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"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Tag: Revelation (Page 3 of 3)

Tag, Your It.

May 29, 2021 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” –Acts 10:34-35.

Everything was about to be upended for Peter—yet again. By this point in his walk with the Lord, I have to wonder if Peter had begun to figure out that the only thing that will ever remain the same for as long as he walks with the Lord, the only thing guaranteed to stay the same, is the Lord, Himself?

If biblical chronology is correct, some seven or eight months had passed since the Lord ascended back to the Father. Six or seven months since the Holy Spirit had been poured out on those gathered together in the Upper Room and since Peter had preached his first sermon and Christ’s Church was born. We can read all about these things in the Book of Acts, Chapters One through Five.

By this point in Peter’s walk, by the time Peter meets Cornelius in Acts Chapter 10 that is, God has already commissioned Peter as a leader over his brothers and sisters and His Church. He’s also been told to elect another to fill Judas Iscariot’s place among them. God has used Peter to heal a man who’d been lame since birth; and along with the Apostle John, Peter has also been taken into custody and forbidden by the Sadducees to teach using the name of Jesus. And, Peter has confronted Ananias and Saphira about their lying to the Holy Spirit, which resulted in their deaths. He and John were sent to Samaria to spread and teach God’s Word. Additionally, in Acts nine, Peter visits fellow believers in Lydda. The Lord uses him there to heal Aeneas, who’d been bedridden for eight years due to paralysis, and raise a young girl named Dorcas; some say, Tabitha, from the dead. You can read each of these accounts in the following Scriptures: Acts 1:16-26; 2:14-36; 3:6-8; 4:3-18; 5:3-9;8:14;9:32-40.

We catch up with Peter in Acts 10. We’ll find him in Joppa, a seaport town about 40 some miles south of Caesarea, at the home of Simon, the tanner. Being a devout Jew, I found it noteworthy that Peter would have chosen to stay with someone who would have been considered unclean, due to his chosen profession. After all, in a minute, we’ll read how Peter decries God’s instruction to kill and eat what the law teaches is unclean. A law Peter had painstakingly followed his entire life! “Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” –Acts 10:9-15.

So to find Peter staying in the home of someone who handles dead animal carcasses, a person another devout Jew would shun Peter for even associating with, is nothing short of unconscionable for this out-front, chosen leader of the Way. “The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening. Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you” –Leviticus 11:26-28. But God was on the move. And everything was about to change—forever.

As I said earlier, everything in Peter’s life was about to be upended, yet again. Very soon, Peter would face having to choose to place the full weight of the knowledge, faith, and trust he had on his Lord’s leading, regardless of it being unconventional, controversial, and undoubtedly unorthodox. Or, he’d have to turn away from His Master’s prompting, clinging instead to the law and teachings that had guided him since his youth. Because in a short twenty-four hours, all those traditions and rules, the religious rites and rituals that Peter had clung to so fiercely would all be upended.

Peter’s unraveling had begun on the rooftop of a tanner in Joppa, and it would reach its climax inside the home of yet another unlikely soul in Caesarea. Now, as Peter was in prayer on the rooftop of Simon’s house, the Lord, as only He can, broke through time and space with a message that challenged Peter to his very core. God needed Peter to shift, to move with Him and His plan for the future of His Church and all His people. There are times God will use the unorthodox, the unconventional, the new, and different to shake up the religiosity that has taken hold of us. All the “familiar” that we’ve allowed to enshroud us, blind us, stunting our growth. Stopping us from remembering that we can not, must not ever, put God in a box or attach some succinct, precise formula to how He will or does move or decide to show up. Jesus Himself is our most perfect example of this Truth.

“The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth” –Acts 10:9-11. On this great sheet was every kind of unclean animal. Peter saw all those repugnant animals that the law forbade and was instantly repelled by them. So when the Lord commands him to kill and eat, Peter barks back and tells God no. “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” –Acts10:14.

Saying no to God is never a good idea. He is God, and we are not. And, as we’ll see, God had His way with Peter in the end.

Scripture indeed points towards Peter’s staying in the house of an unclean, gentile tanner to be no mere accident; more, it appears to be a herald, a preparation of sorts for Peter. Because soon, three men would appear and ask him to follow them. One commentary sums things up this way: The Jews already considered gentiles to be unclean. By drawing Peter into the home of a gentile tanner – the dirtiest of the dirty – God was breaking down barriers and preparing Peter as a vessel to pour out His blessing onto the gentiles.

Enter Cornelious.

While Peter was still atop Simon’s roof trying to sort out what he was to glean from God’s dropping that sheet before him, three men sent by a Roman Centurion named Cornelius to locate Peter show up to escort him to Caesarea. They’d been dispatched to accompany him to the home of yet another gentile. “Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate” –Acts 10:17.

Skipping ahead for time’s sake, these men tell Peter who they are and why they’ve come. “And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him” –Acts 10:22-23. Yet their news was only confirmation for Peter as the Holy Spirit had already revealed to him that He wanted Peter to go with these men when they arrived. “While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” –Acts 10:19-20.

Again, skipping ahead, Cornelius has assembled his close friends and family in anticipation of Peter’s arrival. Before leaving Joppa, the men sent to accompany him tell Peter that an angel had visited Cornelius and told him to send for him. Upon arriving in Caesarea, Peter goes into Cornelius’ house, but not before making him aware that it is against the law for a Jew to be doing what he is doing. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” –Acts 10:28-29.

One last skip, I promise, and we’ll arrive at our destination:

In answer to Peter’s question, Cornelius outlines all that the angel had shared with him: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us” Acts 10:30-33.

