Sons of Issachar

310. Embrace Vulnerability, Find Affirmation

Mike Parsons reading an excerpt from his latest book, Into the Dark Cloud, which is out today! Get it in print or as an ebook.
More info https://eg.freedomarc.org/books

We need a process of restoration, and only God can restore us. We can meet God as our Father. We can have encounters with Him, and He wants to meet us in that way. But let’s go beyond just seeing it as an exercise.

I encourage you to think about it ahead of time and give God the opportunity to show you if there are any areas that need resolution.

Are there any unmet needs within you?
Are you still seeking affirmation from others, because you have not fully received it from the Father?

We will run into trouble if we keep seeking approval from others because they will inevitably let us down. Nobody is perfect. And then we might feel betrayed, wounded, and hurt, causing us to build walls around us.

There were times when I could be surrounded by people, even in a small group, and still feel alone; I would have my barriers up, protecting myself from getting hurt. Despite being in the presence of others, I felt isolated. But when those barriers finally came down and my wounds from my father and from betrayal were healed, suddenly I was free to be myself. I no longer had to compare myself to anyone else. I could embrace vulnerability, be open, and freely share.

Now I know that other people’s opinions and judgments do not define me: it is what God says about me that matters. I know how deeply He loves me. I know the beautiful things He has spoken over my life and the revelations He has given me. That is how I measure my worth and purpose.

So, let others say whatever they want, positive or negative, neither have any effect on me. I have learned to forgive and release people, especially when they are acting hurtfully. My identity and confidence come solely from God, my Heavenly Father, who has lovingly shaped me into who I am today.

So here is what I urge you to do: allow God to uncover any unresolved areas in your life. Maybe there are still some lingering scars that need healing and restoration. God cares for you more than you care about yourself, more than anyone else could possibly care about you.

He also wants to help you and to fulfil every need you have. He put those needs for acceptance, approval, affirmation, and significance in you because He wants to meet them. So if you are trying to find fulfilment for them from your spouse, friends, children, or anyone else, they will never be able to give you what God can give you. If you are seeking fulfilment elsewhere, you are looking in the wrong place.

Let Him reveal who you truly are and show you where you came from. Let Him take you back to that wonderful place of security within His embrace, where you can truly shine and understand your purpose in life. But beware: do not rush into chasing your purpose without truly knowing who you are. Otherwise, you can easily fall into the trap of striving and trying to discover your purpose through endless activity.

These are deep questions we all face. Take some time to let these things sink in. Find somewhere quiet where you are or go for a walk if you prefer. Give yourself that space now to ask the important questions: is there anything still unresolved in my relationship with God as Father, or in my relationships with my earthly father or others?

Key Takeaway

Do not rush into chasing your purpose, without truly knowing who you are.

Into the Dark Cloud is out in print today, and can be ordered from all good booksellers worldwide. Or you can get the ebook delivered instantly right now!

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309. Experience love – and be free!

Mike Parsons reads from his latest book, ‘Into the Dark Cloud’.

Engaging in love, joy and peace within the eternal heart of God has transformed my entire life. God has challenged my understanding of who He is, my mindset and my beliefs about Him. He has shown me love, love, and more love in ways I could never have imagined.

At this point, all I desire is a deep relationship with Him.
The way I look at and engage with the world has changed as a result of that.

I am beginning to experience what it means to live loved. It changes everything. Life takes on a whole new perspective: I do not feel obliged or bound by anything, I am free to be myself within the context of a loving relationship with my Father.

God is love, and He wants me to experience that love and be free within it.
Because of that, I can live a life filled with love and demonstrate that love to others. After all, “God so loved the world that He gave…” and Jesus told us to love one another just as He loved us.

In order to do that, we must be able to receive love ourselves. How can we love, if we have not received His love? It would be superficial, limited to a mere physical or emotional affection. But God desires to take us deeper into a love that surpasses that between friends, romantic partners or spouses,
into agape love, unconditional love. To love in such a way, we must first receive it ourselves. That is why God wants us to receive and experience His love.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

This Word, Jesus, came to reveal love to us. In His earthly life He fully expressed the image of the Father. He even said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”

So, what do we think God is like?
Do we see Him as being like Jesus?
Or as a distant figure from the Old Testament?

It can be confusing to have a divided perception of God, as if He were somehow two-faced, so that we could never be sure which face we would encounter. My view of God used to be more aligned with an old covenant perspective; but Jesus was awesome, so I focused mostly on Him.

