How does a prophetic culture lose its ability to hear God? Not through obvious rebellion — through mixture. In this post we open 1 Kings 22 and trace exactly how an entire room full of prophets absorbed the spirit of their environment without realizing it, why the only clear voice was the least protected one, and what four types of mixture are quietly polluting the gift of distinguishing spirits today. If you believe you carry diakrisis pneumaton, this is a post you need to read slowly.

Not every darkness is demonic. Not every impression is from God. And not everything that feels urgent actually is. In this post Betsy Jacobs takes an honest look at the gift of distinguishing of spirits — what Scripture actually says about it, how it operates in real life, and why it's the gift most prone to being weaponized when wisdom and humility aren't present. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 12, Acts 16, and her own journey described in Awakening Your Prophetic Voice, Betsy offers a grounded, practical framework for anyone growing in this gift or trying to understand it.

I’ve sat in rooms with both global and local influence. And what I’ve observed is consistent: the organized church protects its own. Just not the ones you’d hope.

Church leaders with unchecked privilege operating in cultures of silence, where indiscretions (sexual misconduct, breaches of pastoral trust, manipulation, gossip, betrayal of confidences) are covered up, called rehabilitation, then re-platformed while the people who were harmed are forgotten.

This isn’t about individual moral failures. It’s about an institutional system that withholds information from the very people it claims to shepherd. And that withholding is not neutral. It is not mercy. It is not grace. It removes people’s ability to make informed decisions about who gets their ear, their attention, and their trust. It ensures the cycle continues. And it is predatory in itself.

The Spirit of God is doing something in this hour that many are feeling but few have named: I believe He is separating faith from familiarity within His own people. Not dividing believer from unbeliever. Not sorting the Church into camps of "faithful" and "faithless." He is dividing within us — pulling apart what we've called faith from what faith actually is.

When we ignore God's voice but keep using His name, what's left is hollow noise. A culture of worship without awe. A form of godliness without fire. God’s calling His people to return to Him.

Presumption is the counterfeit confidence of the religious spirit—rooted in pride, dressed in performance, and divorced from obedience. It doesn't always look like rebellion. Most of the time, it looks like rushing ahead with something good without stopping to ask if it was God. What 'good' thing are you doing today that God never actually commanded?

Ever felt that something was off in your spiritual environment but couldn't quite name it? In prayer, God revealed a powerful truth about "strange fire" through Leviticus 10 that spoke directly to my heart—and might speak to yours. When Aaron's sons offered worship God hadn't asked for, it revealed a timeless truth about presumption in our approach to God. If you've been wounded by leadership, sensed something amiss in worship, or felt convicted about your own casual reverence, this message offers healing clarity. God whispered, "Among those who are near me, I will be sanctified"—a personal invitation back to holy ground.

Are you hiding behind a 'good Christian' mask? In this blog I share my raw journey of confronting spiritual facades and discovering why God can't heal what we conceal. Learn how Matthew 25 exposed my religious performance and how consecrated honesty transformed my faith. Embrace the courage to be vulnerable before God and experience the healing that only authenticity brings.

Will we know and love each other in heaven? In Matthew 22, Jesus reveals a surprising truth about our relationships beyond death—one that challenges assumptions and offers profound hope. Discover what Scripture says about love, connection, and the eternal bonds we share.

One major sign I see in those who are practicing superstition—rather than discerning God’s mind about a matter—is that they become utterly stuck. What often begins as a pure desire to hear God’s voice and walk in obedience gets hijacked by a fear of missing His will or an urgency to rush His timing.

Somewhere along the way, we traded honest faith for looking right and sounding right. We became more superstitious than spiritual—managing perceptions instead of revealing our real selves. But spirituality was never meant to be a performance. It’s the overflow of a real relationship with the Holy Spirit. The most spiritual thing you’ll ever do? Love someone when it’s not easy. And that starts with dropping the act and stepping into real, vulnerable, wholehearted faith.

So how can you tell when correction is truly from the heart of Jesus versus when it’s tainted by unresolved offense? Here are some markers I’ve noticed when exposed to Godly correction:

For reasons I could name (but am too lazy to discuss because I want to confess something else), a gathering of the prophetically gifted can expose just how orphan-minded the church operates. And let me tell you—The School of Prophets at Bethel was no exception.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. – Psalm 20:7

Here’s the thing—God never said He wouldn’t give you a horse or a chariot. He just asked where your trust would be when He did.

I have to testify.

As I reflected on all of this, I realized that Holy Spirit wasn’t just giving me a lesson in vocabulary—He was giving me an invitation. An invitation to listen more deeply, to pay attention when He highlights something, and to embrace my prophetic nature as a child of God.

We were created to hear Him. It’s how we take hold of His promises, how we become His hands to those around us, and how we partner with Him in restoring families, cities, and the world.

So, I challenge you…

Who doesn’t want to step forward with intentions of progress and accomplishment? That kind of mindset is both healthy and achievable—so long as we don’t allow idealism to sabotage our first steps.

On our one year wedding anniversary, my husband introduced me to porn. While I was slicing up the top tier of our wedding cake that had been so perfectly preserved just for this occasion, he was planning to invite me in on an addiction that he’d held secret since childhood.