And in that nanosecond, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, Peter gets it. The Light has shone inside of him, illuminating Truth and God’s glorious plan for His Church. A Truth and plan Peter never would have been able to grasp, outside of God doing something so unconventional. “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” –Acts 10:34.

Tag. Your It! And just like that, we, each gentile believer, from Cornelius and those gathered in his household, were grafted into the Body of Christ. Jew and Gentile now, one in Messiah. As Peter shared the Gospel message with this group of gentiles, salvation became there’s! Yet this plan for the grafting in of the gentiles isn’t new, however.  We caught our first glimpse of it back in the garden. It’s just now being unfolded, revealed afresh to Peter that he might ensure that God’s intended plan for His Church be carried out to the letter. But more on that next week. Remember, friends; God has set precise times and seasons for all things.

The Apostle Paul’s teaching on why this has occurred ought to lead us towards living our lives with great humility and boldness for the Lord. And for the things of the Lord, yet tenderly and with reverence for the grace and mercy shown us by such a loving Father. “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” –Romans 11:13-18.

Brothers and sisters, I encourage you in the Lord to seek Him afresh in this season, to purify your hearts. Shaking off any spiritual slumber that has hampered you, all fear, and any confusion that has troubled the Body of Christ over this past year, instead, seek the Lord for what it is He’ll have you do now, while it is still day. “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” –Isaiah 55:6-9.

And dear friend, if you have yet to meet our unconventional and Loving Lord, Jesus the Christ, I hope that you’ll pause wherever you are right now and ask Him to make Himself as real and tangible to you as He did for Peter as he prayed on Simons rooftop.

Be sure to return next week for the conclusion of “Tag. You’re It…”

He Knows Your Frame.

May 1, 2021 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But Jesus said, “Why are you troubled? Why do you doubt what you see? Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me. Touch me. You can see that I have a living body; a ghost does not have a body like this” –Luke 24:38-39.

Jesus wasn’t chastising His disciples; He was comforting them—reassuring them. He knew perfectly well that though his disciples had witnessed others being resurrected (the son of the widow of Nain—Luke 7:11-17, Jairus’ daughter—Matthew 9:18-26, and finally, their friend, Lazarus—John 11:38-44), their witnessing Him return from the dead borderlined on being just way too much for their finite minds to take in.

Remember, these were everyday men like you and me—many, simple fishermen. It was only Jesus who was both fully human—and fully Divine. Plus, up until the time they’d met Jesus, dead had always meant precisely that, dead. People just didn’t come back from the grave. Yet there He was, their Rabbi, standing right in front of them. A savage beating at the hands of the Romans. His Crucifixion. Three days in His tomb. It was impossible! Surely this could not be! And yet, there He stood. There was only one explanation for this. Suddenly, a scene played out in Peter’s mind. In it, Jesus had also asked His disciples a question. “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.…” –Mark 8:29-30.

So, can you imagine their shock? Their disbelief? Is it any wonder then that Jesus asks them why they’re troubled? Why they doubt who it is that’s standing right in front of them? Honestly, wouldn’t you have been troubled too?

Maybe it was due to their reaction to Him suddenly appearing before them? Or perhaps it was out of His great love and compassion for His friends, in His mercy, and with the most extraordinary tenderness that Jesus offers His beloved and troubled friends, His Peace? “…He said to them, “Peace be with you” –Luke 24:36. I choose to believe that it was the latter.

Jesus knows that as mere men, when we experience seasons of deep pain and loss, of trauma, often it’s the ordinary and the everyday-ness of life that we tether to; it aids in recentering us. He knows it’s’ the route and familiar that helps slow the wild spinning down just enough to feel safe enough to step away from the pain and towards life and living. Their having been eyewitnesses to the savage scourging Jesus had suffered before His barbaric Crucifixion leaves little doubt that John and Mary and the other woman would have shared the details of what they had witnessed with the rest of His disciples. “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother” –John 19:52-27.

Shared how they’d watched in horror and with the most profound sorrow as Jesus took His last breath. His final exhale perhaps forcing them to release their grip on the last vestige of hope they’d so desperately been clinging to. Jesus’ final breath—meant the end for them all. Its final work, snuffing out any flickering promise that remained in their hearts. Any remnant of hope these past three-plus years spent with Him had offered them. Joy-filled years spent talking with and learning from Him, walking, and eating, and marveling at His wonderful works. Their Messiah was dead. Jesus’ lifeless Body hung before them on His Cross. And with it, in their finite minds at least, the long-awaited, lifeless promise that the Kingdom of God had finally come. That after generations of oppression, their deliverer had finally come. That soon and very soon, they would all taste newfound freedom. And they would—just not in the way they had imagined it would come.

And once again, in verses 41-43 of this same chapter, we witness Jesus’ tenderness. His patient love towards His friends being displayed once more through a familiar, everyday gesture. Remember, Jesus knows it’s the everyday things that help center us. So He asks His friends if they have anything to eat? And when someone hands Him a piece of fish, Jesus proceeds to eat it; but more than just eating fish, Jesus wants to settle their anxious hearts, so He uses this everyday act to assure them that they do not see a ghost. That no ghost could do what they are watching Him do; being omniscient, Jesus knows that they are awed and joyful by His sudden appearance, but He also knows that they’re confused and bewildered by it as well. Jesus knows they need time. That seeing Him do anything ordinary will help put them at ease. “The followers were amazed and very, very happy to see that Jesus was alive. They still could not believe what they saw. He said to them, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of cooked fish. While the followers watched, he took the fish and ate it.” Jesus knows His sudden reappearance has caused His disciples to have tunnel vision, focusing only on the here and now.

