Trials, troubles, difficult times... Thanks for the compliment!

            Did you ever hear about the guy who God thought so highly of He made him loose everything?  No really.  This guy had such a good standing with the Man upstairs that God made him loose everything, even his children.  Sound cruel?  I agree.  But let's look at it through His eyes.

            The devil comes before our Father and God says, "Have you seen my servant Job?"  So right away God initiates the whole thing.  And then the story proceeds.  You can read it in the bible.  But there is one point that jumps out at me.  It was because God spoke well of Job that he receive these trials. 

Checkbook

            Have you ever felt like saying, "Boy, did I ever blow it."?  If you haven't you’re either very blessed, or very blind.  Well I pulled one of these one day years back.  It had to do with a pen, a checkbook and two little voices.

            I had woken up before the rest of the house on a Saturday morning.  I straightened up, got my bible and started a pot of coffee.  Just as I heard the first sounds of coffee dripping my wife came down the stairs.  "Perfect timing," I said.  "I just put a pot of coffee on." 

            She sat at the table and looked at the clock.  "I should go to the store while Rachel is still asleep." 

            Good plan,  I thought.  A Saturday morning food store run is not my idea of bliss.  So my wife got a piece of paper and sat down to write a list.  "Do you have a pen?"  I said I had one in my bag.  So I went to get it.  It was in the checkbook. 

            Now my wife and I each carried a checkbook at the time.  They were on the same account.  I kept one to pay the bills from, she had the other for food shopping.  As I picked up the checkbook I thought, "Maybe I should give her the checkbook too."  But then I reasoned that she might find this to authoritative, to overbearing.  After all she is a grown woman.  If she needed the checkbook, she'd let me know.  So I just brought her the pen.

            About a half an hour after she left I saw her walking up the walkway.  She didn't look happy.  I went to the door to meet her.  "What's up?"  I asked.  "Why isn't there any money in the account?  I just tried to use the MAC machine and it won't let me take money out.  This is ridiculous.  Where's your checkbook? "

           I could have gone into an explanation of how she had gotten to the bank late the day before with the deposit so it wouldn't show up until Monday.  I could have said, "You knew there wasn't any money available.  I told you that you had to write a check."  I could have said a lot of things.  But from the look of disappointment on her face I could only say, "I'm sorry sweetheart."  But it wasn't because I had done something to her.  She could tell you that.  She was frustrated that she had to come home again.  She probably knew that she had no checks and forgot about the money.  What I was sorry for was the fact that I hadn't listened to God.

Prayer is that gift

Prayer is that gift

          which God has placed in our hands

To come boldly to His throne

          with our life's demands

And to ask Him for His help

          as we fight each daily war

That my friend is the reason

that's what prayer is for
That... and so much more

SDG

Little laundry

            Years ago I was pulling the last load out of the dryer.  In it were my grandson's clothes.  There were little shirts and little pants.  Even some little socks and underwear.  It was a pretty big load.  And as I stood there wondering how exactly one goes about folding little laundry, I began to think about my daughter.  She had my grandson while she was still in high school.  It was her senior year and it was hard.  I remember picking her up from work one day before he was born.  She had to have a job for a school program she was in.  It was at a day care facility.  As I drove up to the building I saw her carrying the garbage out to the dumpster and heaving it over.  I couldn't believe that one of the other women didn't offer to do this for her.  But that was typical of what she encountered.  Scorn.  Judgment.  A lot of turned up noses.  "You made your bed...".  "I'm glad my daughter...".

            The cost of doing what is right.  Knowing what lies ahead for you.  Realizing a lot of it is a mystery.  That little laundry made me proud.  It made me respect my daughter a bit more.  Sure I had thought of it before.  But it was hitting home again.  Right there in front of the dryer.

            How many of us would have that courage.  The courage to do what is right when you've made some wrong decisions.  The courage to say "let them talk".  The courage to love.  She could have bailed out.  Those who knew would understand.  Most would never even know.  But she stood for what she felt was right.  She had conviction.  And she stood.

            We are called to stand with this same conviction.  "Having done all, stand."  Sure, we have all made wrong decisions before.  We've screwed up.  We've made messes.  But that is now behind us.  We aren't to carry that with us and have it stop us.  Like my daughter we must say "let them talk".  The enemy wants nothing more than for us to be hesitant.  He wants us to feel that we don't have the right to stand now, having fallen before.  But it is not our strength that keeps us on our feet with our backs straight.  It is His.

