Tue, Apr 27th - 5:48PM

The Bride Price

  When I was a kid I was taught that to give someone a gift and then take it back was called, “Indian giving”. Perhaps it referred to the white men giving the Indians land they later took back? In those days, even little kids knew Indian giving was wrong, and in fact, it was considered worse than giving no gift at all.

 Have you ever considered why the ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit’ are called “gifts” instead of “abilities”? God told me this afternoon, and I’m honored to pass it on.

 He said, quite simply, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts given by God to His bride, and they are given to 1) testify to the current betrothal and upcoming wedding, and 2) to assist the bride in ‘making herself ready’. 

 For years I have stumbled ungracefully over a good answer to the question, “Why do I need to….(pick a gift – usually speaking in tongues)?” Another derivation of the same question is posed more aggressively as, “So, are you saying I’m a second class Christian because I’m not baptized in the Holy Spirit?”, but no more.

 As water baptism proclaims and demonstrates to the world that we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ, and is a testimony to our new lives, the baptism in the Holy Spirit demonstrates to the world that we have willingly accepted the bride-gifts from the Groom.

 In the New Testament we see numerous examples and teaching of these two baptisms being “both, and..”, rather than, “one or..)”. Both comprise the normal Christian experience, and should be routinely understood that way today.

 God the Father clearly gave the bride gifts in full measure to Jesus following His water baptism, and Jesus clearly passed them on to His bride following His resurrection. This transference was demonstrated on the day of Pentecost as well as spoken of in Ephesians 4:8, when it was declared, ‘He ascended on high and gave gifts to men’.

 It should also be clearly understood that misuse of the gifts, and we can do that, does not reflect on the Giver, or the validity of the gifts themselves. In addition, if we allow room for unbelief, we will not acquire the gifts. 

 Compounding this error, when we create or allow for doctrinal interpretations that explain why we no longer see the gifts (the very ones we deny by our doctrine), we justify to ourselves our denial, forfeit the bride-gifts Jesus died for us to have, and bring on ourselves a judgment I personally would rather avoid. 

 What denial, what judgment you ask….how many sick, oppressed, tormented, under-blessed, hopeless and perpetually helpless “believers” do you sit next to in church? Ever wonder why? This must be hard to see because it’s so obvious (that’s a man-thing!).

 Most of the gifts themselves are given for the edification of the Church because in that setting, and with proper God-given leadership in operation, the operation of the gifts is naturally subject to the divine system of checks and balances – as they should be. Without this system in place, misuse will result (and does). 

 The gift of tongues that is personal, and not for corporate benefit, should be considered the “lingerie” gift, intimate, and for the personal use of the believer in prayer. The gift of tongues that mandates a following interpretation is another gift, to be used corporately for the benefit of all. It is quite clearly delineated in Scripture, and is easily seen that way  once we recognize it as a different gift. No lingerie in church, please!

 If you haven't accepted the bride-gifts from the hand of Jesus yet, or have thought only “special” Christians get them, like the apostles, I would encourage you to get on board. If that were true, God would be an Indian giver, and some churches teach He is. 

 It’s a good ride, and it is the normal Christian life. Don't believe anyone who would try to sell you short on oil just so you could join the group of five that didn’t have enough.  

 Remember, only the five that had enough oil qualified for the feast (Matthew 25).

John

Tue, Apr 27th - 12:44PM

It's Personal

 Let’s talk some more about the Holy Spirit. Within that context, some decisions are general, and apply to all – all the time, while others are personal. 

 For instance, the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. That’s plain and always applies to all people, in all places, all the time. Jesus said of Himself that He was the only way to God, ‘way’ being like a road. If you happen to believe there might be other ways, you have rejected Jesus, and rejection is not too strong a word. Other ‘ways’ equals rejection, and our sincerity doesn’t count. 

 That’s a simple example of a general, applies all the time-to all people teaching, and it requires a decision from us all, the lack of which is not an excuse.

 But other decisions are personal. While not necessarily less important than general decisions, they are more subject to the maturity of our understanding. For instance, you can't expect a child to make healthy-choice food decisions before maturing into  understanding their importance, but all children will eat. Sooner or later, decisions are called for, and in my context they are called for by God, and our responses should necessarily follow as soon as the truth is revealed.

