Believe and Unbelief - Jesus to my Rescue

UNBELIEF AND DISBELIEF
IN
THE “WESTERN” CHURCH
AS SEEN THROUGH
DIALOGS WITH GOD
BY
BEN C. LUNIS
NOVEMBER 11, 2007
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The author is a certified Facilitator (Instructor) with Communion With God
Ministries. A personal biography is available at www.cwgministries.org.
He is available to conduct seminars and workshops on learning to
dialog in two way conversations with God.
Other ebooks by the author,
Passionate Intimacy With God Through Dialog
and
Dialoging With God Through The Tabernacle Experience
are available as free downloads at www.cwgministries.org
The author may be contacted on the world wide web at:
www.lunis99@hotmail.com
or
4488 Golden Eagle Drive
Ashton, Idaho 83420
208/652-3743
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BELIEF, UNBELIEF, AND DISBELIEF
Why am I sharing? My heart cries for those in our fellowship and others whom I
know who are hurting mentally and physically. In all of this, God has made me
aware of lack of faith in my own life and in others around me. He has also
communicated to me the great necessity to spend time in His presence to receive
the faith needed to bring about healing and restoration for those who are hurting. It
has been a painful experience to learn that I lack faith because of my past “western
church” religious teachings, my professional background as an engineer, and life’s
experiences. Unbelief produced by these factors has hindered my ability to walk
what should be the normal Christian walk of love that includes experiencing the
confirming power of Holy Spirit.
Thankfully, I am slowly learning that there are positive answers and solutions.
Sometimes, they come slowly, but they come as we spend time in the presence of
our Lord. In His graciousness, He does make us aware of the need for change in
our thinking and lives and then provides us with the answer to our dilemmas. And
then as a bonus, He lets us experience the reality of His recommendations to us.
This message is an application of this process. It is my attempt to share with you a
bit of what our wonderful Lord has been teaching me through His love, patience,
and the ministration of Holy Spirit. Through this, it is my heartfelt desire to
encourage each of us to partake in a deeper love walk with Jesus and to experience
His power active in our lives. God wants to bring His Kingdom to earth and He
wants to use each of us to do just that.
I want it known that I am not judging anyone when I say we can have unbelief
present in our faith walk. Nor is it to be taken as condemnation. Rather, it is my
desire that we recognize whatever is needed to increase our ability to walk in the
love and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think of the cartoon character, Pogo,
who said that “We have met the enemy, and they is us”. The truth of this comment
is becoming more apparent as I realize it is my own thinking that keeps me from
walking in the fulness of the stature of our Lord and Savior. In our feel good
society, we are taught that it is always someone or something else that is the cause
of our problems. Thanks to the marvelous grace of our Lord, I am learning that I
have to be responsible for my own action. I can no longer blame someone else for
my problems, my lack! Romans 12: 1 and 2 comes to mind:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, {which is} your spiritual service of
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worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which
is good and acceptable and perfect. (NAU)
Our Lord wants us to have our minds renewed by spending time in His glorious
presence and letting Him bring the needed changes in our lives so that we are more
like Him. These are changes that only He can effectively bring to pass. At times,
we can be foolish in thinking we can make the changes that only He can perform.
Holy Lord, Your comments, please, upon my thoughts.
Ben, you are expressing the desires of My heart. I do want My people come into
My presence so that I can renew their mind. I want them to spend time with Me
so that I can share with them the desires of My heart. I want them to experience
My healing, My restoration, My hope, and My faith. Yes, My faith comes as a
free download as you come into My presence.
Let me share with you a bit of how this all applies to the Kingdom of God. The
most obvious, and only, entry into God’s Kingdom is to be spiritually born again
through what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. In reply to a question from a
religious leader named Nicodemus, Jesus said: "Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God
(John 3:5). However, being born-again of the Spirit is just the beginning of our
walk in His kingdom. For centuries, much of the western church has limited its
message to getting people into God’s Kingdom and then looking forward to being
in heaven in the “sweet by and by”. Very little has been said about kingdom living
in the now. Once we enter into His Kingdom, our Lord wants us to grow in love
for and with Him, for others, and to walk in the power and wisdom of His Holy
spirit. This growth begins with the realization that:
WE WERE PUT HERE TO DO THE WILL OF GOD ON EARTH
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
So He said to them, "When you pray, say: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your
name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
(Luke 11:2). (NKJ)
Lord, dear Friend, I noticed that the NIV and the NAU translations omit “Your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Your comments, please.
