We had friends in Charlotte NC invite us over for a late lunch one day. We were greated at the door by Bill and Betty – handshakes and hugs. If I have people over to my house and tell them “dinner’s at 6,” that’s when we would have dinner on the table. Not with Bill and Betty. We got there, had some hor’s douvres (however you spell it!) and then we made dinner together. We went from feeling like honored guests to feeling like family as we shared in the preparation together.
It’s not quite the reception Jesus received when he was invited into the home of one religious leader. He walked in and didn’t receive the usual greetings (Luke 7). When they sat down to eat, a woman walked in. Jesus knelt down behind Jesus, started weeping and wetting Jesus’ feet with her tears. You would have thought Jesus would be very embarrassed.
“If he were really a prophet he would know what kind of woman she is, that she’s a sinner,” this proud religious leader thought in his mind.
“Simon.” Jesus’ words startled him out of his thoughts.
“Yes, Jesus.”
“I have a story to tell you.” He went on to tell him the story of a man who owed, let’s say around $1,000. Another man owed $100,000. When the creditor forgave each his debt, both were extremely grateful.
“Simon, which one of these would be more grateful?” Jesus asked.
“I suppose the one who owed more.”
You see, those who have been forgiven much love much, whereas those who have been forgiven little love little. Jesus looked at the woman as he continued talking to Simon. Jesus said that her sins were forgiven. He reminded her that her sins were forgiven and told her to go in peace.
Jesus said her sins were forgiven, that she loved much because she had been forgiven of much. The first line in this story talked about the fact that she had lived a sinful life – past tense - but the religious leaders said she was a sinner – present tense.
Do you have people in your life who continually remind you of what you did in the past? If you have made your peace with your past, don’t let the comments of other people get you down.
Are you someone who is always reminded of the reputation someone has? Are you currently looking down on someone, thinking they will never change. Fact is – if you keep looking down on someone you keep them down. Instead of looking down on them, look up to God and ask what He sees. Maybe you’ll begin to see what He sees.
Filed under: journal
I can tell someone really didn’t want this message getting out, but he didn’t prevail. We’ve been in a series on the supernatural and I could have guessed that on a day we focus on Satan’s plans for our lives – we would have technical difficulties. The fact is – we don’t need technology to worship anyway! What we use with our images (worship slides; power point) only enhance our experience. After an hour of fighting with our technical demons, we simply shut it down and worshiped low tech! (Anyone know what a hymnal looks like?)
Numbers aren’t everything, but when you realize that numbers represent a person, then they mean everything. 119 came out for worship yesterday. We’ve been breaking that 100 barrier more often this Fall. 100 is great. 1 is even better. The 1 out of 100 represents a friend of Miranda’s who came for the first time, who loved it so much she said she’ll definately come back. The 1 out of 100 represents a new couple that got to connect with another young couple. The 1 out of 100 represents the people who told me throughout the day how much they got out of the message. All praise to God!
Do you realize how many cases we have had of students being impacted by our ministry together who then drag their parents to church? That was the method to my madness from the start. When I came here preaching Psalm 71:18, I knew that as we proclaimed His power to this new generation, that this new generation would bring their parents and grandparents along with them. Sometimes it was assumed I didn’t care about the older generations when nothing is further from the truth. The truth is, that if someone is going to come to Christ, typically they will do so before the age of 18. As we invest in those with the highest return, we find that the way to the parents’ hearts and grandparents’ hearts is through their children and grandchildren.
Speaking of the next generation, we had our 3rd annual Nuclear Football. We had a great crowd of high schoolers out for this annual event, along with a number of spectators. It was an easy invite event, one where students could invite their friends for some fun in the (hmmm, not the sun!)… anyway, some glow in the dark football! Parents also had their friends out to watch as well. I do love the community in Christ that we are building together.
Filed under: scriptures | Tags: devil, prayer, satan, sermon, spiritual warfare
Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons – Cain and Abel. Abel lived in such a way that he enjoyed a close relationship with God. Cain didn’t. In fact, when he came to place something in the offering plate, God didn’t accept it because he wasn’t really doing it from the heart. God accepted Abel’s offering, making Cain jealous of his brother. When you’re jealous, disappointed, angry, or confused, it can open the door to a wrong decision.Cain was furious and depressed. Somehow God warned him of what was happening in his mind and in his life.