 Remember the old illustration of the frog in the pot of water? If you turn up the heat gradually, the frog will eventually boil to death before deciding he needs to jump out of the pot. The opposite is also true. If the water in the pot is gradually withdrawn in small increments, the frog will end up in a pot devoid of water. Either scenario does not represent a good day for the frog, and both are unsurvivable. 

 Yesterday, I realized to my horror that I was the frog in the empty pot, and I realized it, because my friend the Holy Spirit showed me. Minus His revelation I’d still be in the pot. Are you in a pot too?

 I’ve noticed what I would term the “Law of Obverse Truth”. I don't know if it’s 100% accurate, but I’ve not seen it fail yet. It works like this – God’s revealed truth also reveals an obverse truth. For instance, if we know, “Sin is bad”, we can consequently know, “Not to sin is good”. 

 What I realized yesterday, to my horror, was this obverse: “If testifying truthfully about the Holy Spirit is good, and glorifies God – not to testify about Him is sin, and does not glorify God”. This applies immediately upon the arrival of the revelation!

 I said this was personal, and as such, as soon as I realized this obverse was in play I felt called upon to confess my lack of testimony as sin. It was my decision – you should make your own. I think God leaves this one up to us as individuals, and without personal revelation in the matter I would question the integrity of any decision made.

 I find myself in a situation where I have been silent about what I know to be a true testimony concerning the ministry and gifts of the Holy Spirit. My reason was that I didn’t feel it my place to be a burr under the saddle of my current congregation.  Instead, I prayed earnestly for “revival”. I guess I was hoping that one Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit would blow down the front door to my church and make Himself known as He really is. But yesterday, I realized I had in fact, been praying that the Holy Spirit would do my job for me. This is like hoping for a pot of gold to magically appear at your front door – in place of holding down a job. I can't believe how much time I’ve wasted!

 After repentance, I made a vow today – one not to be taken lightly. A vow is binding, so if you also consider it, please think it over carefully. There is no quickie divorce from this. Just the same, I would submit this for your prayerful consideration:

 “I vow today that I will never, under any circumstances or due to any personal cost or social risk, remain silent about what I know is revealed truth to me concerning the Holy Spirit, His personhood, His ministry in the church, His gifts or His anointing – ever again! I will never remain mute when He is ignorantly or willfully maligned, or ignored. I will remain true to this vow and true to my best friend.” I dare you to dare to be the burr under your saddle. It’s a lot more fun than waiting for the door to be blown open – and it’s our calling.

John 

Mon, Apr 26th - 1:01PM

Skepticism - The Unholy Mix

 I touched on it in my last post, titled, “Power of Confession”, but more needs to be said about the problem of current American skepticism concerning clear Bible teaching.

 If you were to have a recipe for skepticism, the easiest would be eight parts unbelief mixed with two parts of fear. If this was just a food recipe, who on earth would choose to mix it up and consume it? 

 I have recently heard several well-traveled folks say that biblical miracles are much more common in countries other than the United States. Why is this? Why should I need to travel to some third-world country to see my God in action? Why indeed – good old American skepticism.

 We in America are proud, arrogant from any other viewpoint, and we are very proud of our skepticism. There are limits to our skepticism that are difficult to understand. For instance, we are quick to believe politicians who tickle our ears with stupid promises that logically have no substance, yet we won't believe God substantially moves and acts within real time in many of our churches. Put that way, maybe our problem isn't so difficult after all…we trust man, but not God. Well, that’s easy to see!

 I think we subscribe to our current unhealthy doses of skepticism because we are basically, 1) slow to believe God, and 2) fearful of looking stupid in front of our skeptical peers. Well, good grief! There it is again – easy to see.

 I would like to raise a question: if God is acting according to New Testament standards, but only in the third world – what’s their problem?! Oh dear, perhaps that’s backwards – what’s our problem?

 I don‘t just need the cross of Christ to help me die well. He died so that I might truly LIVE – now, and forever. 

 And if He could sacrifice His life, the least I can do is sacrifice my skepticism.

John

Mon, Apr 26th - 12:28PM

Power of Confession

 Never underestimate the power of a negative confession.

