Thanksgiving

Psalms 106:1(NKJV)  Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Thanksgiving is a decision.  Like other dimensions of our Christian disciplines, thanksgiving is not necessarily an emotional response.  Certainly there are times while thinking upon the goodness of the Lord and his blessings toward us we feel thankful and great emotion swells within.  However, thanksgiving needs to grow into a discipline of the heart. 

Believers who respond to God when they perceive his goodness and mercy manifest a wonderful thing.  Thanksgiving given to God from an attitude of the heart on a daily basis is a sign of maturity.  Immaturity responds to what it senses within its own realm of understanding.  Maturity lives with a gratefulness that comes from a long time of seeing the faithfulness of God and understands that He is working on our behalf when we don't see it, when we don't understand it and even when we are tempted to think He is not!  Thankfulness as a daily faith posture is pleasing and honoring to our God. 

Join me this week as we make a decision to learn how to better live in an attitude of Thanksgiving. 

Maybe You Can!

I was talking with my 4 year old granddaughter Lucia.  She was telling me the things she liked to do.  Trying to expand her horizons I recommended tennis as a possibility.  She said, "No Papa I can't play tennis because I tried it and I couldn't hit the ball."  She made the mistake a lot of people make in life.  Because they failed at something once or maybe just made a bad showing they eliminated it as a possibility.  I explained to Lucia that as you grow you change in many ways.  One of the ways you will change is that you will get better at hand/eye coordination.  When that happens you might try tennis again and find that you are good at it!  She seemed to listen and file it away at least.  

As Believers we are constantly changing and maturing in our walk with the Lord.  Our increasing abilities aren't only spiritual.  As we mature spiritually it affects every area of our lives.  Our spirit man, the place where the Holy Spirit abides, is like the control room of our existence.  As our spirit man grows in the knowledge of God and as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us in an ongoing way, we are stretched and expanded in natural abilities as well.  I'm not saying you can become a pro basketball player when you could never dribble a ball but I am saying you aren't the same today as you were yesterday.  Even your intellectual abilities are on the increase as the Holy Spirit is daily renewing your mind and moving you nearer the mind of Christ.  Just because you failed in an area in the past don't just assume that you will never be able to be proficient there.  

Husbands can become better husbands and fathers.  Bosses can become better bosses and employees can become better employees.  Sales people can reach new goals never attained before!  Don't allow your negative experiences and past failures to determine your identity and stop you from pursuing new ventures. Like Lucia, I'm hoping you will keep trying new things and reaching for higher goals!

God Is Bigger Than Your Faith

Part 2

In our last writing we looked at how the Lord often works beyond our methods to meet us at our place of need.  My wife Teresa often says, "while prayer is necessary, we need to be careful that faith in prayer above faith in the God of prayer doesn't occur." In the same way I have seen how studying methods of faith can result in faith in faith rather than faith in God.  Last week I told the story of how God reached past my weariness of trying to get healed and healed me in a place of cynicism!  How is that possible?  I had violated a number of learned faith methods and yet was still healed by God.  There is an interesting story of a man in John chapter 5 who had suffered physical illness for 38 years.  He was lying by the pool of Bethesda with the others who were wanting healing at the hand of an angel.  When Jesus approached this suffering soul He asked an interesting question: "Do you want to me made well?"  Certainly the answer to the question is a resounding, "YES"!  Yet, he didn't say yes.  What he said sounds a lot like whining or complaining.  He gave an excuse as to why he wasn't healed.  He didn't seem to have faith.  He didn't have his thinking right.  He didn't have his confession right.  Yet...yet...Jesus healed him!!!  Here is another very interesting thing about this story.  The place of healing was at a pool named Bethesda.  Bethesda is translated, "house of kindness".  It appears the kindness here is from man toward God.  Of course we know that God responds to our kindness with His Kindness.  

Now, what am I trying to get across in these two articles?  First let me say that, of course faith in God is something that grows in our lives and there are principles of faith that brings results of healing and blessing to us from God.  But if we aren't alert we can slip into performance driven faith.  We can begin to think, "if I do everything right according to a certain teaching, I will get my answer."  That attitude could become a hindrance to receiving from God because it is a kind of faith idol that is not necessarily motivated by "kindness toward God."  We can create a "house of Bethesda" in our own lives where we see, believe and respond to God from a foundation of kindness and mercy.

I guess as I write this that I am not really talking to people who are moving in a strong faith stance toward God.  I am speaking to those who don't feel you have it together and at times you don't feel like you have enough faith or knowledge or  discipline to get your answer.  Yet, you have a belief that God loves you and wants only His best for you.  You love God with all your heart but things haven't worked quite like you thought they would.  What do you do and where do you go next?  May I suggest that you quit trying so hard to "get healed".  God wants you to simply and kindly approach him.  It might be that all your struggling and activity has somehow hindered the very thing you need, wholeness.  