            Stand.  In the face of adversity.  Stand.  When you want most to sit quietly.  To go unnoticed.  To balance on the gray line between right and wrong.  Stand.

            And some day, you'll remember your "little laundry" and you will know that He is smiling down on you.  Saying, "I'm so proud of you for standing."

SDG

The First World Cup

We, as men, are wired to compete.  We have the battle built into us.  For recreation, of all things, we devise activities that we call “games” (just to hide the real intent) during which we willingly sweat, spill our own blood, try to spill the blood of others, and ultimately find ourselves triumphant.

We measure ourselves often by our red badges of courage – those war wounds that we are reluctant to wipe off, but would rather have them dry and cake up on our clothing that we might have a chance to relive the story when someone asks, “What happened?”

It is all about the battle.  It is all about conquering.  It is all about showing our power. 

If we could we would catch all of the blood we spill in a cup just to show that we gave it.

Maybe that is why it is called the World Cup.  At the end of the day it is the team, the men, who spilled the most blood that win.

Have you ever heard the story of the first World Cup?  The blood that filled that one has never been forgotten.

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” Matt 26:39, 42

Christ took that cup.  He filled it with His blood   He poured it out for us… for our sins, so that all of what we owed God for the times that we dishonored Him might be paid.

We were redeemed by that Cup.

And even though it was filled… for He gave every last drop… it only would have taken one drop. 

Maybe that is why we strive so much in competition.  Maybe that is why we try so hard to conquer… to show that we are worthy of His blood.

But we aren’t of His blood… we are made worthy by His blood.

And that blood… that red badge… I’m gonna let that dry and cake up on me so when people ask “What happened?” I can tell them…

He took the Cup.

SDG

Afraid in the night?

            I guess I was bout six years old.  I had had a nightmare.  A whopper of a nightmare.  And as most six-year-olds will do (at least I tell myself that, so I don't feel like a wimp) I woke up and ran into my parents' room.  My mother's side of the bed faced the door.  I think that evolved from years of nursing babies in the middle of the night.  There were five of us between me, my sister and my brothers.  My father didn't have the equipment to do the job.  So my mother needed a clear path to the door.

            She was the first one I saw.  So I pleaded my cause, "Mommy, I had a nightmare."  I thought I sounded desperate enough.  She didn't.

            "Go back to sleep.  It's just a bad dream."

            No.  It was a NIGHTMARE.  A bad dream is when you miss the winning shot.  Or you loose a race.  This was a nightmare.  I was scared.  I was not going back to that bed.  No sir. 

            I could tell my mother was not getting up.  She hadn't even opened her eyes.  So I ran to the other side of the bed.  "Daddy, I had a nightmare."

            This time I saw the covers come off.  He sat up.  "Come on, let's go get a cup of tea."

            He took me down to the kitchen, started a pot of tea and stayed with me.  I can't recall at all what he said.  I can't remember if I slept the rest of the night in his bed.  But what I can remember was that he stayed with me.

            What made my father's reaction so different from my mother's?  She didn't really like me.  No just kidding.  It had nothing to do with my mother.  It had to do with my father.  And I recently realized what it may have been.

            You see my father knew what it was like to be alone, at night, afraid, unable to sleep.  He had been in the war.  He had been MIA for three days.  In the jungles of Vietnam.  He knew sleepless nights caused by the uncertainty of the unexpected.  He didn't just have sympathy for me.  He had empathy.  He shared my position.  He knew the comfort I needed because he had needed it himself.  And so he stayed with me.

            When you are feeling alone, forgotten, forsaken.  You can know that He will stay with you.  In the middle of the night, when all others will sleep.  He will not leave you.  He knows the feeling.  He has felt this pain.  As He hung upon that cross He cried in agony, "My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken me?"  If ever a man were truly alone, it was our Lord at that moment.  His friends had fled.  His enemies were laughing.  Believe me… He knows your pain, your anxiety.  He will not leave you to face the night alone.  He will stay with you.

This is the Father we have.  

SDG

State of the Union: Secular 1: Sacred 0

If a union is formed when people come into full agreement or contract... then do we ever really have one?