“If you do right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7)
Is it a sin to be angry? No. But centuries later a man would write a letter to some friends, saying, “Hey, it’s OK to be angry. Just don’t lash out and sin in your anger. Maybe you don’t necessarily feel like killing them. But your words can be just as sharp. Cutting remarks can kill someone’s self esteem. Don’t let the sun go down while you are ticked off. You won’t be able to sleep anyway, so you might as well talk it out. If you don’t, you’ll give the Devil a foothold in your life.” You give him a place to stand. You give him something to hold on to.
You know what a foothold is, right? If you have ever been on a climbing wall, when you can put your foot on a foothold, it allows you to reach for something more. The Devil always wants more. When he can take hold of something in your life, it allows him to reach for more. If you’re angry and you’re lashing out at someone, the Devil then begins to reach for your kids, your parents, or your friends. If not dealt with properly, your anger will allow him to walk right in through the front door of your life and take hold of everything in your home.
My camouflage Bible says, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) Opportunity knocks. Don’t answer the door!
Out of his anger, Cain attacked and killed his brother. The devil came knockin, and Cain opened the door.
During the springtime when kings were marching out to war, David decided he would hang back at the palace, sending his General Joab to fight his battles for him. Did you catch that? David should have been taking care of his responsibilities. He was lazy, complacent, and now, maybe a little bored.
One night, David couldn’t sleep. From his roof top patio in his palatial palace, he saw a woman bathing – a very beautiful woman. She was drop dead gorgeous. She was hot. So David sent someone to find out more about her.
You don’t think he sent a note asking whether she liked him, do you? I guess that is a little junior highish! He gets the 411 on her, and tells his employees to go get her.
I wonder if God whispered the same thing in David’s ear. “If you do right, David, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do what’s right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.” David didn’t master his passion. In fact, he gave in to it. It mastered him. It conquered him.
Why was David walking around that night? Couldn’t he sleep? Were visions of other women, other escapades, in his mind? Could it be that he was frustrated with his wife Michal?
Things were obviously not going well. They weren’t on the same page spiritually. They probably weren’t on the same page in a number of ways. The day David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem for the first time, he “was dancing with all his might before the Lord.” And check this out. David’s wife “Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.” (2 Samuel 6:14-16) To DESPISE means to regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe; to dislike intensely.
Things were not going well for this couple. Call in Dr. Phil. Call in Dr. Ruth. Call in Oprah, because this couple needed help. Cold shoulder. A rift in their relationship. Brick wall. They have fallen out of love and they have fallen hard.
And that night, when David’s men were out taking care of his responsibilities, David’s mind started to wander. He and Michal were in a world of hurt and were worlds apart. Their marriage was on the rocks. He took a walk, but his mind was wandering as well. Instead of taking his thoughts captive, his thoughts held him captive.
As he looked down, he saw an opportunity. Maybe David ignored a line he wrote in one song: “I will pay attention to the way of integrity….I will live with integrity of heart in my house. I will not set anything godless before my eyes. I hate the doing of transgression; it will not cling to me.” (Psalm 101:2-4) At that point in his life, he was not going to let anything into his house.
This night was different. She came upstairs to his private quarters. Did she know what he wanted? Scripture doesn’t say, but that night David stole a wife, destroyed a relationship, and killed a man to attempt to conceal the evidence.
Guys, is it a sin to want a woman? No way. Check out the Song of Solomon. It’s a beautiful poetic picture of a married couple in love. It talks about the fact that it is incredible within the bounds of marriage.
The same man who wrote some friends about anger wrote to some other friends about their marriage. He said, “Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Corinthians 7:5)
What’s he saying? Sex is not the most important aspect about your relationship. You have to pray. You have to worship together. You have to be on the same page spiritually. David and Michal were not. She should have been down on the streets with him dancing with him. She should have been celebrating with him. David. Michal. Give some attention to spiritual aspect of your relationship, but, do this by mutual consent. Mutually agree together how much time to take for prayer. Why? Because your desire for each other will grow to the point that you might start looking at someone else. Don’t give the devil an open door to your relationship.
The devil came knockin, and David opened the door.
Where am I going with this? We are in a four week series on the supernatural. The first week we learned that what we see is not necessarily what we get. There’s more to this life than what meets the eye. Last week we learned that we’re not alone. God has an army and He’s not afraid to use it to protect His people. This week we’re focusing on the demonic: Satan and his angels.
You’ve heard the phrase: opportunity knocks. Well, Satan and those who work with him look for opportunities to gain entrance into our lives. When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door.
In a letter to his friends in Ephesus, Paul wrote about the spiritual forces of evil that are at work waging war against us. I want to show you where these spiritual forces came from first, and then we’ll look at ways we can keep the doors of opportunity shut so he can’t have his way with us and in us.
