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Tag: destiny (Page 5 of 7)

Painting with Broad Strokes. Genesis 12:1

October 21, 2018 /

 ‘Now [in Haran] the Lord had said to Abram, “Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you…”

 

God is not bound to offer us details. We are in His service—He, by no means, is in ours…

Hebrews Chapter 11 is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith”. Within it are listed 16 names of the faith-filled men and women of God. Number 4 on this list is Abraham. He’s a descendant of Noah’s son, Shem. We know him as Sarah’s husband—the father of Isaac and Jacob. More, we know him as a man of unmovable faith…

We first hear of Abraham at the close of Genesis Chapter 11. Only he isn’t called Abraham (“father of a multitude”)—yet. That will come later—along with his new identity. For now, he’s Abram (“high father”) …

Abram is one of Terah’s three sons. For reasons Moses doesn’t explain, Terah, after the death of his son Haran, decided to move his family to Canaan. And again, for reasons undisclosed to us in Scripture, they all settled in Harran rather than in Canaan. It is here in Harran that God instructs Abram to leave everything and everyone behind and head off to a land he’ll be shown—somewhere down the line. And He does. Notice God’s instructions to Abram were both fixed, yet fluid. God seldom makes known His Truth to us all at once. Rather, He reveals it one glimpse behind the veil at a time. As we faithfully obey His wooing—the next step in our faith walk is revealed. God’s plan for our lives is unfolding gradually. It’s a progressive revelation. “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations” –Psalm 33:11.

Abram obeyed Gods call to pick up and leave. Later in Abrams story, we’ll see God give Abram a new name—and with it, a new identity. “I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That’s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham” –Genesis 17: 4-5. Later still, God tests Abraham’s loyalty. He asks Abraham to give back to Him the one thing Abraham has waited—literally, a lifetime for; this promised, beloved son. Nonetheless, at God’s command, Abraham takes his son, the son in whom the seed of promise for all future generations rests, and heads up to the top of the mountainous region known as Moriah or, more commonly, Mount Moriah. There, at the Lords biding, he ties Isaac up and lays him on the altar of sacrifice. He pulls out a dagger, hefts it up that he might plunge it deep into his beloved son—bringing an end to both Gods promise and Isaac’s life. Even so, Abraham was faith-filled. He obeyed believing deeply that if God allowed him to take his sons life—God would also bring Isaac back to life. God had made him a promise. More—a blood covenant. “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you”—Genesis 17:10-11.

As I stated earlier, God’s instructions to Abraham were both fixed yet fluid.

Fixed in that God had always known exactly what He would do with Abraham and, exactly how Abraham would respond. Fluid in that, for Abraham’s part, he would have to step unseeingly, obediently, and then wait on Gods timing for his next step of faith. And then step and wait again. And again. Trusting always in this God He just knew would neither disappoint—nor fail him. Ever. Though Abraham certainly saw specific glimpses come to pass of the picture of Gods promise spoken over him—there was no way Abraham could have known that the brush strokes God was using to paint this picture would be carried out with such broad strokes. Strokes that would be added by Moses and David, by Rahab, Gideon, and Samson. “All these died in faith [guided and sustained by it], without receiving the [tangible fulfillment of God’s] promises, only having seen (anticipated) them and having welcomed them from a distance and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” –Hebrews 11:13. A picture made clear—made perfect and complete, in Jesus only.

Yet, God is still developing—defining, through You and me, this same canvas He started with Abraham…

Just as Abraham was obedient to the call of God on his life—to the “leave and cleave” command, down to the, “use what’s in your hand” of Moses, and on to the, “follow me” heard by Peter, we too, you and I, must also be faith-full. They—these first fruits of the faith, were called forth to pave the path you and I have the great privilege to walk along today.  We get to follow their examples, by faith, adding our own colors to this canvas called the plan of God. We, each, ordinary men, and women, made extraordinary by the power of the One who called them—and us, out of darkness and into His glorious Light. Everyday people like Abraham and Moses and David and Peter, and you, and I, all who dare to believe God. And, like them, we too may never see our picture completed. No man is promised this.

God is not bound to offer us details. It’s not about us. We, like Abraham, and so many others that have gone before us, may never know, this side of heaven, the why’s and what-for’s of Gods call on our lives.

Why were we asked to let go or to hang on? Why did our child die, or our spouse walk out? What was the fruit of our purpose? Why did we receive the diagnosis that reached out and snatched the very air from our lungs? Why, after we did what we know God asked us to do, is everything falling apart? Why was it our child who became addicted?

Why did it have to happen to us…?

To say that we, like Abraham, may never know until that day we see Jesus face to face may feel cruel—harsh, or simply unfair. But, dear heart, it may be nonetheless true.  It was for Abraham. Yet, if we, like those spoken of in Hebrews 11 will just believe, as outlandish as being asked to have faith may sound considering your circumstances, believe that God does have a plan—that all of this seeming random insanity, this apparent chaos, serves a greater purpose; that God will use it, all of it, every scrap, to make something beautiful, rich and unfathomably rewarding come to pass in our lives—if, we’ll just believe…

The joy of following Jesus isn’t found in the details. It’s found in the broad strokes—in the leaps of faith, both great and small. It’s found living in peace beside the chaos, or, around the corner from confusion. It’s living right next door to disappointment and failure and thriving—despite the neighborhood. The joy of following Jesus that the fathers of the faith held on to is found in the blunt Truth that they didn’t deserve Him. We don’t either; and yet, He chose us and gave us this measure of faith necessary to believe for just one more day, and then one more day… “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. For by this [kind of] faith the [a]men of old gained [divine] approval. By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” Hebrews 11:1-3.

Hang in there beloved. God didn’t fail Abraham and He won’t fail you either. He can’t. If He commanded you to do it, He will equip you to complete it…

Trust God. Abraham did. And it was credited to Him as righteousness…

You’re not here by accident friend. If you’re a believer, then pray, ask the Lord what it is He’s calling you towards? Or, ask what it is He may be leading you away from? What’s He asking you to leave behind that you might follow Him more closely?

And, if you’ve not yet met this Living God who ever leads us towards our best life, then now is the time. Today is your day. Take the step. Ask Jesus to come into your life and lead you too. Go ahead, ask Him. He’s been waiting to answer you. It’s why He led you here…

 “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile”’ Jeremiah 29: 11-14.

 

Restoration. Romans 5:10

June 3, 2018 /

 “ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].”