Whether it is in a country, a city, or the Church... I have yet to see a group of people who are in 100% agreement on everything. 

What we want is unity.  Unity is standing together and loving one another despite our differences.  I know I have written it before but I want to reitterate for a particular reason:

The secular trumped the sacred again!

That's right.  If we want a good example of unity we can't look to the Body of Christ, but rather to those against it.

I have never met a more diverse group... with so many varying opinions... who are nothing like eachother... who often don't like eachother... that can unite with such passion against one thing... as those who are against the Christian worldview.

Christians are mocked and made to seem unintelligent.  They are belittled and laughed at.  And the world is seemingly silent. 

What would you call a spirit that is shared among so many, that is able to unite such a diverse group to be against Christ?

You got it... the spirit of anti-Christ.  Not yet embody in one person... the spirit of anti-Christ is so apparent in the world today that Christians everywhere should be rejoicing for the hope of that Great Day.

Until then... the Body of Christ needs to demonstrate unity.  If all who confessed Christ, regardless of denomination, stood together and loved one another despite our differences... the world would be convicted of its sin.

Let's not let the secular continue to trump us in the area of unity.

Let the cross unite us.

SDG

Let's face it...

            I don't know about you but when I get bored in the car and the radio is on I try to give faces to the voices I hear.  If it is a program I listen to regularly I see the same face again and again.  I give certain characteristics to someone with a deep voice and others to those who have a high voice or a lisp.  If the person sounds old I throw grey hair on their head.  It makes for good entertainment.  And it makes it easier to listen when you feel as though it is more of a conversation with a friend.  You feel as though you know the person better once you've seen their face.

            But when I see pictures of the people, guess what?  I'm never right.  Maybe the grey hair thing.  But I can never get the nose just right or the way their hair looks.  Just by the odds I might get the eyes.  But the point is this:  until you see that person you can't guess what they look like because they are unique. 

            And God is the same way.  We can't ever put a face on God.  No one has ever seen Him.  Well except the Son of course.  Try as we may, we will never know what He looks like until we are with Him.  Bummer.  But what characteristics would you give to the face of God?  Would you give Him a stern brow like a merciless judge.  Or would you give Him empathetic eyes, like those of and old man who has had to watch his son's wife die, being himself a widower.  I'm sure we'd do the grey hair thing with Him.  I mean come on.  The guy is older than time.

            How we pray to Him can depend greatly on that face we give Him in our minds.  We may feel distant and unworthy.  We may feel frightened or nervous if we see Him as vindictive and eager to pass judgment.  We must always remember that the face we picture must be the face of a Father who loves His children so much that he is willing to go to the grave in order to have them come home to Him.  It must be the face of an expectant Father who has a table prepared for a feast and can't wait to have you sit down.  It must be a loving, forgiving, gentle face.  A face that causes you to be at peace. 

            The Face of Life that helps you face this life, knowing the life you will face, in the end, or shall we say, the beginning.

SDG

Prayer

As lightning striking in a storm:

          Expected

          Yet without warning

          Piercing the darkness

          Shaking the earth

So is the answer to a prayer

SDG

Leave the blisters alone

            Have you ever gotten a burn that blistered?  Or maybe you were working with your hands and the constant pressure and irritation made a blister show up.  If you're like me, that blister doesn't last long before you peel it off.  But if you get at it too soon and the skin underneath hasn't had a chance to heal you uncover some really sensitive skin and then the healing process takes longer and hurts more.  So eventually we learn to leave the blister alone and wait until it goes away.  Maybe it doesn't look all that great and the temptation to rip it off is really strong but if you leave it alone it will eventually heal the right way and there won't be a scar.

            So many times we have "blisters" in our lives that we just won't leave alone.  When something really bad happens in our life, something that hurts us or discourages us part of the Lord's healing process is that blister.  It may come as silence from a friend that may have hurt you or that you may have hurt.  It may come as feelings that you have that you don't understand.  In a marriage it may seem as though there is a wall up or a sheet between you and your spouse.  Who knows?  But the point is that if you let God take the time that He intended then the healing will be complete and there won't be any scarring.  Our own impatience causes us to "rip at the skin" hoping that in some way you will speed up the healing process.  But it won't.  "oh the air is good for it," you might say.  But a blister is there to protect the sensitive skin as it heals so that it can concentrate on the healing. And in the same way God protects us from more pain if we are patient and allow Him to heal us.  The skin will heal and the blister will come off and you won't be scarred.  It's a promise from Him.  He will complete what He has started.  But for heaven's sake, don't pick at the skin.  You will do more harm than good.