On the possibilities of what His sudden return may mean for them? What His being with them once more is all about? What might it look like moving forward now? But Jesus needs their minds to shift beyond this moment. Beyond themselves and their immediate wants and needs. Time is a precious commodity now. Remember, Jesus also knows that very soon He will be returning to the Father. So He needs their minds to shift towards His eternal plan and purpose for having had come at all. Jesus needs them to move forward. Towards those, He knows are depending on them. So then, for the final time in these closing verses, Jesus does the familiar yet again. This time, He taught His disciples. “Jesus said to them, “Remember when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must happen—everything written in the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms.” Then Jesus helped the followers understand these Scriptures about him. Jesus said to them, “It is written that the Messiah would be killed and rise from death on the third day” –Luke 24: 44-46.

Jesus grounds His jittery friends. He recenters them—focusing their attention on the familiar—on the mission. On what they know, the scriptures. On what has been foretold concerning Him, their Messiah. Concerning the bewildering and fright-full moment in which they now find themselves. Then, Jesus goes further still, reminding His friends that they have been His witnesses. That all of what they’ve seen while with Him is now part of their story. Their testimony. The very foundation of all that they will share as they go forth into all the world. It’s their legacy. The unplumbed treasure they’ll leave behind for future generations—for you and me. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” –Luke 24: 45-48.

Jesus knew His disciple’s—their frame. He knows ours too. He knows that for us to do what He has destined us to, created us to do, we must wait on Him. Wait for His strength and the power of His Holy Spirit. We must wait for His timing, wait to be gathered together, called, and we must wait to be released. Jesus knows that our minds must first be opened to the Truth—To Him, His Spirit, to His Word just as His disciples were. Just as they had to wait before continuing with the work that Jesus had started—so must we. “Then he said, “This is God’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty—you will succeed because of my Spirit, though you are few and weak’ –Zechariah 4:6-7.

Jesus knew that the birth of His Church was imminent. That within days He would be ascending back to His Father—our, Father. His work here on earth, in the physical sense at least, being all but finished now. And, that it would be these men, His chosen, these mere mortals that He’d soon empower, baptizing them with His Spirit, charging them then, to carry out this magnificent work of spreading the Good News to all, to you and me, so that we too might carry His Truth all the way to the ends—of the earth that is. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.…” Acts 1: 8-9.

Friend, if you’ve read this till the end, yet you don’t know this Jesus personally, then do know this: You’re here because He wanted the two of you to meet. He wants a friendship with you, to walk together and work together. He’s done His part by bringing you here. Won’t you please do your part by accepting His invitation? Just ask Him into your heart, sincerely repent of your sins, and He’ll take it from there. He knows your frame, what you truly need. “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” –Romans 10:9-10.

Living in Awareness of His Presence…

September 5, 2020 /
Kendra Santilli


“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” –John 14:26.



When I was growing up it seemed as if I was always striving, looking forward to the next milestone. When I was a child, I dreamed of turning 16. Getting the job. The license. The sweet sixteen party. What was there not to love?! Then I turned 16 and all those things were great, but then what? If only I was 18! Then I could vote. I could get my own place. Make my own decisions. I would be an adult! Then 18 came and signing medical papers at the doctor’s office wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I realized 18 is just a pseudo-adult. So, I thought- I just need to make it to 21. Then I’ll be a REAL adult. 21 came, not much changed, and then I thought- I still can’t rent a car. Then I turned 25 and could rent a car (which I have yet to do!), but now what?? What had I been striving for? I mean, of course in between I had many accomplishments, good friends and coworkers, good grades… life was good!

But at times I would think to myself, am I living on purpose?

Routines have a subtle, natural way of paving patterns in our behaviors that we do not necessarily always control. We begin to affix ourselves to these cycles- wake up, get ready, go to work, come home, get ready for bed, do it all over again. Day after day after day. If we are not careful, the business of life gets the best of us and by the end of the day, we have nothing left to give to the adventure of life. I would like to propose to you that routines in and of themselves are not the issue- losing sight of God amid the routine is the issue. Did you know that Jesus did not leave us helpless? He left the Holy Spirit as our helper! “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” –John 14:26. For the believer, those reminders that come, or those inklings we get in the depths of our souls are, oftentimes the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Jesus came to restore us to the Father, in turn giving us purpose. Without the Holy Spirit, chasing after purpose is a dead-end street; with Him, there is clarity of vision and purpose.

In this passage, Jesus also defines the Holy Spirit as a teacher. “[The Holy Spirit] will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Do you remember taking a test in school and saying a quick prayer to remember what you studied/learned? (I, for one, went to a Christian school so desperately praying for my tests was definitely part of my test-taking strategy!) Life throws us ALL KINDS of tests. We just need to be reminded to apply the principles we already know. I can just hear Jesus cheering me on saying I taught you those things! You KNOW this! This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. On our own, we can respond impulsively and irrationally. But inviting the Holy Spirit to be a part of our thought processes 1) teaches us to live rightly and 2) reminds us of those things that we were taught. Everything comes full circle.

Not too long ago I began this habit of inviting the Holy Spirit to help me to live in awareness of Him every day. It’s as simple as asking Him to open my eyes to opportunities for ministry that the day brings or inviting Him into my thoughts to help me redirect them when they become destructive. When we invite Him to occupy those spaces of our hearts, we begin to see transformation; we begin to see our purpose unfold right before our eyes.