Ben, here again is religion at work. When My people do not experience that
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which I desire for them, they apply their own reason and logic instead of coming
first to Me for clarification. Their unbelief causes them to seek their own
wisdom, not Mine.
I desire to include some observations made by Dr. Miles Munroe in his book,
Rediscovering The Kingdom. He writes, by faith we know that In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). From that very beginning,
God’s plan for mankind is centered on the fact that He desires to have a personal,
two way, intimate relationship with mankind, which includes both male and
female. God created mankind for this very purpose! It was never God’s plan to
establish a religion! Religion, in its many forms, are attempts by mankind to
satisfy the spiritual craving that exists in all mankind. Munroe also observed that
religion is man’s substitute for God’s kingdom in his search for God. Religion is
designed to keep one too busy to have time to pursue God’s Kingdom. We must
be delivered from our religious mind-set so that we can take on a kingdom
mentality, to understand our regal standing. We should quit trying to be a
“Christian” with all of its religious connotations. Instead, we should work harder
at living like sons and daughters of God, as brothers and sisters of Christ, and as
citizens of the kingdom of heaven! God wants relationship, not religion!!!
Remember, religion has polluted our understanding of God and His desires by
converting the message of the Kingdom into a moral belief system. Sadly, western
culture and religion has produced unbelief and disbelief in multitudes of believers
and unbelievers.
The Lord is teaching me about His Kingdom on earth and also about the related
effects of unbelief and disbelief. When I asked Him about the next message that
He
wants shared, He responded, as He usually does with me, in a still, small, quiet,
voice in my thoughts (I Kings 19:11-12). He said:
Ben, share about unbelief first. It is unbelief that keeps Me from having My
Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. My people need to realize that they
are living in unbelief. They need to be set free to worship Me in Spirit and in
truth.
Often, we may ask our Lord about one aspect of a Scripture and He responds with
added or different related information. Earlier, I was led to John 7:37-39:
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If
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anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the
Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."39 But this He
spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the
Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (NAU)
After writing the above Scripture down and meditating upon it, I asked my Lord
for His comments:
It is My Spirit who brings healing. It is My Spirit who brings deliverance. It is
My way of communicating and communing with My special creation: My
people. When the flow is disrupted through disbelief and religious practices, I
cannot communicate with My people as I desire. I want to set My people free.
As you can see, Ben, I have said this many times to you. You are seeing the
greatest desire of My heart. Disbelief has kept so many from Me. It grieves Me
deeply. Disbelief comes from religion as well as other sources. Continue to let
My Spirit be your guide. As you do your part, I will do My part. As I said
before, we are a team. I want all of My people to be on My team so that we can
work together to bring healing and deliverance and hope and freedom.
Lord, disbelief. This is not believing who You are and what You can do. Correct?
Yes, Ben. That keeps it simple and basic and yet says so much. Think on that.
This applies to all the gifts of the Spirit that I have available for My people. I
want them to receive My gifts. I do not want them to come up with their own
ideas about why they cannot have them. That is religion at its worst.
When I asked our Lord how He defines unbelief and disbelief, He responded:
Unbelief is confessing that you believe, yet you do not see the results of your
belief. Disbelief is believing that I cannot do that which I said I can do.
A person I know experiences continuing pain in the neck region. (X) is a believer,
but has not experienced healing even after receiving prayer. I said: “Lord, help my
unbelief to be replaced with belief. I think of (X)’s needs”. Here is what He said:
Ben, too many of My people exist in a state of unbelief even though they confess
with their mouth that they believe. It is all a result of their religious training,
their not coming to Me and spending time in My presence so that I can heal
them. Most people want a quick fix so they can go on with their lives. I do not
want them to suffer. I want them to be set free of that which has them in
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ondage and in pain. I continue to knock at the doors of their hearts, but their
religious beliefs keep them from Me and My healing.
Another person is suffering the effects of our conventional cancer treatment and
the cancer itself. I said to my Lord, “It appears our lack of faith keeps people like
this person, and others, from receiving Your healing. What, what, what, can we do
to bring healing to so many in need”?
Ben, you are experiencing the cry of My heart. I do not want My people to hurt,
but their religious training has blinded them to my truths. I am in the process of
moving with My Spirit to increase love and faith in My people. It is a slow
process, but I am breaking through. Be patient, continue to seek My face.
Spend time with Me. Let Me bring healing and restoration. In time, you will
understand why it takes so long to accomplish My will and My desires for My
people, for all people. Do not be discouraged nor be dismayed. We will be
victors. Hang in there with Me. I am your only true answer.
Lord Jesus, what can we do to bring hope and healing to (X)., for example?