God Is Bigger Than Methods

Just about the time we think we have God figured out He will break out of our box and do it another way!   About a decade ago I was suffering from a heart condition that Doctors had said only bypass surgery would make better.  I struggled in faith doing all I knew to do to get healed.  Then, in time, I gave up on faith for my healing.  Of course, when you are a preacher who prays and believes for healing you can’t tell anyone that! Finally I went to Emory University hospital in Atlanta for one more heart catheterization.  Before I went I had preached in two different churches that week and two separate ladies spoke over me in prayer that I would not have surgery.   I smiled and thanked them but deep within I knew that I would have surgery.  I was so reconciled to having surgery that the night before I left for Atlanta I shaved my chest!  I had learned that the worst part of being hospitalized for a man was suffering with the tape on your chest!

Before the heart cath was performed my heart surgeon had said that according to the previous tests it appeared to him that I would need two or maybe three bypasses.  They prepped me to go straight from the lab to the operating room if bypass surgery was necessary. I remember the procedure and the apparent perplexity in the Doctors when they finally came and told me, “Your new results don’t match your old video film of your old test results.”  I was actually, I’m sorry to say, stunned!  I asked Teresa, “what does this mean?!”  She said, “it means that God has healed you!”  Wow!  God had healed me and I did nothing right according to my faith methods.  God had just healed me because it was in His plan to do so.

About a week later I was in a restaurant back home.  I walked by an old preacher who is now in heaven.  He asked about my heart visit to Emory.  I told him what had happened, and how I was amazed that God had done it outside of my faith sphere.  He said something that I will never forget.  His words were piercing and yet challenging to my doctrine.  He said, ”GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FAITH!

Today you may be struggling with “trying to get fixed” in some way.  Maybe like the woman with the issue of blood, you have tried it all.  May I suggest that you quit struggling to get healed and simply lift your eyes to Jesus and his never ending, never judging mercy.  Just look to Him in your simplest and what may seem your weakest way and see how He responds to your childlike faith.

Peacemakers

A good friend of mine once said, "we are supposed to be bridge builders, but remember that bridges are walked on!" Often being peacemakers involves some abuse.  Yet, reconciliation is a part of our ministry as followers of Jesus.  He said to us in Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  It's just part of our job!

Serving as a pastor for most of my life I have sat with many confused people who, often after my counsel, went to be a peacemaker and left attacked and wounded. They limped back to my office to ask, "what happened?"  It didn't seem to work.  We need to understand our part in the peacemaking process. We can only do our part of extending the olive branch of peace and reconciliation.  We can't make forgiveness and a desire for reconciliation appear in the heart of the other person.  We can only do our part. The Bible tells us that if we have an offense against someone we must go to them and try to get it right. It also says that if we know that a person has an offense against us, once again it's on us to go to them.  We can only do our part out of obedience.  We like to think that obeying the Lord and going, and it's a very hard thing to do, guarantees that the other person will be gracious and appreciate our efforts.  Not always!  I remember going to one man once and humbly asking for forgiveness and expressing a desire to be reconciled.  He turned on me like a wild animal and I actually thought he was going to attack me physically.  He said, "stay away from me!" He went to his grave never changing. How did I live with it?  I learned that once I did my part I was free!  While he wasn't free, I was free because I had sincerely obeyed the Lord in the matter.  Here is a wonderful verse.  Rom. 12:18 "if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."  Did you get it!  "As much as depends on you..."God only requires us to obey His word and do our part. The outcome in the matter does not determine our outcome in life. 

All of this means that I have had to learn to live extending a lot of grace to people.  Forgiveness and dropping the charges are powerful and liberating activities. Where are you in all this today?  If you haven't chosen to forgive, do so now.  If you need to go to someone in a effort to bring peace and reconciliation, do so now.  If you have already gone to someone and they rejected your efforts, let it go and do so now!  Remember, the Lord only requires to live peaceably with all men, "as much as depends on you."