 According to the Bible we say we believe, we live our lives here on earth while being surveilled by a ‘cloud of witnesses’, and the context is one of Eternity. Now I don't know if Christians already with the Lord in Heaven watch us on some sort of eternal, cable TV, or what, but I understand that we are not living in private little vacuums – we are witnessed.

 We are also witnessed by the watching world; and while most frankly don't care, most of the time, some do, and they are curious how Christians live out their lives while facing the same sewage common to everyone. 

 To sum: on every level we are being watched! And we are being watched for more important reasons than that of idle curiosity. How we live our lives; what we believe in, and what we do within that framework are matters of current and eternal importance.

 Satan knows he has but little time, and while I don't know if he still thinks he can one day rule the world, I do know he is on the job every day in an unceasing effort to deny God a family that will. When we agree with Satan – against God – our negative confessions not only throw dirt on the Son of God, they destroy the confessors.

 Case in point: What have I done when I, a child of God, confess that I have an incurable disease? Or as a husband, confess that over my wife or children? Or much worse, use a teaching position to promote that idea among the faithful? 

 In a context of earthly medical knowledge, I can truthfully say medical science has no cure, but to confess before the children of God that my disease is ‘incurable’ begs the question: incurable for whom? And if I don't delineate the ‘for Whom’ carefully, it becomes a horrible curse over my life or those to whom I am responsible. 

 By one careless and thoughtless confession, I have agreed with the devil against God, while at once giving him free reign over my physical well-being, and concurrently throwing dirt on the cross of Christ. While human wisdom (and limited experience) is foolishness to God, it is death only to me and mine.

 So here’s a confession I can believe in:

 Jesus Christ pre-paid in full for my deliverance from sickness and demons. By a faithful choice, I choose to believe it and live it. I renounce skepticism for what it really is – unbelief + fear, and I am daily thankful that God’s Spirit inside me is also healing my body through the blood of Jesus. And if I ever die sick, it won't be the fault of Jesus or His cross.

 So here is my incurable disease (seen from the devil’s viewpoint): I am incurably in love with Jesus and everything His blood procured on my behalf – and I want it all – this side of the grave – where it matters and is witnessed!

John

Fri, Apr 23rd - 12:09PM

Unreasonable Expectations

 One colloquial definition of insanity goes like this:

Doing the same thing, over and over, while expecting different results.

 One of my favorite on-line papers is the Patriot Post (.com). It’s a free, on-line subscription, and I get it several times each week, plus the stand alone, and excellent editorials by the editor, Mark Alexander. If you consider yourself a Constitutional Patriot, you owe yourself this weekly insight. However…

 As a patriot, my personal list of Truly Despicable People is expanding out of control, and any current list of elected officials, from the president on down seems redundant to my own list. But having said that, I will have to declare that God has appointed these current quislings to be at our national helm at this time, and we did it to ourselves.

 The Word of God plainly declares it is God who appoints men to positions of authority over nations and governments, and it is also God Who pulls them down. Consequently, I have to acknowledge that the current batch of elected buffoons are in fact serving God’s purpose(s), no doubt unwittingly.

 Due to the incredible national angst I see documented on the media polls, there are many encouraging us to vote in the upcoming November mid-terms in line with our values; i.e.: vote for the candidates who best reflect them. Frankly, I find this bit of advice more than a little disturbing for at least two reasons:

1. We should have been doing that all along, and

2. Our national values, and indeed, our national identity has been headed for the sewers of civilization for well over 30 years; God help us all if we elect people who reflect what they have, and are becoming, in 2010.

 I could go on, but I’ll stop at the first two that come to mind. You might be able to go the distance to a depressing ten! But according to my definition posed above, I have to declare that even this is at best, an ill-conceived hope – opiate for the right wing voters. 

 To put the current problem in context, let’s first figure out what it really is, and then perhaps a solution will become evident. Here’s how I see it:

1. The cornerstone of our country is, and always has been, our Constitution.

2. The cornerstone of our Constitution has always been the God of the Christian Bible.

3. Worshiping at the altar of “Social justice”, we have substituted other cornerstones, in place of the original one we were founded on.

