There is an odd story in 1 Samuel 30 where David and his men are pursuing some thieves and part of the team by virtue of circumstances needs to stop and wait by the stuff rather than continue and fight in the battle...
When Davids men get the victory and return to the "waiters" an argument breaks out about who gets what stuff, the men who went on the battle suggest that those who waited by the stuff only get to keep what they guarded of their own, David tells them NO!
"So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day."
David made it an eternal decree that those who wait by the stuff get the same reward as those who go into the battle...
"All will share alike"...meaning the division of the spoil of battle will be given to each person equally regardless of if they were in the battle or simply guarding the stuff.
I started out in ministry with a lot of hope and lot of energy and a whole lot of ignorance.
I look back and realize the incredible hand of God in keeping me on track...I have been adopted by just about every ministry that I have encountered, I somehow managed to be grafted in to ministries and covenants that really I had no right to.
This has been really humbling to a guy deeply aware that his natural father did not want him, his adopted father did not understand him and his dream partner left him for someone else.
To be grafted in to families and ministries by the hand of God speaks volumes about His grace and Agape love for me in spite of my insecurites.
As I finished a chapter in my life last year I became accutely aware that Jesus had a promise for me...just as real as any other visitation from Him Jesus let me know that my "remaining by the stuff" these last 16 years did not go unnoticed and I would recieve the same pay as those who went out to battle.
It is an eternal decree that the House of David has made that if you stay by the stuff, being obedient to guard and nurture what has been left behind you will in turn receive the same reward as anyone who manages to keep it together enough to stay in the battle.
Within that promise to me are very specific words about the things I stopped pursuing in order to raise my kids...in some fashion I put my own dreams on hold, my own needs on the back burner and poured out my life in order to remain a Godly example to my kids as I raised them.
Really the reward I was seeking was to see them made whole and complete and God has been faithful, my kids have not been messed up or disabled by the divorce and heartache that a split family normally produces, for the most part my kids are confident, whole and serving God on their own which is a testimony to His Grace.
Frankly I did not make those sacrifices for a reward, I made them because that's the kind of person I wanted to be.
So when Jesus showed up with this promise of ministry and relationship and life, that I would recieve the same share as someone who had never left the battlefield, I was completely undone.
I still am...it messes me up to know that Jesus is thinking about the stuff I quietly sacrificed and turned away from...
My heart was always in the battle, I have always been driven to advance the Kingdom of God and really...I felt that my part would simply be in raising my kids for the kingdom and that would be it...
But God is always bigger than we believe, and He is always better than we imagine, and His promise is always greater than what we can hear...and He enjoys rewarding His kids...as a matter of fact I am discovering it is His nature to reward us as often and as much as we will allow.
So what does it look like?..this promise of sharing the same as those who go out into the battle?
I dunno...for me it will involve traveling to nations, building the kingdom, the prophetic, worship, music, art, a thirty year marriage, pretty much everything I managed to set aside in order to guard the stuff.
Two years ago I was invited to teach in a Bible school in Scotland...I immediately said no since I was raising kids...I imagine I get that back...I get back the relationships I had with missions in Bern, Columbia, Germany, Mexico, and Apai and Samoa...at least I get the same pay as if I had continued down that ministry path...
So 2010 is not just a new year...it is a new epoch...and I've got a lot to do, a lot of mental "catch-up" and releasing the kingdom to get on with...its a bit daunting...it will require planning and faith, both of which I need more of...but like Leahbeth told me recently:
"Dad sometimes I don't have enough faith and I just tell God to give me some more and He does..."
...The stuff we've been guarding was/is training us for greatness...
So let me ask you...what is it that you've sacrificed in order to "guard the stuff"???
..."All alike will share"...
Friday, January 01, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Satellites
Sometimes the natural world is a reflection of things in the spiritual. Take for instance our planet and the way we orbit our Sun, as well as having things in our own orbit...sometimes the rotation and interaction of the planets can be a metaphor for how we are existing.
Now mind you I have no place for astrology, I believe that is a bunch of malarky created for people who do not know how to trust God, however God did write in Genesis that the stars and planets would be for signs to us...
I recently began to think about eclipses and how powerful they can seem, especially if you do not know the natural order they play out in, think about something having the power to block out the light of the Sun and how that might affect an uninformed paradigm.
But what is an eclipse (thinking lunar here)?
It is when a lifeless, waterless, gravitational object blocks out the light, warmth, and illumination that would normally be a part of everyday life.
How many times do we allow jobs, relationships, expectations, finances, elections, schedules, etc...block out the warmth, and revelation that we would normally enjoy?
If you understand what the moon is, it should be clear that its only power is in keeping its own orbit and in reflection, it has no power to create light or feed life, even its gravity if you are on it is an unstable environment that you cannot trust.
Perhaps we should just look out at our sky and see what exactly is keeping the light of the Son from reaching us, what is it that prevents us from experiencing new revelation, what has kept us in an unstable gravity and what is the lifeless, waterless object of our attention that needs to move out of our orbit?
Have you bought into a certain mindset or teaching that keeps you from experiencing a deeper revelation?
Are you addicted to an expectation that prevents the Lord from moving in your life except upon the conditions you have established?
Is there a lifeless relationship that no matter how you try keeps you from feeling the warmth of Gods love today and every day since you can remember?
Maybe the job you are in only meets you with a dry, waterless and unstable gravity, that never allows you to see your true calling and purpose...
Regardless of the conditions you are over shadowed with ANY eclipse is temporary and eventually the big lifeless rock moves out of the way...
Hope smiles even in the dark of an eclipse...
Now mind you I have no place for astrology, I believe that is a bunch of malarky created for people who do not know how to trust God, however God did write in Genesis that the stars and planets would be for signs to us...
I recently began to think about eclipses and how powerful they can seem, especially if you do not know the natural order they play out in, think about something having the power to block out the light of the Sun and how that might affect an uninformed paradigm.
But what is an eclipse (thinking lunar here)?
It is when a lifeless, waterless, gravitational object blocks out the light, warmth, and illumination that would normally be a part of everyday life.
How many times do we allow jobs, relationships, expectations, finances, elections, schedules, etc...block out the warmth, and revelation that we would normally enjoy?
If you understand what the moon is, it should be clear that its only power is in keeping its own orbit and in reflection, it has no power to create light or feed life, even its gravity if you are on it is an unstable environment that you cannot trust.
Perhaps we should just look out at our sky and see what exactly is keeping the light of the Son from reaching us, what is it that prevents us from experiencing new revelation, what has kept us in an unstable gravity and what is the lifeless, waterless object of our attention that needs to move out of our orbit?
Have you bought into a certain mindset or teaching that keeps you from experiencing a deeper revelation?
Are you addicted to an expectation that prevents the Lord from moving in your life except upon the conditions you have established?
Is there a lifeless relationship that no matter how you try keeps you from feeling the warmth of Gods love today and every day since you can remember?
Maybe the job you are in only meets you with a dry, waterless and unstable gravity, that never allows you to see your true calling and purpose...
Regardless of the conditions you are over shadowed with ANY eclipse is temporary and eventually the big lifeless rock moves out of the way...
Hope smiles even in the dark of an eclipse...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
All things new...
The book of Revelation describes that Jesus is making all things new...not all new things...my mind naturally surveys the world outside and says huh? But as I think about it, I begin to realize that the things Jesus values and makes new are not the things we necessarily value and want replaced.
I especially think about the holidays at this time of the year and the painful process that a lot of divorced and separated families go thru as holy-days are divided and isolated, parted out and packaged in dysfunction, only to leave a residue of emptiness.
I have distinct memories of feeling like a third wheel, burying emotional loneliness and missing my kids all at the same time while surrounded by loving covenant family...its an odd shape our heart takes when pain and love collide.
But now...
Now...I am somehow different, I feel a substance and a life that over-powers the murky cloud of isolation that being a divorced single brings...now somehow my soul sings in the fog and it is a real song, not a simple whistling past the graveyard kind of tune.
It is because my heart has been made new, which I now realize is "more-better" than having a new heart, that is why I sing...
Can you imagine getting a brand new heart and having to break it in?
The first time you're left alone...brand new, the first kiss and heart-break, brand new, the first loss of something dear, brand new, all of those myriad emotions and trauma's brand new...
Jesus knows better...in His wisdom He knows that an old broken heart made new is much more beautiful than a new heart broken in...
An old heart made new knows the value of making His praise bigger than the problem...
An old heart made new knows that tenacious love is stronger than death...
An old heart made new knows the value of a gentle word and a a face of faith...