John 3:16, one of the most quoted verses of Scripture assures us of the unfathomable, unplumbed love of God. Listen: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And, God did this while we were yet His enemies—separated from partaking in, sharing in a loving, intimate relationship with Him because of our sin and rebellion. Yet so great is His love for His creation that even in our fallen state, He, this God we’ve denied, turned away from, rebelled against, said “no thanks” to, sacrificed the person He loved most—Jesus, His only Son. So that through Him—through His life, His death, and His resurrection—a way back to God—back to intimate relationship with Him, would be made for us…

Now I’ve been given many a gift over the course of my lifetime. Some that were downright amazing! However, never, never has anyone loved me so much that they were not only willing, but in fact went as far as, giving up their life—dying, to ensure that I was afforded the opportunity to have, share, partake of—life everlasting with God! Not even my momma, the one God chose to love me “the best”. Though I am certain that her mother’s prayers pierced His heart on more than one occasion—it is only Jesus who stood before the Father and said, Here I am Dad, I’ll die in her place.

And, in your place, and his, and hers, and theirs, and in place of the whole world…

Imagine if you will, the sacrificial love of both God and Christ towards us through this very pale light of comparison:

Most of us have heard of “Spiderman”. His name is Mamoudou Gassama. He’s the 21-year-old man who recently scaled a 5-story building to save the life of a little 4-year-old boy whose life hung—quite literally, in the balance. Now imagine further, if Mamoudou went to such extreme lengths to save this child, do you believe he would then deny this same child He had sacrificed so much for—”time for a visit with each other” if it was something the child he saved asked of him?

If a mere man—heroic and self-sacrificing as he may be, is capable of such extreme acts of sacrificial love, how much more God? “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” Romans 5:10.

And, if this same God sacrificed His very best—His greatest, most precious possession, His only begotten Son so that He might have relationship with—have reconciled to Himself a people He knew beforehand would reject His gift—reject Jesus; how much more will this same God give to those who have, who will, opened their hearts to this sacrificial loving gift of His Son? We find the full weight of that answer in our Scripture verse today.

Since He gave so mush to us while we were yet His enemies, how much more will He save those He calls His friends!

Jesus, God’s gift freely given to a sin-soaked, seditious world for the express purpose of reconciliation to, and relationship with Himself. A relationship none of us can ever—will ever have outside of our acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior. “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up” John 6:44. Jesus, while speaking to His disciples—expresses this inextricable Oneness, this unity—the mystery of the Trinity between The Father and Himself. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” –John 14:6 (emphasis my own).

God gave all—the very best He had to give while you and I were His enemies…

There is a perpetual bond that now exists between Mamoudou Gassama and the child who is known only as, “the child dangling from a 4th floor balcony.” Here is what this young hero had to say about his selfless act: I ran. I crossed the street to save him. He said he didn’t think twice. When I started to climb, it gave me courage to keep climbing.

If a perpetual bond can exist between a mere man—a stranger and a child, born from one heroic act of selfless sacrifice—how much deeper, wider, stronger is the bond between God and those that know Him—that call Him Father? “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” –Romans 5:6-8. Belonging to God—having a relationship with Him doesn’t guarantee us, as with the toddler in Paris, that we’ll never be in a life-threatening situation.

He does guarantee us however, that He will scale any wall, face any enemy, endure any suffering, sacrifice everything to save us. In fact, He’s already done it! “It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.…” Romans 5:7.

If you are a child of God take great comfort in the Father’s Providential love for you—in His promise of, “how much more”, found in Romans Chapter 8. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” 8:38-39.

Beloved, it’s no coincidence you’re here right now. If you have yet to call Him your Lord, today is the day! He’s just waiting for you to call out to Him, “Help, Jesus! Save me please!”  He hears your pray and is on His way before you even ask.  “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” –Isaiah 65:24

 

The Fulcrum. Genesis 1:2

May 20, 2018 /

 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

He has always been. He stood over the void and called everything into existence…

He led the Israelite’s as a pillar of fire by night, and as a cloud by day. He was the mighty rushing wind that swept through an upper room, turning customs and preconceived ideas upside down. You see, nothing can come into contact with Him and remain the same. Nothing.

Who is He? He is the Holy Spirit of God. He is God…

He has always been. So, what does that mean? What does that look like for the one who knows Him or, for the one who’s still seeking?

Simply stated—He knows everything. Sees everything. Is in every place—all the time. Nothing has ever, nor will ever escape Him. The Bible says it this way: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” –Revelation 22:13. He is the only One who knows the thoughts of God—His plans. 1 Corinthians 2:11 assures us of this, listen: “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” So, what do you do when this all-knowing, all-seeing God puts His finger on an area of your life, requesting access ? If you’re wise, you move with Him. Allowing Him access to all and everything—to more than He’s asking for…

After all, it’s all His!

The Bible is riddled with people who have had this experience with Him, this “requesting.” We are privy, as we read about them, to glean from their decisions. The paths they took—their choices, both wrong and right. And, what those choices left in their wake—blessings, or losses. We can make a list of sorts, of do’s and don’ts, to save ourselves from making the same mistakes those who went before us made. This is wisdom. “Without good advice everything goes wrong–it takes careful planning for things to go right.” –Proverbs 15:22

Moses knew this. So did Noah. Abraham knew this too. And he, like they, came into a fuller, a far deeper, a richer understanding of this wisdom when He felt the Spirit of God leading him to walk away from all he’d ever known. To leave behind his life and family, his work and home. To grab on to Gods promise more, His command, to set out for, “A land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abraham loved God—he trusted Him, and so he took that promise, stuck it deep in his pocket, and went as the Spirit had commanded him. And,  as a result of his submission to the leaning of the Holy Spirit on that area of his life, blessings were left in the wake of his decision to submit.

To stay in current step with the leaning of the Holy Spirit on an area of your life—you’re going to have to move, stay fluid, submissive, under His weight—least you collapse! —Pastor Wayne Cordeiro

He is our fulcrum.

He exerts pressure on a specific area in our lives—asking us to trust Him, to change perhaps, give up, turn over to Him, surrender, conform— possibly grow or expand into something else—something more. And, with that moment of asking, we are also given a choice. Yet, take it or not, He will have His way. He alone is God. Yet, He wishes for us—His heart for us is this: that out of our great love for Him we will do what He’s asking us to do—because we trust Him, and choose to do His will. Just as any loving parent would expect…

He alone is Omniscience.

Perhaps something unpleasant or harmful is about to befall us or to someone connected to us. The Holy Spirit is pressing  so that movement will take place. Our current environment is not conducive for what He sees coming. Something must change. Much like a shard left undetected in a “perfect looking” vessel, if not removed, it can destroy the vessels future usefulness. The potter must rework the pot…  “And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” –Jeremiah 18:4

Jonah, unlike Abraham, Moses, and Noah, rebelled against this leaning of the Holy Spirit. Refusing, at first, to obey Gods call to go where He was leading. Jonah decided he knew better than God, not only what was best for himself—but for others as well. When we read this short book, we see just how wrong he was in not trusting God straight out of the proverbial gate. Not only did Jonah have to endure God’s effective and unique correction, he inevitably had to do what God had directed Him to do in the first place! As I said earlier—God will always have His way.