Isaiah 14:12-15 tells the story of “the shining morning star,” “day star,” or “son of the dawn.” The word for day star is where the name Lucifer comes from. The “Day Star” said to himself: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God….I will make myself like the Most High.” That act of rebellion set things in motion for a war in heaven.
Revelation 12:7-11 gives the details of that battle. Within the heavenly realms, the Archangel Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. The Bible calls that ancient serpent, the devil. When Satan could not win, “there was no place for them in heaven.” He was thrown to the earth along with his angels.
Since Satan knows his time is short, knowing that God will crush his head under our feet (Romans 16:20), all hell is breaking loose to make war with God’s children (Revelation 12:17). If he’s going down, he is going to take down as many people as possible. So he and his angels deceive the nations (Romans 20:10), incite people to sin (1 Chronicles 21:1), sow weeds into people’s lives to choke the word that God is trying to plant in them (Matt. 13:39). They take possession of peoples’ lives. They bind people. They steal, kill and destroy. Satan’s name means accuser (Zechariah 3:2). He captivates people. He plans his moves in each of our lives. (Ephesians 6:11). He is a roaring lion looking for lives to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He tests, tempts and torments people. He disguises himself as an angel of light (1 Corinthians 11:14). For a time he hinders God’s work from happening (1 Thes. 2:18 and Daniel’s story).
All of this in an attempt to bring us down, tear us down, tear us up, chew us up and spit us out.
The only time we have to fear spiritual forces of evil is when we let them into the doors of our lives. When the devil comes knocking, don’t open the door. When the devil came knocking in Cain’s life, Cain opened the door. When the devil came knocking in David’s life, David opened the door.
When the devil came knocking during Jesus’ 40 days of fasting, Jesus didn’t open any doors. In fact, he slammed them shut. You can find this account in Luke 4. The Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness, and after the 40 days, Scripture says he was hungry. Really? I know it’s hard to believe. But he was hungry. And that hunger created an opportunity for Satan to tempt him.
“If You really are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread,” the devil said. When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door.
Jesus closed the opportunity by quoting Scripture. “Man must not live on bread alone.”
As Jesus was looking at all the kingdoms of the world, all that authority created an opportunity for Satan to tempt him. He whispered in His ear, “I’ll give You all this. If you worship me, all this will be Yours.” When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door.
Jesus closed the opportunity by quoting Scripture. “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”
Jesus then walked into the center of Jerusalem, to the pinnacle of the temple. That situation created an opportunity for Satan to tempt him.
“If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” Satan then quoted Scripture himself. You do realize that the devil knows the Word of God? In fact, James says that all in the demonic realm believe in God – but shudder with fear. When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door.
Jesus closed the opportunity by quoting more Scripture. “Do not test the Lord your God.” Then there is this key line in this whole spiritual battle.
“After the Devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” He is always looking for the opportunity to walk right into your life to steal, kill and destroy. Think about it. He got you to fall last night and that’s all you’re thinking about this morning. You’re thinking you shouldn’t even be here because of what you did last night or last week. When you start hearing those voices, realize that Satan’s name means accuser. He is bringing accusations against you in order to take you in, chew you up, tear you down and spit you out.
What opportunities do we give the devil to enter in and influence our lives?
• Anger. When we’re angry. If we don’t deal with those feelings of anger and resentment, we will give a devil a place to hold onto in our lives. (Ephesians 4:27)
• Fatigue. When we’re tired. “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Jesus found his disciples sleeping, exhausted from their grief. “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation.” When you’re tired you start to let down your guard.
• Desire. Our own desire for sin can give him an opportunity. (James 1:14) We’re tempted when we are drawn away and enticed by our own evil desires. Sometimes we want it. Sin is fun, right? It’s fun for a very short time.
• Singleness or marital problems, where you’re married but you feel like you’re single. That can give the devil an opportunity to steal your love, kill your marriage and destroy your family. (1 Cor. 7:5)
• Doubts. Jesus’ story about the farmer showed how the devil comes in to sow doubt in your life so you won’t believe the words of God. (Mark 4:15)
• Getting drunk or high. “Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life.” (Luke 21:34) You are more prone to do something worse when you have had something to drink or taken something in order to take the edge off.
When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door. How do you keep the door shut when opportunity comes knockin? I’ll get into more next week
- Get an alarm system. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) “Be sober! Be on the alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8)
- Lock the door. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
- Stand up for your right to bear arms. “Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word.” (Ephesians 6:14-17)
When the devil comes knockin, are you opening the door? In fact, are there ways you have turned the light on, opened the door, shaken the dust off the welcome mat, and have asked him to come in?