            One quick note:  We would all agree that to pick at someone else's physical blister would be ridiculous.  So let's keep that in mind when we see someone with a "blister" that may have come from there spiritual life.  We would be hurting them if we picked at there skin.

SDG

The wrong controller

            I was sitting in my son's room reading, when my grandson, then five years old, came in and sat down in front of the video games.

            "Can I play a video game Pop pop?" 

            "Sure Pal, you know how to turn it on."

            Out of the corner of my eye I could see him frantically hammering away on the controller, twisting his body in an effort to make the man on the screen move, but to no avail.  I kept hearing the "death music"... WHA WHa Wha wha. 

            "How's everything going, Pal?"

            "I can't get this guy to move!"

            Then I realized he was holding the wrong controller.  It was a one player game and he was holding the player two controller.  So I told him to put down the controller, go up to the box and work backwards to find the right one, the one that was connected.  At first he just tried to look for it but the wires were so tangled that he couldn't find it.  "Calm down a second Pal," I said, "Now put your fingers on the wire and move them down without letting go."  He did and it made all the difference.  Every man still died but it was because he had no clue how to play the game not because he was using the wrong controller.

            How many times in our lives have we done just what my grandson did?  We look at a situation and without first making sure that we have the right controller, we try with all our efforts to "fix it" or to "play the game" or to "handle it".  We hammer away at the fire buttons and rail our bodies about thinking it will make a difference.  And it isn't until we have either become so frustrated or someone puts their hand on our shoulder and says, "Are you sure you're using the right controller" that we sit back and start at the beginning. 

           

            And what should that beginning be?  Making sure you are connected to the source of all of the action, God. 

           

            Plug into His Word and hand the control over to Him, where it belongs.  And much like my grandson we may not be able to just look and figure out what we should be holding onto, we actually have to get back in touch with it.  The situation may be too confusing or difficult for us to observe from a distance.  We have to hold on and not let go as we move our hands down the wire.

SDG

Tying up the lines

            Have you ever been expecting an important call that just doesn't seem to come?  Maybe it's that interview you just went on, or that call from the coach telling you that you made the team.  Maybe it's a friend that said they would call, or that someone that you wish would.  Whatever the call, whether it came or not, did picking up the phone before it rang ever prove to speed the process along?  Doesn't it make much more sense to wait for the phone to ring? 

            Maybe you don't actually pick the phone up, but you might sit by it and stare.  Everything else that was to happen that day gets put on hold, your world stops.

            Too many of us pick the phone up before it rings.  We figure, "I'm ready Lord.  Send me now."  Or, "Okay Lord, ask me to..."  But think of the problems with this.  You could be tying up the lines.  He could be calling you to something completely different than the call you are expecting or wanting.  But by being preoccupied, and wanting to do something specific for God we can in fact delay the opportunity to serve Him as He desires.

"Lord, you know I'd make a great preacher/minister/counselor/ whatever so why are you waiting?"  Could this be you?  Could this be what you are asking?  Are you getting frustrated because you feel you are not doing enough for Him?  Well stop tying up the lines.  Wait for His call.  Know that He will send you where He will and He will equip you for the journey.  Many times He sends you where you are least prepared to go.  He may do this so that you learn to depend on Him for more.

            Believe it or not He calls people to make glue, and wash floors, and deliver pizza.  He's not limited.  Don't limit Him.

1 Corinthians 12: 28-31

SDG

Think about it...

            After the Lord sent them from the garden He returned again to the center where stood the two trees.  And He looked upon them.  The one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, had they taken from, beguiled by the serpent.  That wicked, fallen angel.  But now, standing at the foot of these trees, the Lord declared, "From this tree my children have taken against my will.  But from the other tree, the tree of the knowledge of life and death, they will enjoy freely."  And with that He commanded his angels to cut the tree down, to fashion its trunk and its bows into two beams.  Then the Lord took the beams.  And reaching across time, He placed them in a carpenter’s shop against a wall.  And the beams were taken by the carpenter, by the order of a Roman guard, and they were fashioned into a cross.  And that cross was carried to a hill, by a condemned man.  And to those beams, to that cross, was this man nailed.  And the blood flowed over it.  And there, on that hill, once for all, was the Tree given.  And with it, the knowledge of life and death.  So that all who came to it, and accepted it, may enjoy life eternal.