Spiritual Prayer

I remember how I used to struggle with the Apostle Paul's words in I Th. 5:17, "Pray without ceasing". What did that mean?  How could you get anything done if you prayed 24/7?  The phrase, "without ceasing" means "uninterrupted".  I have come to learn more and more about the abiding presence of God and spiritual prayer.  Spiritual prayer is a word I have coined to distinguish between soulish prayer and spiritual prayer. Paul also tells us that we can "pray in the Spirit and pray with our understanding". There is a definite distinction between the two.   That particular verse is speaking of prayer in the Spirit which is followed by an understanding of what we prayed in the Spirit earlier.  That interpretation is not necessarily instantaneous or even perceived as an interpretation.  It could be days later.  The fact that there is a distinction in prayer between the Holy Spirit praying through us (Rom. 8:26) and praying with our mind or soul is proof that the origin of prayer could be either us or God.  Many of our prayers that begin with us, regardless of how sincere we may be, are soulish  and self-centered.  Prayers that originate in the Spirit are pure and according to the will of God.  How then can we pray more from the Holy Spirit's inspiration and less from our own religious duty.  It has to do with maintaining an unbroken fellowship  or as we learned earlier, "uninterrupted" connection with God.  This level of communion is something we can learn and deepen as we practice a God awareness.  Obviously, we all have to work and function out in the workplace.  We can't come across as weird or super-spiritual or we work against our purpose of bringing Jesus to others.  There is a place of unbroken communication between your spirit and God's Spirit!  Even when you aren't aware, it's happening!  Often I will wake in the night our early morning and realize that Bible verses or songs are going on inside me.  I have experienced this many times.  It means that even though I'm asleep my spirit man is connected to God and involved in worship and prayer.  What is my purpose is this writing?  I want to encourage you to learn to live with a God  awareness or consciousness!  Your life is not all natural as the world around us.  The people that you know what are not followers of Jesus live in the two dimensions of body and soul.  We have the added dimension of a living spirit which has been quickened and living in a cohabitation with the Holy Spirit.  Enjoy your walk as one filled with the Holy Spirit!

Money and Spirituality

One of the first things I learned as a disciple of Jesus was about money.  Why would the Lord put that lesson near the top of my things to be learned?  I'm not totally sure but one thing I know, money was important to me.  As a matter of fact, a large part of my resistance to His call to ministry was because most preachers I knew didn't have any money.  Then those who did have money seemed to me to be unscrupulous in their dealing with the topic of money and wealth.  Unfortunately, I still see lot of that.
The way that the Lord dealt with me was in His Word.  He drilled me in Matthew chapter 6.  That chapter talks about our material needs and then Jesus tells us that we aren't to worry about them or even let them be a priority.  That was a tough one.  However, as a part of the Lordship of Christ, placing Jesus on the throne of our life above material possessions is a basic requirement.  It is not that God isn't aware of our needs.  As a matter of fact that is exactly what Matthew 6 is all about.  Our loving Heavenly Father knows us so intimately and loves us so deeply that He knows and provides those needs without worry or fretting.  The key is that this heavenly provision comes as we seek first the Kingdom of God.  The moment that we begin to struggle with our daily provision we weaken God's ability to get the provision to us.  God's ability?  Really? Yes.  The Scripture tells us that Jesus went back to his own home town and while he was working miracles everywhere He went, "He could do no mighty works there"!  Amazingly it says "he could do no mighty works there!"  Familiarity bred contempt.  Contempt is defined as, "the feeling that a person or things is beneath consideration." We can do that with God.  Jesus has declared to us that from his heart we are his "friends".  Yet, we need to be careful that that friendship/familiarity doesn't devalue his ability to work the supernatural in our lives.   We need to maintain the awe for God that says that at any moment He can break through the natural with the supernatural.  

You probably are in a place that you could use more money!  That's not a problem. The problem is our focus and allegiance.  Let's make sure that we are still committed to the Lordship of Jesus and His Kingdom above all other things.

Jesus Is Lord

As a new believer it seemed every message had as an emphasis, "Jesus is Lord".  Yes, I know that was 40 years ago!  Sure there was a lot of man centered stuff floating around as well but there was a strong theme regarding the Lordship of Jesus.  It was a pretty common thing in churches to see banners declaring that message.  We were discipled in the theology that all we did, owned or even thought was under His Lordship.  I don't hear much about the Lordship of Christ today.  I wonder why? Do the Christians of this day have a stronger connection to God than during that past era?  Is Lordship something that we have mastered?  I think not.  It must be that the message of the Lordship of Jesus doesn't fit into the current philosophy and theology.  

The message of the Lordship of Christ starts with a true supernatural conversion of the one being reached.  You see there cannot be Lordship without conversion. Lordship doesn't make room for an attitude that says, "just get them here, entertain them and over time they might just slowly change into a Christian".   Jesus didn't seem to be very good at that method.  Remember the conversation with Nicodemus?  Jesus cut right through the smoke and declared, "you must be born again".  Then Jesus drove the point even deeper when he said, if you aren't born again, "you cannot see the Kingdom of God"!  Amazing!
Then there was the conversation with the woman at the well.  He actually told here that he knew she was sleeping around and called her on it.  That wouldn't be too cool today in many circles.  Yet, Jesus was more interested in getting people to experience real conversion than he was in joining his club.  