When we give our lives to Jesus Christ they truly are no longer our own…

Jonah forgot that for a minute—so do you and me. That’s why when we too are being rebellious, every once in a while, God will send a big fish into our lives as a reminder that He’s still God. Nothing escapes Him.  Though He may be long-suffering and patient with us, we’re only allowed to stray so far off course before that fish shows up! “Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.” –Jonah 1:17

We have a purpose—and He has a plan…

The judgement of an entire nation stood in the balance. God had chosen the Prophet Jonah to deliver a message of judgement over Nineveh. But because Jonah hated the Ninevites’ and knew God was likely to forgive them if they repented—he wanted nothing to do with Gods plan—so he ran. Have you ever run from what you know God was calling you to do? Perhaps fear, insecurity or maybe stiff-necked rebellion made you say no to God? How did that work out for you? My guess is, God sent a fish of some sort your way? Did you, like Jonah,  inevitably relent, repent?

Jonah prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”  –Jonah 4:2. See Jonah hated those in this pagan city ruled by Dagon—the fish god (don’t miss that). He wanted them judged—punished for their wickedness and their many, many sins. Jonah had forgotten that his sins, like theirs, had once separated him from the very God he now served. He’d forgotten that had it not been for the Lords infinite mercy and great loving-kindness he too would still be under God’s just judgement. He forgot he was the servant and that God alone was God.

And isn’t that true of all those who serve the Lord?

Who call themselves Christian? There are moments, if we want to come completely clean, instances where we too make rash judgments. Are goaded by hasty emotional decisions driven by fear or pain, insecurity or jealously. Judgments that are made with such uncompromising swiftness we too forget that our own sins once precluded us from ever experiencing an authentic, transformative relationship with God. Yet, just as the Holy Spirit leaned on this area of Jonah’s life to bring it back into balance—into compliance, He’ll do the same with us when we, like Jonah, are headed in the  opposite direction of Gods intended plan for our lives…

So now, the question posed earlier in this text must be answered by you the reader. If you’re feeling the Holy Spirit leaning on an area of your life—how will you respond? Will you, of your own accord, move towards where He’s leaning? Will your love and desire to be smack dab in the center of your Father’s will propel you forward? Or, as with Jonah, will God need to send a big fish your way to get your attention?

You see, nothing can come into contact with Him and remain the same. Go its own way. Nothing.

Who is He? He is the Holy Spirit of God…

Friend, if you are reading this and have not yet given your life to Christ—now is the time, today is the day! Stop what you’re doing now, right now, and ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Don’t wait until the fish comes! Do it today—you’re being here is not an accident. I’m praying for you! “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”—Romans 10:9

A Change Is Coming… John 20:1

April 1, 2018 /

 “Early on Sunday morning,while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. “

Authentic change starts from within. And, those eager for it will do anything to find it.

External factors may influence that change—in fact they often do. But an authentic change—a switch from death to life, blindness to sight, from being lame to walking—it all starts from the inside—then, manifests out.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been. –T.D. Jakes

So, the notion that a woman, or a man for that matter, rolled away Jesus’s tomb stone implies they possessed a power they certainly did not have. The average stone used to seal a tomb weighed between 1-2 tons (that’s between 2000-4000 pounds and it ranged between 4-6 feet tall and, was an inch plus in thickness).

Not even the Angel that sat upon it  had anything, directly, to do with its removal. He too was a witness—a herald…

The Power that moved that stone had been laid within the tomb it sealed. Many thought they had extinguished that power—His power, when they sealed Jesus’ dead body behind it…

Not everything is as it seems. Truth is Truth whether you believe it to be—or not.

The power necessary to move an obstacle that prohibits life from coming forth is only found within. And, once It has decided to come forth, once its time has come, after its been called forth—no man can stop it. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” –John 11:44

It was, is, and will forever be, all about Jesus…

From His birth in a lowly manager to His sacrificial death on a tree. “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!” –Proverbs 30:4

Neither time nor inconvenience will stop a soul from seeking after the only One who can bring about true change—who can call forth new life from death. Mary had tasted this in Jesus. And it was her love for Him and desire to give back to Him that had her at His tomb before sunrise. Early one morning—the world changed. Life would never again be defined in the same way it had always been. Nothing can stay the same once it has had a genuine encounter with Jesus. Nothing. Not a rock, and certainly not a mere man…

Just ask Cornelius. Only a short time ago He stood there watching Jesus be ripped apart by the Roman scourge—watched as the flagrum brutalized Jesus’ body, ripping His innocent flesh from His bones; causing His Blood to flow like water from a pitcher. Innocence shed for guilt. He had stood beside Pilot as the Jewish leaders told their lies that he might do the dirty work of killing the One they so desperately wanted dead. And, He stood at the foot of Jesus’s Cross after he had pierced His hands and feet with spikes and a hammer. He heard Jesus, only moments from death, ask God to forgive him—to forgive them all. “…Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

It is thought in some theological circles that as Pilot’s commander, Cornelius was the man who had been put in charge to lead the 100 men under his charge in carrying out Jesus’ crucifixion. Luke’s gospel eludes to this also. After the Bloodied hammer had been tossed aside—the unthinkable done, Cornelius stood there watching as the sky turned black, dark clouds overtaking the bright expanse of the sky. From noon until midday there was a thick dark stillness. Then, Jesus’ voice pierced that darkness as He cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) – Matthew 27:46

The earth shook, boulders split in two, the veil in the Temple split in halves, top to bottom. Tomb seals—these massive boulders, were broken open (Recall their size and weight from above). And, days later, after Jesus’s resurrection, their occupants would be seen in Jerusalem very much alive—by many witnesses! So then, is it any wonder after having witnessed all of that Cornelius stated, “Surely he was the Son of God!” –Matthew 27:54. Most assuredly a seed had been planted. And, after reading Acts 10:1-7;23-48, there is no doubt that that seed had taken root too…

We are a witness to this fruit come to bear after God drops what appears like a sheet from heaven before Peter’s eyes, commanding him not to call unclean what He, God, was calling clean. And Cornelius, though not on that list was certainly on Gods “list” of what would forever be considered clean as the result of Jesus’ finished work on the Cross. As a result of His life, death, and resurrection. The gentiles would now be grafted into The Body of Believers—His Church.

And Cornelius and his household would be the first of them. Acts 10:9-22.