An old heart made new truly understands that a faithful friend can see past the chasm of despair and will walk quietly beside you until the Morningstar appears.
I am beginning to see how truly rich I have become by the making of an old heart new...rather than simply replacing a broken one.
There is an amusing event in Luke 1 where Zacharias ask Gabriel "How will I know this?"...Gabriel had appeared to bring him a word that old old prayers, buried in brokeness and completely unavailable because of an old heart were about to be fulfulled...and Gabriel does an amazing thing, he tells Zacharias, "You will be unable to speak until the promise is fulfilled..."
At one time I thought this was the way God was, he would smack you down if you did not believe, but I now understnd that it is Gods grace that made Zacharias mute, see the bible says "life and death are in the power of the tongue"...and Zacharias was speaking from an old heart that had not been made new yet...God was simply keeping Zacharias from destroying with his mouth what he had prayed about for years before and lost hope in...
It reminds me of that scene in "You've got mail" where Tom hanks leans over to Meg Ryan as she starts to say something mean and places his fingers on her lips and says..."let me help you not to say something you'll just torture yourself about for years to come..."
See God is actually helping Zacharias because his heart is still old and he will say something bad if the angel doesn't shut him up...that is the danger of keeping an old heart old...so he goes mute until the promise is delivered.
And once the old heart is made new the mouth follows...Zacharias "spake and praised God" once his heart was changed...
It is impossible for others to know the pain of a lonely heart, I will not pretend to know anything except what I have experienced...but I can assure you as someone who has had both an old unbelieving heart, and an old heart made new...new is better...and old made new is better still...
Behold He makes ALL things new...
I especially think about the holidays at this time of the year and the painful process that a lot of divorced and separated families go thru as holy-days are divided and isolated, parted out and packaged in dysfunction, only to leave a residue of emptiness.
I have distinct memories of feeling like a third wheel, burying emotional loneliness and missing my kids all at the same time while surrounded by loving covenant family...its an odd shape our heart takes when pain and love collide.
But now...
Now...I am somehow different, I feel a substance and a life that over-powers the murky cloud of isolation that being a divorced single brings...now somehow my soul sings in the fog and it is a real song, not a simple whistling past the graveyard kind of tune.
It is because my heart has been made new, which I now realize is "more-better" than having a new heart, that is why I sing...
Can you imagine getting a brand new heart and having to break it in?
The first time you're left alone...brand new, the first kiss and heart-break, brand new, the first loss of something dear, brand new, all of those myriad emotions and trauma's brand new...
Jesus knows better...in His wisdom He knows that an old broken heart made new is much more beautiful than a new heart broken in...
An old heart made new knows the value of making His praise bigger than the problem...
An old heart made new knows that tenacious love is stronger than death...
An old heart made new knows the value of a gentle word and a a face of faith...
An old heart made new truly understands that a faithful friend can see past the chasm of despair and will walk quietly beside you until the Morningstar appears.
I am beginning to see how truly rich I have become by the making of an old heart new...rather than simply replacing a broken one.
There is an amusing event in Luke 1 where Zacharias ask Gabriel "How will I know this?"...Gabriel had appeared to bring him a word that old old prayers, buried in brokeness and completely unavailable because of an old heart were about to be fulfulled...and Gabriel does an amazing thing, he tells Zacharias, "You will be unable to speak until the promise is fulfilled..."
At one time I thought this was the way God was, he would smack you down if you did not believe, but I now understnd that it is Gods grace that made Zacharias mute, see the bible says "life and death are in the power of the tongue"...and Zacharias was speaking from an old heart that had not been made new yet...God was simply keeping Zacharias from destroying with his mouth what he had prayed about for years before and lost hope in...
It reminds me of that scene in "You've got mail" where Tom hanks leans over to Meg Ryan as she starts to say something mean and places his fingers on her lips and says..."let me help you not to say something you'll just torture yourself about for years to come..."
See God is actually helping Zacharias because his heart is still old and he will say something bad if the angel doesn't shut him up...that is the danger of keeping an old heart old...so he goes mute until the promise is delivered.
And once the old heart is made new the mouth follows...Zacharias "spake and praised God" once his heart was changed...
It is impossible for others to know the pain of a lonely heart, I will not pretend to know anything except what I have experienced...but I can assure you as someone who has had both an old unbelieving heart, and an old heart made new...new is better...and old made new is better still...
Behold He makes ALL things new...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
I am fascinated with time and eternity...as purely scientific concepts these things grab my attention. I have come to identify eternity as a region of space/geography/dimension that is NOT subject to time. Time itself as I understand it is a created thing, much like a tree, it is something God created, therefore by definition He is not subject to it, it is subject to Him.
If you think of time in the western model then you probably imagine a line that starts with a beginning and has an ending...so it is a definite length, this is usually how we think of time and we are very good at creating time lines and schedules based on this understanding, which at best is very simplistic.
So what if time (whatever it is) functions like we imagine and there is a beginning and there is an end and it has definite length and can be measured...it has a dimension and perimeters and it might even be possible to see it, as long as you are outside of it...
What if time from the beginning to the end is completely visible before Gods throne, which is outside of time and not restrained by it? If this were possible, then God could look at your life from any point on the line (using a western example here) and could base His posture towards you from any vantage point in the past, the present or the future...
Now here's where it gets a little different, God can quite possibly see your life as it occurs all at once from the first breath to the last...and because Jesus offered himself up as a sacrifice by the "Eternal" Spirit (Hebrew 9:14) he creates an "Eternal Salvation" (Hebrews 5:9) and for you that salvation gets superimposed upon the time-line of your life no matter where you are in "time"...your salvation, your redemption, and Gods attitude towards you all are not subject to time or any actions occurring there, other than the one act of placing yourself into eternity by accepting the sacrifice that is now outside of time.
Eccl.3:11 says this "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."...
So if I get this right, man which is a temporary being based upon a time-line, has eternity inside him...are you freaked out yet?
I dunno...its kind of cool to think about this stuff, the bottom line is that God has done something for us that goes beyond our limited scope of time, and not only that He has placed "anti-time" or eternity into our hearts...maybe thats why we are so clock conscious and aware we are aging, because in our hearts we know that time is temporary, it is simply the scaffolding of Grace around the building of our lives...
If you think of time in the western model then you probably imagine a line that starts with a beginning and has an ending...so it is a definite length, this is usually how we think of time and we are very good at creating time lines and schedules based on this understanding, which at best is very simplistic.
So what if time (whatever it is) functions like we imagine and there is a beginning and there is an end and it has definite length and can be measured...it has a dimension and perimeters and it might even be possible to see it, as long as you are outside of it...
What if time from the beginning to the end is completely visible before Gods throne, which is outside of time and not restrained by it? If this were possible, then God could look at your life from any point on the line (using a western example here) and could base His posture towards you from any vantage point in the past, the present or the future...
Now here's where it gets a little different, God can quite possibly see your life as it occurs all at once from the first breath to the last...and because Jesus offered himself up as a sacrifice by the "Eternal" Spirit (Hebrew 9:14) he creates an "Eternal Salvation" (Hebrews 5:9) and for you that salvation gets superimposed upon the time-line of your life no matter where you are in "time"...your salvation, your redemption, and Gods attitude towards you all are not subject to time or any actions occurring there, other than the one act of placing yourself into eternity by accepting the sacrifice that is now outside of time.
Eccl.3:11 says this "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."...
So if I get this right, man which is a temporary being based upon a time-line, has eternity inside him...are you freaked out yet?
I dunno...its kind of cool to think about this stuff, the bottom line is that God has done something for us that goes beyond our limited scope of time, and not only that He has placed "anti-time" or eternity into our hearts...maybe thats why we are so clock conscious and aware we are aging, because in our hearts we know that time is temporary, it is simply the scaffolding of Grace around the building of our lives...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
How the world works
I have come to the clear and unmistakable conclusion that the world we live in is designed to be lived in by faith.
First of all, it is a world full of mystery, there is no one person on the planet who is able to answer all the mysteries that life holds out, and in order for us to make it all make sense we need some sort of adjustment to our reality, this adjustment comes to us in the form of faith.
Now regardless of if you are science oriented or religion oriented, you must hold certain aspects of our world system in tension to the reality you walk in and the ONLY way to do that is thru faith, you simply choose to believe a reality exist that you cannot possibly prove.
This is the core essence of how faith works, believing in a reality that you are unable to prove at the moment, be it a healing, a breakthrough, or a scientific hypothesis at some level you choose to believe in a reality that has no substance in this moment in time...and your faith becomes the substance that brings the unproved into your reality.
