Three Words /2012 165

We stand at the threshold of a new year, a year that I believe will be momentous.
There will be trials, and victories, and the Lord has given me three words I would like to share and encourage you with:

1) God, our King of the universe, is much bigger than any problem, any situation, any thing.
It's time for you to expand exponentially every paradigm, expectation, and consideration that you have about Him. He is the Uncreated Majestic Master of the Universe, He is Unsurpassed Brilliance, and He is more than worthy of being first and foremost in our thoughts, words, and actions-all, not just part, but all, of our love and adoration.
His ear is inclined towards us, His beloved, and He will move at the sound of our voices.

To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40:18, 21-23, 25, 26


2) It's time to reconsider who and what you have been giving your energy and attention to.
Be still before Him, let the Spirit search your inward most parts, examine your heart, be really honest since there is nothing hidden from Him anyways, and if needed "rip up the floors of your tent", unearth secret and hidden idols, things devoted to illicit and worthless energies, and destroy them. Throw them into the "all consuming fire" that is our Lord's nature; He is Jealous jealousy, and His love for us is boundless and unquenchable, it time to serve the only One who is worthy, Him and Him alone.
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord
Joshua 24:14

3) It's time to focus our all on our Bridegroom, giving Him our utmost, He desires that we run with Him. Remember that we were made for Him, for intimate relationship, both in this life and the life to come. Is there anything more worthy or more deserving than Jesus? There is nothing that will endure that you can waste your God-given time and energy on, only our worship of Jesus will endure.
That corner office, penthouse apartment, wealth amassed, titles, or offices, exotic car collections, will all rust, decay, or burn, as Solomon said, all of it is like "chasing the wind". Your high praises, your utmost for His highest, your worship is stored up in the heavenly treasuries; they are as incense to the Lord.

My lover spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
Song of Solomon 2:10

If you are tired, weary, and weak today, beloved, there are times of refreshing waiting for you. Old ways are passing away, God has new instructions for you, just as Jesus instructed his weary disciples to cast their net on the other side of their boat.
Turn off the the noise of usual activity and listen to His voice, and then run with Him in obedience.
He is renewing all things, even now times of refreshing are coming, so lean in and cast your life on His.

Working Things Out/ Turning It All Around

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

"" Coincidence" is when God chooses to remain anonymous"
-Anonymous

On Dec.24, the Lord saw fit to call the 92 year old mother of a dear friend of mine, a brother in the Lord who is so on fire, so encouraging, so elemental in being a conduit for transferring some of the incredible things that God has for me. He lives in northern California and we live in Tennessee, and because of the demands of life, etc., the logistics to figure out how we could have some face time have been difficult to say the least. In fact we had not seen each other in seventeen years, since we were in ministry together in Jerusalem, Israel.
But in one fell swoop, our Father orchestrated a reunion - opening the gates of heaven as He gloriously welcomed Ron's mom home, she had lived in Missouri, which brought Ron there, while we were also traveling to Mo. (Kansas City), to attend the IHOP-KC OneThing 2011 conference!
It then occurred to Ron's bride Carol that OneThing was happening, and she saw on my Facebook that we were going to be there, so she told Ron, and a few hours later we were enjoying a reunion most unexpected.

Today beloved, keep an open mind, spirit, and heart, even to difficult things. Eye has not seen,minor ear heard, the things that God has laid up for us!
Our God is the Master Logistician, and around the corner may lie your next divine appointment.

Thoughts About God/ Magnificence

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
AW TOZER, The Knowledge of the Holy

I am at OneThing 2011, a Christian event put on by the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOP-KC ), the theme of this OneThing event is JESUS OUR MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION. Mike Bickle, a founder of this ministry, is challenging our thoughts about God. He mentioned that as a teenager, his youth mentor told him he could not become a mature Christian without growing in the knowledge of who God is...
He mused during tonight's session about his shock as a young, on fire Christian in college: since he wanted to really know God, he went around to mature older Christians and asked them to share with him about the attributes and nature of the Lord, he was met with ignorance, that most also had no idea either.