There was a time when I was highly aggravated with someone because I felt as though she always blew me off. I would say hi but without paying any mind to anything around her, she would just keep on walking. Around that time, I had begun inviting the Holy Spirit to help me to love people with His love and see people with His eyes. I remember my FIRST thought when I saw this person one day after thinking about saying hello was, I do NOT want to say hi. She’ll just blow me off again and I will just end up upset. So, to try and prove myself right, I did say hi. To my not-so surprise, I got no response. NOTHING. Not even a look in my direction. But before I could even gloat in how right I was, the Holy Spirit stopped me. I heard, loud and clear in my mind’s ear, she cannot hear you. I remembered at that moment that she had a hearing problem in one of her ears. So, I instantly repented to the Lord in my heart and redirected my hello to her other ear and she said hello. The Holy Spirit was teaching me a new depth of His love and grace now. Had I not invited Him to teach me and lead me that day, I would have missed that opportunity to love and stayed instead, trapped in self-pity and pride. You see, God loves every person around you more than you ever could. God does not gossip. He is not going to wallow with you in thinking badly about a person that He created and loves. The truth is His purpose is to transform us into loving the way He does. This is the kind of love that moves us to compassion for even the worst of people. The kind of love that causes us to want them to know the Jesus that saved our very souls. The kind of love that initiates our first response to be prayerful and understanding rather than judgmental towards our brother. Prayer is the key to unlocking our purpose…

Through prayer, the Holy Spirit will lead us into understanding. “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” –Prov 20:5. Your purpose is so far beyond anything you could ever imagine, yet if there’s no understanding, your purpose will remain unearthed beneath layers and layers of self. Get in the Word of God. Know it. Write it on your heart. It is by reading the word and discovering God’s intent and heart for humanity, that you will discover who you are. It is where you discover layers of identity that are so much deeper and more complex than you even realized. Through this discovery of our identity in Him, you begin to discover your purpose that is hidden in Him.

The discipline of discipleship strengthens us enough to know that, come what may, He will work everything out for our good and His purpose for those who believe (Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 1:11). The beauty of walking with Christ is that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help lead us into understanding these principles. Too often Christians forget about this power source that lives within them! The Holy Spirit is not a source of condemnation but understanding. We were not saved from sin so that our human nature would remain the same. Only by the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit are we able to change—living lives then, that are pleasing to God, and in turn, sweet for us as well. Living in awareness of His presence is where transformation takes place. Invite Him into your heart, your thoughts, and your vision. He is faithful to lead you and show you His heart. So in closing, here’s my prayer: firstly, if you don’t know Jesus, that you will come to know Him. That the reality of His presence is made known to you. And Second, that you live with the awareness that the ever-present Spirit of God is working in and through you always…

Surrounded. 2 Kings 6:17

March 14, 2020 /
“And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

I was like this servant. Truth be told, there are moments, both in my life and ministry, when I still am. Blind that is. Not God. There’s a news flash! Not all-knowing or seeing. Rather I’m frail and human and so very much in need of the One who is God. Who does see all, know all; because I can sometimes forget that there is more than one type of sight—ways of seeing a person, place, or situation. Of starring into the face of what is so clearly hidden in plain sight; yet seeing only the natural enemy army before me. An army that mirrors back to me my weaknesses and failures and inadequacy. Blind in my desire to so want to serve God and his people, those He has placed over me with excellence,  I sometimes move foolishly, carelessly, in my flesh, in my own strength, instead of waiting for the Lord to release me—to open my eyes to what is truly in front of me. What it is He’ll have me see. By His grace, He has covered my rookie mistakes and any potential crisis was averted. My natural sight having blinded me from seeing what is truly surrounding me, at all times; the angels my Father has given charge over me. Their aid, and His strength…

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” –Psalm 34:7.

Am I alone in my testimony? The only one who has, perhaps in their walk or ministry, missed the mark?

Not seeing what was standing right in front of them? Spiritually speaking that is. Or not recognized what was truly available to them, or. more, what was coming at them, their leadership, or the Body, because they looked at a situation, or failed to see a thing because they were, I was, looking at it, at that person, with natural eyes only? I know of at least one other who was as blind as I have been. Dare I say perhaps as blind as you’ve been too? One whose spiritual eyes failed him as well. Elisha’s new servant. My apologies. I can’t introduce you. I can’t share his name with you because the scriptures don’t tell me his name, only that he is Elisha’s assistant.

If we’re not paying attention though, we’ll mistake him for Gehazi, Elisha’s first assistant. We first hear of Gehazi in 2 Kings 4:12. However, he leaves Elisha’s service covered in leprosy and shame in 2 Kings 5:27. So this one, this unnamed servant who sees only the army of the Arameans, this natural enemy army surrounding him and his master, is then obviously new. Perhaps he’s Gehazi’s replacement? Either way, what’s obvious is, replacement or not, he’s yet to have caught the gift of seeing beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual, as Elisha, his mentor has.  “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom” –2 Kings 6:12.

So what is this ‘opening of his eyes’ that Elisha prayed for? This seeing? Surely Elisha’s servant wasn’t blind. Had he been blind, he wouldn’t have been able to see the Aramean’s surrounding them at Dothan…

Elisha had prayed for his spiritual sight to be activated. For the eyes of his understanding to be open, that he might truly see. Elisha prayed for his ability to see beyond his seeing in the natural. A gift from God alone. I’ve heard it described this way: Spiritual things are not perceived by the natural man with his natural sight. But we compare revelation or spiritual perception to the act of seeing because of their similarities and because the results of the two are the same, namely a coming into the experience of knowing something beyond the shadow of a doubt. The natural man is in darkness regarding spiritual things, that is he can’t perceive them unaided. Without light, we cannot directly perceive God or His kingdom though we have the testimony of creation and the inward testimony of our conscience. When the Holy Spirit comes, however, bearing His influence on the soul of man it has the same effect as light has upon the natural eyes of man. His influence causes man to perceive the things of the spirit. Like light, the greater the influence the greater the level of perception. The result of a man receiving the light of the Spirit is perception and he becomes absolutely convinced of the truth of the object he saw as if he had seen it with his natural eyes. (Emphasis my own)

This ability to see into the spirit realm is indispensable for those God has called to minister to His people.