Think about the last time you let him come in and influence your life? What were the circumstances leading up to that? If you can get a handle on the plans he has for your life, on what he used to influence you to not follow Jesus Christ, you can then take a stand against him, resist him firm in the faith.
You can, as James says, “draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Resist the devil, and he will flee.” When the devil comes knockin, don’t open the door.
Filed under: scriptures
When God Speaks, How Do We Hear Him Today? Here are a list of Scriptures that are helpful. If you find any more, let me know.
“For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it. In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber on their beds, He uncovers their ears at that time and terrifies them with warnings, in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress his pride.” (Job 33:14-17)
“After I came back to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple complex, I went in to a visionary state (fell into a trance-KJV, NIV) and saw Him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly…” (Acts 22:17)
Yes, He speaks. But we must remember…
“Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets and different times and in different ways. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)
“I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed, and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life…what we have seen and heard we also declare to you…” (1 John 1:1-3)
“First of all, you should know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Does “the gift” of prophecy still exist? What does it mean and what is its purpose?
“If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
“Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy…. The person who prophesies speaks to people for edification, encouragement and consolation…. He who prophecies builds up the church.” (see 1 Corinthians 14) (Hosea 6:5 – for tearing down?)
“If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds.” (Jeremiah 23:22)
“Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them.” (Moses to Joshua in Numbers 11:29) “If there is a prophet among you from the Lord, I make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.” (Numbers 12:6-8)
“In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world….So each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.” (Acts 11:27-29 see also 21:10-11)
“Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and strengthened them with a long message.” (Acts 15:32)
“And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of the ministry, to build up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11)
“Timothy, my child, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle.” (1 Timothy 1:18)
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.” (1 Timothy 4:14)
If I am going to pass along a message from one person to another, what do I first have to do?
“The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence. In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread….Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” When God called his name again, Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:1, 7-10)
“I will say whatever my God says.” (Micaiah to Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 18:13)
“The Lord God does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 2:7)
Test them…
- 1 Thes. 5:19 Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things.
- 1 Jn. 4:1 Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Dt. 13:1-5 If that prophet says to follow some other god, put him to death.
- Dt. 18:15:22 If that prophet speaks something that doesn’t come true, don’t listen to him.
- Isaiah 9:15 They could be lying.
- 2 Chr. 18:21 They could be hearing from a lying spirit.
- Isaiah 28:7 They could be confused because of their drunkenness.
- Jer. 23:16 They could be speaking from their own minds, not the Lord’s mouth.
- Jer. 28:9 Only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one whom the Lord has truly sent.
For further study: Genesis 20:7; Numbers 11:24-30, 12:6-8, 24:3-4, 24:15-16; Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 18:15-22; 1 Samuel 3:1,7,20, 9:19, 19:20-23; 1 Chronicles 25:1-2; 2 Chronicles 18:6-27, 20:14-21, 29:25, 33:18, 34:22, 36:15-16; Ezra 5:1-2, 6:14; Nehemiah 6:14, 9:30; Isaiah 9:15, 28:7-13; Jeremiah 5:13, 23:16-32, 28:9, 33:3; Lamentations 2:9,14; Ezekiel 33:33; Daniel 7:1; Hosea 6:5, 9:7; Amos 3:7-8; Zechariah 13:3-4; Matthew 5:12, 10:41, 23:34; Luke 2:36, 11:49; Acts 11:27, 13:1, 15:32, 19:5-7, 21:4, 9-18, 22:17; Romans 1:2, 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29, 14:1-40; Ephesians 3:5, 4:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 1:18, 4:14; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:1-2; 1 John 4:1; Revelation 22:6
Name: John Erik Aho
Nickname: Johnny
Lifeverse: “Let me proclaim Your power to this new generation, Your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” Psalm 71:18
Schooling: Salem High (1987), Plymouth MI; Taylor University (1992), Upland, IN; Golden Gate Seminary (1997), Mill Valley, CA
Major: BA Psychology; Masters of Divinity
Residence: Dearborn, MI
Hometown: Plymouth, MI
Birthday: November 24, 1969
Brothers: Jay, Drew and Mike (step)
Parents: John and Jane
Family: Wife: Michelle; Children: Christina, Sierra, Rebecca & Sarah (heart adoption!)