Ever wonder why as a species we have the need for everything to make some sort of sense? And when things do not make sense to us, or violate our sensibility, we turn to some sort of faith, or project the tension into the unknown and mysterious thru the use of faith.
Everyone knows the argument about the origin, where did the very first crystal come from or the very first molecule that formed the basis for the big bang or whatever you believe?...at some point everyone has to admit that there is a realm beyond our capacity to understand and how you deal with that realm absolutely REQUIRES you to use faith...faith in science or faith in God, once you get past the edges you are left to responding by faith in something.
And this is how God designed the system to work.
If you are on this planet, you will be required to operate in faith, you may not like that, or you may disagree, but it makes no difference it is a reality of the world you live in.
So knowing that admission to the planet requires some degree of faith, what does that imply about God?
He apparently likes faith...His planet, His decision, you can love it or hate it but you get no say in it, His rules and His rule.
So the obvious conclusion is this, faith is a commodity that God values, He actually requires it of everyone who is born on the planet...so what are you doing to grow in faith?
First of all, it is a world full of mystery, there is no one person on the planet who is able to answer all the mysteries that life holds out, and in order for us to make it all make sense we need some sort of adjustment to our reality, this adjustment comes to us in the form of faith.
Now regardless of if you are science oriented or religion oriented, you must hold certain aspects of our world system in tension to the reality you walk in and the ONLY way to do that is thru faith, you simply choose to believe a reality exist that you cannot possibly prove.
This is the core essence of how faith works, believing in a reality that you are unable to prove at the moment, be it a healing, a breakthrough, or a scientific hypothesis at some level you choose to believe in a reality that has no substance in this moment in time...and your faith becomes the substance that brings the unproved into your reality.
Ever wonder why as a species we have the need for everything to make some sort of sense? And when things do not make sense to us, or violate our sensibility, we turn to some sort of faith, or project the tension into the unknown and mysterious thru the use of faith.
Everyone knows the argument about the origin, where did the very first crystal come from or the very first molecule that formed the basis for the big bang or whatever you believe?...at some point everyone has to admit that there is a realm beyond our capacity to understand and how you deal with that realm absolutely REQUIRES you to use faith...faith in science or faith in God, once you get past the edges you are left to responding by faith in something.
And this is how God designed the system to work.
If you are on this planet, you will be required to operate in faith, you may not like that, or you may disagree, but it makes no difference it is a reality of the world you live in.
So knowing that admission to the planet requires some degree of faith, what does that imply about God?
He apparently likes faith...His planet, His decision, you can love it or hate it but you get no say in it, His rules and His rule.
So the obvious conclusion is this, faith is a commodity that God values, He actually requires it of everyone who is born on the planet...so what are you doing to grow in faith?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
On heresies
Recently my youngest daughter was doing the typical teenage thing and stayed out to late, did not sleep enough and hung around some friends who had strep...guess what?
She came down with strep.
We got her some antibiotics and after a rash and some sleep she was fine.
It began to illuminate to me something I see happening in the body of Christ, that frankly has been going on for a long time, and its time we looked at the sickness and the cure...there are some rather poisonous teachings that have become part of the current expression of Christendom and frankly it looks a lot like a teenager with strep
There is one particular theological virus that I have come to detest, and I see it affecting vast segments of the body of Christ in very detrimental and unhealthy ways...I call it the "the bad ending virus"...
There is a particular set of fictional books that ten years from now the majority of Christians will consider as demonic heresy, books whose primary focus is a really bad ending of the age.
There is also a very predominant heresy that describes the ending of Gods gifts be they spiritual (pneumatikos) or personages (Apostles/Prophets), an ending that supposedly happened somewhere around AD 100 when the last Apostle died.
One other strain of this particular doctrinal virus is what I would describe as "eschatological strep" that manifests as the infected see conspiracy's, new world orders, the mark of the beast, and an intense fear of what might be coming any day now, and on and on etc...
I will make it plain:
Tim Lahaye (and his partner in fictional crime) needs to repent, the entire "Left Behind" series is a gross study in negligent theology, and Hal Lindsey needs to join them on his face for the inconsistent nonsense he's been spewing out at a great profit for over 20 years.
The mismanagement of eschatology and the consequential theology that must be embraced in order to buy into the "Left Behind" series, as well as just about any Hal Lindsey book should make any clear thinking believer shake their head in embarrassment, a simple reading of New Testament eschatology will clear the air right quick as long as the believer is willing to trust that what is written by the early Apostles is what God meant.
But it isn't simply bad eschatology that these works of fiction create, they also contribute to a general weakness in the challenge to disciple nations, which is what Christ has commanded us to do.
Jesus was quite clear about when the end would come he said in Matthew 24:14
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come"
...notice the little word "this" it is the Greek word "touto" and it is a demonstrative pronoun, referring to a specific and demonstrated "this"...in other words the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached and NOT SOME WATERED DOWN TRACT AND FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS kinda gospel that we've been dispensing for several hundred years.
If you are of the mindset that we have "preached the gospel as a witness to all nations" already, well I beg to differ, Jesus made it clear that there would be a "witness" to all nations that was based on the preaching of the gospel that HE preached...which included raising the dead, healing the sick, setting captives free and challenging the religious elite and political power houses of his day...we have yet to preach that gospel to every nation...but its coming.
It would be a very convenient deception to convince the church at large that the assignment Jesus gave us was impossible and that events would over-ride his mandate to disciple the nations...as I read the words of Jesus the end depends on a message not an event, the message being the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached, and as long as your escatology makes the ending depend on an event rather than a message you will fail to engage in the assignment with anything like real faith.
Let me say that again: According to the words of Jesus the end depends on a message that WE preach, NOT an event.
How can you declare that the kingdom of God is here the way Jesus declared it if you don't believe it?
Simple answer is you cannot, and if you don't believe it you will not demonstrate it.
I learned a long time ago that if you don't believe in something , as a general rule you never experience it.
The denominational "Cessasionists" need to repent for filling the flocks ears with unbiblical positions that have no basis in biblical theology or historical accuracy, there is absolutely no evidence that the gifts of God, be they individual expressions of the Holy Spirit or be they ascension expressions of Christ's victory as demonstrated in Apostles/Prophets/etc have ever or were ever designed to cease until He returns.
Again if you do not believe that Apostles and Prophets exist how will you ever experience them? Funny how the role of Pastor/Teacher/Evangelist (which comes from the exact same verse) did not cease to exist when the Apostles died off.
The same verse that validates the ministry of a Pastor validates the ministry of an Apostle and there is no biblical record that either office has ceased to exist, anyone who suggest it is being dishonest and they know it.
The same goes for the gifts of the Spirit, great movements have conveniently picked and chosen which gifts would remain, and damaged the scripture to prove it.
You don't get to keep the gift of knowledge, or wisdom and reject the gift of tongues or prophesy...not without twisting the scriptures to meet your own unbelief.
If the thousand year reign of Christ in Revelation is literal, then so is the chain that binds the devil, because its in the same passage (Rev. 20:1-3) we don't get to pick and choose as we like what part of the scripture applies to our view and what part does not, either the Word of God is the Word of God or it isn't.
Which brings me to the final expression of this virus, the "escatological strep" version...I call it that because when you have strep everything you swallow hurts, and this particular strain of heresy sees the anti-christ in everything from innoculations to water supply. You can't drink a soda or play video games since these are "of the world" and don't even think about going to a movie or you will lose your salvation the minute you pay for the ticket, because as we all know the mind control of hollywood and the secret society that runs the world is so much greater than one who resides in you.
I am not making fun here, and I am also not saying that the anti-christ spirit does not exist, it does, but it is probably a lot different than we realize, it is primarily "against the anointed one"...and did you know that you have been anointed?
There is a simple cure for this virus...and it cures all strains...
Grace.
Charis...(the greek word for grace) is also used for the gifts...and really Charismatics should be known as "Grace-a-matics" unfortunately we are not.
1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
The word "anointing" is the word "chrisma" which is rooted on "charis" or grace...in other words you have received a gracing that teaches you ALL things...even things about the end...you already have the anti-body to the "bad ending virus" right inside you from the Holy Spirit...so stop believing in a really bad ending and start believing in the anointing inside you...
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
We have an assignment, Jesus told us to disciple NATIONS...did you get that?