Factual... maybe more just a story... maybe a parable.  But I think we get the picture.  Our redemption has always been His plan.  If not... would there have been the two trees?

SDG

Virtual eternity

            Everyone and some point has heard of virtual reality.  Computer generated effects that seem incredibly real.  Maybe you put a mask on that covers your eyes from any outside vision, possibly you even stand on a special platform that moves when you move.  Everything is so intense and detailed that you feel like it is genuine.  But it isn't.  In the end you take off the mask and leave the fantasy world.  What makes it so convincing is that it takes images of what you do know and what is real and copies them.  They are merely reflections of what is true.

            Our lives here in the physical, material world are they very same thing.  They are reflections of what is true.  The bible says that those things that are visible are not eternal because we can see them fade away.  But those things that are invisible are the things that are eternal.  What we actually have here is a reflection of the eternal.  Could this afford some explanation to why there is so much good and still so much evil in the world?  If hell is eternal then there will be reflections of it here and now.  And for heaven, the same. 

            This can lead some to say, "I don't believe in hell.  I think that when you die if there is a heaven, you go there."  Or, "I've suffered enough in this life.  If there is a heaven I deserved to go."

            These thoughts are doubled minded.  How can you not believe in eternal life away from God but you are willing to accept, and even believe that you deserve, eternal life with Him?  If there were no place of eternal separation from God then there would be no reflection of that manifested here.  People choose life eternal with out Him just as they choose life eternal with Him.

            But fair is fair.  We should be able to choose based on experience and knowledge rather than by word of mouth.  Why should we have to believe what someone else says (I'm playing the Devil's advocate here.) about eternal life?  He should let us have a test drive, you know, let us slap on the virtual eternity mask and get a preview.

            And so He does.  This life here allows for that.  Look around you.  Do you see anyone suffering?  Going hungry?  Do you see people doing terrible things and causing others pain?  Do you feel love for or from someone?  Have you ever felt rejection?  Felt alone? Have you ever noticed the beauty of the untouched mountain, the peace of the ocean tide?  Heard the laugh of an infant?  These are a few of my favorite things.  When the dog bites, when the...  Oooops, I lost it there for a minute.  Excuse my drifting.  The point is...

            ... if you follow God's plan for salvation it leaves you to conclude this: for those who accept Jesus, this life and the reflection of Hell that it offers is all the Hell that the redeemed will ever see; for those, however, that do not accept Jesus, this life and its reflection of Heaven is all the Heaven they will ever see.  Eventually our time in this world will pass, we will move on.  Where we will move on to is the question.  Rather it is the choice. 

SDG

When our father is watching

            I heard a wonderful story on the radio I would like to relate to you.  I hope it inspires you as much as it did me.

            "There was a boy who went to college and went out for the football team.  He made the team, but was never really good enough to play in the games.  But he tried hard and suited up for every game.

            Throughout his four years at the school the boy became known for two things: his dedication to the team and his relationship with his father.  His father would visit him frequently and they would be seen walking arm in arm through the campus, deep in conversation.

            Well, in the boy's fourth year of school, during the football season, his father passed away.  The coach was notified and asked to relay the news to the boy.  The boy was very upset and went home for the funeral. 

            He was back in time for the next game and suited up as usual.  During the game he went to the coach and said, 'Coach, I've been on the team now for four years and have never gotten a chance to play.  Could you put me in for just a few minutes?'

            The coach figured it wouldn't hurt if he went in for a few minutes and thought it might help take his mind off his father.  Well the boy played like the coach had never seen.  He was amazed at what this boy was doing on the field.  He had never seen anyone play like that before.  So he kept him in for the rest of the game.

            When the game was over the coach approached the boy and said, 'Son, in the four years you've been on this team I have never seen you play like that.  How were you able to play like that today?  I want an explanation.'

            The boy replied, 'Well coach what you didn't know about my father was that he was blind.  And today is the first day he has ever seen me play.'