Interests: Biking (road & mountain), prayer running, hanging out with friends, listening to loud music, driving my 944, watching Lions football (God help me)…
Favorite books: Scriptures, especially: Ezra, Nehemiah, Luke, Acts, 1&2 Timothy, Ephesians… ; Calvary Road; The Hobbit; Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; This Present Darkness; Inside Out (Larry Crabb); Practicing the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)…
Books I’ve written: William Taylor: Portrait of a Pioneer Prophet; Look At It This Way: Focusing on the Feeling of Family & Friends, Clients and Coworkers
Favorite movies: Stargate; Prince of Egypt; Pure Country (just because it reminds me of Michelle); all the Star Wars movies, especially the first (or was that the 4th) since my dad took me to see it when I was 7; Princess Bride; Fletch; Monty Python’s Holy Grail (it’s just a flesh wound);
Favorite musicians now: Skillet; Kutless; Chris Tomlin; Charlie Crowder; Evanescence; Hillsong United…
Favorite musicians in my former life: Van Halen (classic Halen but I loved 5150); Dokken; Judas Priest; Ozzy (when he wasn’t an actor); Stryper (it’s pronounced stripe - er, not stripper: “By His stripes we are healed.”); Scorpions; Winger; Motley Cru…
Favorite TV shows: Sunday Night Football; Kings; anything on the HG Channel;
Favorite animal: It’s a tossup between our current animals: Ty (cat) and Dakota (no Tom, his name’s not Scooter) our beagle and Chianti (our Jack Black)
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite sport: Football
Favorite quote: “Never give up.” – Winston Churchill
MyDreams: What I want to be when I grow up.
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To raise up quality spiritual entrepreneurs who will lead the next generation of ministries and missions. Once I re-fire, I want to travel to be with, pray with and pray for those leaders. I’ll re-fire as an intercessor.
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To visit my girls and their families as much as possible, be with them, play with them, pray with them, cook for them and clean their houses!
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To encourage as many people as possible to follow my Jesus through my writing and speaking.
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To have a teepee on the beach and a loft in downtown Detroit, so that when I’m not selling peanuts at Comerica Park, I can be on the beach reading God’s Word and writing in my journals.
Filed under: Uncategorized
As I made my way through other blogs, I saw a great idea in interacting with others, especially my leaders: reading together. I’ll post more on this soon. One of the first books I’d like to read is the Calvary Road, by Roy Hession (look in my GoodReads in my blogroll).
Bible Search Engines
Search the Bible in a variety of different translations and languages: www.biblegateway.com.
These Biblical commentaries, written by some of the brightest theologians in the church, provide a systematic series of explanations and interpretations of Scripture. They are intended to provide additional insight into the Bible, not to replace it, and can be valuable tools to assist both casual reading and serious study. One site is www.bibletools.org.
Other Places to Experience Jesus
www.whoisjesus-really.com (from Campus Crusade for Christ)
www.jesusfilm.org (choose a language and watch online)
www.jesusfactorfiction.com (life stories; DVD)
www.younglife.org (clubs for middle and high school students)
www.purposedrivenlife.com (want purpose?)
Jesus Rocks?
Movies on the Life of Jesus
One of the best movies on the life of Jesus is simply called The Gospel of John (www.visualbible.com). You can view the trailer of that movie from there. Based on the life story written by one of His closest friends, this movie was produced in 2003. If you would like to purchase a copy, Best Buy has the best price we have seen so far.
The Nativity Story was released around Christmas 2006. It is a great portrayal of the birth of Jesus, detailing the lives of Mary and his earthly father Joseph and all that took place up to His birth. This moving portrayal of the events surrounding the birth of Christ is destined to become a Christmas classic. Follow the journey of Joseph and Mary from the angel Gabriel’s miraculous announcement to the visit of the Magi. Stars Keisha Castle-Hughes and Ciaran Hinds. You’ll be moved when the Christ child is given the three gifts, especially when you notice the look that is given by the last magii as he gives the gift of frankencense – a spice used in ritual burials.
From birth to death, Jesus was born to die. If you have ever read the life story of Jesus told by John, you’ll notice times when He says, “My time has not yet come.” (John 2:4 & 7:8) The time of his glorification was the time of his ultimate humiliation. He said in John 12:23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop.” He said, “That is why I came…” (12:27).
The Passion of The Christ focuses on the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life. The film begins in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus has gone to pray after sitting the Last Supper. Jesus must resist the temptations of Satan. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is then arrested and taken within the city walls of Jerusalem where leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his trial results in a condemnation to death.