Notice how long this assignment last...it takes until the "end of the age"...in other words Jesus gives us an anointing and an assignment with a promise that he would be with us until the very end...if your belief is that the assignment is optional to the end of the age, or that perhaps events are greater than the assignment and the anointing to accomplish it, I suggest that we believe the words of Jesus before we throw them out in favor of Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye and our own personal fears...
If you are suffering from some "bad ending" virus I suggest you take a little grace and get back in the game...nations are waiting to give glory to Jesus...and He is with you...especially when you are on assignment.
She came down with strep.
We got her some antibiotics and after a rash and some sleep she was fine.
It began to illuminate to me something I see happening in the body of Christ, that frankly has been going on for a long time, and its time we looked at the sickness and the cure...there are some rather poisonous teachings that have become part of the current expression of Christendom and frankly it looks a lot like a teenager with strep
There is one particular theological virus that I have come to detest, and I see it affecting vast segments of the body of Christ in very detrimental and unhealthy ways...I call it the "the bad ending virus"...
There is a particular set of fictional books that ten years from now the majority of Christians will consider as demonic heresy, books whose primary focus is a really bad ending of the age.
There is also a very predominant heresy that describes the ending of Gods gifts be they spiritual (pneumatikos) or personages (Apostles/Prophets), an ending that supposedly happened somewhere around AD 100 when the last Apostle died.
One other strain of this particular doctrinal virus is what I would describe as "eschatological strep" that manifests as the infected see conspiracy's, new world orders, the mark of the beast, and an intense fear of what might be coming any day now, and on and on etc...
I will make it plain:
Tim Lahaye (and his partner in fictional crime) needs to repent, the entire "Left Behind" series is a gross study in negligent theology, and Hal Lindsey needs to join them on his face for the inconsistent nonsense he's been spewing out at a great profit for over 20 years.
The mismanagement of eschatology and the consequential theology that must be embraced in order to buy into the "Left Behind" series, as well as just about any Hal Lindsey book should make any clear thinking believer shake their head in embarrassment, a simple reading of New Testament eschatology will clear the air right quick as long as the believer is willing to trust that what is written by the early Apostles is what God meant.
But it isn't simply bad eschatology that these works of fiction create, they also contribute to a general weakness in the challenge to disciple nations, which is what Christ has commanded us to do.
Jesus was quite clear about when the end would come he said in Matthew 24:14
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come"
...notice the little word "this" it is the Greek word "touto" and it is a demonstrative pronoun, referring to a specific and demonstrated "this"...in other words the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached and NOT SOME WATERED DOWN TRACT AND FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS kinda gospel that we've been dispensing for several hundred years.
If you are of the mindset that we have "preached the gospel as a witness to all nations" already, well I beg to differ, Jesus made it clear that there would be a "witness" to all nations that was based on the preaching of the gospel that HE preached...which included raising the dead, healing the sick, setting captives free and challenging the religious elite and political power houses of his day...we have yet to preach that gospel to every nation...but its coming.
It would be a very convenient deception to convince the church at large that the assignment Jesus gave us was impossible and that events would over-ride his mandate to disciple the nations...as I read the words of Jesus the end depends on a message not an event, the message being the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached, and as long as your escatology makes the ending depend on an event rather than a message you will fail to engage in the assignment with anything like real faith.
Let me say that again: According to the words of Jesus the end depends on a message that WE preach, NOT an event.
How can you declare that the kingdom of God is here the way Jesus declared it if you don't believe it?
Simple answer is you cannot, and if you don't believe it you will not demonstrate it.
I learned a long time ago that if you don't believe in something , as a general rule you never experience it.
The denominational "Cessasionists" need to repent for filling the flocks ears with unbiblical positions that have no basis in biblical theology or historical accuracy, there is absolutely no evidence that the gifts of God, be they individual expressions of the Holy Spirit or be they ascension expressions of Christ's victory as demonstrated in Apostles/Prophets/etc have ever or were ever designed to cease until He returns.
Again if you do not believe that Apostles and Prophets exist how will you ever experience them? Funny how the role of Pastor/Teacher/Evangelist (which comes from the exact same verse) did not cease to exist when the Apostles died off.
The same verse that validates the ministry of a Pastor validates the ministry of an Apostle and there is no biblical record that either office has ceased to exist, anyone who suggest it is being dishonest and they know it.
The same goes for the gifts of the Spirit, great movements have conveniently picked and chosen which gifts would remain, and damaged the scripture to prove it.
You don't get to keep the gift of knowledge, or wisdom and reject the gift of tongues or prophesy...not without twisting the scriptures to meet your own unbelief.
If the thousand year reign of Christ in Revelation is literal, then so is the chain that binds the devil, because its in the same passage (Rev. 20:1-3) we don't get to pick and choose as we like what part of the scripture applies to our view and what part does not, either the Word of God is the Word of God or it isn't.
Which brings me to the final expression of this virus, the "escatological strep" version...I call it that because when you have strep everything you swallow hurts, and this particular strain of heresy sees the anti-christ in everything from innoculations to water supply. You can't drink a soda or play video games since these are "of the world" and don't even think about going to a movie or you will lose your salvation the minute you pay for the ticket, because as we all know the mind control of hollywood and the secret society that runs the world is so much greater than one who resides in you.
I am not making fun here, and I am also not saying that the anti-christ spirit does not exist, it does, but it is probably a lot different than we realize, it is primarily "against the anointed one"...and did you know that you have been anointed?
There is a simple cure for this virus...and it cures all strains...
Grace.
Charis...(the greek word for grace) is also used for the gifts...and really Charismatics should be known as "Grace-a-matics" unfortunately we are not.
1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
The word "anointing" is the word "chrisma" which is rooted on "charis" or grace...in other words you have received a gracing that teaches you ALL things...even things about the end...you already have the anti-body to the "bad ending virus" right inside you from the Holy Spirit...so stop believing in a really bad ending and start believing in the anointing inside you...
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
We have an assignment, Jesus told us to disciple NATIONS...did you get that?
Notice how long this assignment last...it takes until the "end of the age"...in other words Jesus gives us an anointing and an assignment with a promise that he would be with us until the very end...if your belief is that the assignment is optional to the end of the age, or that perhaps events are greater than the assignment and the anointing to accomplish it, I suggest that we believe the words of Jesus before we throw them out in favor of Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye and our own personal fears...
If you are suffering from some "bad ending" virus I suggest you take a little grace and get back in the game...nations are waiting to give glory to Jesus...and He is with you...especially when you are on assignment.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Art, the Kingdom and a Culture of Honor
When I was in college I was involved with a small group of guys who started a group based around Francis Schaeffers Basic Bible Study, we later brought the film series "How Should We then Live?" to the campus (Oklahoma State University)and watched the entire series...it was probably the best and only worthwhile thing I took out of college.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Francis Schaeffers study was the way he tracked the culture thru the art it created...the fact that the "David" (a famous statue by Michelangelo) was uncircumcised revealed to me that the art of a culture truly does represent the philosophy of the culture.
Here's where I start having problems...as a believer I want to reflect the culture of another kingdom, but much of what passes as "Christian" art seems to be deficient in creativity or at best is sub-par with a lot of the contemporary art I see in the culture around me.
My creative side prefers Peter Gabriel and Pixar to Hosanna and "Facing the Giants"...yeah I know so burn me at the stake, I'm a heretic what can I say?
Whats worse is when my artistic side seems to come to a complete stand-still because most of the music I create is so "churchy" it makes me tired...I have nothing against worship, I live to worship and some of my most popular songs are really good at getting people into worship/worshiping, they are geared to create a corporate sense of worship, but my heart...oh man my heart wants to create something entirely new, and fresh and outside the box...and this thirst for something "otherly" drives me crazy.
Part of the crisis is the new Kingdom that Jesus revealed is a culture of honor...it is inappropriate in the new Kings Domain to create things that fail to honor others, especially those who have gone before and made the current path possible...I sometimes wonder what would happen to the Church Culture if we repented for the way we treated those early pioneers like Larry Norman and then went out of our way to honor those "borderline" kind of artist like Daniel Lanois and Bruce Cockburn...if you've never heard "the Maker" or "All the Diamonds" you are missing some artistic treats.
So whadda we do?
I dunno...
But maybe if we took the Holy Spirits words in more of a business model than a church model we might get somewhere...remember Paul said:
"All things are LAWFUL for me, but not all things are PROFITABLE. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12)
Ultimately ALL true kingdom art must reflect freedom...freedom to create, and freedom from anything that would enslave...so if you approach it as a business model and look to what would make a profit for the kingdom, well it would be art that made people sense freedom was calling them home...for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty...