I've thought a lot about God in my life, at some times more than others (even when I said I didn't believe in Him I was thinking about Him!), but the late author A.W. TOZER made that above statement straightaway in the first chapter of his book.
It is the essence of the question of what God asks: "Who do you really say that I am?"
So I ask you the question, as the Lord continues to ask me, moment by moment, day by day:
Who is God to you, and how do you really, deep down inside, think of Him, and beyond that,,how does what you think about God impact your living, and your life?
Is He just an appliance to you, the One who does things for you- healing, blessing, prospering, protecting, etc., your genie, but as to relating to Him, you still consider Him distant and unapproachable?
Do you put Him on a shelf of your life, in storage, as you try to cover Him up when willfully being disobedient, doing, saying, and thinking things that have no place in a Christian's life, using grace like a blanket while you take license, and then take Him down from the shelf, seeking His help, direction, and deliverance when situations are dire?
Or do you see Him, really see Him, adore and worship Him, in His surpassing beauty, have you trashed all the idols as the veil has been torn away, looking upon His majesty and just how high and lifted up He deserves to be, and He really is?
In your brokenness and humility, hungering after Him, have you been blessed to see what the angels and the twenty four elders see, as they cast their crowns before Him (a metaphor proclaiming how vastly more valuable Jesus is compared to everything else), proclaiming HOLY HOLY HOLY forever and forever, as someday we will get to wjoin them, to worship and adore Him.

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
John 12:32

Jesus is more than enough, all that we need, the only worthwhile and acceptable Obsession, what we are created for, this Obsession created to be lived out in spirit and truth.
Today beloved, continue to seek Him, and the Answer to this most important Question.

More

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah;
and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19

When does that moment come, that epiphany, when the revelation explodes in our hearts, not just by intellectual ascent, of all who Jesus really is? Peter had been drawn into this discussion by Jesus Himself, and it appears that he was the last to answer.
When faced with the direct face-to-face question by the Messiah, Peter dug down deeply, and in his hunger and thirst, the Father revealed Jesus, in His majesty and glory, to him.
I can only imagine that it was all Peter could do to actually get the words out...I imagine that he was breathless, totally blown away.
As we seek after Jesus He continues to reveal Himself to us in new and awesome ways.
Majestic, glorious, exciting, riveting, unconventional, He calls to us, asking us, telling us:
I am the Way, the Truth, the Answer to every question, the Solution to every problem...to each of us he exclaims: "I give YOU the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and the power to bind and to loose in my Name, as you seek my purposes, and follow after me.
Beloved, keep asking, seeking, knocking.
Whatever your paradigm is, you are about to found breathless.

Working vs. Works/ The Most for The Least

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast."

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:8-10

We can't work our way into Heaven; the Scriptures tell us this.
Our salvation comes by grace through faith alone, and no amount of toil will get us into that Heavenly residence. Jesus has purchased mansions for us with His own precious blood.
There are some who feel the "price of admission" is their work, but it is the finished works of Jesus alone that has bought and wrought our redemption.
But there is work to do, that has nothing to do with paying back Jesus for what He has so freely given us! The fields are white with a bountiful harvest.
Jesus said that He "came to do the will of His Father who sent him" (John 4:34), and since we are to imitate Jesus, we, too, are called to do these good works, not leaving these tasks for others to do. I'm not just talking about serving at your church here.
We are God's workmanship, and the Lord even puts angelic beings in our paths, perhaps to check our responses. The sickly, the orphaned, the poor, those enslaved, the homeless, those who have fallen through the cracks, the discards of society, the least, ...do you really know the true identity of the vagrant at that intersection? The old woman stranded by the side of the road with a flat tire? The young down-on-their-luck family living out of their old van asking for enough money to buy some food...?
On that day when we transition to eternity, when we no longer see dimly in that foggy mirror, but behold our Father/King/Bridegroom face to face, and know fully, we will see those encounters and rejoice together.
Until then beloved, let's do the work while there is daylight.