Lordship starts with conversion and a part of that conversion is the death to old identities and appetites.  You see, when a person chooses the will of God above their desire, preferences and appetites then that is the fruit of Lordship.  When a person brings their tithe and offerings to the house of God rather than spending it on their own cravings then that is Lordship.  When a person says no to what the Scripture forbids although there may be a temptation to do it, that is Lordship.  Lordship is the message of the Church! Yet, when is the last time you heard a clear message challenging the Church to bow their knee to the Lordship of Jesus?  

It's time!  Yes, it's past time that we beat some the dust off of some old messages! Do you agree?

Establishing Your Authority

Joshua 3:7 And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 

Before choosing this title, I hesitated a few minutes.  The reason for my pause was that I didn't want to give the impression that we should "try" to establish our own authority.  In the world, both in the military and commerce, we are trained how to establish authority in order to lead.  In the Kingdom of God the Lord establishes his leaders by his own hand.  Here the Lord speaks to Joshua and tells him that on this day He would exalt him in the eyes of the people as their leader.  Moses had been such a powerful and influential leader for so long that he was a hard act to follow.  Now it's time for his assistant to take the baton and lead Israel not only in a maintenance mode but to truly take them where Moses hadn't, into the Promised Land.
I think new leaders can miss this and this misunderstanding can cause them to fail.  The wrong thinking is that new leaders following previous leaders who have seen success should follow suit and just keep the ship afloat.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  A maintenance mode is a dying mode.  It's a slow dying mode and one that takes a long time to recognize but a dying mode none the less.  The very thought that says, "I'm here to keep the ship on course" is wrong thinking.  Certainly a new leader of a business or ministry should  be very careful with making too many changes in the beginning but the very fact that a transition was in God's plan is proof positive that change was needed, at least some adjustment.  Here is my major point this week:  your ability to lead your group into and through change is commensurate with your level of recognized authority.  In the case of Joshua the Lord was about to allow miracles in the middle of battles and conquest to establish him in the eyes of the people.  You may think you are a leader but unless the people you are leading see you in that way you are one crisis away from disaster.  It seems to be a patter in Scripture that God allows some crisis to arise shortly after a new leader takes office to display the new leader as one who can be trusted.  It is this confidence of God working through a leader that brings stability and peace among a people.  Therefore, don't hide in the maintenance mode.  Don't run from battles and much needed miracles.  It is in leading in conflict and crisis that you will be established as the leader needed for the hour.  However, remember, it is God who will establish you and not your own efforts.  Someone has said, "responsibility is our response and His ability."

A Good Memory

Remembering the past can be a bad thing as in the case of remembering our past sinful lives.  It can allow guilt  to control our present and even wreck our future.  This kind of sin consciousness makes our vision of our true identity in Christ blurred.  Those are the things we need to forget and allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from our connection to them.  Yet, remembering our deliverance from the bondages of the past is not a bad thing.  Israel often remembered the deliverance of God and celebrated the event.  At times I will reflect on my past and the deliverance the Lord has performed in me.  I am no longer connected to it or in bondage to it, but remembering my deliverance strengthens my faith for future needed victories.  Jesus actually used the phrase, "remember Lott's wife" in encouraging believers to press ahead in times of difficulty.  My wife Teresa tells of a particularly difficult day back in the early 1990's.  She was staring out the window and secretly missing a past day in another location that seemed pleasant compared to this one. She heard this soft voice say, "remember Lott's wife!"  It caused her to reject a double-minded faith and get focused again on a "now faith" in the will of God.  Remember your deliverance by the hand of our faithful God but forget your bondage that his deliverance ended.

Remembering deliverance also serves as a reminder not to go back again into bondages of the past.  Some would say, "our love for Jesus should be our motivation and not a negative memory".  While that sounds noble, we all still have the capacity to be tempted to return to past bondages and especially in moments of great trial.  I remember times when a fleeting thought would try to enter my mind about "the pleasures of sin" from the past.  Immediately I would be struck by remembering the power of the past bondage and how intense the battle for freedom had been.  That jolted me to have a fresh faith for now and to identify with my identity in Christ.  Let your memory serve to remind you of the loving power of God that has set you free from a past identity and established you firmly in your new identity in Christ!
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Builders

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."  Psalm 127:1
What a delicate balance between God doing a thing and our working along by his side in an effort.  From witnessing to an acquaintance about Jesus to building the local church, working with the Lord is a learned skill.  It is so easy to start off watching His hand like a trained hunting dog not moving until his master gives the command. Then as we mature in our gifts we begin to do more and more by our experience. That's not necessarily a bad thing "IF" we are still watching and listening to Jesus for his direction and approval of our efforts and the timing of our efforts.  It is just as wrong to do the right thing at the wrong time as doing the wrong thing.  Yet, the Lord doesn't want us to remain novices.  He is looking for mature and skilled workers in the work of the Kingdom.


