to understand all that God has led our family through over 10 years. Frankly we don’t understand even a small percentage of what God had us experience but I trust that, over time, He will continually reveal to us what happened and what we need to learn. Although bitter at the time, these lessons of the wilderness are intrinsically valuable and we are thankful for what God has taken us through. Recently a conversation between ourselves revealed a new truth we had not fully plumbed before and that is the nature and depth of separation one goes through in the wilderness.

As we grow from baby to adult, there are many attachments that we form or are formed against us from ‘self’, the world and the devil. These attachments are like umbilical cords and from them we learn to drink harm, instead of nurture, from our surroundings and others. Very unhealthy. It is the reason why there is such an egregious abundance of ‘self’ on the earth today. Since these attachments are fueled by ‘self’ and supported by the world, we think them to be ‘normal’ but they are far from ‘normal’ in God’s eyes. Because of His great love for us, He sees the harm that these ungodly attachments do to us and beckons us to the wilderness so these unholy ties can be properly severed. Some of these attachments require deep surgery; as in our case. For our family, God called us to separate from everything, and everyone, but Him. For what we are called to do, it was the necessary and required step. Others may not have so drastic a surgery, but having those ungodly attachments severed is what God will still do for them; if they follow Him in obedience.

I cannot, and will not, dare say what attachments are in a person’s soul that need to be severed from them so they are free to follow God. That insight is extremely personal, and only God correctly knows what is in you that will draw you away from Him and towards ‘self’. We thought we had good control of our unholy attachments when we lived in Sherwood Park, Alberta but we suffered from the same naiveté that affects all immature believers. It was only after God placed us in the wilderness that He was able to open our eyes so we could see ourselves as we really were. It wasn’t pretty. We saw for the first time just how ugly our ‘self’ nature was and how many attachments we had made to the world. I write this in humility today saying that whatever ‘self’ made attachments you may own; I am right there with you in understanding. I am deeply ashamed of how much was in me that glorified the ‘self’ in me and debased Him and His great love for us. This is the nature of the world we live in.

Separation from the soul ties, that we carry within us, is a long and difficult process that we must ALL go through at one point in our journey with God. It is necessary for our healing. I wish I could personally help everyone who reads this blog; but I cannot. I can however point out one ministry we happen to personally know that does work of inner healing and breaking soul ties; that is Elijah House Ministries. I strongly urge you to look at the work of the Sanford’s (John and Paula), if you are struggling with what God is showing you inside which is broken and needs healing.

Another key separation that needs to take place is in what we believe; and this belief is what we can help others with. As we grow up, we may not perceive that our enemy has been on the earth far longer than we have and has had a great deal of time to infiltrate every area of our society with his lies and deceptions. What we think is truth and absolutes have been been eroded continually through his trickery over the millennia. There is one place he cannot infect fully however, although he has tried many times, and that is the Word of God. If one immerses themselves in God’s Word with an accurate translation and develops a relationship of humble obedience to His Son, Jesus, then one is better prepared to face the lies of the enemy. If one does not choose to do this, then those lies of satan will build, strengthen and perpetuate.

Now satan knows the greatest ally he has on this earth is our ‘self’ nature, so it is very easy for him to exploit the prideful ‘self’ resident in each one of us. One key way satan lies to us, is to have us join two things together that do not belong. By joining something of God with something of man, satan corrupts truth on the earth. It is cunning, simplistic and very effective. Once this joining together is complete, all satan has to do is sit back while the ‘self’ led man evangelizes others with his ‘truth’. Immature believers will be caught up in the deception and soon everyone will think that it is God Himself speaking through them. Very clever and very dangerous. Wanda and I have been shown 3 major systems of man in which this melding of truth with lies has overtaken our society. In each instance we were forced to do battle with the demon at the root of these lies; but we could not have done that if God had not first exposed the lie in our belief system.

The first lie that we had to overcome was the belief that God and religion were one and the same. If we accepted the tenet that God was in religion, it allowed religion unprecedented power in our lives to control and subjugate us. Once we realized that God was not in religion but instead separate from it, that brought about a degree of relief for us to leave the system of religion. However, it was only after God showed us that religion, and I mean ALL religion, is opposed to Him, we began to understand just what a beast mankind had created. God has given us a model of relationship through Jesus. All the formality and man-made rules evident on the earth today come from ‘self’. These rules do nothing but destroy the very people Jesus came to save because the religious yoke is very heavy. I cannot overemphasize this point. God and religion are complete polar opposites and have nothing in common.

The next lie that we faced was that family and blood were one and the same. We were preached at from an early age that “blood is thicker than water” but what we experienced was that blood relatives were infected with the same betraying ‘self’ nature we ourselves had. We began to look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother!” to see that obedience in other believers, to do the will of the Father, was what constituted true family. Once we realized that the family of God consists of those that are putting to death the ‘self’ nature, it imploded the myth that family and biological blood were the same. Yes, we were all born into a blood family looking just like ourselves, full of ‘self’; but by the gift of free will, we can choose to leave that family and join the family of God. Although our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters do remain related to us by blood while on the earth, we will not be connected with them in spirit if they do not choose Jesus and a life of spirit choices over ‘self.’

The final lie God has exposed was the one I had the hardest time seeing and believing because of how I was raised. That lie was that work and business were one and the same; they are not. I admit freely I love to work. Wanda will gladly tell you that I have to be working or creating or I drive her bananas. To me there is no greater joy than to be out working and providing for my family; and no greater gloom than when I am not able to do that. One would think that because of this desire I would be connected with business in a job earning a paycheck like everyone else; either working for myself or for others. Both of these systems were experienced if you read our book but that is not where God wants us today. The reason is simple; work has been corrupted with the man-made system of business. You see to work with one’s hands, or brain, or mouth, is a noble thing and given to us by God to express our gifts and help others. This is the model God demonstrated for us from the garden of Eden. Work is His idea and He enjoys it as much as many of us do. The problem lies when ‘self’ attaches itself to work and corrupts it so it can only be expressed as a way to make money. It is the spirit of mammon that Jesus warned us about and is idolatrous. Once that happens, people don’t work for others to bless them and nurture their own souls; but only to get what their ‘self’ desires.

Business was constructed as a man-made framework to harness work and increase wealth. Unfortunately, the ‘self’ nature of man with its greed and lust for power thrust business into an abyss that has caused a great deal of harm and suffering in the world. Now I know that there are those that truly long for God and are pursuing Him that do own businesses. I myself was one of those people and I understand the need to follow the restrictions of the world in order to make a living. I encourage independent business ownership; and support those that run their businesses in a way that pleases God. The one thing, however, that we cannot escape is this fact; if we are not actively getting rid of the ‘self’ nature within each of us, it will inevitably corrupt our business no matter how noble we started out to be. When this happens, our work will be corrupted as well; and that is truly a waste. To work as God intended is a beautiful thing but to be truly blessed by God, it needs to be free of the selfishness and self-preservation that is so common in man today. This, unfortunately, is the corruption that business continues to perpetuate and the world believes; even the church.

In all three of these instances, where satan has infected our thinking through our ‘self’ nature, God has given us an antidote. The antidote is radical separation; a separation of ‘self’ from spirit, so we can see the taint and corruption that has infected our daily beliefs. It is our prayer that God begins to reveal to you how He wants to separate you from the systems of man and ‘self’ unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. As you follow Him in obedience, expect Him to challenge your sacred cows and bring down the high places you may still have in your soul about what you believe. I know when you do, you will find a freedom in Him you never realized was possible.

Blessings,

Homer and Wanda