This Resurrection Sunday, if you have not invited Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior, I urge you to stop everything you’re doing and ask Him now—no man is promised the next minute, never mind the next day. And, if you’re thinking that your sin is too great, you’ve strayed too far to ever return to God, just keep this in mind. Let this visual be seared into your heart—your every contrary thought: Jesus looked at Cornelius—into the eyes of the man who had just moments before crucified Him—drove nails through His hands and feet and said this to Him, and to all those who aided him; “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Let that imagery wash over you—let it soak into you like a healing balm being poured over your every fear, your shame, and your questioning, doubt-filled heart…

There is room at the foot of His Cross for you; forgiveness to be had if you will but receive it. Cornelius did, though his sin was great—it was no greater, is no greater, than mine and yours. Our sins nailed Him to that Cross just as surely as Cornelius’s own did. And He knew that of us before He willingly laid His life down in exchange for ours…

The Power that shook the earth, forever changed the way we experience Life, the power that caused tomb stones to break open as easily as egg shells has emerged Victorious! And, just as sure as a change took place that day, be assured a Change is coming! Back that is. Death and the power of the grave were destroyed that first Easter morning. Jesus, The King of Glory will return for me, for you—for the whole of the world. That is as True, as sure, as the fact that He lived, died, and rose again! A change is coming, soon and very soon…

Are you ready for it?

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star.” The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.” –Revelation 22:16-17

Are You Going Gray? Revelation 3: 15-16

December 3, 2017 /

 “I know your deeds, that you are[neither cold (invigorating, refreshing) nor hot (healing, therapeutic); I wish that you were  cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].”

He’s not speaking to the world in general. In Chapter 3 of the book of Revelation, God is talking specifically to His own—to the Body of Christ, the Church.

If you are a Blood bought believer in Jesus Christ, then God is talking to you! And, if you don’t yet know Him, now is the time. He loves you fiercely, and wants you to be with Him always…

Before we get into this Word, lets pray: Spirit of the Living God, illuminate your Word, breath your Ruach breath on it, that it may come alive in us, and through us feed may. In Jesus matchless name we pray. Amen

Gray days, we all have them—perhaps even a season of gray-ness…

Everything just feels neutral—status quo. No great highs, neither any major dips, or lows. We are not one way nor the other—we’re neutral—comfortable, blithely moving along. Our ministries are fine, our lives, fine. So are our families, friends, finances, and oh yeah, so are those sins that so easily entangle, those little foxes we’ve allowed to slip into our house—they’re fine too…

Wait, what! Sin is fine? No! No, it’s not! It’s not fine!

Now that I have your undivided attention you’re ready to hear that in the same way you were just reading along and then wham, something slipped in that wasn’t right, didn’t belong, so it is with satan. One of the enemy’s greatest tricks—his greatest deceptions, is to lull us—unsuspectingly, into a state of gray—of complacency.

Neutral-ness, grayness, lukewarm-ness, will kill your fervor for God—and for His people! If the enemy of your soul, that roaring, roaming, vicious, lying enemy—set on taking you out, can’t rip you from God’s Mighty Hands, then he will settle for robbing you of your passion. The power of your light…

I feel the Lord impressing upon me that now is not a time for grayness, neutrality. Not a time to be lukewarm! He will tolerate that no longer. It’s as though God is calling His children to perform an, ‘internal temperature check’ of sorts. Not to shame us, and certainly not to harm us. But rather to refine us, to bring us that one step closer to Him. Like myself, any believer who has had their sleep disturbed when the Holy Spirit roused them at 1, 2, 3 o’clock in the morning with that ‘call’ that goes off in the pit of your belly, that tightening that will not be ignored—that Holy disruption that wakes you up, or sits you down, or stops you in your tracks at random times of your day. Knows what I’m talking about. God is calling you to pray and pray and pray, pleading prayers of mercy. There’s a sense of urgency—a quickening, in your Spirit…

I know that you understand what I’m sharing.

And, as it is in the Spiritual realm, so too, will it manifest in the natural—the division, separation, polarization. The result of the great shaking, the sifting—the separation of the Sheep and the goats that has begun in the spirit realm. And, as with a woman’s labor pains, shall only increase. We, as a people, are experiencing a pronounced polarization in the natural world…

Allow me to explain.

If you are a parent, boss, leader—one in authority, then you should know that to lead and guide people righteously, then justice, mercy, patients, and a great deal of love, among other attributes, must accompany this great privilege. Even in doing all that your able however, there may yet come a time, when contrary to all you’ve poured into them, they will simply refuse to accept your kindness. And, so, with a heavy heart, you must allow them to go their own way. As I said, as it is in the Spirit, so it is about to manifest in the earth…

This is what I sense is happening in the Spirit, now.

God has left man with no excuse not to acknowledge Him. The world in which we live, all of creation, testifies as to His existence. And, in the technological age in which we live—now, in many places on earth, most have heard that there is only One True God—and of His Son, Jesus Christ. Most have heard that God sent Jesus into the world—a sinless sacrifice, so that all men might have the opportunity to be reconciled back to Him after sin had separated us from Him, after the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden. Yet contrary to this knowledge, many refuse to acknowledge God and turn to Him and repent of their sins. Allowing Him to restore them back into right relationship with Himself. A time is quickly coming upon us—a tipping point, when God will say enough, and contend with man no longer. When He will allow those, who continue to slander Him, refuse to acknowledge Him, those who mock and ridicule Him—to have their own way…

Since you are now reading this, you too now know.

God will always confirm His Word (Mark 16:20). How? Through His Spirit.

And, by signs. His Word tells us that He, in the last days, will sift the world. That there will come, in those days, a great sifting—a great separation, a stark division will occur. “…But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:29-30).

One must only look at our sin-saturated society to see evidence of this division—this polarization that’s occurred—this line in the sand that becomes more divisive daily. And I’m not talking politics or its cabals here, they’re a symptom only—a byproduct of this polarization. I’m speaking specifically about a society that is now calling good evil and evil good. I’m talking about just how far, as a people, a society, most have drifted from God…

But the prickly part, the crux of this message, is not for those who have chosen not to follow Jesus, but rather, for those who have. Those He is speaking to in this verse. As believers in Christ Jesus, we His Body, must be held to a higher standard.

It must, according to Scripture, start with us…

Join me next week, God willing, on 12/10 when we’ll delve deeper into the more personal ‘prickly parts’ of this teaching. What specifically, is God calling His children to do, ‘in such a time as this?’ Until then saints, pray in the Spirit. Pray without ceasing. Repent, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those ‘hidden’ areas in your life that need to be laid open before the Lord…

And, if you have not yet asked Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, but what you’ve just read is resonating with you, then now, right now, without delay, is the time to ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior. Here’s what His Word assures you if you do: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 9-10).

 

“Crushed” Luke 14:33

October 29, 2017 /

 “So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

Before we jump in to this week’s message, my prayer for you, for me, is this:

That we will give our will’s, our want’s, what may seem ‘right’—sound right to us, over to the will and calling of Jesus. That we will trust Him above all else. Putting to death all the internal chatter that clamors for answers to the life-robbing, peace stealing, ‘why’s’. May the exhale of our every breath be, Thy Will be done. Whether we understand it—or not. Whether it makes sense—or not. Even if we must say yes with wobbly knees and a trembling voice—yes. We say yes. I say yes, to His will, His way, and, yes to His Divine timing… Amen and Amen.