When Jesus said, "I will build my church", He didn't mean he would do it all by himself.  Just as if a homeowner decides to build his own house he doesn't mean to imply that he will do all the work.  He means he will direct the work of the workers. The same is true of Jesus in the "building" of his church. He is looking for workers or "builders" that he can trust with following his blueprint.  As builders in the work of the house of the Lord we must regularly review our labor and redouble our efforts at building according to his plan and not our opinion or taste.  Once I hired a man and gave him specific instructions as to what I wanted done.  I left and was gone for a trip across the country.  When I returned the man I had hired said, "I think you will like what I did for you".  My thoughts were, "I'll be pleased if you did what I asked you to do before I left!"  He had not and I wasn't pleased.  He did what he thought was best rather than what I had asked him to do.  We must build with a heart to please our MASTER.  When we build with our hands active on the earth but our hearts firmly anchored in heaven, we can be assured we are building according to the pleasure of the Builder.

Revisiting an older blog:

Saving Private Ryan


I just finished watching "Saving Private Ryan" again for the "umteenth" time. My wife was out of town so I watched it alone. She was never really very fond of it. Yes, I think I cried more than ever while watching the now old man fall at the grave of the Captain who died saving the Private. Sixty years earlier, while watching this Captain die on the field of battle, Ryan had to endure hearing the last words of the dying officer say, "earn this". Today, few know the real cost of freedom or the blood that was shed securing it. It's a difficult thing to have to endure listening to someone, without a clue, speaking against the process of democracy. It's a delicate thing this democracy and not without it's problems. Yet, generation after generation, we have those arise who are the cynics of that day. Cynics are "fault finders". They don't have answers nor the courage to pay a price for change but they continue to spew forth the cheap words of protest. There are times when it would appear that each generation is going the way of the cynic. However, by the grace of God, when each generation faces it's hour of crisis and is confronted by it's own challenge of tyranny, the heros arise. From the cities to the farmlands they begin to march toward their own potential demise for the sake of the common good. Again and again they make decisions that often go against reason in order to seek to ensure that the next generation has the right to protest or to serve based upon their own internal motivation.


We have the same problem in the church world. So many see only the problems of the church and yes here too, we have those with all the answers but no stomach to work for the cure. Will we continue to see those arise, generation after generation who will hear the Call and sacrifice for the Mission? I know we will. I choose to believe that and not hear the cynics. When all is said and done and the voices of the nay sayers are silenced, I only want to know that my Lord will say to me, "well done thou good and faithful servant".

Older Blog revisited:

Revival Of The Minister

I can't remember a time when more ministers seemed to be under the gun. Many are very discouraged and some are reconsidering the ministry all together. Of course finances is always a major player in the scenario. Some are missing paychecks and churches and ministries are struggling to make ends meet. I have heard it preached that the world's economy and God's economy are two different things. That "preaches good" but they are connected and there is evidence in the Scripture as well. Of course God is a miracle working God and gives financial miracles beyond the world's economy. We have experienced that. However, in the day to day operation of things when the economy of a town is hit, the finances of the church is hit as well. There are churches of which I am aware that report their income is down by half of what it was just one year ago. People are scared. Even as I write this, the stock market closed today really, really low. No one has the answers to these problems, though some claim they do.

Where does all that leave us who are called to minister to society? What about ministers who are wanting to quit? What about those who are out of gas? What about ministers who have lost their vision or are simply confused? First, let me say this is a wonderful opportunity, maybe the best opportunity in a generation, to be "on the bridge, at the helm". It's a time to be giving clear leadership. It's a time to be preaching the Truth of the Gospel like never before. People need to be hearing a clear clarion call. They need to see and hear from leaders who are filled with passion and faith. What must we do to get there?

There are several things we must be doing in order to get off the "fantail" considering making a jump and get ourselves back on the bridge with our hand on the wheel. Let me list a few:

1. Consider the Call - Were you ever called by God to full time ministry? Crisis always shakes up the milk and the cream always rises back to the top. You can't defeat or stop the call. You can beat the call, you can persecute the call, you can discourage the call, but in the end, the Call of God is an overwhelming, unsinkable force within the man or woman of God. If you are called, take a moment and revisit your Call from God. Make a fresh commitment to that Call.

2. Die to your rights - We must move beyond feeling that we deserve better than we are getting. Nothing arouses the discipline of the Father quicker than a child complaining about the provision of the father. It is in the "taking up the cross daily and following Him" that the devil is denied his weapon of discouragement.