To be able to see what is coming that we might cover our leaders and those God has placed under our care. We cannot operate in our appointed offices without it. Especially those prophets and seers, intercessors, and priests whom God has called to the frontline of this ongoing battle between Himself and His enemy and ours, Satan, that great deceiver. We must be able to see, to discern, the will of God for His people and for our own lives and ministry. How else will we be able to sound the alarm? Warn others of what is coming against them? Encourage them to repent and seek God, unless we first know a thing for ourselves. See it coming for ourselves if you will. Perhaps Elisha’s servant was so newly appointed to the man of God, this gifted prophet who himself had received a double-portion anointing from his mentor, the prophet Elijah, that Elisha had yet had the opportunity to have laid hands on the young man and pray God stir-up the gift that was just waiting to be called out from within him? I ask this based upon the Truth that God does not call anyone into any office, into His service, unless He alone has also blessed and provided us with everything we will ever need, not only to walk out our salvation in this world but to fulfill that call or office for which He has called us. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” –Ephesians 2:10. Or, perhaps, Elisha was not slack at all but rather waiting on God’s appointed time. Waiting for that moment God alone had foreordained for Elisha’s new servant to be introduced to seeing beyond the natural and into the spiritual realm…

The scriptures are replete with just such instances of this same intense first experience with seeing into, and properly interpreting, the spirit world. Daniel no doubt understood the “suddenly” of just such a moment. The Apostle John too. Ezekiel and Samuel as well, just to mention a few. Daniel 7; Revelation 1:1-2; Ezekiel 1; Samuel 3.

Here’s the thing beloved: If you have been appointed to some office, some position within the Body of Christ, know, with all certainty that you are there because of God; whatever His reason for allowing you to be there. He alone places us in positions of leadership or authority. Know too, that since He has placed you there, you carry within you everything you’ll ever need to complete the task you were appointed to fulfill. That said, understand this as well: You will have to learn partner with the Holy Spirit and those He has placed in positions of authority and leadership over you to develop, draw out, hone, fine-tune, what God has already deposited in your belly. Also, to remain humble and teachable enough, as Elisha’s new servant did, to receive what we need, be it prayer or guidance or correction from those God has placed over you—to speak into you, to help train you and cover you when you inevitably get it all wrong on occasion—just as he did.  As I have. As you will too. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” –Hebrews 12:11.

But fear not! Take heart, beloved! Don’t allow your pride to disqualify you from your assignment by thinking, calling into question your divine calling…

Just because you got it wrong this time, does not mean God didn’t appoint you or has somehow failed you. Humble yourself in the recognition that these are growing pains. You’ll get it wrong many times in your walk with Lord. I know I have! The shame is not in getting it wrong. The shame comes, the sin slithers in, when you allow pride to rob your anointing. Admit your blindness before God and men and the Lord will, in His divine timing, send one to pray that your eyes be opened, too. “Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” –1 Peter 5: 5-7.

Friend, if you are here today and haven’t familiar with the things this teaching contains, perhaps God has called you here today that you might ask Him to come into your life, as Lord and Savior, so that He might teach you. Opening your eyes to the Truth of His Son, Jesus, and all that He has for you to see and learn from Him? Won’t you ask Him to show Himself real to you now? He’s been waiting for your invitation. Listen to His Words, not mine: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” –Jeremiah 29:12-13.

Higher Than Our Own. Isaiah 55:8-9

September 21, 2019 /
“The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
    Your ways are not like mine.
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”

In preparation for this week’s teaching, I went to sit beside the ocean to get alone with the Lord. I parked the car close to a popular local inlet where the small craft anchor. A particular dingy caught my eye…

Staring at it I thought, “that little guy looks as though it could sink at any moment.” Compared that is, to some of the sturdier-looking, larger boats anchored nearby. Looking away, I continued on in prayer. But once again this little boat caught my eye. This time, however, it appeared to be listing. Signaling the beginning of an inescapable watery demise. “I had a feeling that little boat would eventually go down. It didn’t appear at all seaworthy.” As I continued to watch what I saw instead caused me to literally shout, ‘no way!”’ The waves had caused it to shift directions and I saw it was fully righted! Not only had that little boat not gone under, it was effortlessly bobbing along being piloted by the tides that had it safely hemmed in. What I was certain I had seen had been little more than an optical illusion. My eyes playing tricks on me. A complete misread on my part…

And then God spoke. Impressing on my heart that: I wasn’t to always trust what I saw in front of me rather, to steadfastly rely solely upon what I know to be True of Him. Trusting in His Sovereignty, mercy, grace, and, power. He reminded me to always have my faith securely anchored in Him; my mind and thoughts captive to His will alone. There are many illusions in this world…

Satan is a master of illusion and deception. And, He is busier now than ever knowing his time is at hand. God’s elect must be even more vigilant. Leaving no opening in our armor through which he might gain entrance. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” –Mark 13:22.