Following Jesus will cost you. A price must be paid—a sacrifice given.  And there is no one in all of Scripture who knew this principle of cost better than Jesus Himself…

He paid the ultimate price for obeying the Will of The Father. Yet He tells us that to do His will—God’s will, is why He came at all. In other words, He specifically came to pay God’s required price. Jesus, while having one of His infamous conversations with the Jews, said it like this: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19). And if the teacher—the One we, as Christians, follow, profess, came to do the will of God—how much more His students? Who are we to feel that because we are followers of Jesus, we’re exempt?That it—our lives, should go off without a hitch?

Unlike Jesus, God may never ask you and me to give up our lives—at least not physically speaking that is.

Yet we are asked to give them up, our lives—to give them back,as a love offering. In faith believing that the One who gave them to us knows far better than we ever could just what to do with them. He knows the ‘when’, and the ‘how to’s’ of us—His plan for us, the purpose, destiny, we were brought into this life to fulfill. And so, He asks us to trust Him completely—to surrender, in faith, to His will and this plan He has for us. Listen to how God said it while talking to the Prophet Jeremiah: “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome” (Jeremiah 29:11). We forget—I forget, that we are not here, were not created to just, ‘hang-out’ on planet earth, feet up, feel’n good. Doing as we please, when we please, for as long as we please. One glimpse of where that thinking got Nebuchadnezzar should dispel any desire for that life (Daniel 4:1-33)!

No!

Just as Jesus was not sent, didn’t come into this world to do His own thing—act on His will, on His desires, rather, to do the will of the One that sent Him—The Father. So too it is with us, if we are connected to Him. “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).

The moment you said—I said, we, collectively said yes to God’s call on our lives, yes to His loving offer to return Home to Him—back into a restored relationship with Him, we in fact released our will’s, our plan’s, desire’s, dream’s, destiny’s, children, spouse’s, ministry’s, mother’s, father’s—our very lives, into His Hands that He might fulfill in us His desires for the advancement of His Kingdom through us. “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever” (Hebrews 13:20-21; emphasis my own).

Even when we feel as though, like Jesus apparently did in Gethsemane, that what is being asked of us is more than we can handle—can bear, survive under the weight of, like Him also, we must come to the place of complete surrender. And we must do it repeatedly. Even if it kills us… “And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed. Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me. And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire. And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour? All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words” (Matthew 26:37-44).

Gethsemane is a place where a seed, a hope, a ministry, a man, hits the ground as one thing and leaves as another. It’s simply the nature of the place…

It’s a place of extraction, of refinement. People become, things become, a purer version of themselves— after having their life blood separated from their husk’s. Gethsemane is a place of crushing. A place where the last ounce of our humanity—His humanity, was extracted, so that only the Divine, The Pure Will of the Father, may remain. There is a cost to following Jesus. It may very well kill you— actually, it’s meant to. Over, and over, and over again. Until, as with Jesus, the last drop of your humanity is extracted—and all that’s left of you is the shining, Pure Image of Jesus pointing all who witness it, back to The Father. “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16).

There is a cost to following Jesus—always has been, always will be. Love costs us something. Jesus knew that better than anyone…

So, the question is not, is there a cost? The real question is, if asked, are you willing to pay it? “But Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life… (John 12:24-25).

Are you willing to endure the crushing that takes place in Gethsemane so that what is most precious in you may be brought out of you for the glory of God? “So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7).

The pressing, His pressing, isn’t intended, was never meant to harm you. It has always been intended as a reward for those who, by faith, trust in the exacting process, painful as it may be. Following Jesus will always cost you. But oh what a gain! “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]” (Hebrews 11:16).

 If God is knocking on the door of your heart, won’t you say yes to Him now—even if it hurts? 

“Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence. [And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with and in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled and steadfast, not shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel), which you heard and which has been preached [as being designed for and offered without restrictions] to every person under heaven, and of which [Gospel] I, Paul, became a minister” (Colossians 1:22-23).

 

“Are You Mephibosheth?” Part 2

October 22, 2017 /

  …And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. “And David said, Mephibosheth.” “Yes sir?”  “Don’t be frightened,” said David. “I’d like to do something special for you in memory of your father Jonathan. To begin with, I’m returning to you all the properties of your grandfather Saul. Furthermore, from now on you’ll take all your meals at my table.” Shuffling and stammering, not looking him in the eye, Mephibosheth said, “Who am I that you pay attention to a stray dog like me?” David then called in Ziba, Saul’s right-hand man, and told him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and his family, I’ve handed over to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants will work his land and bring in the produce, provisions for your master’s grandson. Mephibosheth himself, your master’s grandson, from now on will take all his meals at my table.” Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. “All that my master the king has ordered his servant,” answered Ziba, “your servant will surely do.” And Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, just like one of the royal family. Mephibosheth also had a small son named Mica. All who were part of Ziba’s household were now the servants of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, taking all his meals at the king’s table. He was lame in both feet” (2 Samuel 9:6-13).

So, to recap:

Last week we learned a few things about Mephibosheth. We learned that being the grandson of Saul—the former king, had left him feeling intensely vulnerable in the wake of this new king’s summons.

  • We learned that he was familiar with living in hiding—with being physically isolated.
  • We learned too, that he was fearful for his life.
  • Additionally, we learned that having lived his life with a disability—at a disadvantage, Mephibosheth knew a thing or two about pain and persecution—but also about perseverance.
  • And, that, being a royal descendant doesn’t spare you from the trials and tribulations life brings along with it each new morning.

Can you relate? Have you shared in, experienced, any of what Mephibosheth went through? Do you have scars too? Feel isolated? Do you know what it’s like to be hurting and lonely? Then please, keep reading, because as it was for Mephibosheth, so too, might it be for you. Where there’s still breath, there’s hope.

We also saw last week, that everything—literally, that Mephibosheth thought he knew about his circumstances, (his future, who he thought he was—as a man, and an heir, how he self-identified) ended up being used as means to a future he had not so much as left a crack in the door for!  He was too busy keeping his head down, living small in Lo Debar… “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”

Are you feeling like you’re at the end of yourself? That all you’ve been through has automatically disqualified you from anything better than what you’ve known—have been through, survived? Do you believe too, that how it is you’ve always seen yourself is really how it is? Who you truly are? If so, then you might be in the exact right spot for a setup to get up!

From Lo Debar to the King’s table. From prostrating himself in humility, to having every worldly possession his family had owned restored to him. More, a guarantee from the king that, for as long as he lived, Mephibosheth would never again have to eat alone. There would always be a place set for him at the king’s table—Mephibosheth now had a lasting place to call home. “So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table.”

