Truth Of The Spirit

“The first piece of armor in the full armor of God found in Chapter 6 of Ephesians, verses 10-17, the Belt of Truth.  This passage begins by St. Paul saying “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.””   And this is key to understanding the armor of God.  The Belt of Truth is defensive in nature and helps us stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  John 14:6  “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  Without truth we are lost.  Our best defense against Satan is the Word of God, His Truth & His Promises.  God's truths are revealed in the Word of God.  "Gird the loins of your mind" 1Peter 1:13 NAB and tuck away and rid yourself of anything that gets in the way of focusing on the Lord.  The devil lies and tries to confuse so it's important to know the Word and the Truth.  This is the best way to discern Satan’s lies from the word of the Spirit.

This episode is presented by Lissa Applewhite. Today we begin a new series on Truth of the Spirit on the Armor of God.  We hear about the armor of God in Ephesians in the New Testament. There is a spiritual war waged against us whether we believe it or not.  We tend not to recognize Satan, who we know as the “father of sin”.  Our ignorance of him makes him far more effective.  As Christians we are in a daily battle of some sort on a daily basis.  Our spiritual battle is real, even though we cannot see the attacker. But in the spiritual realm, there is a battle raging regardless of my willingness to fight.  God has authority over heaven and earth; we just have to stand with him when we are bombarded by the evil in this world.  It may seem that the world is getting far more evil than it has ever been before, and that may be true, but evil is not new. God wants us to be prepared.  He doesn’t want us to be beaten down.  But we have to equip ourselves with all God gives us.  2 Corinthians 10:3-5  “For though we li

A Word of Knowledge is a personal revelation concerning an event of the past.  This revelation can be used to trigger a memory that needs to surface so that healing can take place.  Sometimes the word can reveal something unknown except to the person receiving prayer that when revealed then builds faith in the Lord’s love and personal care so that healing can take place.  These words can guide the prayer leaders to then address particular needs of the person receiving prayer and thus overcome obstacles that can block various types of healing. Words of Wisdom work closely with Words of Knowledge because they provide the ongoing discernment of revealing and praying the truth.  These do not reveal past issues but rather are in the ‘now’ and coming event

Often the gifts of Miracles and Healing are related when a person in need asks the Lord for his merciful grace to bring healing to a great infirmity in their lives.  They also relate to those things that cannot be accomplished through ordinary means.   Healing is the most sought after charism and easiest to accept by those who trust in the Lord.  The best starting place for understanding our call to minister and receive healing is to study Jesus.  What did Jesus think about healing?  It is quite obvious when we read the Gospel of Matthew that a major part of Jesus’ time was given to healing.  Whether he healed because of his great compassion and love, to witness the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, or to draw people to hear the truth there is no doubt that Jesus provided temporal and spiritual healing during his ministry years.   

The Gift of Prophecy is a supernatural communication from God to an individual or a group of believers.  It is an anointing given by the Holy Spirit.  1 Corinthians 14: 1 “Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” NAB   Prophecy is speaking of the mind and heart of God to His people. God’s voice is gentle and strong, listen for love in it.  His voice brings peace.  Rarely does He use a burning bush, chariots of fire or a thundering voice to speak to you. 

Described by St. Paul as the least of the gifts, this unusual gift is very helpful for all Christians.  This episode will answer many of your questions about the charism of Tongues and help you to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit.

You forgive because you were forgiven.  This is the basis of salvation.  When you go against this it can cause all kinds of issues in your life. It steals your peace, it can destroy your faith, it can affect your body, it can cost you your very life—your eternal life.  This is serious stuff!  How do we learn to forgive? Nothing that has been done to you is greater than that which Jesus took to the cross and yet Jesus forgave them.  In fact, that which harmed you was at the cross also.  The Lord invites and empowers you to participate in his forgiveness. 

A follow-up to the Life in the Spirit series, contains an introduction to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, expounding on the charismatic gifts of the Spirit, and some ways they can be used to bring benefit to the Church, for the good of men, and the needs of the world. This episode includes teaching of the Church as well as personal experiences as examples of the charisms in action so as to better understand them.

Baptism of the Spirit is when the Lord stirs into a flame the Spirit that was given to us in the sacraments.  The truth is this, God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us on the Way and to share His love with us. Often this gift lies dormant.  This episode shares how you can invite the Holy Spirit into your heart and explains the benefits which includes the awakening to the reality of faith—the purpose of Christianity and the Church as you are given the tools to step forward in faith for your unique purpose.     

 When we allow the grace of the Holy Spirit to penetrate our hearts, God’s grace brings us a reorientation of our whole life toward God and thus eternal happiness. At the same time it causes the desire and resolution to change our life with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace.  It brings healing and a turning away from evil.

Truth of the Spirit’s third show in the series on Life in the Spirit. Have you ever doubted that God loves you because you don’t think you are good enough? God’s love does not hinge on whether you are good or not. This show explores the Father’s love for you like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Through Baptism we become children of God and heirs of the kingdom of God. His gift of love to us is salvation and life in the Spirit.

Trust me, when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus like a dove, He was not a pigeon. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit can come with the gentleness of a dove. The Holy Spirit can also manifest with sound, wind, power, fire, and life. The wind of the Spirit can be a gentle breeze or come like the strong wind of a tornado. The hounds of hell—the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Holy Spirit mirrored in nature by the tornadic winds that consume all in the path that has become a barrier.

First show in the series on Life in the Spirit. Patti Brunner shares her personal testimony about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in her life that led her to deeper understanding, comprehension and appreciation of Life in the Spirit. She explains how her black and white viewpoint was opened to Technicolor by the love of God and acceptance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Third of the series "Working Through the World's Chaos to Find Supernatural Peace". Internal Chaos is like a hiker on a rough path on the trail. You know that when you get past the rough part you will find the splendid view. Life has rough spots, too. Did you ever consider that these rough parts could actually lead you to something way above average? God gives us the grace we need to climb over or the patience to work around hardship to get to our destination. As you desire to be happy do you need to let go of yesterday's pain, mistakes and regrets? How can a fruitful encounter with God be the answer?

Second of the series "Working Through the World's Chaos to Find Supernatural Peace". Thomas Aquinas said: "No one can live without joy. That is why a person deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures." If we are not growing in one area, it is like fertilizing and tolerating the other, so that the other grows. In our culture today, it seems like the carnal is growing by leaps and bounds. It doesn't have to happen. God gives us the grace to rebalance our scales.

First of the series "Working Through the World's Chaos to Find Supernatural Peace". What's in your heart? Supernatural peace? Or chaos? Too often we can get caught up in a negative attitude and complaining. We want others to know about the half empty glass and accuse others of being the culprits of emptying it. Anxiety causes chaos. Anxiety and stress can make you physically sick. Jesus tells us it can affect our spiritual well-being too. St. Paul knows we can get our mind off our worries by counting and speaking our blessings and joys.

Hello, I just wanted to introduce you to my new podcast, Truth of the Spirit. It is based on the promise of Jesus in the Gospel of John to send us the spirit of truth, to guide us to all truth. Using personal experiences with the Holy Spirit and teachings of the Catholic Church, I will help you to better understand truth – the truth that brings an abundant and everlasting life. I hope you subscribe, and I’ll see you in Episode 1.