God had convicted me of the cracks in my own armor; as quickly as I had judged this little boat of being unseaworthy, so too had I judged myself unworthy to serve Him by comparing myself to those I felt were far more gifted—more qualified than myself. I’d allowed temporary feelings of unworthiness to serve God and His people to supersede what I know He alone has called and equip me to do. Serve! Whenever and wherever He leads me. I was instantly humbled by the realization that not only had I been allowing myself to entertain lies, questioning my very election, entertaining my fears, doubts, and insecurities as one entertains friends; allowing them access into places mere acquaintances are not permitted, I had, unawares, projected my feelings of inadequacy onto that little boat! Thus, falsely judging us both as unseaworthy…

That’s when God convicted my heart! Who was I to judge the gifts He’s given me? His grace? Who was I to question His reasoning for choosing me for Himself?

And so, if I don’t make it my business to stay close to Christ daily, standing firm and fixed, minute-by-minute on who He says I am, I will, according to my own estimation, find myself sorely wanting. Unworthy to serve such a Holy God—or His people. Knowing my own sin and shortcomings I will judge myself as a vessel of dishonor, rather than one of gold or silver having been made pure, not by my own works or worth, rather by His. In this Truth, I was allowed a far deeper, more personal revelation of meaning behind Paul’s words: “But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man’s day; but neither do I judge my own self”–1 Corinthians 4:3.

Our self-worth, my self-worth friends, should not be grounded in the esteem or opinion nor in the rejection of others—man’s flesh is far too fickle, untrustworthy, and ever-changing to ever take fully to heart. First, it blows this way and then that. One minute calling out Hosanna and with its next breath, crucify Him! Neither should we fully put our trust in self-assessments, least we think either too highly or too lowly of ourselves. Yet if our conscious pricks us, we must be certain to examine it. But it is to God alone that we must look to for every good thing in our lives. Starting with the foundational Truth of who we are and who He is in our lives, ministry, work, and worth. Only His Truth is irrefutable. Our sure standard.

His Word clearly tells us: “All else is sinking sand…” –Matthew 7:24-27.

Now, before I move on, allow me to clarify a point: By no means do I mean to suggest that we should not examine ourselves, our lives, and hearts, our consciences. Quite the contrary, as Christians, we must keep a close eye on the condition of our hearts and thoughts, our words, and actions. Through prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, through our daily communion with the Holy Spirit, we must ask the Lord, day by day, to search out anything in us that is not of Him. And, should our conscience convict us of sin, we must, by His power, rid our lives of its corrupt root; least our hearts become hardened by its unchecked presence. We must repent, quickly.

Our Scripture verse today harkens back to the days of King David who, at the time of this writing has been dead some 250 years. Thus signifying that our Scripture verses are directed not at unbelievers since they are directed at David and Israel, but rather at believers. And, though applicable in Isaiah’s day surely, they are also prophetic; reaching their hand into the pocket of today’s Church, speaking directly to you and me. God’s Truth is eternal and unchanging. Our verses declare, in part, just who God is and who we are in comparison. There is no room in His declaration for neither question nor doubt. God’s Sovereignty is on clear display in these verses. Therefore, as believers living in times fraught with illusions, lies, and false accusation, we must be convinced, resolute in the fact that we are who God says we are and not fall prey to those feelings that swing us this way one moment and that another, tossing us first here, then there…

Beloved, if this has hit your heart if you’ve been judging yourself as I’ve judged myself of late, may I suggest you steal away and spend some quiet time alone with the Lord. Ask Him to reveal afresh the Truth of who you are in Him and to make clear to you once again, your purpose and calling in Him. The field is white my brothers and sisters, we must be steadfastly about our Father’s business throwing off, as our brother Paul instructs us, every weight that hinders us.

And friend, if you find yourself here today saying, I’ve felt like this too! Know this, God has led you here as surely as He led me to that little dingy. If you’ve yet to ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior, please do it now. He’s led you here and He loves you. But He won’t force Himself on you…

A Word from the Lord: Emergency Intervention Is Needed.

August 3, 2019 /

As I was sitting down to study, preparing for what I thought I’d be sharing this week, the Lord showed me instead, an image of a full-term baby stuck in the birthing canal.

It was in the birthing position, fully engaged, ready for delivery, yet the child was stuck and could not be delivered. My sense was that this baby had been in this position for quite some time. Fully formed—full-term, ready to enter “new life” yet, stuck, hence, it could not come forth. Emergency intervention was necessary to save its life. To deliver it into the life it was destined to live outside of the womb. To live and grow and fulfill what it had been created to be. But, it could not quite get there on its own. Couldn’t come into this life the same way most babies do. It needed another to rescue it, to save it from dying in the womb…

There are many in the Body of Christ who have been crying out to God to be delivered. Babies who are fully formed and should have long been birthed, delivered, yet, for whatever reason, have remained stuck. God is getting ready to intervene. He alone will deliver them, performing the emergency measures needed to remove them from the womb, as with an emergency Cesarean section. He will free them, lest they die there. Tell my children I am coming. Soon and very soon I, the Lord will deliver them.

This is what I saw and heard, in my Spirit…

The Scriptures I was led to during this time were Matthew 13: 52 and all of Ezekiel 16. Pray saints. Repent and cry out for God’s forgiveness and mercy if these Words are confirming in your belly what you know the Lord has been speaking to you for some time. I trust that He who began a good work in you and I will complete what He has started.

Yet keep in mind your guilt, knowing that His punishment is just—contrary to what your flesh might have to say about it. Humble yourself then, before God. Acknowledge your sins and repent. Then wait on the Lords just judgments to pass over you as you remain steadfast and chasing after Him; trusting that He is finishing the good work in you necessary to bring you fully forth…

God’s Work. Philippians 2:13

July 22, 2018 /

 “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”

God. The beginning of every good thing.