The Trouble With Christmas

"The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."
Isaiah 9:2

Did you know that more people suffer from depression, anxiety, and that there are more suicides during December that at any other time of the year?
Depression, oppression that is so heavy, like a thick cloud, that can envelope and attack a person, and none of us is beyond this dangerous condition. Instead of being able to focus on the birth of Jesus, our Liberator, Redeemer, and Savior, their hearts are weighed down with problems, both real and perceived. In depression every challenge seems insurmountable, trying to hold us as captives, but when we fix our eyes on Jesus, taking vain and empty imaginations captive, we realize the truth: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH JESUS WALKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH US.
When we listen to the wrong voice, that lying voice that can turn our gaze off of Jesus, and onto ourselves, molehills become mountains, but when we focus on the Voice of the Beloved, mountains are reduced to molehills, every adversarial issue diminishes as we weigh it against the glory that awaits us.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick", and "Anxiety in the heart of man weighs him down".
We serve a Lord and Savior who never lies, and never leaves us or forsakes us, but we have to stay under His wings, abiding in Him, feast on His Word, dwelling with Him and tending relationships with our brothers and sisters who have common temptations, fears, anxieties.
We have a God who takes bad things, trials, pain, and suffering, and turns it all around, He makes everything beautiful just in time.
Our Father takes the flames of hell and uses them to purify and refine our broken hearts, the ashes and our tears mixing together to make the mortar that God uses as He renews and recreates-putting the shattered pieces back together...stronger...much more beautiful than what existed before.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 1:1-4

Alpha and Omega

This Christmas eve morning on my property we witnessed a curious event, as a neighbor's orange tabby cat had fellowship with five young white tailed deer. The deer followed the tabby around, then the cat laid down, as the deer just stood about. There was no fear of danger, or suspicion among them.
It reminded me of the scripture in Isaiah:

"The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them. "
Isaiah 11:6

Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End"...His birth was in fact the beginning of the end of the darkness ushered in after the fall of Adam,
He is the Omega-the end-of sin and death, and its grip over the earth.


"Many peoples will come and say,
“ Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore."
Isaiah 2:2-4

The Alpha and the Omega- Peace on Earth- the whole earth is your footstool, Lord, Creation groans with eager anticipation of your return as you restore all things to their original glory...I say Baruch haba b'shem Adonai, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, let the people say, and let everything that has breath, praise the Lord today, come Lord Jesus.

On My Knees

Oh holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
From Oh Holy Night

"Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty‑four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” "
Revelation 4:8-11


Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices...
These words evoke in my spirit the scene in Rev.4:8, so powerfully that I am breathless, so holy the events unfolding endlessly before His throne. We are created by Him, through Him, and for Him, and our lives are wrapped up in Jesus, in Him alone, whether we currently realize it or not. We were created to abide together, not apart.

I was worthless and hopeless, but then He came down to me, as light streaming into through a cracked pot, illuminating and chasing away darkness. I am a prodigal restored by a Father who has granted me newness of life, he gives me strength in my weakness, calms my sometimes stormy spirit, and loves me furiously and ceaselessly.

Unconditional

How would it feel to have the Lord Himself call us liars?
Would that not shock us, instantly bring a person to their knees?
It's hard to imagine a Father who loves us, operating in grace and mercy, getting face to face and telling us this, but we are told plainly here, without any sugar coating... that we no matter what we think we are doing, no matter how much we might pray, search the scriptures, attend church, do good works- unless we edify, care for, extend the same mercy, grace, lovingkindness, and forgivenness that we have had lavished extravagantly on us by the Lord, without picking others to pieces (especially since we are all fallen and broken) in other words-LOVE- we're kidding ourselves. 
We can't love God, without also loving our brothers and sisters...it's all or nothing here.
Loving our brothers and sisters, etc., is a condition of really loving God.

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar.
For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1John 4:18-21

Jesus said, "Freely you have received, now freely give."
It's not judgement and punishment we been given, it's love.
Today beloved, throw away the magnifying glass, the strainer, that critical spirit masquerading as "discernment" and everything else that hinders love, and then apply love liberally, extravagantly and lavishly. There are many around you who will be blessed as you do.
This is the good work that God has started.
Surrender and allow Him to work-He will be faithful to complete it.

I Have To Believe/ The End of Myself

There are seasons in life, as Ecclesiates reads "a time for everything under the sun".
There are days when I'm flush with the strength of a spiritual Samson, feeling unstoppable, like I can bend that bow of bronze, brimming with the joy of the Lord, focused on the Prize.

What an awesome feeling when I am riding so high, soaring on eagles' wings.

But I must admit here and now that there are times when "the light gets dim", when I feel weary from the endless battles, with tough questions yet unanswered... When my legs can feel as if they are made out of cement, and my chest so heavy I can barely breathe. Working through mundane tasks and long days that the "finish line", the goal that I desire to reach at the end of this life, where my Father/Bridegroom will be waiting, seemingly becomes elongated like a special effect in a movie thriller, where I'm stuck in that endless hallway to nowhere.
I may put up a good front to others as I am going through the motions, but inside feeling as if I've been mired in quicksand... I brush past unsuspecting acquaintances, as I keep smiling, not wanting to disappoint those who look up to me, not engaging seriously with anyone for fear of being misconstrued as a "complainer", or worse.