Just what I stated above. Just keep coming to Me for your strength, your faith,
your hope.
In years past, I was able to offer prayers and express concern for the needs of
others and then continue what I was doing. That is changing! I am receiving
healing within my heart by spending time in the presence of our Lord, hearing His
voice and seeing Him in vision! As a result, I have much greater love for our Lord
and now for others than I ever had before. Now I really want to see people around
me set free of their bondages. I now know that my unbelief is part of the problem.
This was a difficult pill to swallow, but am now so thankful that my Heavenly
Father is taking me to new understandings of the spiritual world that exists around
us. I am learning that these kinds of changes can only be brought about by our
Lord as we spend time in His presence. I am also learning that religious training is
deeply ingrained in many. They do not want to hear that they have unbelief. As
the need to deal with unbelief in our lives is shared, expect to be criticized as being
judgmental, placing people under condemnation. But remember, this is their
religious response.
With this new heart felt concern for those around me who hurt in many ways, I
again asked the Lord more about the subject of unbelief. I told Him that I need His
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wisdom in sharing the truth about the existence of unbelief in me and in others. I
believe most of us know someone whose every word spoken to us by that person
would make us believe that they believed. In this regard, I asked for His comments
regarding a lady I knew who said she believed, but died early from cancer.
Ben, this is the problem with unbelief. People do not want to accept the fact that
they have unbelief. Unbelief comes in many forms. It can be outright rejection,
it can be denial, it can be “I have not seen it, so it does not work”. There are
other manifestations of unbelief. In most cases, unbelief is the cause of why I
cannot heal some people. They will not accept it. Remember, I am sovereign,
and I can bypass this hindrance. However, in most cases, I choose not to do so.
In time, you will see why. Just encourage people to seek Me, to seek My face, so
that I can replace their unbelief with belief.
Lord, what else will You share with me on unbelief that I need to know to get
people to acknowledge their need?
Ben, pray that the eyes and ears of their hearts be opened to Me. I want My
people set free. I want them to come to Me for their healing and their
deliverance. I want them to undo the learning they have received that says I
cannot do what I can do.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH UNBELIEF AND DISBELIEF?
We must first recognize that each and everyone of us who has lived under
American culture and attended its churches (there are some exceptions) has
varying degrees of unbelief. Even the original disciples of Jesus suffered from
unbelief. Read about Thomas in John 20:24-29. Think about the disciples who
spent three years with Jesus, directly receiving His mentoring, and saw Him
crucified. Some of them had trouble accepting the fact that Jesus had risen from
the dead. Matthew 28:16-17 records their unbelief:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told
them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (NIV)
Do we really believe? We may say we believe, but so do the demons (James
2:19)! Starting with the reformation, we have been taught to readily believe for
salvation. But do we really believe that God can work through us with His power
and produce supernatural events that should be a regular part of our walk with
Jesus Christ? When was the last time that we prayed for someone and they were
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miraculously healed? When was the last time that we prayed for a dead person and
they came to life? When was the last time we cast demons out of a tormented
person and set them free? When was the last time that we received a spirit of
revelation from God regarding the needs of someone and we used the information
to set them free through the power of the Spirit? When was the last time that we
experienced all, or even one, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the church described
in chapter twelve of I Corinthians? Some of these gifts to the body of Christ are:
Words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy,
discerning of spirits, speaking in different unknown languages, and interpreting
them. I asked myself these questions and miserably failed the test! But that is
changing!
THERE IS A WAY TO REPLACE UNBELIEF WITH BELIEF!
THE WAY OF JESUS IS THE ANSWER!
Oh, the marvelous grace of our Lord, our Father in heaven! First He reveals our
needs, our weaknesses, and then He provides the answer - Him! One of the
mysteries of the Kingdom of God in replacing unbelief with belief is to only say
and do what we hear and see Jesus do first. Using this approach, we are enabled to
minister just as He did. When we respond this way, faith is restored, miracles
occur, and people are set free. With God doing it first, He receives the glory!
Remember, everything that Jesus did, He did so only after hearing His Father, and
our Father, speak to Him or show Him in vision what He was to do. The
Scriptures share this truth:
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the
Son can do nothing of Himself, unless {it is} something He sees the Father doing;
for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 20
"For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing;
and {the Father} will show Him greater works than these, so that you will
marvel... 30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My
judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent
Me (John 5:19, 20, and 30). (NAU)
Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that
I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak
these things. 29 "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me
alone, for I always do those things that please Him (John 8:28, 29)." (NKJ)
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Holy Lord, You said “As I hear, I judge”. I need your comments on judging.