3. Choose Lordship over doctrine - Jesus is our Lord, doctrine is not our Lord. Jesus is clear and certain, doctrine can change, develop or even be flat wrong! God is not a compliant God. By that I mean, God will not be who we want him to be nor will he perform according to what our doctrine says he will do. His is in fact...God. If you find yourself discouraged because God hasn't performed according to your perception of Him you have two choices. You can either walk away or you can make a fresh commitment to His Lordship and ask Him to change you and your doctrine. The end result must be that whether we understand or not, we will be faithful and loyal to His Lordship. By the way, our "understanding" is just like doctrine. It may or may not be right.

4. Repent of complaining - The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 77:3 "I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah" Complaining only robs us of the energy of God and actually works against our situation and our healing. It's a time to watch our hearts and our lips. Let's be found encouraging those around us. We are leaders among God's people.

5. Guard the Sacred Trust - The Lord spoke to me recently and said to me, "be careful how you handle my Bride!" It put a new fear of God in me. His church is "His Church, His Bride" and not my Church. Some have acted as if the church was their own private business and have run it much the same way. This kind of presumption leads to all kinds of abuses. As Papa Ken Sumrall has taught us for many years, "beware of the gold, the girls (boys) and the glory." Presumption leads to abuse in all three deadly areas. If you get a leader that is hurting, disillusioned, mad at God and feeling he's not getting what he deserves, you have a recipe for disaster. He will fail in one of the big three. Let's remember, we are called to follow Him. We begin by following Him and when he returns, and He will return, we must be found still following him. No matter how anointed we may be nor how large a ministry we raise up, He will never follow us. As a matter of fact, "these signs will follow those who believe or who keep following Him".

5. Get Healed - It is time to get healed! We need you healed! The Kingdom needs you healed! Whatever it takes, get healed. If I can help, let me help. If you are close to another "healed brother", ask for help. Confess your condition. James tells us, "is any sick among you, let him call for the elders". You must confess your sickness in order to get healed. You cannot operate in the Gospel ministry which is a ministry of healing, without being healed. Of course, we are all in process but there has to be a basic level of health or else we will simply reproduce in our people our level of health or the lack thereof. Get real and get healed. Pharisees hide their sickness and pretend they are healed. Genuine, transparent disciples "confess their faults one to another, and pray for one another, and are healed." Pursue healing and health!

6. Reinvest your life in ministry - Don't invest your life in trivial pursuits. You and I have been called to a higher place. Remember how you felt when you first comprehended the call of God upon your life. Nothing else mattered to you. Money didn't matter, reputation didn't matter and success didn't matter. You simply wanted to please Jesus. Has that changed? Has the call changed? Has Jesus changed? After over 33 years of full time ministry I can tell you that we have been placed in the most important role in history. We are called to do what at times is a thankless task. At times we are punished for doing good and Godly things. We are not rewarded for our labors as the world often rewards. We can't look at what we do every afternoon with appreciation and pride because most of what we do is unseen and may remain that way eternally. Yet, no one holds the promise that we hold. For those who remain faithful until the end, we look forward to hearing those special words of the Creator of the Universe as he says to us, yes to you and me, "well done thou good and faithful servant".

For the next few weeks I am going to "Re-run" some older blogs that seemed to draw good comments from readers.  Here's one:

The Great American Church Myth


In almost any retail business today you can find those little questionnaire cards asking, “How are we doing?” Everyone in retail business understands like never before the importance of “giving people what they want.” If you don’t, they are gone! Any restaurant that has been in business for twenty-four months will probably make it because they have been able to navigate those dangerous waters of appealing to the fickle tastes of the American public. We are all a spoiled lot. Recently, I was with a friend ordering breakfast. I said, “I’d like two eggs over easy, ham, no grits, dry, whole wheat toast, sugar free strawberry jelly and tomato slices.” The waitress looked at me and said, “My, someone has really spoiled you, haven’t they.” I said, “Rotten to the core!” We all want what we want when we want it. It’s the American way of life.

Unfortunately, this consumerism has found its way into the American church. American Christians shop for churches like they shop for groceries. People actually call churches with a survey sheet of sorts, asking “What can this church do for me? If I attend this church, will I be fulfilled?” I was serving as pastor of a church in the Houston, Texas area back in the early 90’s when a lady met me at the back door of the church after service. My sermon that day was not a particularly “make you smile” kind of message. It was more of a “you need to change” kind of sermon. I’ll never forget her words that day. She said, “Preacher, if you don’t give these people what they want, they will leave you and go somewhere else.” I wonder how many pastors find themselves imprisoned by such attitudes? How many gifted and called spiritual leaders are held hostage by self centered people who believe the myth that the job of the church is to make sure that they are fulfilled!