One of the most fascinating aspects of Francis Schaeffers study was the way he tracked the culture thru the art it created...the fact that the "David" (a famous statue by Michelangelo) was uncircumcised revealed to me that the art of a culture truly does represent the philosophy of the culture.
Here's where I start having problems...as a believer I want to reflect the culture of another kingdom, but much of what passes as "Christian" art seems to be deficient in creativity or at best is sub-par with a lot of the contemporary art I see in the culture around me.
My creative side prefers Peter Gabriel and Pixar to Hosanna and "Facing the Giants"...yeah I know so burn me at the stake, I'm a heretic what can I say?
Whats worse is when my artistic side seems to come to a complete stand-still because most of the music I create is so "churchy" it makes me tired...I have nothing against worship, I live to worship and some of my most popular songs are really good at getting people into worship/worshiping, they are geared to create a corporate sense of worship, but my heart...oh man my heart wants to create something entirely new, and fresh and outside the box...and this thirst for something "otherly" drives me crazy.
Part of the crisis is the new Kingdom that Jesus revealed is a culture of honor...it is inappropriate in the new Kings Domain to create things that fail to honor others, especially those who have gone before and made the current path possible...I sometimes wonder what would happen to the Church Culture if we repented for the way we treated those early pioneers like Larry Norman and then went out of our way to honor those "borderline" kind of artist like Daniel Lanois and Bruce Cockburn...if you've never heard "the Maker" or "All the Diamonds" you are missing some artistic treats.
So whadda we do?
I dunno...
But maybe if we took the Holy Spirits words in more of a business model than a church model we might get somewhere...remember Paul said:
"All things are LAWFUL for me, but not all things are PROFITABLE. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12)
Ultimately ALL true kingdom art must reflect freedom...freedom to create, and freedom from anything that would enslave...so if you approach it as a business model and look to what would make a profit for the kingdom, well it would be art that made people sense freedom was calling them home...for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Treasure...
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe [which is] instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that is] an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure [things] new and old. Matt. 13:52
Treasure is a really cool word to study in the Bible...my Grandfather was an avid "treasure hunter"...he would work his vacation around his research regarding lost treasures from the old west days...he even invented his own gold finding machine, they say it worked...
I guess thats where I get it...I am constantly looking for things that might escape less trained eyes...
Recently i was in an old electronics store in San Diego and came across this old broadcast mixing desk...
I looked it over and on the back saw the make on a little tag..."UREI"...Universal Recording Equipment Incorporated...otherwise known these days as "Universal Audio"...
Do a little ebay search sometime for "Universal Audio Vintage"...
this desk was sitting by the back door very close to getting rained on in the dirt.
I bought it.
It will become part of my studio after I clean it up and "renew it"...
I was also doing some research on the Texas Instrument website and came across a new prototype evaluation board for converting analog sounds to digital files...it was a limited time offer to get a module for next to nothing that is state of the state of the art...its not even on the market in any devices yet...
So on one hand I find a very "old" kind of treasure, and on the other a very "new" kind of treasure...
I guess as an "audio scribe" I am doing just what Jesus recommended...
On my way home from the electronics salvage store I stopped and sat down for a hot dog and chili (it was raining and a perfect day for a chili-dog) as I waited for my food I glanced over at an elderly woman sitting by the window just staring out the glass and eating her french fries...she was nothing to look at sort of an older style pants suit that was way out of style, but I noticed this, she had dressed herself and decorated her appearance to come and eat a hot dog by herself...and as I sat there, I began to think about the incredible machine that this elderly woman was, just the sheer biological machine that contained her soul was greater than any achievement of mankind...it could drive a car, and order food and had its own sense of style and value...there's nothing like this in the modern world and robotics is light years behind even the frailest elder in our society...I suddenly saw treasure both old and new...
I think this is what God see's...treasure in earthen vessels...regardless of the cultural value placed on her this woman had incredible value in Gods eyes...she left before I did, but I was completely awestruck at the incredible machine that God had designed to house our souls...
So I'm learning to treasure the "old" (I am getting that way every day), and I am grabbing the "new" as opportunities and streams of revelation pour into me...hopefully I will be able to bring them both out as a faithful householder.
Treasure is a really cool word to study in the Bible...my Grandfather was an avid "treasure hunter"...he would work his vacation around his research regarding lost treasures from the old west days...he even invented his own gold finding machine, they say it worked...
I guess thats where I get it...I am constantly looking for things that might escape less trained eyes...
Recently i was in an old electronics store in San Diego and came across this old broadcast mixing desk...
I looked it over and on the back saw the make on a little tag..."UREI"...Universal Recording Equipment Incorporated...otherwise known these days as "Universal Audio"...
Do a little ebay search sometime for "Universal Audio Vintage"...
this desk was sitting by the back door very close to getting rained on in the dirt.
I bought it.
It will become part of my studio after I clean it up and "renew it"...
I was also doing some research on the Texas Instrument website and came across a new prototype evaluation board for converting analog sounds to digital files...it was a limited time offer to get a module for next to nothing that is state of the state of the art...its not even on the market in any devices yet...
So on one hand I find a very "old" kind of treasure, and on the other a very "new" kind of treasure...
I guess as an "audio scribe" I am doing just what Jesus recommended...
On my way home from the electronics salvage store I stopped and sat down for a hot dog and chili (it was raining and a perfect day for a chili-dog) as I waited for my food I glanced over at an elderly woman sitting by the window just staring out the glass and eating her french fries...she was nothing to look at sort of an older style pants suit that was way out of style, but I noticed this, she had dressed herself and decorated her appearance to come and eat a hot dog by herself...and as I sat there, I began to think about the incredible machine that this elderly woman was, just the sheer biological machine that contained her soul was greater than any achievement of mankind...it could drive a car, and order food and had its own sense of style and value...there's nothing like this in the modern world and robotics is light years behind even the frailest elder in our society...I suddenly saw treasure both old and new...
I think this is what God see's...treasure in earthen vessels...regardless of the cultural value placed on her this woman had incredible value in Gods eyes...she left before I did, but I was completely awestruck at the incredible machine that God had designed to house our souls...
So I'm learning to treasure the "old" (I am getting that way every day), and I am grabbing the "new" as opportunities and streams of revelation pour into me...hopefully I will be able to bring them both out as a faithful householder.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Transformers Part 2
So you can read my fascination with transformers and the law of "inductance"...it reminds me of something that I began to consider after hearing Lance Wallnau (I buy mp3's from Morningstar whenever something really jumps out at me), where he talked about the duality of "sheep" and "warriors"(7 Mountain Mandate), how that we need people who want intimacy with Jesus and a "pure" lifestyle untainted by the world, but we also need people who are warriors who get down and dirty and change the world around them.
Well here's the cool thing about the law of inductance...
You can completely reverse/increase/decrease/ the flow of current in a transformer and NEVER have the "transformed" current touch the original...
Let me see if I can "Un-tech" this a little...
Electricity goes into a loop of wire that is wrapped around one side of a U shaped piece of metal...on the other side of the U is a completely different loop of wire...and the law of inductance makes it so that the electricity going into loop 1 makes electricity come out of loop 2...but it is reversed...and if you change loop 2 to different sizes then the electricity that comes out can be of a higher voltage, or lower voltage or lots of things...the point is the electricity coming out of loop 2 NEVER touches the electricity in loop 1...
So if you have "dirty power"...send it thru a transformer and it comes out clean on the other side...its kind of the electrical version of distillation...
So this means that it is possible to transform "bad power" to "good power" by the law of inductance...once you were darkness, now ye are light...kinda thing...
So what are the things we should be "inducting" into the kingdom?
Well entertainment comes up as a pretty big thing...currently the best Hollywood can offer is to kill people like Heath Ledger with all the bad power they offer.
We need to induct the entire entertainment industry...starting in your town...that means I gotta "induct" all the cowboy singers in my town and try to "induct" the rockers as well (be they so few)...so I am planning on opening a recording studio as part of the process...to that end I have some ideas...
Well here's the cool thing about the law of inductance...
You can completely reverse/increase/decrease/ the flow of current in a transformer and NEVER have the "transformed" current touch the original...
Let me see if I can "Un-tech" this a little...
Electricity goes into a loop of wire that is wrapped around one side of a U shaped piece of metal...on the other side of the U is a completely different loop of wire...and the law of inductance makes it so that the electricity going into loop 1 makes electricity come out of loop 2...but it is reversed...and if you change loop 2 to different sizes then the electricity that comes out can be of a higher voltage, or lower voltage or lots of things...the point is the electricity coming out of loop 2 NEVER touches the electricity in loop 1...