Mephibosheth had a choice to make. He could except the unbelievably gracious—the beyond generous, undeserved offer of the king, or, he could continue to believe—live with, what had been his reality for most of his life—hurt, lack, wanting, isolation—separation. And as it was with Mephibosheth, so too is it with you, and me, and all those invited to always dine with the king. The offer has been extended—the place set. The only thing that remains is will we, the Mephibosheth’s, have the courage to show up and take our place at the table? Can we push past the voices that have taken up residence in our heads? Those voices that tell us dogs are not allowed at the dinner table..

Yet, for any of this to have happened for Mephibosheth, a change had to occur first. A shift…

Something had to happen, some inquiry made, an introduction perhaps, someone powerful enough, beckoning to him, calling, for him to come out of hiding—out from behind obscurities shadow.  “And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?”

And so David, The King, sends Ziba, a former servant of King Saul’s, to go and find Mephibosheth.

And, as it was for this man with a past—this broken, lost, disconnected man—So too, it is for us. Only we, much more than this man with the tongue-twister of a name, have the great privilege of The King Himself having come to find us! Listen to how this is told to us in the Gospel of Saint John: “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life” (3:16).

In David, a mere shadow of the King of King’s —we see the desire and the heart of God. Who so loved you so much Mephibosheth, who so loved me, the world, that He sent for us—in the Person of Jesus, His only begotten Son. He not only prepared a place for us at His table, more, He fed us with His Most Choice Food—the very best Wine, all this, that we might never be hungry or thirsty—or broken, or alone—separated from Him ever again. “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you,unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.…” (John 6:53-54).

But what if Mephibosheth had been too afraid of David to come when he had called? Chances are the man with a tongue-twister of a name might still be living in Lo Debar. Still disfigured and carrying the weight of all the years, and all the names and taunts and hurts and lack—every scar, on his own, still. While all the time someone very much wanted him at their table—so much so that they had set a place for him, made a way for him to come back safely, no questions asked. Listen to how the Prophet Micah shared this sentiment: “Where is the god who can compare with you— wiping the slate clean of guilt, turning a blind eye, a deaf ear to the past sins of your purged and precious people? You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long, for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most. And compassion is on its way to us. You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing. You’ll sink our sins to the bottom of the ocean…” (Micah 7:18-19, The Message Bible)

Friend, if David, a mere man—imperfect and sinful, sent someone out searching for Mephibosheth to ensure he be brought back to him unharmed so that he might reestablish Mephibosheth, how much more God the Father? A perfect, sinless God who created you and knows your ‘stuff, my stuff,’—all of it. This God who sent His Only Son to find you and tell you not to be afraid, the king doesn’t want to kill you—the king wants you returned to himself safely, that he might restore what’s been taken from you. More, that the two of you might always be together. He already knows all you’ve been through—done, or had done to you. He knew that before He even sent for you! He doesn’t care as much about that as He does about you—He can turn all ‘that’ around, just as he did with Mephibosheth.

He just wants you back where you belong. Period. That’s his heart—no strings attached…

“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans: 8).

The table had been set, the servant sent—and Mephibosheth came.

Trembling he came.

Fearful for what might come next—he came.

Ashamed—he came…

So, my question to you is this: Despite all that’s held you back, will you come—just as you are, when the King calls?

Are you Mephibosheth?

“Preperation” Isaiah 6:5-8

September 17, 2017 /

 “Then I said, “Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! —because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyesthe King, Adonai–Tzva’ot!”  One of the s’rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Here! This has touched your lips. Your iniquity is gone, your sin is atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying,“Whom should I send? Who will go for us?” I answered, “I’m here, send me!”

Charles Spurgeon says this: God will never do anything with us till he has first of all undone us.

Isaiah must have felt undone—discouraged, right before God charges, commissions, him. The great King Uzziah had died. Once a revered and righteous King, Uzziah, also known as Azariah (2 Kings 15), allowed pride to take root in his heart, and, as can be the case with many a mature believer—those who love, reverence, and follow the Lord—have walked with the Lord for a while, if they are not mindful, pride can grip their hearts too. Uzziah allowed the pride of life to trip him up…

Plain speak, he exalted himself above God, and, as a result, he fell from God’s favor, and protection. (2 Chronicles 26:16). Thus, bringing God’s just judgement upon himself.  The result? He lived out his last days in exile—as a leaper (2 Chronicles 26).

There is a lesson for all believers in King Uzziah’s fall…

And now God is about commission Isaiah, charge him, to tell Israel what is yet to come. But before He does, there’s a little undoing that Isaiah needs experience in order that he might be prepared for the arduous tasks set before him. Some preparation that needs to occur, some perspective given, so that perhaps, just perhaps, he won’t fall into the same offence the late, once great, King Uzziah had?

Of the 66 chapters found in the Book of Isaiah, 39, more than half, have him delivering God’s Words of Judgement on Judah and the surrounding nations! To say people wouldn’t like him—didn’t always want to see him coming, is probably an understatement! He wasn’t likely the best-liked kid on the block. Still, Isaiah had resolve, stamina. And more, God had a plan for him. A job only he could do. God saw something unique in Isaiah. And, God sees something unique inside of you too—something He’s preparing you, and you alone, to do! Yet, God had another, a new, lesson for Isaiah—some realization that needed to occur, some revelation that would both humble and add a great resolve to his prevailing—stalwart faith. Our text certainly suggests as much. It demonstrates that God was doing something both great and deep within Isaiah!

And, maybe He’s doing a deep work in you as well!

So, now, let’s meet up with Isaiah. We’ll have a front row seat as we witness his every moment of preparedness. We’ll observe his great humility and the palpable, awe-inspiring, awareness he displays at his genuine frailty and certain un-holiness…

Our Scripture opens with Isaiah detailing his Heavenly vision. As the Apostle Paul stated, “…whether in the body or not, I do not know” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). And neither do we. We are privy to the particulars only. And they are that God is working in Isaiah!

Though a righteous, godly man, a prophet, God allows Isaiah to see himself against the backdrop of both heavenly beings, and, far more, God’s own Perfection and Holiness. Isaiah witnesses the Seraphs. Some scholars believe these to be the living creatures spoken of in Revelation 4:8. He hears their thunderous pure voices proclaiming God’s Holiness back and forth to each other, to all of heaven. Their declarations  are so resonant that the very doorposts and thresholds of heaven shake! Isaiah has witnessed God in all His Sovereign power and majesty seated on His Kingly Throne in heaven. And, finally, he sees the fullness of God’s presence fill the temple with the smoke (vs’s 1-4). And he’s certain he’ll die. See he knew what God had spoken to Moses on Mount Horeb concerning seeing His and remaining alive , listen: “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” ( Exodus 33:20).