4. Consequently, we have become lost wanderers in a wilderness of end-time nations, and we have…

5. Lost our leaders and our leadership – which we are currently replacing with Global Wisdom, the ultimate end-time mistake of history.

 I don't want to help elect “leaders” who only reflect the value systems of their constituencies – we did that in 2008. The only way out of this mess is to elect men and women who reflect the Eternal Values reflected in our Constitution, and help to bring us back to them. 

 Anything less meets the definition of insanity.

John

Tue, Apr 20th - 11:16AM

Division of Labor

 I want to share what God told me several days ago. There always exists a degree of trepidation when I presume to state that God spoke to me, or let me know some of His wisdom; and so it is present now as I share what I believe He gave me. Yet not to share, while still a prerogative of mine, seems unthinkable. So here goes…

 It was made known to me that between God and man there exists a certain division of labor. Both parties have separate responsibilities, and while the performance of those responsibilities is entirely voluntary by both, God is responsible for some things in our relationship to Him, and His children are responsible for other things, and those things are different. We get into trouble when we don't know the difference.

  I will be bold enough here to state what God told me. He said, “Stop doing my job for Me, and just trust Me to do it Myself – My way.” Further, I was told it was my job to love God and let Him love me. When I love myself, I am doing His job, not mine. It breaks down like this:

· My job = 1) love God, and 2) trust Him to love me, His way.

· His job = love me.

 Consider all of the problems in our lives and consequently, our world. Aren't they all a product of mankind getting this division of labor backwards? Isn't all the cosmic warfare the result of us trying to be God, i.e.: doing His job for Him? It is the most basic feature of our original rebellion.

 One fact that should be clear by now is that God’s ways are not only different and ‘higher’ than our ways, but usually completely opposite. What biblical hero would we, in our logic and wisdom, have chosen? What biblical methods of operations would we have adopted? Plainly, none. 

 As parents, would we even have the kind of love that would be willing to sacrifice our only children for anyone’s benefit, much less everyone’s? Clearly not. 

 For me, one of the outstanding mysteries of God will always be how different we are from Him, and how divinely ironic that I can only see this because of my created similarity.

 So far in my journey, I’ve consistently done a lousy job trying to do God’s job. I have quite enough on my plate doing my own. 

 I am not the Senior Partner.

John

Mon, Apr 19th - 4:54PM

Witness #2

 After re-reading what I wrote in today’s piece titled, “Witness”, I believe a brief amplification is needed. If I leave “Witness” as a stand alone document, too many readers may think I am advocating a meek acquiescence to suffering, and right there is where amplification and clarification are necessary. 

 The fact is, a large percentage of Christians (at least in the United States) seem more ready to suffer and die for Christ than live their lives in the victory He bought. They have, along with non-Christians, allowed their lives to be defined by chronic illness or mental torment, and without a radical change in their thinking and understanding, they will not be the witnesses to demonstrate the Christ in the Bible. Instead, they may show a denominational Jesus – a partial representation at best, or worse, no Jesus at all.

 While I’m forever grateful to God that He called my name to be in His family, and provided the Way to Himself, just knowing I’m going to Heaven when I die isn't all that Jesus paid for on the cross, in my opinion. Much, much more was provided, paid for and made available to each child of God, and if we settle for no more than the promise of Heaven, we are shortchanging ourselves and cheating God by setting unbiblical limits on Him and our service for Him.

 Just having the “Patience of Job” is settling for half the benefits, if that. Job complained just like most of us would in the same circumstances – but only up to a point. After that point was reached, Job radically altered course, saying through his pain and torment, “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”, and “I know that my Redeemer lives..”. He evidenced a complete transformation in his thinking, and I am incredibly thankful the transformation is recorded for our benefit. And the benefits of Job should make a change in our real, physical lives – more than the suffering he endured.

 When I said in “Witness”, ‘Let God be God’, I was not trying to create a play on words, rather, I literally meant it in time and space. I believe with all my heart that while showing the “Patience of Job” may be a good witness, believing in the God Who never changes  speaks volumes more. Someone once said, “One miracle is worth a thousand sermons”, and they did not understate.