But there is no difference between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in their nature of love. They are all expressions of love, and they want us to experience that love.

Into the Dark Cloud is out in print on 14th February, but you can get the ebook – suitable for kindle – delivered instantly today!

Key Takeaway

God is love, and He wants you to experience that love and be free within it.

308. Energy Systems Within Our Being

Mike Parsons

I wouldn’t want to deny the ‘righteous real’ of the energy gates within our being.

We have a blood system, a nervous system, a lymphatic system—systems that the body was created with, or has now, even if not in the original creation. I have no problem with there being an energy system, energy Gates within the core of our being—rivers of living water flowing from our innermost being. I’ve learned to activate those energy gates, and the abilities that God created us to have as sons of God, made in His image and likeness. So I have no issue with any of that. But it’s when it gets mixed with Eastern mythology and religion that the problem arises.

Of course, they believe in a kundalini spirit, a serpent-like energy that rests within the coils of the human spine and all of this stuff. They believe that through spiritual techniques, this energy stretches out and awakens to an awareness, leading to out-of-body experiences, physical sensations, hallucinations, and more. Some associate demonic oppression with the Kundalini, referring to it as a demonic entity linked to spiritual experiences. They criticise the charismatic movement for manifestations like holy laughter, drunkenness in the spirit, and being slain in the spirit, attributing these to the Kundalini Spirit. Others connect the Kundalini spirit with yoga, Eastern mysticism, Buddhist meditation, acupuncture, and similar practices.

While some of these things are neutral, I personally wouldn’t engage in practices like yoga or Eastern mysticism because I can engage with God without resorting to those methods. There’s a mixture of different views out there, some from Christians arguing against other Christians, warning about ‘new age’ practices. Just because these practices are associated with energy, chakras, or similar concepts doesn’t negate the possibility of a true reality, which is what I believe I’ve discovered.

God took me on a journey to understand that I am spirit, soul, and body—a unified being, whole. In my spirit, connected to heaven, flows the River of Life. At the core of my being, there’s an energy centre often described as the Merkabah, linking spirit, soul, body — and heaven. It’s a portal for travel and communication within me. I can be one with Heaven and Earth, and one with spirit, soul and body. Spirit, soul, and body are connected at the core of my being; the River of Life flows, energised through the Merkabah, focused into different energy gates.

I’ve activated these energy gates as needed—for creativity, discernment, and so on—learning to function in an energised state, doing what I see the Father doing. I don’t need more energy than necessary; I never run out because I have all I need for my designed purpose. I’ve lived through periods without needing food or sleep, drawing from a different energy source, but I also appreciate normal natural activities like eating and sleeping.

I live with a conscious awareness that I am energised and equipped for my calling. It’s become part of my unconscious, like breathing. However, the association of these concepts with Hinduism and other religions, and their terminology, can be a distraction. I don’t have a serpent or python spirit; I only have the Holy Spirit and my spirit working together. I’ve had out-of-body experiences, physical sensations, and visions, but not through Eastern practices. Some experiences, like laughter and drunkenness in the spirit, may be criticised and labelled as a Kundalini spirit, but I see them as positive, even if they never came close to what I now experience in encountering God face to face. They are no longer necessary as we grow in maturity.

God does such things to get our attention and draw us back to intimacy. Bob Jones prophesied about ‘Joel’s bartender’, emphasising the pouring out of the spirit to bring attention to intimacy.

We can live in a state of peace and rest, not needing external manifestations.

So, while I wouldn’t be afraid of it, I also wouldn’t choose to engage in Eastern mysticism, because I don’t need to. Instead, I believe in focusing on our relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit in intimacy.

Key takeaway

Don’t be fearful of Eastern mysticism, but you do not need to engage in it: focus on your relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit in intimacy.

307. God’s Unconditional Love For You

Mike Parsons reads from his latest book, ‘Into the Dark Cloud‘.

God knows everything there is to know about you, even many things you do not know about yourself, and He loves you. He loves you as much as He could possibly ever love anyone, and His love will never change. It is totally unconditional. There is nothing you can do (or not do) which will ever change His love for you.

Once we really accept the truth of that, it gives us the confidence and trust to be completely open with Him, not fearing that if we are honest with Him He will be angry or disappointed with us. He is always smiling upon us; His countenance is always fair towards us. He may be stern and fiercely opposed to whatever is robbing us, hindering us or putting stumbling blocks in our path, but never towards us.