I have to ask you, beloved, have you ever felt what I just described?

But casting my cares on Him, I am reminded:
"Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,
when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution;
at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
For in just a very little while,
“He who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved.
Hebrews 10:32-39

It's my faith in Jesus that delivers me through the hard times, not faith in myself.
I can do nothing alone, I cannot abide apart from Him.
I've long since reached the end of my rope. I can't shrink back, or go back, because there is nothing back there to go to, no more than Abraham, Lot, or the Israelites could go back. My Master promises me feet like hind's feet that will go on high places, not mired down in tar pits.
When I am going through these times, I remember the Psalmist's words:
Wait on the Lord, yes, Be strong and wait on Him.
I know that in each of us He has begun a good work and He will be faithful to complete it.

Love and Holiness

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy
(Leviticus 20:26a)

God is love.
(1 John 4:8b NIV84)

Holiness and love.
At first glance they may seem to be two different attributes of our Father God, but are they really?
Holiness in the old Covenant was performance based, follow the rules, DO THIS OR DIE.
But the New Covenant through Jesus rewrote the description of holiness; it is fueled totally by love, and her sisters, grace, mercy, hope, and faith.
His enduring lovingkindness towers above the wreckage we cause when we are not abiding with Him, and He is always there waiting, saying to us: "Are you done now, are you ready to come back home?"
Jesus wants to know from us: " Who do you say I am-to you?"
He is our Lord, our Master...He calls to us, whispers, shouts: I am-above all else-Love.
Every attribute of holiness is intertwined with this pure love, and every attribute of love is intertwined with holiness, and the Holy Spirit is He who conveys both to a surrendered heart, a heart prepared for Im-anu-el, God with us.
In this environment there is only the desire by the surrendered, the bride, to please the Bridegroom, whose desire is to do the will of the Father, the One who loved first, and sent Him to redeem us, showing us how to emulate love , displaying holiness.
As deep calls to deep, the Holy Spirit exclaims: "This is what love and holiness looks like".
Holiness looks like Jesus, motivated wholly and solely by the desire in us to please our Beloved.

Pointless/It All Comes Back To Love 113

The most important things I have learned in my Walk as a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and a lover of God:
We are to love because God loved us first.
Understanding His love and all it encompasses, we are to love the Lord God with every fiber of our beings, with all our strength, heart, soul, mind.
As disciples, reflecting and imitating Jesus, we are to love others as ourselves.
Jesus didn't tell us to love those who love us first, so that we are just "returning the favor"...in fact, with the exception of God loving us first, this is not a prerequisite.
We are supposed to, commanded to, love even our enemies.
What is the mark, the sign, that the world will know who we are?
Is it bible knowledge, eloquent preaching, speaking in tongues, towering buildings, amazing worship and praise meetings ?
“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34, 35
Everything else is a distant second. No, actually, it's less than that; everything else means nothing, accomplishes nothing.
The knowledge, the training, wisdom and prophecy, philanthropy, in and of themselves, without love is pointless. Love, and only love, is what enables everything else, it is the purpose, the means, and the end, and properly applied, is the answer to every question.
Jesus tells us: "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:2)
I desire to be dealt with in love, in this life and the life to come, so I will choose to stock my "toolbox" with love and its associated attributes: lovingkindness, understanding, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, long suffering, empathy and sympathy, trust... And when I fail, it's my prayer that others will be gentle with me, and love me, smoothing over my many flaws and rough spots, believing and help renew and restore me.
After all, God is love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self‑seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Propensity 115

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34

People are born with a propensity to worry. It come "naturally", for the natural, fleshly nature. Without the Holy Spirit, without faith, we can only believe as far as we can see; with faith to match our checkbook.
One of my biggest life struggles was that of "little faith"...before my "spiritual revolution", before Jesus turned my tables over and exploded my paradigm of defeat and hopelessness, worry was always there. You see, I said I trusted the Lord, but that 401k was the thing my hope and security was based on, and He knew it.
God is much bigger than any bank account, any financial portfolio, any career position, any temporal thing that which may be here today and gone in the blink of an eye.
Hardship may continue to come, trials in various forms, but regardless, we are to follow the Good Shepherd.
When I am afraid I know I will trust in Him, go to Him, and casting my cares on my Abba, getting "up close and personal" , I can feel Him taking my face in His hands, with such softness and warmth, bringing me right up to His face, eye to eye...gently saying to me..."shhhshh, don't worry, I will never leave you or forsake you, I promise, I am here, comfort, comfort your soul."