He who has always been—having no beginning and no end. Sovereign. Nothing of any eternal value can happen outside of Him. And, anything—any thing that happens in our lives does so with a grand design in place to bring about that “things” best possible outcome…

Today I’d like to talk with those, all those, who have been deeply wounded.

Those, who, though saved—having a relationship with Christ, those possessing faith—even deep faith, still face areas in your life where the wounds of the past are the fetters of your present. Those who sit famished, Bible open, soaking up all that God has to say—wanting it the way a starving man uses his last crust of bread to lap up the bits of food stuck to his plate. I’m talking to those who show up early to church on Sunday, not wanting to miss one Word. Those who worship from their toes, their depths, who have felt the weigh, both of their sins and their forgiveness —those who give their tithes lovingly, serve because their heart demands that they do.

I’m talking today to me, first. And, if this fits, I’m talking to you too…

I’m talking to those whose midnight howl has been—is, “Jesus please!”

That belly howl, that sobbing, I need Thee, oh I need Thee, cry. If you’ve ever cried this cry I need not say more.

You love Him and trust Him. You’ve witnessed His miracles in your life time and again. Perhaps, like myself, death came for you—but Jesus stood blocking its icy hand from dragging you into an early grave? Perhaps drugs or sex or drinking had a grip on you? Maybe abuse, molestation, being given up as a child—abandoned as an adult, abused at the hands of someone so hurt themselves, they couldn’t see how tender the trusting soul they were bruising was? Has any of the above left you frozen—locked into a place and a time that Jesus died to set you free from?

Here me, more, here God: “It was not your fault”—if you were raped, molested, beaten, abandoned—it was not your fault!

In that moment a choice wasn’t afford you—you were robbed. Robbed of your voice, your identity, your innocence; just as surely as if a thief were to break into your house tonight and rob you! Would that be your fault too? Of course not! You were robbed! Stop blaming yourself!

Thank God however, for today…

For this new day—and the choices that are now yours—mine,  to make. Today, we have this new choice, this ability to never be robbed again—to choose freedom! And no, I’m not saying that nothing bad will ever happen again. Any more than I’m saying that what has happened was your fault. But, what I am saying—what the Lord has shared with me—is that everything you need to move past yesterdays residue, past those clinging, cloying lies that accuse you and rob you of self-esteem and true freedom, past those “things” inflicted upon you—and perhaps because of them, those things you inflicted upon yourself, is already inside of you—if, Jesus is your Lord.

God has spoken to me about forgiveness… again.

If you’re a student of Scripture, then surely you know when God sees fit to repeat something to us we are wise to pay special attention to it. What do I mean by that? He has put this message of forgiveness squarely in front of me as of late. The unconditional, unrelenting necessity of it. No matter where I’ve turned—this “theme” of forgiveness has been a thread God has used to connect one day, and its lesson, to the next. Weaving together this tapestry, this picture of what must happen in a life, our life—yours and mine, so that we might step out not only in complete freedom, but more still, to walk together with that freedom, forever forward, in the power and authority God has given us in Christ Jesus!

Unforgiveness is the fodder that fertilizes our seeds of bitterness, resentment, and hatred. And, when watered with our fears, shame, and guilt, they produce the fruits of our self-destruction. The roots of which must be pulled out—least they stay, spreading out, mocking us, just below the surface of our praises…

So important is forgiveness—so paramount, that Jesus, while looking down from His Cross at the very men whose hands were stained by His Blood, saw the need to teach us, one last time, about its law—its seed and harvest principle. He had done it earlier via the model prayer He gave us to follow and expand upon, but, how much more powerful impactful now with His last breaths? Jesus chose for us to hear about forgiveness with His dying Words: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” If Jesus, the sinless Son of God thought forgiveness so needed to be modeled in His final hour, how much more should we, the guilty, model it in our daily lives…? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Plainly said, we will be forgiven according to the measure we forgive…

I am speaking today—rather, hear the heart of God for your life today. Please, listen, those who have been deeply wounded—robbed. In fact, we all are in need of this one lesson. Scripture informs us, and the Spirit within us will confirm, we serve a High Priest who is familiar with our every pain—our every sin, who knows us better than we will ever know ourselves, better than our parents, spouse, or best friend. He created us. Knit us together inside of our mother. He did not intend for us to carry unforgiveness.

We are, after all, made in His image, and there is no darkness in Him…

God knew—knows, how very toxic unforgiveness is. What a thief it is—what a liar. Dare I say a false idol? When we choose not to forgive, when God has brought to our attention an area in our lives, a person or situation that He is telling us we must forgive, and we chose instead to say; I know you told me that I will only be forgiven as much as I am willing to forgive, but I’m going to go with my feelings here over your Truth. Not only are we being directly disobedient we  are also blocking our own forgiveness, along with some of the blessings God is trying to get into our hands. Forgiveness is the authoritative, life-changing, galvanizing, stain-fighting, clog-busting, past eradicating, cathartic command that teaches us the true meaning of the, “free indeed” Jesus both spoke of and died for.

He wants so much more for you than your salvation alone…

And yet, a reminder here, a plea really: You must remember that even this desire to forgive and your ability to submit to it—is possible only through a relationship with God. Why? Because it’s not something we can do on our own. We’re not capable. It is only through His power—by His Holy Spirit at work in us, as our verse today so aptly describes, both willing us to forgive and, enabling us, through His power, the same power Jesus used on His Cross, to forgive.