 Granted, many pray for miracles and still die young, but many are indeed raised to new life. I’m not debating the fine points on why some are healed and some aren't; that is almost always a quagmire leading to some Satanic inspired hopelessness. And there are always different factors in play for different Saints. I would rather state it like this: if God still heals and performs other miracles, and indeed WANTS TO, once we settle for ourselves the questions of the “if” and the “WANTS TO”, we can have a lot more real faith to believe Him – in His entirety. Do we indeed believe in the God of the Bible, or some denominational philosophy about Him?

 Following closely on that statement I say without reservation, it is God’s intention that the relationships He longs to have with His children are entirely intimate – not partially so. Let me say this without equivocation: when Christians limit God through their doctrine or experience, they perform a great SIN. Nothing less. The name of that sin is UNBELIEF. And when we teach others under our care to share the same unbeliefs, for whatever reasons, we are inside or close to the borders of BLASPHEMING.

 We should seek the God of the Bible, always placing seeking Him above seeking His benefits, no matter what our situations….but there are real, tangible benefits to knowing the living God, and they come pre-paid in blood.

 Just my opinion…

John

Mon, Apr 19th - 12:26PM

Witness

 As God’s family, we Christians are His witnesses to the world. We all know this, and there’s no new revelation in it. We are told to live out our lives in such a way that non-Christians will marvel, and want what we have, so why is it that we get bogged down in the “Why do bad things happen to good people” syndrome? The bible Book of Job explains and examples in great detail just how Job learned the answer to this age-old question. 

 Look at the question from a father’s viewpoint. We reason that a loving earthly father wouldn’t allow his children to go through such hard experiences as we all do. The horrific tragedies we hear about and sometimes experience ourselves, beg this question. Then we get mad at God and shout at Him, “Why!”, and the only apparent consolation is the knowledge we’ll understand in Heaven. But to grieving parents, that consolation seems inadequate to the pain they’re suffering. So indeed, “Why?”

 Look back at Job…here was a ‘righteous’ man, minding his own business and apparently living an honorable life in the sight of God and his fellow man. He didn’t volunteer to be singled out by God for the singular honor of making it into our scriptures, but he was, and God volunteered him.

 It’s no stretch to realize that God already knew Satan had been looking at Job, and God already knew what was going through Satan’s brain. Because of that, the question He asked Satan was rhetorical in nature. Responding to Satan’s pre-existing thoughts about Job, God brought up the dialogue that resulted in Job’s record setting malaise. But again, WHY? Why not have all the horrible things happen to someone more deserving than good old Job? Why did God pick on him? Was this indicative of a loving Father? I say, “Yes”, and I say it because I know the underlying question behind the “Why?” 

 The bedrock question is this: “Why does God leave us in this world after we become His?”

 Think about it. Isn't that correct? What earthly father would leave his adopted child in such a hellish place? Once the adoption is accomplished, an earthly father would spare no expense to bring his adopted child home; so why does God leave us here?

 When we asked Jesus to be our Lord, we each signed up for a mission we perhaps weren't fully aware of, namely, to live out our lives as God’s witnesses. And that’s the answer to the “Why?” questions. 

 The rest of the world doesn’t desire or benefit from our comfy lives on the church pews. The rest of the world needs to see us go through the SAME stuff they go through – with our God being the only difference. They are asking, “How do I know their God is real”, and our trials are the only witness they’ll ever have. However, it is human nature to avoid trials and tribulations, and Christians do it as well as anyone else. But when Christians ask ‘why’, they are denying God His parental rights. Just like with good old Job, God has plans for each one of us, and a number of those plans won't happen painlessly.

 While I’m not brave enough to get on the line and tell God I’m ready for tribulation, I do realize that I belong to Him, and tribulations can be a set-up for an honorable witness. It does not matter how different you say you are since Jesus came into your hearts; it only matters that you demonstrate it.

 We are His appointed witnesses, and we honor Him when we allow our lives to demonstrate all of Him. But not only do our lives testify of Him, He testifies of Himself by demonstrating His power – but only if we’ll allow it.

 Consider being God’s witness, no matter what. We are all part of a divine demonstration, and we have a chance to not only be God’s children, but partners with Him.

 Let God be God. It is a choice.