So if you have "dirty power"...send it thru a transformer and it comes out clean on the other side...its kind of the electrical version of distillation...
So this means that it is possible to transform "bad power" to "good power" by the law of inductance...once you were darkness, now ye are light...kinda thing...
So what are the things we should be "inducting" into the kingdom?
Well entertainment comes up as a pretty big thing...currently the best Hollywood can offer is to kill people like Heath Ledger with all the bad power they offer.
We need to induct the entire entertainment industry...starting in your town...that means I gotta "induct" all the cowboy singers in my town and try to "induct" the rockers as well (be they so few)...so I am planning on opening a recording studio as part of the process...to that end I have some ideas...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Transformers...no not the science fiction kind...
Part of my education as a worship leader is in the realm of audio equipment...why you ask?
Well in the Tabernacle of David (the only Tabernacle that God said he would restore) they had twenty four seven worship and in order for that to happen they had a lot of worshipers (somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000) and in those worship leaders/teams there was a mandate that you had to make your own instrument and part of my instrument (besides the guitar and other instruments I play) is technology...so I've been studying up on audio gear for the last 5-6 years.
There's some pretty cool new stuff, but a lot of the really great old equipment was designed by a Missionaries son named Rupert Neve.
Neve gear sells on ebay at incredible premiums, and there are a lot of gear guys that are trying to copy his designs, there's just something really great about the gear he designed. (I do not know if he is a believer but he is a highly successful businessman and much sought after for his designs)
One of the things that Rupert Neve discovered and really developed was the use of "transformers" in his audio gear.
Transformers are everywhere, because of the nature of electricity most of your stuff actually runs on DC voltage, the computer you are using converts the AC from the wall into DC through the use of the power supply, which is really nothing much more than a specific kind of transformer that does this job very well.
Here's whats cool about transformers...electricity goes into one side of a transformer and back out the electric cord completing a circle or "circuit"...but transformers use a law that God has built into nature called "inductance" and while the original electrical current might not be useful, the transformer is able to create a completely new electrical current because the original current "induced" the electrons on the other side to react...the new current is completely independent of the original current, it happens on an isolated side all by itself (it does need the original current to induce the electrons).
Pretty cool huh?
Well I think its cool, and Rupert Neve must have thought it was cool because he designed some very wonderful audio gear that uses transformers on the microphone signal and on the output signal...he used them all over the place.
So whats the point?
Well if you look around the kingdom you see this law at work quite a bit...
"Where sin abounded grace abounds more..." how is that even possible?
Think about it, you got a lot of sin, and here God is saying there will be even more grace...kinda like transformers...you can actually create a higher voltage by the way they are wound...so God uses the law of inductance to invade where sin seems to be a problem...
Its not simply about opposite's its also about something being transformerd from one thing to another...you were darkness....now you are light...you were aliens now you are of the Household of faith, you were sinners now you are saints...I could go on, but I won't.
"I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service of worship, and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you may be able to prove what is the acceptable, perfect, and good will of God" Romans 12: 1
Well in the Tabernacle of David (the only Tabernacle that God said he would restore) they had twenty four seven worship and in order for that to happen they had a lot of worshipers (somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000) and in those worship leaders/teams there was a mandate that you had to make your own instrument and part of my instrument (besides the guitar and other instruments I play) is technology...so I've been studying up on audio gear for the last 5-6 years.
There's some pretty cool new stuff, but a lot of the really great old equipment was designed by a Missionaries son named Rupert Neve.
Neve gear sells on ebay at incredible premiums, and there are a lot of gear guys that are trying to copy his designs, there's just something really great about the gear he designed. (I do not know if he is a believer but he is a highly successful businessman and much sought after for his designs)
One of the things that Rupert Neve discovered and really developed was the use of "transformers" in his audio gear.
Transformers are everywhere, because of the nature of electricity most of your stuff actually runs on DC voltage, the computer you are using converts the AC from the wall into DC through the use of the power supply, which is really nothing much more than a specific kind of transformer that does this job very well.
Here's whats cool about transformers...electricity goes into one side of a transformer and back out the electric cord completing a circle or "circuit"...but transformers use a law that God has built into nature called "inductance" and while the original electrical current might not be useful, the transformer is able to create a completely new electrical current because the original current "induced" the electrons on the other side to react...the new current is completely independent of the original current, it happens on an isolated side all by itself (it does need the original current to induce the electrons).
Pretty cool huh?
Well I think its cool, and Rupert Neve must have thought it was cool because he designed some very wonderful audio gear that uses transformers on the microphone signal and on the output signal...he used them all over the place.
So whats the point?
Well if you look around the kingdom you see this law at work quite a bit...
"Where sin abounded grace abounds more..." how is that even possible?
Think about it, you got a lot of sin, and here God is saying there will be even more grace...kinda like transformers...you can actually create a higher voltage by the way they are wound...so God uses the law of inductance to invade where sin seems to be a problem...
Its not simply about opposite's its also about something being transformerd from one thing to another...you were darkness....now you are light...you were aliens now you are of the Household of faith, you were sinners now you are saints...I could go on, but I won't.
"I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service of worship, and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you may be able to prove what is the acceptable, perfect, and good will of God" Romans 12: 1
The Economy and the Kingdom
Most if not all of us have been impacted in some way by the recent economic turmoil, the immediate reaction is to withdraw, store up, save and maybe freak out a little.
Emotionally I found myself withdrawing, you know, you try to maintain some semblance of hope on the outside but inside you're all panic and worry, I have found my sleep being affected and when I went to the Lord to pray about it He told me I was not trusting Him.
Wow!
What he said was "If you trusted me you would be able to sleep thru this storm"...
But there I was in the boat saying (actually whining) "Don't you care that we perish?"
Thats not a very good way to approach the Lord (especially considering that if He wanted he could wipe out poverty with a word).
But I'm just being honest.
My response has been less than hopeful and really sort of depressing...it has caught up to me in my sleep cycle in not being able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
So my new new years resolution is to be positive in what I say about my personal finances and then to be an example of giving to the flock I am part of.
Interesting enough the current trend in Churches across the country shows a marked decline in giving, nearly 20% down from last year across the board...this is not good.
You will never enter Kingdom Finances as a stingy person.
God LOVES a cheerful giver.
God...
LOVES...
A...
CHEERFUL....
Giver.
So I am giving more.
Gave away my best guitar.
Gave away my favorite sweater.
Have decided to make my worship songs available for free once I figure out how to host them online...
Gave away an expensive compressor (a piece of audio gear)...
Gave away my digital camera, gave away my time rebuilding a computer, give gave going to do more...
Will it change anything?
I don't really care, and I don't list this stuff as some sort of "pat me on the back" it has been a process where I reluctantly trust by giving up...man I did not want to give Bob that guitar, I loved the way it sounded, but I know in my heart that this was Gods will, and it will mean more to Bob than it will to me, it is a seed of creativity and a demonstration of Gods belief that Bob is called as a creative worship leader and he should have the best...and based on that...man I can get behind that sort of giving.
I've taught my kids that we serve because we are servants, not because we are trying to get position or get anything out of it...we serve based on our identity as servants to the ultimate One, and likewise we give because we are givers...not to get something back, or to "save our own finances" or any other reason...the Kingdom is about what people are not about what they do.
We are new creatures, part of another Government that rules over all...and the Nature of our King is this:
"For God so loved the world that He GAVE...."
Who cares what happens to the economy, when you are part of something bigger?
Our primary concern over the economy should be on how to help people who are freaking out, not to freak out ourselves.
I've needed to repent...Jesus reminded me awhile back that it is impossible to be a believer in Him without faith...if you are a believer then faith mus be part of your daily existence, man I'm not sure I like that but its the truth.
As believers we need to not only be givers but find ways to develop kingdom products/attitudes and business practices...ultimately only one solution will bail out the economy and that's not more spending...its more kingdom.
Emotionally I found myself withdrawing, you know, you try to maintain some semblance of hope on the outside but inside you're all panic and worry, I have found my sleep being affected and when I went to the Lord to pray about it He told me I was not trusting Him.
Wow!
What he said was "If you trusted me you would be able to sleep thru this storm"...
But there I was in the boat saying (actually whining) "Don't you care that we perish?"
Thats not a very good way to approach the Lord (especially considering that if He wanted he could wipe out poverty with a word).
But I'm just being honest.
My response has been less than hopeful and really sort of depressing...it has caught up to me in my sleep cycle in not being able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
So my new new years resolution is to be positive in what I say about my personal finances and then to be an example of giving to the flock I am part of.