            I still have goose bumps.  When we think of our Father in heaven looking down upon us it shouldn't be in fear of condemnation.  We shouldn't be thinking, "I'd better watch what I do because He is watching."  We should rather be striving to do our best to please Him.  Like the boy in the story we should find great strength and ability knowing that our Father is watching us and is pleased with our efforts.

SDG

Spiritual Oppression

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Acts 10:38

No one who has accepted Christ can be possessed of the devil.  For where light is, there no darkness can be.

But the devil can talk to us… as he did Christ in the desert.  The question is… will we listen?

I want to take a moment to talk about the differences between depression, possession, and oppression.  It is important to find the empowering position we have in Christ in order to free ourselves and others from the work of the enemy.

The devil is a subtle, crafty, lying thief.  He seeks only to steal, kill, and destroy.  When he sees a blood bought believer in Jesus who has not been trained in spiritual warfare he comes at them subtly.  He wants to have the conversation.  The conversation that makes you think just a little bit differently and so causes you to lose sight of who you are in Christ.

It happened to me for years.

The world would say I was depressed.  Thoughts of self hatred and suicide.  Feelings of condemnation.  I kept it in.  I knew it was spiritual. I knew it was not possession.  I knew that it was oppression. 

Then why did it go on for so long?

Because I didn’t realize that it was a conversation.

The devil had a conversation with Eve.  She was deceived.

The devil had a conversation with Christ.  He was not.

As those bought by the blood of the Lamb… as those who have been redeemed… as those who are joint-heirs with Christ… we are more than conquerors.

When the devil comes with that subtle whisper… “You’re not good enough…”  “You’re better off dead…”  “She’ll never love you…”  “One won’t hurt…”  “I can look, but just no touch…”

Don’t listen.  Exit the conversation.  The enemy entertains us with thoughts. 

We can, through Christ, bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Believers are oppressed of the enemy by… are you ready for this?... ignorance.

Sound harsh?   Sorry.  But it is true.  I can testify as one who was ignorant.  And ignorance is not lack of knowledge of but rather ignoring the fact of.  We think that we can’t be oppressed of the devil.  We think we are too holy.  But that is just what the enemy wants us to believe.

The enemy always looks for an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NKJV)

I am no doctor.  But I will say this.  If you have “symptoms” of depression (as the world describes it) it may just be spiritual oppression.  It might be that the enemy is having a conversation with you, and you are choosing to continue it.

Like I did.

I came to Christ… and still fought with self hatred.  It was as though I was two people.  I would constantly have thoughts of suicide.  And I would cling to the fact that Christ died for me, therefore, to Him… I was worth dying for.  It was where I got all of my worth.

And then, one day… when I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore and I cried out to Him… He simply said, “Stop listening.”  At first I didn’t know to what, but then it hit me (Praise God!).

Stop listening to the lies.  Stop listening to anything that is contrary to the thoughts of God toward us… “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jer 29:11

If it is a thought of self hatred, or to harm yourself… it is not from God.  In fact, it never crosses His mind.  His thoughts are of peace AND NOT TO HARM YOU.

Stop listening to the enemy.

When you look down on yourself, you exalt yourself.  Did you catch that?  Looking down on yourself puts you above yourself.  It puts your higher… not Christ.

I can hear Him say it… when you look down on yourself… “What are you looking at?... Look Up!”  And then, as He always does… He is “the glory and the lifter of our heads.” (Psalm 3:3)

He picks our chin up.

If you have ever dealt with any feeling of self hatred, or thoughts of suicide or doing harm to yourself… if you have ever thought that you are unlovable or that no one loves you…

I am praying for you.  Jesus loves you.  You were worth dieing for.  The God of heaven, the Father of us all loved you so much that He gave His only Son for you.

He died that we may have life.

Don’t listen to the lies.  Come to the Truth.

Father,

That all those who are oppressed of the devil, all those who are caught up in the conversation, all those whose thoughts of themselves do not line up with Your thoughts toward them… that they, through the Blood of the Lamb, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… might be delivered and healed at the very reading of these words and that they would know that You are with them.