John

Mon, Apr 19th - 10:07AM

Dust-Off

 My wife and I have an ongoing debate over dust and dirt. Her dust threshold is a lot lower than mine, and every now and then she’ll demonstrate the dust problem by sweeping her hand across a table, or somewhere else in our house, and sure enough, the dust becomes visible – even to me! 

 The debate focuses on my threshold, because I only acknowledge the presence of dust when I trip over it. After much careful study and anguish, it would appear we approach the problem of dust from two opposite directions, like we do with everything else! However, after my dust vision yesterday in church, I have to admit my wife’s dust threshold is more correct than mine. It’s a real bother to have to admit it!

 Yesterday, right in the middle of a worship service, and while worshiping with my eyes closed, I saw a road leading from me to the Lord. The road was a bit curvy, and had some different sized rocks and small boulders strewn about – thankfully, not too many, but the surface of the road was covered with a fine patina of dust.  

 Through the Spirit, the Lord let me know that the rocks and dust represented sin, with the rocks specifically representing unconfessed sin. Thankfully, the rocks weren’t hard to find, but just things I hadn't dealt with yet. The patina of dust represented pervasive dirt from the world I live in, and because each particle was so small and seemingly insignificant, it had quietly just covered the road unnoticed. 

 The message was that all the rocks and the dust clogged my communion with my Lord – in fact, to Him, all were significant. And as I watched the road, the Holy Spirit blew across it and blew the dust away, leaving only the rocks for me to deal with. And as the dust blew away, I was amazed at how much dust there had been – much more than I would have guessed when I first saw it. I was also amazed at how many rocks had been hidden by the dust.

 This world system we live in and endure every day, has an insidious way of covering each of us with dust (spelled: D I R T). We need to let the Holy Spirit clear the dust out of the way, because it not only inhibits our intimacy with the Lord, but can even make it difficult to see the rocks in our roads. But the only way to allow the Holy Spirit to clear the way is to allow ourselves to become intimate with Him, and more is never too much!

 Yesterday I had a dust-off in church. Jesus made me clean, while the Holy Spirit dusted off my way to Him. 

 What’s not to love!?

John

Mon, Apr 5th - 4:23PM

Patterns

 In the Gospel of John (John 5:23), Jesus said that the person who did not honor him, dishonored the Father who sent him. This is an excellent example of a biblical pattern, and I believe we should be sensitive to biblical patterns, for they are not in the scriptures by accident.

 Considering this pattern, let’s apply it to the scriptures themselves, as the Word of God, which most Christians affirm them to be. Since we are taught to consider the scriptures as ‘God breathed’, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, let’s begin there.

 Jesus is known as the Incarnate Word of God (John 1:1). Accepting that particular title of His personage, and using the pattern above, to reject any portion of the Word of God, is to reject the Word. The only person authorized to alter, subtract or add to the Word is God Himself. 

 In Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 7:12-15 and Deuteronomy 28+, the Lord is talking about blessings and curses – both of which are conditional. Deuteronomy 28 is an accurate description of the United States today. Many modern Christians have either not been taught about biblical curses or don't believe in them if they have…but they certainly believe in the blessings, and hold God accountable when they aren't blessed!

 In this instance, we see mankind assuming the authority to pick and choose from God’s Word as he will, and at his convenience. This practice, I submit, is a rejection of God’s Word, for with God, either all of His Word is accepted, or none of it – we can't ‘have it our way’. 

 In a related issue, nowhere are we authorized to judge God’s Word by our experiences; instead, we should judge our experiences in the light of God’s Word. Many among us have that backwards, to our great loss.

 I would also say that the plethora of deadly diseases we see in our church congregations, (the same ones we see “in the world”), are possibly the result of a partial rejection of the Word of God, resulting in a rejection of God. 

 From time to time, we all need healing, and yet medical science for all it’s advances, seems impotent to cure many of the diseases we suffer. Perhaps we have unwittingly cut ourselves off from God’s blessings, and become subject to biblical curses – resulting in unnecessary deaths in the Body and ruined faith for many. 

 Sad to say, in many churches, terminal diseases result in death as often as the un-churched, and the closest they get to biblical healing is to pray for a good doctor! Where is the distinction? Hope and Faith are not the same.