Interesting enough the current trend in Churches across the country shows a marked decline in giving, nearly 20% down from last year across the board...this is not good.
You will never enter Kingdom Finances as a stingy person.
God LOVES a cheerful giver.
God...
LOVES...
A...
CHEERFUL....
Giver.
So I am giving more.
Gave away my best guitar.
Gave away my favorite sweater.
Have decided to make my worship songs available for free once I figure out how to host them online...
Gave away an expensive compressor (a piece of audio gear)...
Gave away my digital camera, gave away my time rebuilding a computer, give gave going to do more...
Will it change anything?
I don't really care, and I don't list this stuff as some sort of "pat me on the back" it has been a process where I reluctantly trust by giving up...man I did not want to give Bob that guitar, I loved the way it sounded, but I know in my heart that this was Gods will, and it will mean more to Bob than it will to me, it is a seed of creativity and a demonstration of Gods belief that Bob is called as a creative worship leader and he should have the best...and based on that...man I can get behind that sort of giving.
I've taught my kids that we serve because we are servants, not because we are trying to get position or get anything out of it...we serve based on our identity as servants to the ultimate One, and likewise we give because we are givers...not to get something back, or to "save our own finances" or any other reason...the Kingdom is about what people are not about what they do.
We are new creatures, part of another Government that rules over all...and the Nature of our King is this:
"For God so loved the world that He GAVE...."
Who cares what happens to the economy, when you are part of something bigger?
Our primary concern over the economy should be on how to help people who are freaking out, not to freak out ourselves.
I've needed to repent...Jesus reminded me awhile back that it is impossible to be a believer in Him without faith...if you are a believer then faith mus be part of your daily existence, man I'm not sure I like that but its the truth.
As believers we need to not only be givers but find ways to develop kingdom products/attitudes and business practices...ultimately only one solution will bail out the economy and that's not more spending...its more kingdom.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
The election
Many Christians are wondering what the outcome of the election means to us, how will it affect us, what should our response be?
Well without hesitation our first duty is to pray for those in authority that we may live quiet and peaceable lives, and so that the gospel will have liberty.
Regardless of who steps into leadership we are called to support them, honor them and pray for them. Whether or not they are godly, qualified, or men and women of character has nothing to do with our response, we should pray sincerely for their success and the peace of our country.
Sounds like your dodging the question Mark, what do you really think?
here's what I really think;
Who we choose as a leader reflects on how effective we have re-presented Jesus to our culture.
In this last election we were given the choice between John McCain and Barak Obama, both men have claimed to have faith in Jesus Christ, and so in a general sense the option presented to the vast populace was the choice between a Democratic Christian and a Republican Christain, neither of which made faith a policy plank in their campaigns. For the general population what they saw was two supposed Chrisitain men slugging it out and getting dirty in a mean spirited campaign for the Oval Office.
There are quite possibly a number of people who will die thinking that these men represent the followers of Jesus, but both were powerless to unite and powerless to re-present Jesus in any meaningful way.
Obamas church suffers under Liberation theology, and cannot imagine a God who does not see life as the Black Church see's it. McCain's faith was what helped him get through Viet Nam and the captivity he suffered, but it was the faith of last resort.
I am in no way dissing either mans faith, what I am describing is how the general public must have seen faith in this election.
Faith in the 2008 election was primarily seen as a private matter and in no way a significant platform for national change.
And here is the great illusion...many including myself fasted and prayed for specific righteousness and a manifestation of Gods Kingdom in the election process, and many woke up feeling as though faith had let them down, primarily because the hot button issues that Christians focus on seem in serious jeopardy due to Obamas record of pro-abortion legislation.
But before we fall into the delusion of the devils agenda, lets not loose our confidence, nor waver in our confession.
Gods Will, will be done.
We will see the Kingdom of God manifest, and we will see the tide of abortion ended.
I have that confidence from my Father, and I know without a doubt that is His will.
So where do we go from here, and what about stuff like the economy and the far left socialistic agenda?
The Kingdom answer is now more than ever God wants to prosper His children, what a better background for the testimony of Gods provision can you have than to see your needs met while all around you are losing financial ground?
Its the perfect time for a Kingdom Manifestation of Gods ways, and His Grace, and we get to re-present Jesus to our neighbors and cities and to the general population who will soon grow tired of awesome speeches and partisan pay-offs, what they need is a government bigger than the one being represented in Washington, a government that knows no poverty, no sickness, and no selfish infighting.
The history of our family is that we shine the brightest when the governments of our world fail the worse...think about Daniel, or Joseph, think about Paul before Herod, or John the Apostle leaving the political prison of Patmos with a revelation of the King of Kings.
That is our pedigree, that is our culture, and that is the government that will see no end.
So whats the practical side of this?
Well in my spirit I see a generation of men coming out of this that will be able to speak to nations...think about it, the old prophets usually spoke to NATIONS, we can barely get on t.v., but that is fixing to change.
In my prayers I am praying for Obama, that he will become filled with the Holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and his inner man will be completely transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ, I am praying that he receive angelic visitation, and that the Lord himself visit him in the White House...do you really think he could destroy Gods babies once he meets God face to face?
I am dedicating to pray and fast until it happens.
So think about it...what position would your faith be in right now if you knew without a doubt that the Angel of the Lord, and major Prophets were on assignment to visit the new President? That God had a plan to bring transformation to an entire segment of our population who has sold out their hearing ear to Obama?
Frankly the idea makes me excited...is anything to hard for God?
Well without hesitation our first duty is to pray for those in authority that we may live quiet and peaceable lives, and so that the gospel will have liberty.
Regardless of who steps into leadership we are called to support them, honor them and pray for them. Whether or not they are godly, qualified, or men and women of character has nothing to do with our response, we should pray sincerely for their success and the peace of our country.
Sounds like your dodging the question Mark, what do you really think?
here's what I really think;
Who we choose as a leader reflects on how effective we have re-presented Jesus to our culture.
In this last election we were given the choice between John McCain and Barak Obama, both men have claimed to have faith in Jesus Christ, and so in a general sense the option presented to the vast populace was the choice between a Democratic Christian and a Republican Christain, neither of which made faith a policy plank in their campaigns. For the general population what they saw was two supposed Chrisitain men slugging it out and getting dirty in a mean spirited campaign for the Oval Office.
There are quite possibly a number of people who will die thinking that these men represent the followers of Jesus, but both were powerless to unite and powerless to re-present Jesus in any meaningful way.
Obamas church suffers under Liberation theology, and cannot imagine a God who does not see life as the Black Church see's it. McCain's faith was what helped him get through Viet Nam and the captivity he suffered, but it was the faith of last resort.
I am in no way dissing either mans faith, what I am describing is how the general public must have seen faith in this election.
Faith in the 2008 election was primarily seen as a private matter and in no way a significant platform for national change.
And here is the great illusion...many including myself fasted and prayed for specific righteousness and a manifestation of Gods Kingdom in the election process, and many woke up feeling as though faith had let them down, primarily because the hot button issues that Christians focus on seem in serious jeopardy due to Obamas record of pro-abortion legislation.
But before we fall into the delusion of the devils agenda, lets not loose our confidence, nor waver in our confession.
Gods Will, will be done.
We will see the Kingdom of God manifest, and we will see the tide of abortion ended.
I have that confidence from my Father, and I know without a doubt that is His will.
So where do we go from here, and what about stuff like the economy and the far left socialistic agenda?
The Kingdom answer is now more than ever God wants to prosper His children, what a better background for the testimony of Gods provision can you have than to see your needs met while all around you are losing financial ground?
Its the perfect time for a Kingdom Manifestation of Gods ways, and His Grace, and we get to re-present Jesus to our neighbors and cities and to the general population who will soon grow tired of awesome speeches and partisan pay-offs, what they need is a government bigger than the one being represented in Washington, a government that knows no poverty, no sickness, and no selfish infighting.
The history of our family is that we shine the brightest when the governments of our world fail the worse...think about Daniel, or Joseph, think about Paul before Herod, or John the Apostle leaving the political prison of Patmos with a revelation of the King of Kings.
That is our pedigree, that is our culture, and that is the government that will see no end.
So whats the practical side of this?
Well in my spirit I see a generation of men coming out of this that will be able to speak to nations...think about it, the old prophets usually spoke to NATIONS, we can barely get on t.v., but that is fixing to change.