The myth of the American church today is clearly an infection that has attacked the church from the prevailing attitude of the current culture. This attitude screams, “It’s all about me.” Churches are driven to try to compete with music, drama, sermons, and all kinds of specialized ministries that a very savvy Christian public demands. This attitude is a far cry from Biblical definitions of what the church, the Body of Christ, is supposed to be. The church is not a centralized place organized to serve Christians. It is a staging ground for Christian service. The church is a place where Christians are equipped for service. It is a place where spiritual gifts are discovered, strengthened and activated into function. In truth, the address for fulfillment for the Christian is not the church…it is the world. The church equips the Christian to serve outside the walls of the church and that service in the name of Christ brings fulfillment.

It is time for the American church to return to it’s roots. It’s time for Pastors and leaders to cease bowing to consumerism. It’s time to stop the insanity of competition and return to the primitive principles of Christian service rising out of a personal relationship with our Lord and King, Jesus. The real question should be, “What does He want?”

Spiritual Profiling


We now know that profiling among police is not a good thing.  Yet, if you talk to one who is "on the job" you will find that it is a normal practice.  It comes from experience in knowing what to look for resulting in getting criminals off the street.  Of course the down side is that the police can be wrong.  As good as our criminal justice system is these days a small percentage of people are convicted who are innocent. We don't like it but yet it is a part of package.  


Now to the Church.  Profiling is pretty standard among us as well.  Oh, we like to say that we don't judge and we treat everyone the same.  Really!? Probably not.  We all have those dark areas within us caused usually be upbringing or an incident of some sort from the past. A few weeks back I was in a questionable area and got on an elevator and just before the door closed an arm was thrust between the doors. A young, large black man came in.  He had a ball cap side ways, his pants were hanging exposing his underwear.  You know the scene.  We only rode one floor together but it was a long enough ride to reveal my heart. Something within me was uneasy.  When I left I was disappointed with my feelings and spent some time evaluating my reaction.  Was I sensing some spiritual discernment? Maybe.  Was I profiling the young man based on stereotype ? Probably!


A few weeks later I was in a large box store and as I was waiting in the checkout line I saw a young family.  The father looked like he could be a gang member.  He had tats and piercing.  The mother was similar and I couldn't see the little boy at first.  Then he appeared from behind his mother.  He was beautiful and well dressed.  As children can do he walked  over and put his hand in my cart.  His dad took him gently by the arm, pulled him aside and I heard him say, "be more respectful".  A few days later I was walking on a pier on the bay.  Again, I see this rather questionable (to me) looking man fishing.  Next to him was a little boy fishing.  He was teaching his little boy to fish.  Both of these fathers showed respect, love, patience and admiration for their sons. They both seemed to be interested in teaching and training their sons.  My overwhelming thoughts ran from, "boy was I wrong" to "these guys could teach a class on fathering in most churches!"
This past year I have also observed other fathers who looked the part to what I think a dad should look like and some were Christians.  Yet, their interaction with their children was not the same.  What I saw revealed lives dominated by cell phones and laptops.  Their conversations with their children was not focused and mostly revealed aggravation they had been interrupted.  


Profiling is a dangerous thing.  Proverbs tells us that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.

Being Nice To You!

I recently had the blessing of hearing Gino Mayo speak at the CFN conference.  As a Hospice Chaplain for the last five years he has dealt with death and with suffering families many, many times.  From his experiences he has learned much about dealing with grief and negative emotions.  It was a wonderful workshop.  At the end, after he had been very transparent about his own life he said, "It took me over 50 years to learn to be nice to me!"  It was a powerful statement.  I had just  heard a man say, "I have practiced the golden rule to people around me but if I had treated others the way I have treated myself, I wouldn't have many friends."
This is true of most of us.  We all gravitate toward the negative, and especially regarding ourselves.  Far too many people are their own worst enemies and in being so they sabotage their productivity and joy in life.  In Christianity and especially in preaching we have seemed to put more emphasis on the cross than the resurrection. Now, don't misunderstand me, the Cross isn't being preached enough in this hour in my opinion.  Without the Cross there is no resurrection.  However, individuals tend toward self degradation even after true repentance and salvation occurs. Once we are born again we need to live and think of ourselves as truly new creations. Romans 6:11 tells us to "reckon" or think of ourselves as "alive" in Christ.  Most of us deal with our thought life and seek to discipline our minds to not be negative or judgmental toward others.  This week give some thought to controlling your thought life toward yourself.  In the words of Gino Mayo, "be nice to you!"

Don't Crack the Egg!


There is some debate about helping a chick crack the egg at hatching time.  However, many say that a part of the process of the chick's health is getting out on it's own.  I don't know a lot about chickens but I do know that you can do too much for people in their walk with God. There are so many processes and so many transitions to be maneuvered that struggling is a part of spiritual health.  As care givers we want desperately to help people (especially those closest to us) avoid discomfort and pain.  Yet the present struggle may be the preparation for future victory.  Our help today could be a preparation for failure in the future.  That is why it is so important for us to pray and hear from God and not just do what "we think is a good thing to do."