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

Taking Him At His Word 240

The Holy Scriptures tell us that "God is not a man, that He should lie." (Numbers 23:19)
As we prepare for this "Holy Day", Christmas! I'm thinking about both His first visit, and Second Coming with anticipation. It's not an "if" it is a when.
He who is trustworthy, reliable, and truth incarnate, tells us, testifies:

“Behold, I am coming soon!
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”
“Behold, I am coming soon!
My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
And let him who hears say, “Come!”
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:7, 12, 13, 17, 20

He is coming for me, and that is all I need to know.
We will be together, Bridegroom and bride.
Whether I go to meet Him first or He comes to me,
it doesn't matter...
My prayer is simply: "whatever it takes, come quickly, Lord Jesus."

The Gift 19

"The people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:16,
Isaiah 9:2

In discussing the Christmas event my wife and I agreed not to excahnge gifts with each other, not because of the money, but simply because my heavenly Dad already has given me the Greatest Gift.
We can get so caught up with the commercial nature of the celebration of the birth of the Savior. Familiarities, traditions, and the hectic schedules we have sometimes obscure just how extravagant the Gift we have been given really is.
THE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT...
"In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:4 NIV84)
Jesus. Im-anu-el... God With Us. God's love come down. For us...
Isn't Christmas the preview of what is coming? “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3 NIV84)
In the Darwinian-post-post-modern world we now live in, where without Immanuel there would only be darkness, we have been given the greatest Gift mankind could ever hope for, preeminent above all things.
He is our Light, our Salvation, the Perfect Love that casts out all fear, He is our strength for today, the Hope for tomorrow and days to come, and so much more that words fail me.
Celebrate Jesus, beloved, not just for one day, but everyday.

A Matter of Degrees 116

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
Isaiah 53:6a

"No one who takes their hands off the plow is fit for the Kingdom"
Luke 9:62

Two years ago I sat in my home with my wife and pastors. I could hardly look at them...I was backslidden. All I could say was, " I am so far away from the Lord, so lost, and I have no idea how to get back..."
I had strayed off the Narrow Path, it has happened slowly, as "gates" went unguarded, in tiny increments, small thoughts, impulsive fleshly decisions, selfish actions...

There is a navigational principal that every pilot knows, where a vessel being just one degree off course will cause the vessel/aircraft to veer off course one mile for every sixty miles travelled.
Without vigilance, without keeping our eyes on the compass, the vessel will quickly be lost.
So we must be vigilant about our spiritual life, and focus on the goal, keeping "the fires burning", engaging with our Bridegroom, our first love, doing the things that help us to be drawn up close to Him- our prayer lives, feasting on His Word, the Holy Spirit occupying His temples, which is each of us. Staying on track requires effort in our spiritual and thought lives, dwelling on the things of the Lord, our tongues being instruments of blessing, praise, and worship, not curses.
Watch out for those "little foxes", be on guard, keep looking upwards and onwards.

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. "
Hebrews 12:1b-2a

The Prodigal's Father 239

"Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them." "
Luke 15:11, 12

We raise our children, "train them up in the way that they should go", but how then do we respond when choices made are not our choices, but the choice of one whom we have prepared to leave the nest? The prodigal's father, didn't argue with his son, make him feel wrong or foolish, he gave his son what he asked for, even though he might've thought that his son was headed the wrong way. He recognized that life's lessons, good and bad, are learned by experience, and no matter how convinced we are that we are right, we must release the reigns.

How then are we to respond when mistakes are made, especially after warnings and advice was communicated?
“But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:20
I want my children to know that even when mistakes are made, and they will be (Lord make them smaller ones rather than larger!) that I love them, and love covers a multitude of sins and mistakes.
The truth is that the things that I've done would've made the Prodigal Son blush.
I need to remember what drew me to repentance: lovingkindness, and the arms of a Father that I didn't deserve- not condemnation, judgement, and I-told-you-so's, and extend this lovingkindness to others-in like measure.