Filed under: journal
I had a great time of prayer with the girls last night as well as with Michelle this morning. Not only are we praying, we’re praying Scripture. Since the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), it is bringing life to dead places and activating God’s presence where there was once emptiness. It will be interesting to see what happens in the lives of my little women (all 4) and the lives of my friends (inside and outside my faith fellowship) as I continue to pray. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
I will more than likely finish up my third reading of God’s Word for the year this week. I am challenging myself to reading it four times this year. It has given me a great overview of Scripture, but I am missing going deep. My (written) journal is showing that fact. It usually takes me 6 months to fill the pages of a journal. I might finish one this year. I have taken most of my time with Jesus reading about 25 chapters a day. I have the Bible divided into parts. I read the Pentateuch (4 chapters), the History (5 chapters), the Poetry (5 chapters), the Prophets (5 chapters), the Gospels/Acts (3 chapters) and the Letters (3 chapters). It’s been great, and I’m missing going deeper, but I’m going to challenge myself to read it once more before the end of the year. Then, I’m going to go deep in 2008. I want to take my Inductive Study Bible and dive deeper, only reading a chapter a day a couple times through, and writing my notes in the margins.
God is reviving me!
Filed under: prayer
The Power of Praying Scripture
I hear it all the time. “I want to pray, but I don’t know what to pray.” Pray Scripture. I have done it in the past. I have revived the practice recently and my times of prayer with my friends and the women of my home have gone through the roof in terms of fervency.
Think about this.
Whenever Aaron entered the Holy Place, he would bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. (Exodus 28:29) I have a great friend in Bob Hoey, pastor of Messiah Church in Detroit, who has a former pastor of that church as a mentor in Dick Beiber. Dick had a practice of speaking all the names of Messiah in the presence of God. Sometimes I would simply say their name. Other times he would camp out on their names when he knew they had specific requests. I have started to do that for my people. Take a look at what Samuel thought about prayer:
“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” (1 Samuel 12:23) Samuel considered it a sin to NOT pray for his people. He was committed to it and it blessed their lives.
I use Paul’s prayers a lot as I pray for friends.
He wrote, “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better…” (Ephesians 1:15-20)
It was his practice to ”kneel before the Father” so that ”he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He prayed that they would be ”rooted and established in love” and that they would be able to comprehend how wide and long and high and deep God’s love was for them. He prayed knowing that God was ”able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Paul thanked God every time he remembered the people who were in partnership with him in bringing the gospel to others. He was confident of this, “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul’s prayer for his partners was that their ”love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:3-9)
Paul would hear reports of how his disciples were doing, and, “for this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” He prayed this ”in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:3-14)
What a prayer! So instead of simply praying for someone’s health, you could be praying like this:
Jesus, I always thank you as I remember Rob, because I hear about his faith in You and his love for all the saints. I pray that he may be active in sharing his faith, so that he will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in You. Lord, his love and friendship have given me great joy and encouragement, because he has refreshed the hearts of the saints. (Philemon 1:4-7)
Use the following articles as you pray for yourself, your friends and your family. Test this out, and see whether you prayer life increases in effectiveness. When you find other Scriptures to pray, please put them in the comment box or email me at driven313@hotmail.com. If you are beginning to see evidence of the effectiveness of praying Scripture, I would encourage you to do the same: comment here or email me.
Filed under: prayer
God’s Word-My Life
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:7-8
Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you-they are your life. By them you will live long. Deuteronomy 32:46-47
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:9-11,18
Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. Psalm119:130-133
Throughout the time Jehoida the priest instructed him, Joash did what was right in the Lord’s sight. 2 Ki. 12:2
Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel. Ezra 7:10
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:4
When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16
Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 1 Timothy 4:13
My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus-the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love. Acts 20:24
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Romans15:20
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. Romans 1:8-10
“Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:29-31
Filed under: prayer
Portraits of Who I Want to be. Make me like…
David. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me. Psalm 71:17-18
Elisha: I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, so let’s make a small room upstairs and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there. 2 Kings 4:9-10
Joshua. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:11
Moses. Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him.