Now, aside from the sheer terror, imagine for a moment, just how unholy, how unworthy, you would feel standing in the very presence of Gods Pure Radiant Holiness—His Majesty and Splendor?

That’s how it must have felt for Isaiah…

How it was, according to Scripture, for other Godly men we read about in the Bible. Men such as Daniel, in Daniel 10:15-17, And Peter, in Luke 5:8, and, John the Revelator, in Revelation 1:17. And, because we, along with Isaiah and each of these men, serve a loving, compassionate, and, merciful God who doesn’t judge us  as we deserve—but rather, lavishes upon His children unmerited mercy we too  can stand boldly in His Holy presence…

Why? Because He washes us, cleansing us—like the Seraphs cleaned Isaiah’s lips, from all unrighteousness if we’ll but cry out also. (1 John 1:9).

And, He alone enables us—through His Imputed Righteousness, and through the conviction of The Holy Spirit, to be rid of unclean lips, prideful lips, boasting lips, lies, and, contemptuous speech. Isaiah recognized this sin of unclean lips, among others, in himself. Though he loved and served the Lord, when set side by side next to God’s standard of Purity and Holiness, he saw, knew, just how guilty he was of sinful speech. In all its forms and abilities. And he cried out to God.

We too, are guilty of unclean lips and more.  And we need to cry out to God for forgiveness also…

Listen to how James, the brother of Jesus, describes what our mouths are capable of: “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest on fire. The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:5-6).

That’s a searing statement—no pun intended. But it is. Seriously.

In essence, it’s saying that you can love the Lord, be in ministry, serving God with all  that’s in you, and yet—if you’re not measuring your words—if your careful with your tongue,asking the Holy Spirit to be the guard over your words, if you don’t keep your mouth in check, you may well be guilty of great sin. And, be doing untold damage to the very Kingdom you’re out their promoting and serving in God’s name! I don’t know if you struggle with unclean lips, but I know I do. It’s one reason I am grateful for the written word. For texting and letter writing, because I can edit my speech.  I can look over it—rethink it, reword it, and perhaps, just not say what I thought to say at all! Thus, saving myself from sinning, from great embarrassment, and more, from offending another, or, doing irrevocable relational damage…

So, let me ask you, what is God doing in you? What is He revealing to you, that you might finish your walk and service to Him well? Or, maybe you’re feeling the Lord tug at your heart for the first time—calling you into His service?

But, perhaps, before you answer here am I Lord, use me—send me, you should seek Him out and ask if He’s placing a hot coal on any area of your life that first needs purifying? If so, be glad! He’s pointing out your impurities. Helping you to close spiritual doors you may have opened unawares—doors that grant the enemy of your soul access into you. Doors that grant him free access into every aspect of your life. Doors that enable—allow him, to do what he does best—steal, kill and destroy  what God has for you. (John 10:10).

God isn’t trying to harm you friend, rather He is making you like pure gold, fit for Him…

Listen once again to Charles Spurgeon as he describes how God prepares us for His service: The effect of that live coal will be to fire the lip with heavenly flame. ‘Oh,’ says one man, ‘a flaming coal will burn the lip so that the man cannot speak at all.’ That is just how God works with us; it is by consuming the fleshly power that he inspires the heavenly might. Oh let the lip be burnt, let the fleshly power of eloquence be destroyed, but oh for that live coal to make the tongue eloquent with heaven’s flame; the true divine power which urged the Apostles forward, and made them conquerors of the whole world~

“A Paradigm Shift” Mark 10:49-50

August 13, 2017 /

 “And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you. And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.”

Simply put, a paradigm shift occurs when we see things one way—then experience a shift, a change, that modifies, changes, that seeing, our thinking, our beliefs, our lives…

A shift which then results in our seeing—and experiencing life differently—changed, new. Sounds new-agey right, maybe ungrounded, perhaps too esoteric—too ‘out-their’ for your conservative taste? Have no fear. It’s quite traditional—far more commonplace than you might think. Yet it never loses its awe inspiring, transformational impact. We see evidence of paradigm shifts throughout the Bible; yes, unbelievably, paradigm shifts are found in Scripture! In both the Old and New Testaments.

Elisha experienced it, as did Abraham, Moses, and Joseph…

But Perhaps one of the more powerful and familiar accounts of a paradigm shift that occurs in Scripture is that of Saul’s conversion. He went from one who sought to destroy the church, to a believer called by God to minister and deliver the gospel message to the gentile world. We first witness Saul oozing utter evil, lending approval to,—pouring out the darkness in his heart as an eyewitness to the stoning of Stephen—a man filled with God’s grace and power.  Next, we hear of Saul quite literally dragging Christians out of their homes and into prison—some perhaps to their deaths. All of this done in the hopes of destroying the church.

And then He meets Jesus…

And it is there on that dusty Damascus road, while hunting Christians, that we witness his powerful—life-changing, paradigm shift. Not only is Saul saved—additionally, life, as he has known it, shifted intensely. No longer does He seek to kill those who serve the Lord but He now becomes the Lord’s servant! And, his conversion resulted in part to his penning almost 2/3’s of the New Testament we read today! But a part of Paul’s shift, a part of what he left behind, his Hebrew name, is often overlooked—misunderstood.  You see it wasn’t Jesus who changed Saul’s name, as He did with Peter (Matthew 16:16-18), we see Saul referred to as Paul for the first time in Acts 13:9. Long after his conversion and well into his ministry.

But why?

Here is the crux of this teaching, what it is the Holy Spirit showed me. That just as Bartimaeus left behind those things that no longer served him once he had encountered Jesus—so too did Paul.

A paradigm shift had occurred in each mans life. If you’re familiar with Scripture you’ll remember that from the account of the proconsul’s conversion found in Acts 13: 6-12 forward, we then hear Saul referred to as Paul throughout Scripture. Paul choose, for whatever his reasons, to leave behind that vestige of his Hebrew roots and elected to be identified by his second name—Paul, which readily identified him with his Roman citizenship as well as to the gentile nations…

But what about our main character? What did Bartimaeus leave behind? And just how did his paradigm shift occur?