War

There are battles being waged in the heavenlies, all around us, all the time. Angels and demons wage war endlessly, the trophies are us; our lives, relationships, our very souls.
The accuser of the brethren is busy doing what he does best: accusing. Accusing us against ourselves, God, friends against friends, parents against their children, children against their parents, each other...the goal of the accuser are divided houses. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Molehills become mountains, offense flourishes as bitterness takes root, unforgiveness and misunderstanding fertilizes a poisoned crop. A harvest of destruction.

The truth here is that even though the Lord has made much progress, I'm still learning what it means to lay down my own will, to get my self out of the way. When my anger flares, when pride and offense combine explosively, and my compulsion is to "throw it into drive and step on the throttle", when I say or do things that come from my own flesh, I need to say, "Lord, I need your help here, please Father, step in here", to put myself into "park", stop, take a deep breath and humble myself before Him. I must be self surrendered, Jesus controlled, and remember that I am not enduring anything that Jesus hasn't already faced and overcome. I am flawed, a broken friend, husband, father; I know that apart from God there is no good thing in me, and I desperately need Him to rule and reign in every part of my life.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self‑controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"
1 Peter 5:7, 8

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:10-12

(Living On) Bread and Water

"Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it again."
Ecclesiastes 11:1

"Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified."
John 7:38, 39

We were made to live on bread and water. In the natural world these represent the basics, the very simplest of essential nourishment, synonymous with sustenance.
Jesus is the bread of life, He chose to be born in Beit Lechem, His hometown's name translated literally "House of Bread". Without Him, the Bread, our existence is meaningless, we are starved out from the promised abundant life, we are spiritual POW's, emaciated, like walking dead. In Him is fullness, light, joy, freedom, and so much more.
He is the fountainhead of the streams of living water. So many of Jesus' deeds during His earthly ministry involved water; His living water renews, heals, refreshes, strengthens, and satisfies, like nothing else can, or ever, will.
There is no substitute, try as we often will, to find one.
He is the only One who can satisfy that hunger and thirst deep down inside we all have.
Do you hunger and thirst today, beloved?
Blessing in right in front of you: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for they will be filled." (Matt.5:6)

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

Inconvenient? 302

"Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13

Everyone loves being loved, to be on the receiving end of having others do something extraordinary for them. What an amazing feeling...to know that you are valued, esteemed, cared for, thought of fondly, desired.
But to love others, to bestow on them lovingkindness, to esteem, serve, to give love extravagantly and sacrificially, can seemingly be downright inconvenient, from a worldly, fleshly viewpoint. It means putting somebody else ahead of ourselves.
We can love because God, our Father/ Bridegroom/King, loved us first.
When God gives us this revelation, it hits us square in the heart: the realization of what Jesus told us. Freely we have received, now we can freely give...a supernatural fusion/fission chain reaction, giving-receiving, repeated endlessly.
The burden of giving love, is not a burden at all, it is the easy yoke that lifts us upwards, and makes difficulties and hard things nothing but light and momentary afflictions.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self‑seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Good Places To Be From

"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt"
Genesis 19:26

Lot and his wife and family, hastily grabbed what they could, and got out of Sodom, and as they fled they saw the changes in the atmosphere, and then they heard the clamor of destruction raining down on that place. Even though they wanted to turn around and look back, Lot shouted the instructions of the angels: " NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR DON'T LOOK BACK!" Lot's wife, not able to keep her thoughts and actions captive any longer, succumbed, and looking back, was turned into a pillar of salt. A monument to disobedience.
I just read another blog, Worthy Brief, that highlighted an amazing point. The shoresh or root word for repentance is shuv, spelled in Hebrew שב sheen vet (Bet in its primary form) . The sheen is represented as teeth, ( destroy) vet or bet represents a house- literal meaning- to destroy the house. In ancient cultures when a country was conquered and people taken captive , their houses were destroyed, so that the captives would be discouraged from thinking of returning! There was no going back.
When Jesus captivates us, our hearts, minds and souls become His, we leave the dark spiritual places we came from, we are to focus on Jesus, we are not to look back.
There can be no flitting back and forth.
When the going gets tough, when we are in a pruning season, keep pushing forward beloved.
Remember Lot's wife!
(Luke 17:32)

"The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran." (Genesis 12:1, 4)

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:1-3)