 I know this essay could cause many readers to push back; I wish it were otherwise, but we cannot expect from God whatever we need while at the same time rejecting “uncomfortable” portions of His Word.

 We are admonished to ‘rightly divide the Word of truth’ (2 Timothy 2:15), but that does not refer to the gross, negligent dissection I’m writing about. Instead it means to ‘teach the truth directly and correctly’. 

 It is one of my core beliefs that one of the major challenges in the Christian life is not entry-level belief in God’s Word, rather it is having belief in all of it.

 To sum up, it is our privilege and duty to believe all of God’s Word, living our lives accordingly, for Him. It is also our duty to recognize we have no authority to alter His Word to fit our theologies, experiences or spiritual comfort.

 According to God’s Word, both blessings and curses exist, available as choices to God’s people, and it would appear that curses are a default position. I for one, desperately need to place myself in the path of God’s blessings, and the good news is that it’s available to all Christians as a free-will choice.

 Choose all of His Word – choose Life.

John

Sun, Apr 4th - 5:42PM

The Voice

 To my shame, one of the things I do best is fix what isn't broken. I was talking on the phone this week to a friend of many years, and I mentioned this to him. We both laughed a little, and he said, as he’s said for so many years, “Ah Johnny, you’ve always tried to do that.” And we laughed a little more. 

 Jim first pegged me in the 1980’s when we worked together. I was selling something I didn’t need to sell, and later I had to re-buy it – all in an effort to fix something I viewed as imperfect. Being a quiet, content man, he laughed at all my expended effort. He was not malicious, we were, and still are friends, but I amused him then, and I guess I still do. However, it’s not quite as funny to me.

 My week has been one of struggle, with great effort expended in the cause of Truth, Justice, and blah, blah…and I finally became so proud of all my energetic effort, and all the truth I had expounded in the process, that I became worn out by it all. 

 Guilt stabbed in at me, and woeful cries of worthlessness ceaselessly kept hammering away at my inner ear. I became discouraged, confused and fearful. I think I may have indeed caused more harm than good! To use an old phrase, I was undone. 

 Once again, sleep was elusive, and my bed was like stone, the sheets like sandpaper until I got up and fervently prayed, begging the Lord to show me a revelation of love, a quality I’ve always felt the need of. Then back to the sandpaper sheets until at last, here I am, trying to explain The Voice.

 In between tossing and turning there was a brief moment of stillness, and in that moment I saw myself in a small boat on a big lake. Dark waves were crashing into and over the sides of my boat, and I was all alone and desperately afraid. Then quietly and without fanfare, the Lord steadily and peacefully approached my boat across the waves and said three words in a quiet voice, “Peace, be still.” 

 He did not shout in a loud, commanding voice, or wildly wave His arms, and I’m not sure how I heard His quiet voice over the roar of the waves, but I heard Him say in a calm voice, “Peace, be still.” 

 Instantly, the waves became still and flat, and there was no noise, no chaos, only a calm, quiet, pervasive peace that flowed over me. 

 Only after the waves stopped and His peace flowed over me could I hear Him in the calm, telling me to remain at peace. He reminded me that He’s been talking to me for several weeks. During that time He never raised His voice over mine, never attempted to overpower me, yet only now in my desperation am I able to hear His voice. 

 “I do not need a man of war….in these chaotic times, I need a man of peace; My peace.” 

 And now, as I keep back my tears, remembering the gentleness in His voice, I’m struck by how utterly impossible it is NOT to love Him!

 I do not need to be alone in my own boat. My Lord Jesus Christ is forever the Ark of His own covenant, a covenant He made with me in His own blood. 

 My prayer for you on this Easter morning is that He is, or becomes the Ark in your storms, as He was again this morning for me, in mine.

John

Fri, Apr 2nd - 2:56PM

Disclaimer

 I suspect everyone has certain traits that routinely and consistently produce certain predictable responses in others. For instance, the perpetually angry will solicit more defensive responses than the person who is always even-keeled; this must be true, although it’s hard to find a perfectly even-keeled person, or anything else in this world at war.