Outside of Him we simply do not have it in us to forgive…

And, more, if we need further proofs of the power of forgiveness—the power love has over hate, over bitterness, self-pity, animosity, and revenge—on the third day, by this same power, He rose from the dead, putting an end to the powers of sin and death in our lives. Forgiveness defeated the fetters death tried to use to rob Him of His Life. God sent me here to share with you the Good News that this same freedom is within you—if, you are a child of God. I know you’ve been asking and praying and trusting. And God has heard and has answered.

Believe, choose to forgive, and let the cathartic process of moment-by moment forgiveness begin…

And friend, if You have read through this but don’t yet know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, don’t think this wasn’t meant for you. It was. It is. You’re not here by accident. God brought you here first, that you might ask Him into your heart, and then, from that, that you two might begin the work of forgiveness that needs to happen in your own life…

“Because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10

 

 

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).

 

“Why Peter?” Matthew 16:15-17

November 19, 2017 /

 “He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?  Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [a]to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.”

So why is it that Jesus called Peter out of the boat? Why not Andrew, John, or James? If it were to demonstrate to them all the truth of His divinity, then certainly His walking on the water, according to both Johns and Marks Gospel accounts, accomplished that. Each writer clearly states that, all of those in the boat fell down and acknowledged that He was the Son of God.

So why Peter?

Why did Jesus call Him—solely, to step out of the boat and walk on a raging, life-threatening, sea?

I posit, and the Scriptures certainly backs up, that it was apparently groundwork for what was yet to come…

For a Peter who ran, God came. For a loud mouth, God came. For one who was so rash he reached for a sword as his answer, God came. For a leader who tucked-tailed, God came. For a beloved friend who denied Him, not once or twice, but thrice, God came. For what God saw inside the heart of Peter, and not what we see, God came. And, through Peter’s life, the Holy Spirit reveals what can happen to a man when God comes…

Think of it. Walking on water—stepping out on a sea as solid as dry land, for however briefly, is something one would never forget. And, even if the memory of it dimmed with time—as the most powerful of our memories do, one word, one poke at the embers of that experience and it would rage white-hot once again!

The foundation for doing the seemingly impossible—the sheer miraculous, had been laid—through this one-act of obedience, of great faith. Great humility would be laid in Peter also, suffusing with this faith—but only after his unfathomable betrayal. And these would come together and congeal with his fierce loyalty. An allegiance that was born both from revelation knowledge—gnosis, and from directly tasting the fruit of that revelation—of what Jesus offered, however baffling at times—repeatedly.

Knowing it would never be found—that Truth, in anyone or anything else. Ever…

And, that one experience, mixed with this humility and this knowledge—this gnosis, would be so seared into Peter’s being, his faith, that even the denial of its Author—as astonishing and heart-rending as it was, could not erase what he knew to be Truth. We see evidence of that on a sandy shore during breakfast—John 21:15-17.

It was to Peter that Jesus said if he’d but give Him the rest of His life, He would make him into a ‘fisher of men’, one who would change the world—Mark 1:17. It was Peter to whom God revealed that Jesus was the Messiah—the Son of God, the rock—the Truth, on which His Church would be built when asked, “Who do you say that I am?”– Matthew 16:13-20 And, too, it was Peter, who, after the visitation of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, addressed the crowd gathered in Jerusalem for Passover, each in his own language—and about 3000 were saved and baptized—Acts 2:41. And Peter who first brought the Word of God to the gentiles when Cornelius and his entire household accepted Jesus as Lord and were baptized—Acts 10. Peter, who is recognized as the Apostolic leader of the early Church whose counsel Paul, and Barnabas sought about how the gentiles should be taught to practice the way and their rights as followers—Acts 15.

And in the end, it was Peter who was crucified upside down. Not worthy, according to his own words, to taste death as His Lord did.

Yet throughout the Gospels we see evidence too, of the dichotomy present in Peter. His bold profession’s and pitiful shortcomings. His humanity.

The very same Peter who denied Him and ran, God chose to be the pillar of the early Church

Yet it is this bold, impetuous, ill-tempered, sometime weak-as-water, unwavering martyr that God used—to help carry the Gospel forward and perpetuate the Truth of Who Jesus is, and the Life He offers—that is still producing fruit to this day.

Back to my original question. Why Peter? There were at least 10 others that loved Jesus as Peter did. Who had given up everything and followed as Peter had. Left homes, families, husbands, wives, and children—gave of their time and resources until they had given it all. Up to their very lives…

What was it that Jesus saw inside of Peter? Surely, he wasn’t perfect.

I believe the Word shows us that it was both the measure of faith, as well as the fierce loyalty that God had placed in Peter—Romans 12:6, along with a deep and abiding humility, that set him apart for the task which God had called him—John 21:15-17. Though he didn’t always understand Jesus—or His teachings, Peter recognized the Truth in them. Simple man that he was, Peter knew, that only Jesus had these Words of Life—these teachings, and that outside of them there was nothing—John 6:68. Not that the other’s lacked faith or loyalty, they didn’t. But God knew what He had created Peter for—what would be asked of him—required, and exactly what it would take to see Peter through—to accomplish what He had destined Peter for. And through him, his Church on earth. And it would take walk-on-water faith, and an abiding, in-the-face-of-all-adversity, stalwart loyalty, mixed with a knee-bending humility, to partner in perpetuating God’s eternal Truth…

Jesus Christ is the way, and the Truth, and the Life—John 14:6

What has God placed exclusively within you, Peter?

More, will you  be faithful, humble, and, loyal to what He has given you also—for such a time as this—and, for those who you alone were created to influence?

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