He loves us, and when we really know His love it allows us to say: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Put me on trial and see if there’s anything in me which is a hindrance and a stumbling block to me.” (see Psalm 139:23-24).

In the Mirror Bible it says this:

The message God spoke to us in Christ, is the most life giving and dynamic influence in us, cutting like a surgeon’s scalpel, sharper than a soldier’s sword, piercing to the deepest core of human conscience, to the dividing of soul and spirit; ending the dominance of the sense realm and its neutralizing effect upon the human spirit. In this way a person’s spirit is freed to become the ruling influence again in the thoughts and intentions of their heart. (Hebrews 4:12).

We want the living word to penetrate and impact us. When God speaks to us, He speaks life and truth: He opens up revelation to us. Before we can change the atmosphere around our life by flowing from the inside out, an inner transformation needs to take place. We want our spirit to be free to become ‘the ruling influence in the thoughts and intentions of our heart’, so that we are no longer ruled by our soul: the directive comes from the spirit and our soul is in complete agreement.

Our surrender, our yielding, invites and enables God’s action.

The whole time we are trying to do it ourselves, God is waiting for us to stop and give up.

In all we are embarking upon in this book, there may be points where we have to give up. When we have been used to fighting for things all our lives,
or been taught that we should always be actively trying to do something,
giving up is not always easy!

Into the Dark Cloud is out in print on 14th February, but you can get the ebook delivered instantly today!

Key Takeaway

Nothing you can do (or not do) will ever change His love for you.

306. Reflecting on My Journey with God

Mike Parsons

Reflecting on my personal journey, I found immense joy in being led by God rather than following a rigid set of practices. It wasn’t about ticking off tasks but allowing my senses to be trained, within the relationship I shared with God. If I were to offer advice, I would suggest a less systematic and more relational approach, emphasising the importance of being led, enjoying the journey, and avoiding unnecessary stress.

Our journey with God isn’t a duty; it’s a dynamic relationship. Whilst the Engaging God programme can be a useful guide, it’s showcasing possibilities rather than dictating a routine. I wouldn’t change my journey, as it uniquely unfolded based on my relational connection with God. However, I’ve added basic meditation and rest at the beginning of each day to enhance the experience of simply being, not doing.

It’s about enjoying the journey, and I encourage others to be led by what resonates with them rather than adhering strictly to a predetermined order. Following God’s guidance is paramount, since every individual is at a different stage in their journey. I stress the importance of being led to what personally resonates, acknowledging that everyone’s path is unique. One size definitely does not fit all, and that’s perfectly fine.

Key takeaway

Approaching the journey from a place of rest, enjoying the process rather than fixating on the destination, leads to the unfolding of identity and the revelation of destiny through a deep and relational connection with God.

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

304. Wrath is not the solution (PSA [2])
303. The Nature of God’s Love
302. Practice, practice, practice…
301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions
Into the Dark Cloud
300. Be Transformed Through Intimacy.
299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])

305. Desire, Discipline, Delight

Mike Parsons reads from his latest book, ‘Into the Dark Cloud’. –

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Only the truth that you know will set you free. How are we going to know the truth? Not by reading someone else’s book or doing someone else’s course – not even mine! What that can do is stimulate us to find it for ourselves by engaging God, who will reveal the truth to each of us so that we can live in it.

Desire, discipline, delight

So when this book gets into some tough areas, please do not tune out, switch off or walk away. If it gets difficult, surrender to God. Again, I am not saying that you have to take my word for anything: be still and wait in rest, and see if He has something to say to you about it.

That was the process God took me through: learning to be still and wait in rest. For two years I had loved being still, waiting and resting; until He told me to, and then I could not do it anymore.

That sometimes happens because it challenges the whole dynamic of what works for us! Generally it is our soul becoming uncomfortable in facing what it needs to face.

I went through various stages and processes of transformation, such as dealing with trading floors in my own heart, its motivations, thoughts and intentions. It was not at all pleasant for my soul because I had to admit that I was not very nice in some ways, and that my motivation was often not entirely pure. It was not easy, but because I knew the love of God it enabled me to trust Him, so instead of becoming defensive, I learned to surrender.

It was horrible to think that I was really like that: that my motives really were driven by my soul’s need or desire. But I realised that God loved me anyway so I was able to let it go. If I had gone with my feelings I would have stopped right there and never made it through to transformation.

If you get to a crisis point, try not to back off. Personal desire and pursuit will take you through the discipline to the delight. Stick with it. It can require fortitude and discipline to press on through but when you come out on the other side, I can promise you it will have been worth it.