 I believe I need to put forth a disclaimer, not in defense of something indefensible, but in explanation. Here it is:

 I will shamelessly write on any topic in the Christian life, and some not in the Christian life, based on any and all “inspiration” provided, from whatever source. I will strive to be ever truthful, no matter what, within the bounds of decency, if possible. I will represent God as He represents Himself to me – at all costs, no matter what. 

 I would wish that those who provide the “inspiration” do not take my writings as personal attacks, as indeed they are usually not intended to be personal. That said, what I write should only be accepted like new shoes – buy only the ones that fit. 

 To further muddy the waters, I am fully and painfully aware that the ‘message of the prophet is subject to the prophet’, and many times I write my own reflection, rather than God’s. This too, is unintended, and I apologize in advance, but my struggle is to present God’s true reflection, as He reveals Himself to me, and that struggle happens every day.

 That’s my job, that’s my ministry, and that’s my great passion. And no matter how many friends (hopefully) or enemies this creates, I will fulfill my ministry to the best ability I’m given. As Rush Limbaugh says about himself, “Talent, on loan from God”. It’s not an arrogant statement, although I suspect he says it with tongue in cheek. We all are on loan from God – on loan from Him – and to each other. 

 We individually represent God’s gifts to each other, and only He is in charge of the Family. 

 That’s just the way it is.

John

Fri, Apr 2nd - 12:19PM

Cut Off From God

 Easter is the time of year that most Christian churches focus on the Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, and rightly so. Many churches can expect a greater attendance at this time of year – my father used to call them “E and C Christians”, meaning they made it a point to attend on Easter and Christmas, but not necessarily in between. I could have entitled this piece, “God’s Love”, but felt it more appropriate to approach it from our natural perspective, for all of us began life’s journey cut off from it.

 But this is another one of those “Simply complex” stories. We are designed to thrive on God’s love, but too often, we settle for much less. We are like engines starving for lead, on an unleaded diet. Then, when we become Christians, we are told that God loves us, and in addition, that our normal Christian response should be to love Him back. However, that takes the cart before the horse for many of us, because we see nothing in ourselves that would cause anyone to love us – much less an all-knowing God.

 Without recognizing it, we block out receiving God’s love because our natural arrogance demands we understand it before we accept it. Years can go by as we starve for God’s love, while we struggle in the Christian life because of the diet. At least, that’s how it worked for me, and I suspect many other Christians feel guilty over not loving God because they are still trying to figure out just what He loves about them. 

 From personal experience, I can assure you the solution is available, and in fact, not very complicated. Anyone can love God, and know that they do, but only if they first accept His love without attempting to understand it first. It’s just a fact. In fact, for myself, I finally gave up the attempts at trying to understand what He saw in me – and just accepted His love. It’s not difficult to do – just difficult to reconcile.

 I submit that most of today’s addictions and other demonic problems are a direct result of people being cut off from God’s love, whether because they’re not Christians, or because they are, and cut themselves off. And as long as we are cut off from the only source of real life, we will operate out of self-hatred, and manifest all that self-hatred breeds. 

 Without real love flowing in, we have no choice but to have fake love flowing in/out. And so, we drudge through our lives trying to manage the outflow to our advantage. How sad – because it is totally unnecessary. 

 As Christians, we are called to show God’s love in our outflow, but too often we manage the message. Believe me, all the “new” ways to tickle ears with an updated message concerning His salvation are a waste of energy. If we want to be effective for Christ, I believe we should manage to communicate the old message – God loves you. It’s that simple. And if we can only decide to accept it, we’ll quite naturally love Him back – and others.

 If you want to understand why God loves you, you will finally end up here: because it’s His nature to love – period. You won't find the reason within yourself, and if you do, you are sincerely deluded. 

 God loves us because He loves us – no more, no less. The difficult part is our acceptance, and it is vital that we accept His love with no strings attached. How can God love slime like you and me? – He just does, and we need to move from frustrated self-delusions to acceptance. He just does!

 In prayer, tell God that although you don't understand how or why He can love you – you fully accept that He does, and thank Him for it. If you pray this regularly, you’ll experience an unbelievable transformation within yourself, and you won't understand it either! 

 Frankly, I’d rather experience the transformation than experience the understanding! 

Wouldn’t you?

John