In my prayers I am praying for Obama, that he will become filled with the Holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and his inner man will be completely transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ, I am praying that he receive angelic visitation, and that the Lord himself visit him in the White House...do you really think he could destroy Gods babies once he meets God face to face?
I am dedicating to pray and fast until it happens.
So think about it...what position would your faith be in right now if you knew without a doubt that the Angel of the Lord, and major Prophets were on assignment to visit the new President? That God had a plan to bring transformation to an entire segment of our population who has sold out their hearing ear to Obama?
Frankly the idea makes me excited...is anything to hard for God?
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Our Greater Assignment
Regardless of what happens in our culture or our world we have been commissioned with the purposes of God as revealed in the gospel and our hope is not based in events of our time.
- We have the ultimate truth.
Nothing changes that. Regardless of speculation, or adversity, human achievement or calamity, we remain (as the church) Gods seedbed of truth demonstrated in the world.
“1Tim 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
We have the ultimate reality, not the kingdoms of this world, not any government or agency of man, the church is the pillar of reality, not the feds, and certainly not wall street.
- The book of Hebrews PROMISES that once more God will shake the earth and also the heavens.
“Hebrews 12:27-28
And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”
The reason for this shaking is not to intimidate or frighten us, it must be viewed in context of the gospel of grace; that God is in process giving us something that CANNOT be shaken, so when we see turmoil in the markets, or economy our biblical response is gratitude, why? Because thru the shaking, the church (that means ME) receives the unshakable kingdom, which will remain. This means something comes out of the mess that will endure for our kids, our kid’s kids, and our generations yet to be born. That is very good news!
- God is not intimidated, worried, apprehensive, or even bothered by the current situation.
God is perfectly comfortable with who he is, and what He’s doing in the earth, His plan has not back-fired, there are no loop-holes the devil can exploit in Gods purposes and ALL His purposes are FOR GOOD AND NOT EVIL. He’s comfortable being God. He likes His job.
- Insecurity in the life of a believer is simply security in the wrong thing.
On a personal level how do you deal with the insecurity of the financial markets, the possibility of job loss, the possibility of higher taxes etc..?The first piece of equipment listed in the armor (Eph. 6:14) is the girdle of truth, if you do not approach your finances, job, gas prices and all of it in truth then you will be exposed to the enemies attacks against those very things. You have to ask yourself the truth, who do you work for? Who is your source? Where does your help come from? If you honestly get apprehensive or have insecurity clouding your attitudes then the reality (truth) is your security needs to be realigned with Gods promises and purposes for your life.
- God has never failed to provide for His purposes or assignments.
Ever, not once, it would actually be sin for God to give you an assignment and then fail to provide for it, so it is not even possible for you to lack Gods provision to accomplish what He has called you to do.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Lakeland and Beyond
So if you are much of a Charismatic, or whatever the current label is for someone who follows deeply the activity of the Holy Spirit, I'm sure you've heard about the Lakeland revival and Todd Bentley.
The obvious questions that arise from such activity is "Is this from God?" "Is it real?" "What will happen now that Todd has stepped out of it?" etc...etc...etc...
My response to these questions is simple: Yes, yes, yes.
Is it from God:
Let me ask you this;
Do you know anyone who can even bring a physical improvement for a cold by simply speaking words? Have you ever met anyone who could cause another person to fall down simply by speaking?
The only person I know who can do that is Jesus, so its not a far stretch to see it happen through people who claim a connection to him.
If you want to go and try blaming this activity on the devil or his spirits, I need to remind you that his (the devils) main operating strategy is to kill, steal, and destroy...none of which fits into the activity I've just described.
Anyone who maintains that Lakeland was the work of the devil is in major deception and needs serious deliverance from demonic strongholds rooted in unbelief...there I've said it may the truth of that sink in.
So what about all the unusual demonstrations and the "hype"?
I don't know. Really. What difference does it make?
If you suggest that the world will reject Jesus because of the weirdness of this event, I gotta say, the world has already rejected Jesus, what makes you think any activity of God would be designed to impress them anyway?
The same Jesus who heals the sick with a "BAM" told the religious leaders of his day that in order to have life they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood...and then he did not even bother to explain what he meant to them, he just let them get all hot and bothered and upset to the point that many of his own followers ended up leaving him.
Let me say this perfectly clear:
God owes you no explanation.
Jesus does not need to explain the whys and where-for's of his activity.
To quote from a Matrix movie " Your comprehension is not a prerequisite for your cooperation.".
So where does that leave us? Especially considering that Todd Bentley has basically resigned from the movement?
Well that's an interesting question.
There is one thing I would like to remind anyone who followed this movement about, many times I heard speakers, including Todd refer to the coming revival as the faceless nameless army, meaning that God was raising up an army not composed of superstars and headliners, but instead He was raising up something that had no particular form or comeliness that we should be attracted to it, it would be average Joe's doing the miraculous.
Once you make that declaration as a leader, you sort of volunteer yourself to become a nobody, and the difficulty with Todd's presence was that in order for him to lead the faceless, nameless army, he himself would need to become the very thing he prophesied.
Kinda tough under all that spotlight to fulfil that kind of declaration...so I do not find it even slightly unusual that in the course of this he would basically disappear from the spotlight, regardless of how it transpires.
I am not suggesting that God orchestrated the seemingly impending divorce, but what I will suggest is that God can and will use it to move Todd into a place of obscurity so that he can fulfil the next stage in the declared purpose in this movement.
Where do we go from here? Well that remains to be seen, if you consider that what happened in Lakeland was actually a "seeding" process, well that's some pretty impressive seed there and when it comes to full fruition it will be everything the hype suggested and more, I suspect we will look back at Lakeland as a spark that grew into a flame that became a fire that burned a nation and beyond.
As one of the old charismatic songs would say..."It only takes a spark..."
The obvious questions that arise from such activity is "Is this from God?" "Is it real?" "What will happen now that Todd has stepped out of it?" etc...etc...etc...
My response to these questions is simple: Yes, yes, yes.
Is it from God:
Let me ask you this;
Do you know anyone who can even bring a physical improvement for a cold by simply speaking words? Have you ever met anyone who could cause another person to fall down simply by speaking?
The only person I know who can do that is Jesus, so its not a far stretch to see it happen through people who claim a connection to him.
If you want to go and try blaming this activity on the devil or his spirits, I need to remind you that his (the devils) main operating strategy is to kill, steal, and destroy...none of which fits into the activity I've just described.
Anyone who maintains that Lakeland was the work of the devil is in major deception and needs serious deliverance from demonic strongholds rooted in unbelief...there I've said it may the truth of that sink in.
So what about all the unusual demonstrations and the "hype"?
I don't know. Really. What difference does it make?
If you suggest that the world will reject Jesus because of the weirdness of this event, I gotta say, the world has already rejected Jesus, what makes you think any activity of God would be designed to impress them anyway?
The same Jesus who heals the sick with a "BAM" told the religious leaders of his day that in order to have life they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood...and then he did not even bother to explain what he meant to them, he just let them get all hot and bothered and upset to the point that many of his own followers ended up leaving him.
Let me say this perfectly clear:
God owes you no explanation.
Jesus does not need to explain the whys and where-for's of his activity.
To quote from a Matrix movie " Your comprehension is not a prerequisite for your cooperation.".
So where does that leave us? Especially considering that Todd Bentley has basically resigned from the movement?
Well that's an interesting question.
There is one thing I would like to remind anyone who followed this movement about, many times I heard speakers, including Todd refer to the coming revival as the faceless nameless army, meaning that God was raising up an army not composed of superstars and headliners, but instead He was raising up something that had no particular form or comeliness that we should be attracted to it, it would be average Joe's doing the miraculous.
Once you make that declaration as a leader, you sort of volunteer yourself to become a nobody, and the difficulty with Todd's presence was that in order for him to lead the faceless, nameless army, he himself would need to become the very thing he prophesied.
Kinda tough under all that spotlight to fulfil that kind of declaration...so I do not find it even slightly unusual that in the course of this he would basically disappear from the spotlight, regardless of how it transpires.
I am not suggesting that God orchestrated the seemingly impending divorce, but what I will suggest is that God can and will use it to move Todd into a place of obscurity so that he can fulfil the next stage in the declared purpose in this movement.
Where do we go from here? Well that remains to be seen, if you consider that what happened in Lakeland was actually a "seeding" process, well that's some pretty impressive seed there and when it comes to full fruition it will be everything the hype suggested and more, I suspect we will look back at Lakeland as a spark that grew into a flame that became a fire that burned a nation and beyond.
As one of the old charismatic songs would say..."It only takes a spark..."
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