Key takeaway

Instead of becoming defensive, I learned to surrender.

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

304. Wrath is not the solution | PSA [2]
303. The Nature of God’s Love
302. Practice, practice, practice…
301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions
Into the Dark Cloud
300. Be Transformed Through Intimacy.
299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])

304. Wrath is not the solution | Penal Substitutionary Atonement [2]

Mike Parsons

Problem two with penal substitutionary atonement theory is that it makes a wrathful violence the solution to everything. PSA claims that God’s justice will not allow Him to just forgive sin; instead, His wrath must be poured out – on an innocent, in this case, Jesus – and His justice be satisfied so He can forgive the guilty (us). And again, that concept presents God as a completely violent and wrathful Being, when He is love. He’s not anger. He’s not wrath. He’s not violence. He’s love.

That is the second real, big, giant problem with the theory of atonement – and the the word ‘atonement’ really just means ‘why Jesus died on the cross’ – ‘what He was doing on the cross’ – it makes wrathful violence the solution to all our problems: in short, violence is actually the answer. Well we know that can’t be true because of Jesus’ teaching, and Jesus’ life, and everything He represented. PSA claims that God must violently punish to satisfy His justice. Now, we can counter that by saying if God had to use violence to solve the problem, we elevate violence as a viable solution for people’s problems. “If God did it, then why can’t I do it?”

That actually is why people can justify the Crusades, and all sorts of persecution of people, and ‘salvation by the sword’, and all that type of thing that happened in the past because they were coming from an Old Testament perspective. And God wasn’t even that God in the Old Testament, because He’s the same, He never changes: He has always been love.

Their view of him was wrong and Jesus came to truly reveal what God was fully like. Even when Peter used a sword to cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear, what did Jesus do? He didn’t commend Peter for violently cutting off his ear, he put his ear back and healed him. Very clearly, the pictures and some of the illustrations that use the terminology of a sword coming to divide were examples of division, nothing to do with violence.

Another claim of PSA is that God punished Jesus on the cross as an expression of His wrath. Again I think we can counter that – the idea of God using violence directly contradicts the ethics taught and lived by Jesus, who is God. There is not one instance where Jesus who is God suggests this in His teaching, especially The Sermon on the Mount. Therefore it contradicts the core of Jesus’ teaching, which is to show mercy, to love our enemies and to never use violence to solve anything.

I think mercy triumphs over man’s desire and need for justice, for sacrifice for offering, and all the other things we have created in our own forms of religion.

Key takeaway

According to PSA, violence is actually the answer. Yet this directly contradicts the ethics lived and taught by Jesus.

This is part of an occasional series taken from ‘The Chariot of Ascension‘: in which Mike began to discuss 7 problems with PSA (as identified by Bryan Finley).

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

303. The Nature of God’s Love
302. Practice, practice, practice…
301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions
Into the Dark Cloud
300. Be Transformed Through Intimacy.
299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])

303. The Nature of God’s Love

Mike Parsons

It is not that all religions lead to God, but that we can choose to accept and love people who hold different beliefs. God loves everyone, no matter what they believe. He loves Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs (and everyone else) just as much as He loves Christians. No more, no less – they just do not know that love in the same way. Telling others they are wrong or are leading people astray and that they will go to hell is counter-productive and falsely represents God’s nature.

God can reveal Himself to anyone. Taking a positive approach towards others makes them more likely to think of God as good, so that when they do meet Jesus, they are more likely to consider following Him than if they have experienced hostility from an unfriendly church. Rick Warren is someone who takes flak for engaging with other faith groups, yet all he is doing is reaching out and showing love – which is what the good news is all about. Whatever our doctrinal disagreements might be with him, he is reflecting God’s love in a way that others are not.

God is not looking at whether you have all your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed in doctrine: He is looking at love. He is looking at your heart. If we are loving, that is more a reflection of Him than if our belief system is in line. If you have great doctrine but you do not show love, what is the point of that? You are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (see 1 Cor 13:1). If you do not show love, your faith is empty and hollow and it has no power and no effect. It is about what you do with people, not what you say to them.