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen

SDG

Prayer of Faith

It is my position that no man other than Christ Himself has ever prayed the Prayer of Faith.  There is one word used for prayer in scripture in the sense of the requests made with confidence to God.  I believe it is (and the spelling here is wrong) prozeuchemai.  However, for “the prayer of faith” the word euche is used.  One definition of this word is “vow” in the sense of an oath that has been taken and one in which the one who has given the vow is absolutely bound to perform.  The “Prayer of Faith” is the very same oath that Jesus has both proclaimed and bound Himself to, certain that it will be performed.

Jesus must heal you.  He is bound by His vow. 

It is also important to know that the word translated “shall” or often “will” is not a future tense word.  It is a declarative that states certainty.  Again… the vow… the euche pistis.

Don’t be waiting for the “Prayer of Faith” to be prayed.  Know that it has already been, by Christ.

SDG

Falling sparrows

Are you a falling sparrow?  Don't answer that.  It's a trick question.  I was only looking for a lead in.  You see when Jesus was telling one of his parables he mentioned that two sparrows were sold for a farthing. (my grocery store doesn't carry sparrow so I couldn't check the price)  Then he told us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father.  He was trying to let us know that the Father in heaven cares about us and that nothing takes him by surprise.  But the point I want to look at is this...  in the verse (Matt 10:29), it doesn't say, "and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father knowing."  What it does say however is this, "and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father."  Period. 

            Wherever you are in your life, no matter how desperate it seems, no matter how low or how hopeless it may seem... your heavenly Father is there with you.  The only time you are ever alone is when you fail to see Him there.  And even then you are only mistaken.  You are never alone.

SDG

When we pray...

When we work...
         We work.
When we pray...
                     God works

There is no more powerful act that we can partake in than prayer.  The promise of scripture, the promise of our Lord... that whatever we ask in His name, He hears... and He is not deaf.  He will answer our prayer.


SDG

Battery powered

            I got this new timer.  The box said "battery included".  So I hit the "on" button figuring that the LED would light up and I could set the timer.  But it didn't.  No matter how many times I hit it.  (Yes I did hit it more than once.  I know, I know, there was no logical reason.)  So I looked in the box, figuring the battery was not installed.  But there was no battery in the box.  So I opened up the back of the timer.  And there it was.  In the right place.  But there was this little piece of tape covering the edge of the battery.  It was put there to keep the battery from running out.  So I removed it and, viola, the timer came on. 

            It was all in the connection.  Without the connection there was no power.

            We, too, need to be connected to get power.  To the Father that is.  And how do we do that?  Through the Son.  Jesus said that He and the Father were one.  That He was our intercessor to the Father.  That because of Him the Father would send the Holy Spirit and Jesus would baptize us with it.  But all this power, all this love, all this forgiveness, all of this cannot show through us if we are not connected.  We may be very close.  We may be just like that battery.  In the right place, fitting perfectly, but with a small strip of tape keeping us from being connected and feeling that power.

            If you are having a hard time forgiving, or loving, or walking with Him...  If you are carrying past hurts, past losses or disappointments... If you are slowing spiritually, struggling with your faith or feeling lonely... find out what that tape is and work at removing it.  When that connection is made, the power will be incredible.  It will strengthen you.  It will give you the power to love, to forgive.  It will heal you.  It will give you the strength to carry on through difficult times.  It will give you peace beyond all understanding.  It will revive the fire in you, that thirst for the Spirit, that longing for His love.  That desire to pass it on.  When that connection is made, all heaven will break loose.  And you will feel the power.

SDG

Time to Renovate

“For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” Gal 2:18

God is the Master Builder.  His house is to be called a house of prayer.  A temple filled with praise and worship; a place where the presence of the Holy Spirit is seen in the cloud of glory that surrounds us… a place where we can commune with the God of Love.

This is the house that He sought to build.  And we are in it.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit, vessels of the grace that Jesus has shown and provides.

The Architect had laid his plans.  And when we came to the cross, all of the mansions and high-rises that we constructed in our own strength were demolished,… cast down.  We gladly let the Master Builder bring in His wrecking crew to destroy the work of our hands, the hands of flesh, and begin His new work in our lives.

If we then decide that we want to build… in our own strength… structures, systems of rules, orders of polity, orders of service, rights of passage… what does that make us?

You got it.  Transgressors.  Were it not for the power of the Holy Spirit, and the sanctification that comes through the Blood of the Lamb, we would toil, sweat, work, tire, and build on uncertain foundations.