Deuteronomy 34:7
Haggai. So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah. Ezra 6:14
Paul. Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Acts 15:36 We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 Everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with Him. Philippians 3:8-9
Timothy. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2
Daniel. He went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10
Anna. There was also a prophetess, Anna…. She was very old…she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 1:36-37
Jesus. Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Luke 1:49
Samuel. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 1 Samuel 3:3
Amos. I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” Amos 7:14-15
Abraham. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. Romans 4:17
David. David cared for them with a true heart and led them skillful hands. Psalm 78:72
Jeremiah. Stand up and tell them everything I command you. Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them. Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls… Jeremiah 1:17-18
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. ”How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him…. Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:29-35
Filed under: prayer
Character
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
I will pay attention to the way of integrity. When will You come to me? I will live with integrity of heart in my house. I will not set anything godless before my eyes. I hate the doing of transgression; it will not cling to me. A devious heart will be far from me and I will not be involved with evil. Psalm 101:2-4
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left. Proverbs 4:20-27
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:11-14
The Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body… Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
I have made a covenant with my eyes that I would not lust after a woman. Job 31:1
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Tim. 2:22
How to clothe yourself spiritually (what to take off and what to put on) Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. Proverbs 6:25
How can I know all the sins in my heart? Cleanse me from hidden faults. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free from guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12-14
For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. Deuteronomy 23:14
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. Genesis 4:7
Filed under: prayer
Making some little woman unspeakably happy
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4
Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:25-27
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:5
He commanded our ancestors to teach (God’s Laws) to their children, so the next generation might know them-even the children not yet born-that they in turn might teach their children, so each generation can set its hope anew on God. Psalm 78:5-7
Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. Proverbs 5:15-23
Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with understanding of their weaker nature yet showing them honor as co-heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride. Your love is much better than wine. Song of Songs 4:9-10
My love thrust his hand through the opening, and my feelings were stirred for him….If you find my love, tell him that I am lovesick. Song of Songs 5:4,8
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:22-33
Filed under: prayer
My Little Women. Let them be like…
Deborah, a prophetess, was leading Israel at that time…. Villages in Israel were deserted until Deborah…arose, a mother in Israel. Judges 4:4, 5:7
Tabitha. There was a disciple named Tabitha who was always doing good and helping the poor. Acts 9:36
Philip the evangelist…had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Acts 21:9
Ruth. Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” …Naomi realized that Ruth was determined… Ruth 1:16-18
Mary. “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me.” Luke 1:44-49
Filed under: prayer
Standing in the Gap
Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. Exodus 28:29
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 1 Samuel 12:23
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:15-20
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus… And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:3-9
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:3-14
I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:4-7
My bride turned 38 today. It’s really hard to believe, since she doesn’t look a day over 24. It’s almost like God turned back the hands of time in her aging process. Maybe my purpose for her life is coming true. There’s a great book about an even greater man by the name of Samuel Logan Brengle. He once said, “I want to make some little woman unspeakably happy.” It’s my hope and prayer that I’m doing that for her. Her smile is radiant. In fact, I’m watching her crack one now as she plays card with her mom. Bonnie has her birthday a week before Michelle’s.
They’re really close, and I think that’s great. Family has been very important to both of us. She found that out by things going right. Not that the Martins didn’t go through any problems, but she saw her mom and dad love each other to this day. I learned through my own mistakes, some missteps my dad took, and his death in 1999 at the age of 55. Anyway, I couldn’t do life without her. I guess I could. I did life when it was just me and Jesus. It’s possible, I just don’t want to find out. We’re a really good match, and I can say that after 16 years of friendship (celebrated on October 31) and 13 years of marriage.
Filed under: scriptures
Everyone has a story. There is a great one in John 4 about a woman who really wanted to hide from people because of her knack of jumping into bed with guys and breaking it off. She had been divorced multiple times, and the relationship she 
was in at the time… well, let’s just say she had no intention of making a long term commitment. That’s when Jesus walked into her life. Read about her story below.
Here’s her story.
After tiring from his journey, Jesus sat down next to a well. That’s when he saw her. Asking her for a drink, the woman was surprised since Jews usually didn’t associate with Samaritans.
She knew something about thirst. She had been married five times. Not all that excited to tie the knot again; she decided to simply live with the next guy. God refuses to have a story without us, and He chooses not to be the only character in the story. God refused to have a story that didn’t include this woman and chose to have her be a part of that story. Repeat after me: “I have a story. God has a story. He wants me to be in His-story.”
At this point, let me say something about our stories. Our stories mark our identity. Stories identify who we are. The events of our lives shape us. What I have done and what has been done to me leaves a mark. Have you ever seen someone trip and fall? What do you say? “Ohhh, that’ll leave a mark.” The mistakes I have made and the things I have suffered in life leave marks. My story shapes me like her story shaped her. But her story is not an autobiography. It’s a biography. God is writing the story, and God chose to have her be a part of this story just like He chooses to have you be a part of His-story.