Ben, it is as you suspected. I judge the thoughts that come into My head to
verify that they are in the will of My Father in heaven. I expect you to do the
same. I want you to bring every thought into captivity and judge it to determine
its source. Judge it also to know that it is the will of our Father in heaven.
Lord, how do we judge a thought to know if it is the will of our Father in heaven?
Know My word, both the written (logos) and the spoken (rhema) word. Respond
to the nudging of My Holy Spirit.
How did Jesus see His father? Through His spiritual eyes. Though Jesus is wholly
God, It is important to remember that Jesus limited himself to a human body while
He was on planet earth in the flesh. His body was just like the one we have.
Because He was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a very close relationship with
His Father, He was able to do that which He saw and heard His Heavenly Father
do. Today, believers who are filled with God’s Holy Spirit can also do the same.
We, too, can see God through our spiritual eyes, just as Jesus, Moses, David, the
prophets, and many more have seen Him. But first, our spiritual eyes and ears
have to be opened. Our Lord, in His graciousness, is once again showing how we
can open our spiritual eyes to see Him, to open our spiritual ears to hear Him, and
most importantly, to fall more in love with Him.
God wants all of His children to be in close communion with Him. He wants them
free of sin so that they can enter into His holy presence, using means He has
provided. He wants to love you, to heal you, to be with you in your thoughts and
your life. Oh, that I could communicate to you how much God really loves you,
how much he wants to talk with you, to be with you, to hold you, to let His love
and healing power flow into your heart! If you want your faith enlarged, if you
want more joy and victory in your Christian walk, learn to talk with Him and see
Him in vision. He wants that for you more than you want the same from Him!
Our Heavenly Father, our Daddy, offers the following call:
My Children, I want you to come to Me. I have so much to share with you. Your
spiritual eyes have been blinded for too long. I want to set you free to worship Me
in Spirit and in Truth. I want us to have a love relationship. I am not looking for
programs, for things you can do for Me. I am looking for intimacy. I want to hold
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you, caress you, let My love flow into you, heal you. But you have to let Me do it.
I will not force Myself upon you. I have so much to give to you if you will only
seek Me, seek My face. You have not because you ask not. You can ask Me for
anything. I do not care if it is large or small to you. In My wisdom, I will respond
and bring fullness, joy, peace, and love into your hearts. It is up to you. I am
waiting.
In order to know the will of our Heavenly Father, we have to be able to hear Him
and to see what He shows us. Each and everyone one of us has the capability of
hearing His voice and seeing in the spirit what God wants to share with us. We
can learn to do this. It is not a difficult thing to do! I spent most of my decades of
walking with the Lord without knowing that I can easily commune, talk with Him,
on a 24/7 basis. Within the last two years, God has revolutionized my walk with
Him through the writings of Drs. Mark and Patti Virkler (Dialog With God, etc.,
found at www.cwgministries.org), and others. These resources are such a blessing
to me and are providing the practical means of dealing with unbelief in my life.
They are showing me how to hear my Lord’s voice, to see and experience dreams
and visions, and most importantly, to know more fully His great love for me and
for others. The answer to unbelief is to:
SPEND TIME WITH JESUS!!!
Following is one of the dialogs My Lord shared with me to deal with my unbelief.
Ben, as you continue to come into My presence, your unbelief will be replaced
with belief. Continue to act upon what you see and hear Me do. When you do
this, you are stepping out in belief and will see miracles take place around you.
They are already happening. Think of the trees in your yard, think of seeing Me
in your first class setting in Cottonwood.
About three years ago, the aspen trees in our yard near Ashton, Idaho, were losing
their leaves earlier each season due to a black fungus attack. According to the
horticulturalist that I spoke with, he said that each year the extent of the fungus
increases until the leaves drop off early enough in the season to cause the trees to
die. He also stated that multiple sprayings would be needed to effectively kill the
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fungus. With about two acres of trees, most about fifty to sixty feet tall, the cost
would have been prohibitive. I then asked our Lord about the problem, which I am
learning is what He wants us to do with everything. Following is the dialog that
ensued:
May 5, 2006. Lord, Your comments, please, on rebuking the fungus, or black rot,
or whatever it is, attacking our aspen trees. There was no answer. Then I said:
“Lord, is there something I should be doing on my own”? He replied:
No, Ben, I want you to do everything with Me. Even though you may not hear
My voice, remember I am in you and I am with you. Continue to ask, ask about
everything.
Lord, is the fungus an attack by satan?