But let us, as workers and servants… co-laborers with Christ… grab hold of the hammers and saws… let us get to work in renovating… on the foundation that is Christ and according to the plans laid by the Master Builder!

Build within your life and within your congregations that which the Father in heaven desires… His house!  And let it be as He would have it, that it might be called a house of prayer!

We are the building.  If we do not pray… always… and foremost… how can His house be called than which it is not?

Pray! Pray!  PRAY!!!

And know that I am in prayer for you.

SDG

Three levels of prophecy

There are three levels of new testement prophesying, or speaking on behalf of God.  Each represents relationship to a person of the Godhead.  Each is powerful and critical.  As you are faithful in one He will give you more of it and can move you to greater levels of exercising the gift. 

The first level is speaking what God the Father has revealed through the scriptures.  This demonstrates good stewardship of what we know is true and what has already been revealed.  We must rightly divide the word of truth and be faithful in the ministering of it for the blessing of the gift to increase to the next level.  This level represents God the Father, the foundation of all of the convenants and promises.  It is available to all those who seek God through the truth of scripture.  For example, I can tell anyone and anyone can tell anyone else a promise of scripture and it is true, for God is not a liar.

The second level is speaking what the Father reveals to you directly.  This level represents Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father.  Just as Jesus said that He only said what He heard from the Father we too can hear the Father speak to us and repeat it on His behalf.  Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom operate on the level and are a gift of the Holy Spirit.  Anyone who believes in Jesus and has received the Holy Spirit can be used in this way because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. 

The third level of prophesying, and acting as a prophet (and this was the WOW that the Lord revealed to me above all) is speaking from the position of and with the authority of Christ, and represents the Holy Spirit.  This is only available to someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit and has been faithful in ministering the Word of God through prophesy at the second level.  This is when the prophet speaks something into someone's life that they have not received directly from God but that they know is in line with God's character.  It rises up as a request before the Father through the name of Jesus and because of the prescence of the Holy Spirit in the one prophesying that request can be granted.  Here was a big "catch"... the one to whom the prophesy was given must receive and believe or it will not come to pass.  This does not make the prophet false.  Consider if Samuel's mother, or Elizabeth, or Sarah had not then went home and lay with their husbands... they would not have had children and the prophesies would not have come to pass.  When Paul was annoyed with the woman with the spirit of divination he acted at this level when he made her silent... the demon being subject unto agreement because of the name of Jesus.

SDG

The calm before the storm

            I remember always being fascinated by the calm that came before the storm.  It felt as thought the world was numb.  It was a feeling I couldn't completely describe.  It was neither hot nor cold.  It was still.  Comfortable.  I always found this the best time to shoot baskets in my driveway.  There was no sun to get in my eyes.  No wind to distort my shot.  I grew cherish these times.

            But I learned from them as well.  The deeper this stillness.  The more comfortable.  These usually hinted toward the severity of the storm.  There was no question that a storm was on the way.  But how bad of a storm was the question.  I learned to seize the moment when it came.  Make the best use of it.  I began to recognize it for what it was.  A time of rest.  A time of preparation. 

            Our Father in heaven gives us these same times before the storms in our lives.  They may last quite a while.  They may be only a few minutes.  When everyone has fallen asleep and the dogs aren't barking.  The TV is off and the house is still.  Were there crickets, you would hear them.  The squeak of the rocking chair echoes.  And there it lies.  Your calm.  Your gift from Him.  Did you miss it?  Did you not see it for what it was?  Every day can be a storm.  So use this time to prepare for it.  To rest in His arms. 

            But do not be afraid.  If you missed it.  If you've walked into a wall of rain.  If the wind is howling.  If every part of your world seems to be bending from the fierce winds.  If the clouds are blocking the sun and your whole worlds seems dark.  Remember this...  He can calm the storm.  There are a few words from a song I heard.  They ring so true I have to share them with you.  They made me long for the calm to cease and the storm to come.

            "Sometimes He calms the storm.  With a whisper 'Peace be still', He can answer any prayer.  But that doesn't mean He will.  Sometimes He holds you close.  And lets the wind and waves go wild.  Sometimes He calms the storm.  And other times He calms His child."

            When I heard this I thought, "If He holds me close in the storms.  Let it rain."

SDG