Similarly to Paul, Bartimaeus also encountered Jesus on a dusty road. If you read the account of his story found in Mark 10: 46-52 you’ll see that as Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples this blind beggar begins to holler out to Him, listen: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me now!” (vs. 47). Verse 48 goes on to inform us that those standing around this blind man kept telling him to quiet down—basically, to shut up, and stop his calling out to Jesus! But he didn’t take their advice. He continued to shout out, pleadingly, in the hopes of getting Jesus to come and lay his hands on him—to heal his blindness. And it worked. Jesus took pity on Bartimaeus and had him brought over to himself. And it’s here that we witness what it is Bartimaeus left behind—those possessions that represented the life he would now leave behind…

Scripture is clear that Bartimaeus jumped up leaving his cloak—his outer garment, behind. This cloak was likely the most valuable item that Bartimaeus, being a beggar, owned. It’s what offered him warmth and protection from the elements. It was likely his sole possession. And yet before he could toss it off, this garment that represented safety and comfort, he had to put down, threw to the side—leave behind, whatever he held out in his hand to those passing by. He also had to rid himself of his beggars cup.  His lively hood. His security. His only source of provision. And he did, he left it all behind, that He might run to Jesus…

So, let’s recap. On a dusty Damascus road, a man bent on imprisoning Christians and ending anything to do with what he considered to be this travesty being committed against the good name of Judaism, this personal affront against his God—his heritage, encounters Jesus while warring against this supposed ‘counterfeit’ cause that had sprung up in opposition of the religious traditions he grew up with, was steeped in—held close to his heart. It is this same Saul who experiences a transformational paradigm shift.  And then there’s Bartimaeus. He wants nothing more than to be healed by Jesus. He’s likely heard the stories told about others that had been healed—some of them blind too. He is willing to cast everything he has aside, all his worldly possessions, his livelihood, his pride—everything, for a chance to get the attention of Jesus.

And he does. And in that one second—in that blink of an eye moment, his shift occurs, his life, like Paul’s, is radically transformed. Bartimaeus’ world has just been upended in the best—most miraculous way! Jesus has healed him and told him to go on his way. Yet scripture tells us that Bartimaeus did just the opposite—He didn’t go away, he, again like Paul, drew closer to Jesus. Scripture also tells us that Bartimaeus followed after Jesus. Funny thing is, that’s exactly what happened to Saul after his encounter with Jesus. He too left all that he had known, accumulated, in a worldly sense, and spent the rest of his days following The One who had upended his world in the blink of an eye! Two ordinary men—two very different stories. Yet both encountered the same God. Both experienced an equally life changing paradigm shift in their lives—in an instant, life as they had known it was forever changed and would never be the same…

This could easily be your story if you’ve not yet met Jesus. In the blink of an eye—with a simple, heartfelt ‘yes’ your world could be upended in the best, most miraculous, way too! And if you’re already His, get ready—because you never know when He may be passing by…

“Thus Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of what God had prepared for the people, for it was done suddenly” (2 Chronicles 29:36).

“I See You” Isaiah 65:1

August 6, 2017 /

 “I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.”

Though referring to the Israelite’s, some scholars believe this passage was directed—intended, foretold the engrafting of the gentile believers into a relationship with God. Certainly, the Apostle Paul alludes to this in Romans 9:25 when referring to God in the writings of Prophet Hosea. ““As He says also in Hosea, “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE, AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’” To say nothing of the fact that Paul spent his life bringing the message that he as a Jew received—to the gentile world.

But rather than focus on Paul’s teachings or a scholar’s interpretation, though both very valuable and certainly insightful in pointing us towards the Truth, let us instead listen to Jesus…

He sums up what we find in the writings of the Prophet Hosea concerning gentile believers and within the many teachings of Paul’s concerning the inclusion of the gentiles within His Words—within one definitive declaration, one all-inclusive statement He made to His disciples—about themselves, about us, about all believers, Jew and Gentile alike, listen: “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you” (John 15:16).

And there you have it from the God that created you and wants you all for Himself. This from the God who made room for you at His Cross. Who said, “I love you—regardless, of race or color, contrary to your ethnic background or the denomination you’re affiliated with, I don’t care if you’re a Jew or a gentile—you are mine. You are why I stepped down across time and eternity and donned a suit of flesh and blood.  I loved you—love you, enough to come that you might have my life in exchange for yours. It’s why I died for you.”

It is this God—Jesus, that I want us to see today. See as clearly as you’re able—see with your heart.

This God who stood over the great void and called all things into being leaving man no wiggle room to say, I didn’t know about you—wasn’t sure about your creating this world—creating me, “For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense” (Romans 1:20).

Whether you believe in Jesus or not, that doesn’t change the reality of who He is or what He has created. He is evidenced literally everywhere you look, nor the fact, again, believe it or not, that He’ll one day return to judge this world. A tough pill to swallow for some I’m sure, yet the Truth remains Truth even if we choose not to believe it. Understand however, that the heart of God is that not one person perishes but that everyone believes in Jesus and receive eternal life. In His great patients with us, and in His  love for us, He gives us time to say yes to Him but He will not force Himself on anyone who doesn’t want Him. “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

When Jesus went to the Cross He went to willingly pay the debt owed God for the sins of the whole world. So, if you are reading this now, that means your sins too. God saw you then as He stood over the void at the time of creation and He sees you still. You were counted among those Jesus chose to die for. However, God in His omniscience, knew not everyone would be won to Him—would come to Him, in the same way. After all, we’re each a unique creation. Each of us has been given—is endowed with, unique gifts, talents, personalities, and character traits. And it is with these unique gifts that we’re equip with that help us to reach those others may  never be able to reach. It is our unique experiences that enable us to reach those God will put us near, those He is calling to Himself.

They are the fruit we are called to bear…

Yet this essential point remains consistent for all; we were each made in His image—His likeness, and we were created to worship Him (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 2:10; Revelation 4:11; Isaiah 43:21). God has surrounded mankind with an inexhaustible display of Himself—conformation of His handiwork, His creations, that we might see Him in all things—at all times. Look up to the sky—there you’ll find evidence of God’s creation, look down to the ground, again, evidence. Look at your child, wife, husband, boyfriend, or girlfriend—each evidence! There is not one thing that was not created by God. From the atom to Adam, from a blade of grass , a ray of light, to Orion’s belt.

Everything was brought into existence by God. Including us…

You—me, Jew, Gentile, all of us, who did not seek after Him, this loving God, He made, makes—Himself known to us daily in countless ways. In sunlight and moonbeams, in smiles and tears and music and leaves rustling on the trees. Through that feeling in your gut that tells you that you were made for so much more—you were, and you are. That Beloved, is evidence of the One you did not—are not looking, seeking after—who was, is, seeking after you.  It’s a sure confirmation that whether you see Him yet or not—He sees you, and He loves you with an eternal, inescapable, all-consuming love.

Listen to how the Apostle Paul speaks about this while addressing believers in Colossae, “For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

We started together with God speaking to those of us who weren’t looking for Him through a Scripture found in the Old Testament, what better place to end our time together than back with God, back in the Old Testament as well. Listen Beloved, and take heart, to what God is saying to those who were also once far away from Him: “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

He sees you Beloved, you matter to Him…

While it is still today, if you don’t yet know Jesus, won’t you welcome Him in to your heart? He’s waiting just for you…

 

 

 

 

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