Key takeaway:

If you have great doctrine but you do not show love, what is the point of that? You are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

302. Practice, practice, practice…
Into the Dark Cloud
301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions
300. Be Transformed Through Intimacy.
299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])
298. Revealing the Function of the Earth Shield
297. Most people don’t want to know God – and I wouldn’t either!
290. Discovering the Reality of Salvation

302. Practice, practice, practice…

Mike Parsons

This is an excerpt from my latest book, Into the Dark Cloud.
[Amazon not offering it for pre-order or sale in your location? Try Barnes & Noble or buy and download the ebook instantly]

In my journey I had to practise to hear God’s voice (because I could not hear Him); then I had to practise to see in the spirit (because I could not do that either). Then after I engaged heaven the first time, involuntarily, I had to practise what God showed me to do because I did not know how to get back there.

I practised these things every day, over and over again. Nowadays I do not need to practise them anymore, and I no longer need to do ‘activations’ in my own life, because engaging with God and with the heavenly realms has become my lifestyle. I engage God every day and journal those encounters. I really love listening to Him and He shares His heart with me.

That is my testimony.

If you want a deeper relationship with God for yourself, and if you really desire sonship, you will have to pursue it. It will not just fall into your lap. At times God will give you something to inspire you or encourage you and sometimes they may be completely unexpected (like my involuntary engagement with heaven – I was sitting at my desk when a portal opened and suddenly I was in heaven). But God showed me that was possible in order to give me the option to pursue it. I could have settled for an occasional supernatural encounter every now and again but I really wanted to develop it into a lifestyle.

It was not easy, even to get started. The next day I sat at my desk again waiting for the portal to open. I tried for two years to get that portal to open, without success. Nothing worked, not one thing I tried. They might work for others; they did not work for me, because God had a different process for me to go through. Eventually I got to the point of saying “Okay, God, if You want this then it’s over to You now.”

I have got to that stage a number of times in my life – not giving up on the desire – just realising that I was coming to the end of what I could do. If I had come to that realisation earlier, perhaps it would not have taken two years before God took me back into that realm and then taught me how to stay in there or go in and out at will. What the Father wanted to show me was that everything with Him is relational, not formulaic. So if anyone offers you a formula, I suggest you treat it cautiously because it may be something from God which works for them but when they export it (or try to franchise it), it really does not work as regularly or effectively for other people.

That was part of my journey and my testimony of experiencing what I do now as a lifestyle of living in this state of being; but I went through the

process of practising, developing, growing and maturing so I could live in that realm.

Key takeaway

If you want a deeper relationship with God for yourself, and if you really desire sonship, you will have to pursue it. It will not just fall into your lap.

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions
Into the Dark Cloud
300. Be Transformed Through Intimacy.
299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])
298. Revealing the Function of the Earth Shield
297. Most people don’t want to know God – and I wouldn’t either!
290. Discovering the Reality of Salvation

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301. Trauma Response | How memories can control our emotions

Mike Parsons

Emotions are a good servant and a bad master. The negative reactions we experience are often triggered by mindsets or neural pathways connected to memories. Predicting and controlling emotional responses can be difficult, but the restoration and healing of memories can lead to wholeness. Recognising our triggers and negative reactions is the first step, and in the Engaging God programme, I set out a process called Trauma to Transformation, exploring the roots of trauma with Jesus and the Father for healing.

When trauma surfaces, it provides an opportunity to explore its roots and understand why triggers occur for us. Walking through these memories with Jesus and the Father is a healing process, replacing neural pathways associated with trauma with pathways to the truth. This structured approach takes time but reduces the likelihood of repeated triggering. Meanwhile, in moments of overwhelming emotions, avoid condemnation or guilt. Turn to the Father, quickly re-centre yourself, and practise deep breathing to regain control until you can address the entire dynamic.

God wants to separate our soul and spirit, in order to properly reintegrate them. Our spirit does not need purifying as it has never been polluted; however, things we have done or had done to us can negatively impact our soul. When I go to sleep at night, I lie down in green pastures by quiet waters. I ask the Father to restore my soul, trusting Him as the Shepherd of my soul. I present myself as a living sacrifice, continually surrendered for Him to do whatever He wishes, and I respond when He reveals something. In this way, triggers can be dealt with, as the Father reveals their roots.

Several years ago, I faced an unexpectedly intense emotional response, which the Father revealed as stemming from childhood trauma from which I had completely dissociated. Rather than succumbing to the darkness, I chose to focus on finding peace and rest in the Father’s love. It took a few months, but over time He revealed and addressed the root cause and brought healing.

The sacrifice does not prepare itself; the high priest does. I offer myself to God daily, allowing Him to do as He pleases. I maintain my focus on Him, without pressuring Him to address my issues. I trust His guidance and surrender everything to Him, relying on His provision to renew my mind, heal my emotions, and restore me completely.