This same thought carries to trying to help people "into ministry".  If there is a true Call of God upon a person's life, that call is an internal fire and motivation that for the most part needs to be a solitary struggle between the one being called and the One doing the calling.  As we look at Scripture, from Moses to the Apostle Paul, man did little in the process.  Once the call was embraced then help came to assist them on their ministry journey. We can help in training and oversight by way of support, prayer and encouragement but we must remember that solitude is a major part of preparation for ministry.  The Lord in his love allows the dark night of the soul to occur in order to make sure he has prepared a "son of God" and not a "son of man."  Remember, if we do too much to help the chick out during the turmoil of birth he will continue to look for us during the turmoil of life.  This same Apostle Paul who made it through embracing the call later wrote, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6

Suffering for the Gospel


Psalm 69:7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mothers children;9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.


While the price for our redemption has been paid in full by Jesus, there is still an undeniable price we must pay as his followers. The price we pay must not be confused with redemption, for believing that would discount the ultimate price that only Jesus could and did pay.  Paul clearly stated in 2 Timothy 3 "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."  Some would point out that Paul said in this discourse, "out of them all the Lord delivered me".  Thankfully, that is true, yet we must understand that it was "out of them" and not "from them" that the deliverance came.  To teach followers of Jesus that if their faith is strong enough they will avoid suffering is heresy.  The worst of it is that teaching such does not train the troops for war of which we are all a part.  The picture of the church is not a picture of a party but of a joy filled victorious army.  Persecution, suffering and rejection are all Biblical realities.  We don't seek them for that would be ghoulish. Yet, we prepare for their potential and brace ourselves for their possibility.  In David's words there is great insight into the direction from which these attacks might come. He said, "the reproaches or those who reproach you have fallen on me".  Early in the ministry as a pastor I found myself under ongoing attack by some of those that I was trying to serve.  I cried out to God, "why are they attacking me?  I'm the guy trying to love and help them?"  The answer came back loud and clear from the Lord.  "They can't attack me so they attack the one who represents me and the one who brings my truth to them." That day I learned an important lesson, DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY! Easier said than done, right?  Yes, but it is true.  Hurting people hurt the closest one to them and that is usually the one trying to bring Truth to darkness, deception and/or rebellion.


Today if persecution or rejection comes your way and if it is really because of the Gospel, dismiss the notion that it's about you and rejoice!
Acts 5:41 (NKJV)

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Contemplation + consultation+ organization + application = realization.


In my last blog I concluded with the formula above.  I was asked by one reader to elaborate.  The following are my thoughts: 
1. Contemplation-I believe one of the most neglected parts of success is contemplation.  Contemplation involves having time or making time to think and dream.  You can spend a lifetime only dealing with the task at hand and never become a builder of vision.  Vision comes out of prayer and contemplation. Believe it or not you actually need to put contemplation time on your calendar each week.  Don't feel guilty about it.


2. Consultation- It is a powerful thing to spend time with someone you respect who has more experience than you in your field.  It is during these times that you should find a time to "think out loud" regarding your dreams and visions that contemplation has produced.  Consultation should feed your vision and expand it.  Often the legs will come to your contemplation during consultation.  Consultation may also adjust your vision. Remember, Proverbs 20:18 tells us "plans are established by counsel..."


3.  Organization-Once the vision is clarified it can now be organized.  Think about it, we contemplate or think it through, we get counsel from a trusted mentor and we get it on the calendar.  We will never accomplish what we do not plan.  


4. Application- It's time to get to work!  Too often we start trying to make things happen without  the three steps above.  Once you have done the ground work application is much easier.  


5. Realization- This is a wonderful thing.  I'm convinced that God wants us to build far more than we do.  Too much wasted effort is spent in the Kingdom of God.  God was and is very deliberate.  Think it through, get input, put it in order and act.  


I hope this helps.  

Suddenly!


It seems that God is the only one who can do things quickly and do them well.  Actually, He doesn't do things quickly either. Even the famous "suddenly" of Acts 2 was only suddenly to those watching.  God had been working and preparing for that day for generations.  God moves slowly and meticulously.  Every aspect is considered and every detail taken into account.  He's not on the clock!  Our rush to "get 'r done" is probably because we have an expiration date. (Earthly that is!) We would do much better if we learned from the Lord and got into His rhythm of doing things.  The old proverb, "haste makes waste" is one that continues to move around in my head.  Probably because it's neglect has cost me so much through the years.  I was thinking recently, "not many wrecks happen when you are driving slowly"!


Let me give you a formula that has come from many years of mistakes made by rushing.  Contemplation + consultation+ organization + application = realization.
It works!  Give it a try today and in the days ahead!