Abiding, Pruning, Remaining/Garden Living

There is no place like home, and it has been said that "home is where the heart is".
To a hard heart, John 15 may sound like doublespeak, but I find it one of the most profound passages in the Holy Scriptures, directions for "Garden Living". Jesus tells us, "abide in Me, bear fruit, expect seasons of pruning, and as we bear sometimes painful pruning, don't become angry and confused, instead we must remain in Him. The challenge is how we handle the pruning! The fact is that as we bear fruit we will be pruned. So we shall continue in Him, and as we do everything we are called to do as disciples (followers, imitators)of the Lord Jesus, put the roots down deep, prepare for the various seasons. We drink from the same cup, so understand that we will not escape trouble and difficulties, that these things are being worked out for an eternal weight of glory. We were created to dwell with Him, and real life is only found in Him, abiding in Jesus as He abides in us, this mysterious and amazing synergy, but even rose gardens have thorns! There is a difference between be pruned (lifeless branches being trimmed off) and being cut off. To be cut off is the result of leaving the Garden, tearing off our branch in anger, unforgiveness, pride and attempting to do it "our way". That makes me think of the popular Sinatra song "My Way", which the world loves, but in fact the lyrics are utterly ridiculous. Where does our way lead? "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12)
So, not my will but Thy will, Lord, be done. I don't want to live outside the Garden, no, rather I am His resting place, my heart belongs to Him alone, we dwell in each other, and I gladly accept His blessings and His prunings, working together for His glory, as more fruit and life comes.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8 NIV84)

Deep

In John 4, the woman came to draw "water from the well", natural, regular water from an ordinary well, but she had no idea what she was about to encounter! She had been living on her terms, her life was a disaster, she had already had 5 husbands, not a good thing in any culture at any time in history, and especially so in the Samaritan culture. We don't know the conditions under which those relationships ended, but I know in my Spirit that she was looked down on, passed around, taken advantage of, had no self esteem, no hope, faith, or love. She was just trying to exist, and was looking for someone, anyone to show her some lovingkindness, and she was willing, more than willing, to throw herself at anyone who would show some semblance of interest. She was parched and empty inside.
Jesus said to her: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (John 4:7) Jesus was more than willing to give of Himself to this desperate woman, and to all of us who thirst. He wants us to know him , to commune with Him...to abide in Him.
There are many times that I am so desperately thirsty in my inner man, parched from being out in the arid desert of daily living that I need to drink from the Well, to obtain living water. The Well is deep, it's resources vast, and limitless, but there are some conditions. Because the Well is deep, we must go deep , as "deep calls unto deep" (Psalm 42:7) we have to want Him, really desire Him, seeking after the "living water".
We can have it, we need only be willing to receive.
There is a phenomenon known as sinkholes where the surface of the earth just collapses swallowing whatever was on that area, creating a huge hole. It is caused when the deep underground water tables shift and dry up, for a variety of reasons including drought. This sign is an illustration speaking of what can happen in life without the presence of Jesus, the author of living water.
"He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."
(Revelation 21:6, 7)
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
(Isaiah 55:1a NIV84)

Crossroads 300

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
1 Corinthians 1:18

"We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."
Romans 6:2-5

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2


When I was worshipping at our congregation recently, I remember gazing at the huge life-size cross on the worship platform, and the Holy Spirit revealed the shape of the cross as an intersection, the metaphor of a crossroads.
Traveling down the highway of life, we will come to stop signs, intersections. The "intersection" is where the natural and supernatural meet, where hopelessness, sin, death, and despair encounters-and is overcome by-love, hope, faith, and Life, the power of our loving, graceful, and merciful Father God.
We must put on the "turn signal", when we choose what God can do, even in the face of what the world would call "impossible" -BELIEVING GOD'S PLAN FOR OUR LIVES. A change of direction is initiated by a willing and surrendered heart.
So, beloved, if you took a wrong turn, if you know a change of heart and direction is needed, if you hear that still small voice saying, "This is My Way, GO THIS WAY, TIME TO CHANGE DIRECTION, TURN HERE!"
Stop, listen, and put that turn signal on!