Ben, this is the question I wanted you to ask. Yes, it is. Rebuke it. Command it
to go in My Name. Because of the fall, satan has the ability to bring decay and
destruction to that which I have created. Bind the fungus that attacks the trees
on your lot only. This will be a sign to you and to others of My might and My
power.
Lord, what about commercial spraying?
Ben, you know the answer to that question.
My wife, Mary, and I obediently walked the perimeter of our lot, binding the
fungus and commanding it to go. In the process, we felt no surge of spirituality. It
was just a matter of fact act of obedience. Jesus said it first, then we did as He
said! Since we have serious problems with moles and gophers, we also bound
them and commanded them to leave the property. This year (fall, 2007), our trees
at season end were beautiful and healthy! There is no sign of the fungus! You
may ask, “What about the moles and gophers?” They are alive, well, and present.
Jesus taught me that we are to do just what He desires and no more! If we do
more, that can become religion, leading to pride. Following is another related
dialog recorded on July 5, 2007:
“Lord, last year, you had Mary and I walk around our lot and commanded the
fungus to be gone from the aspen trees as you instructed. Given today’s word
usage, Your comments, please, on the tree cure you brought into being, whether or
not it can be called a creative miracle.”
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Ben, it was a creative miracle. You, we, created new life where there was death.
The cause of death was removed so that it could happen.
Here is another dialog in which Jesus shared another of His secrets:
As you spend time with Me, I am removing disbelief. The secret is spending time
with Me and meditating upon My word – both the written logos word and the
spoken rhema words that I have given to you.
On another occasion, I was instructing a group of twelve students how to dialog
with God. As part of the teaching, I had them visualize Jesus and ask Him a
specific question. Then they were to write down on a piece of paper the first thing
that came into their thoughts. As we were doing this exercise, I saw, in vision,
Jesus standing at my left side. He walked around the room, placing His hand upon
each one. I knew that I was to do the same, but did not know what to say. I briefly
explained to each one what I had seen. Then, in obedience, I layed my hand upon
the first person. The Holy Spirit spoke through me, giving me a personal prophetic
word for her. This process continued with each and every one in the room. The
prophetic utterances of encouragement were specific for each person. We then
praised God for His greatness, His love, and His mercy!
Regarding the issue of unbelief, I asked our Lord for His comments on the use of
the statement “God is in charge” when we do not see results to prayers. I asked
Him if it is a copout to say “God is in charge” as a response as to why we are not
victorious in a given situation?
Ben, it is a copout because it is a lack of faith. It is unbelief that permits satan to
continue to rule upon planet earth. I am restoring My people. I am helping
them to replace unbelief with belief. I am giving faith to My people to restore
My Kingdom. This is why I want to have a love affair with all of My people so
that they will come into My presence and receive My healing, My faith, and My
love. Pursue intimacy with Me. Therein lies the answer to all of your dilemmas.
It has taken years for many of us to develop a bad dose of unbelief. Under normal
conditions, the cure for this serious ailment takes much time. However, when our
Lord God desires, He can make the cure happen quickly. In either case, time is
well spent as we come into the presence of Almighty God and receive from Him
love, healing, and the replacement of unbelief and disbelief with belief. By giving
to Him our time, we receive the added blessings of health, of hope restored, of
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learning about God’s nature. We also learn some of the whys and the hows of
what He does and who He is. The journey and the rewards are well worth the time
spent with God, our Father, our glorious Creator and Redeemer! Remember, God
loves you more than you can even imagine! He is awesome, He is trustworthy, He
is God!!!
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I conclude with the following dialog I had with my Savior, Redeemer, and Friend,
Jesus, Jeshua. It reflects my concerns, my heart cries, regarding the presence of
unbelief in my life as related to the various needs present around me.
“As I draw closer to You and receive more of your love into my life, I see the great
need to have Your power working through me. You have shown me Your love
through the many healings I have received, some being miraculous. I see Your
love through Your going to the cross for me, and then Your resurrection to fullness
of life. Lord, if I am to minister as You did and do, I need Your love and Your
power. To walk in Your love, I need Your power working through me also.
There are so many big needs. Lord, where is Your power?”
Ben, My power is in you. It is waiting to be released.
Faith is the key to the release.
Continue to come into My presence,
to hear My voice speak to and with you,
to see Me in vision as I do things.
You have three recent examples of seeing Me do the miraculous.
Continue to spend time with Me.
That is the secret to receiving from Me and being guided by Me.
You have much unlearning to do,
as do most of My people in the western church.
You have been taught to disbelieve.
Though your word understanding is correct,
your heart understanding is not.
Your heart reflects your training and your experiences.
It reflects disbelief.
Selah! Pause and think on this!
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