Love 102

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar.
For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:7-21

I titled this blogpost LOVE 102, LOVE 101 is the well known "love chapter" 1 Corinthians 13.
John goes really deep here, and there are some truths that are stated here that are brutally honest. Who among us doesn't bear the scars of wounds caused by spiritual siblings who said they "loved" us, but made us gossip fodder, betrayed or abandoned us when they were most needed and trusted? The answers to these questions are why so many who consider themselves Christians are without church affiliation. They love God, crave fellowship, but have so hurt by legalistic, religious types who have appointed themselves as judges instead of showing that they understand Jesus' heart by loving, really loving others. The first and second commandments, to love the Lord with all our being, and love each other as ourselves, are wrapped up in the above quoted verses.
We honored a brother at church today, whose birthday almost passed by unnoticed, who is so selfless, so giving, so dependable and available that there is no need for him to tell his brothers and sisters that he loves them: it so obvious in everything he does. He gives extravagantly of everything he has: time, effort, money, and other resources. He never seeks his own good or self interests, and rarely, if ever, asks for anything in return, except for love. He is so quiet and unassuming sometimes, that his presence might be overlooked but not unnoticed or forgotten.
He is a living stone, an inspiration. I look up to him and see Jesus in and through his life.
Happy belated birthday, Chris, I love you brother!

Not For Spectators

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
John 14:12

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "
Matthew 7:16, 19, 20

In asking about one's faith, have you ever heard someone ask, " What religion do you observe?"
Interesting choice of words, but consider what following Jesus is all about and let's make something crystal clear: CHRISTIANITY IS NOT FOR SPECTATORS OR "OBSERVATION", AND BEING A DISCIPLE WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE PASSIVE, AND IS NOT MEANT TO BE "PERSONAL AND PRIVATE".
Jesus didn't say, "By their observations...", He said "by their fruits".
A picture is worth a thousand words, and we are being watched by others.
BY OUR FRUIT THEY (unbelievers) WILL KNOW US.
Christian living is all about participation. Jesus beckons us to follow Him, to act like Him. To be the salt and the light. To draw and provoke the walking dead (all who have not confessed Jesus, are not born again) and wounded to the Light, that is meant to shine from us and through us.
Jesus empowers us through His example and the Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of passages..."and he was filled with the Spirit"...and something amazing always happened, whether a prophetic declaration being made, or a man on foot outrunning a chariot. Each of us is in ministry, our lives-attitudes, demeanor, lifestyle, actions, are being noticed by those around us.
BY OUR FRUIT THEY WILL KNOW US.

Room Enough/Trading Places

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. "
Luke 2:4-7

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. "
Psalm 51:10

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
John 14:2-4

Is there room enough?
When Jesus came to earth, He was carried by a teenager, conceived out of wedlock; Mary and Joseph had to travel upwards over rocky terrain on foot and horseback about 120-130 miles. Upon their arrival they found that there was no room. No room for them, no room for them to bring the One into this world, except a dirty, decrepit, stinky out of the way place. To the busy, preoccupied world He came unannounced and unnoticed, but to those few who were listening and searching the Holy Scriptures, He had been long anticipated.
I like to read Luke during this season, and this morning as I read the words, "there was no room"... The Holy Spirit echoed inside my spirit, how this is like our hearts in the unredeemed state, before The Lord Jesus becomes Master. Filthy... Decrepit...junk piled up, like the dwelling place of a hoarder...no room for Jesus.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are amazing remodelers! As Smith Wigglesworth said, " Oh, the changes when Jesus comes!"
No place was prepared for His first coming, but nonetheless He has promised to prepare special place for us! A mansion, our mansion-the Scriptures tell us, and given the descriptions of the New Jerusalem in Revelation, our eyes have not seen, nor our ears heard, what has been prepared for us!

War & Peace

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
Matthew 10:34

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God..
James 4:4

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. "
John 14:27

How can Jesus say that He came to bring a sword, and not peace, but then, reassure us with His words recorded in John 14:27?
What is it that brings this war or peace that Jesus referred to?
The presence of sin, friendship with "the world", the world system, the spirit of fallen,corrupted, sinful humanity, ruled over by a fallen Lucifer, brings the sword that Jesus wields. Darkness, rebellion, sin are the realms He destroys, the unredeemed are the prisoners of war he releases and gives good gifts to...
The peace that Jesus promises comes only after He wins the war that rages inside us, against and around us. The enemy of our souls attacks when he's threatened, but when the smoke clears, when the noise of the world is quieted, when we surrender to Jesus, we are rescued. It is a peace that surpasses all comprehension, that those in the world cannot understand, that stills our spirit, even as sometimes disasters and horrible things swirl around us.
The keeper of a sometimes uneasy peace is the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. The Comforter.
He makes sure that the "boundary lines" of our hearts and spirits fall in pleasant spiritual places, if we listen to his still small voice, and obey.