You know, when Jesus’ disciples rejoined him, they “were surprised to find him talking with a woman.” I think we’re all surprised who God includes in His story. Fact is, we can’t prejudge who we think God wants in His story. He wants everyone. You know what this woman did – this Samaritan woman, this woman with a history, a past, her own story to tell?
John 4:28-30 says, “leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.”
They knew her story. This little town knew what she was about. Put yourself in this little city. There’s a woman you know who has been married and divorced five times. You don’t see her all that much because she keeps to herself. She goes out to the well while no one else is there. She then comes back into town, announces to everyone, “You have to meet this man I just met at the well. He told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
What would have been your response? “So what? He tells you everything you ever did. I could have told you that. I mean, everybody knows it. It’s front page news.” It wasn’t that He revealed all her sins. It was that she was no longer looked down on because of her past. Jesus, in the way He spoke to her, made her realize her story was now being written by God. Her story was included in History, His-story.
John recorded that “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” What did John record as her story? Did she write it out? What was her grand story? “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony: ‘He told me everything I ever did.’” That was her story. That’s it. No more. No less.
What’s your story?
Filed under: stories
In his book The Experience of Ultimate Truth, 
Michael Graham describes rubbing shoulders with the leading gurus and teachers of our time. He was among the first three western followers of Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga. Michael’s spiritual induction became a legendary illustration to others in the movement. He helped to organize one leg on Muktananda’s first world tour in 1970. He would spend 16 years in the movement, working in or managing the ashrams in Ganeshpuri India, Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Melbourne.
Michael’s story is a remarkable one. Born and raised in Melbourne, his father was a doctor and psycho-analyst. He spent three years studying and practicing yoga while still in his late teens, then took his motorcycle by ship to Colombo, and rode around Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India. After a trip to England he returned to India in early 1969 and spent six months in Muktananda’s ashram. And it was during this period of intense spiritual discipline that he experienced a dramatic spiritual “awakening”.
Michael said in a radio interview in Australia, “The theory is that within everyone there is an unawakened divine potential,” says Michael. “By the intent or touch of a guru like Muktananda it can be awakened. I experienced this in a very powerful form.
“I was just sitting there, meditating, and all of a sudden my body started to gyrate in a circular motion. And then each day it began to sway more and more vigorously, even violently. I’d stop it, saying: ‘What’s this? How extraordinary. What an extraordinary phenomenon.’
It was a tantalizing experience for the young Australian. “I was totally seduced by this awakening,” he said. “It is so engaging and seductive. It was real, with no suggestion or hypnosis involved. And it had a huge promise attached to it. It promised a final merging with the divine.”
In 1977 he rejoined Muktananda in America, and, as one of his renowned disciples, spent some years working and touring with him and his successors. Muktananda was attracting huge numbers of followers, including famous names like John Denver-whom Michael remembers coming daily to the Santa Monica ashram (a secluded building, often the residence of a guru, used for religious retreat or instruction in Hinduism; the persons instructed there) and often singing for all the students-along with Diana Ross, actors Raul Julia and Olivia Hussey, and former California Governor Jerry Brown.
Los Angeles Times journalist Russell Chandler said Muktananda made yoga meditation accessible and fun to Westerners-particularly the Hollywood set.
But despite the exhilarating phenomena of Indian religious practice, Michael found that it was not bringing forth the life changes he desired. He wrote,
“I remained the same at heart. It was always the same old me. There was no change of heart and mind. I was a young man, a modern man, with a philosophical bent. I had no affinity for major elements of the teaching. It was all the amazing experiences that kept me there, and what they were supposed to lead to. So I looked for something to supplement it, in the New Age movement. I became involved in various New Age mind dynamic techniques.”
From around 1993 he started developing his own training courses. But increasingly, over several years, he felt frustration. His work was not developing to expectations. More significantly, he felt his spiritual life somehow in stagnation.
He resolved to intensify his spiritual practices, such as starting each day with 2½ hours of spiritual disciplines. Then he decided to embark on a series of 10-day meditations, in isolation, and it was during one of these that he had his encounter with Christ.
“At the time it happened I was in isolation,” he recalls. “But I wasn’t meditating; I was in a completely plain state of mind. All at once an image of Christ formed up in my chest cavity. Along with this image came a recognition of who He was. What followed was beyond conception. But to indicate using mere words…there was an openness to me from Christ of cosmic proportions, and an invitation and welcome, as if to say, ‘Give me your life and breath and I will take care of you.’ It was a personal invitation. It was equal to the deepest spiritual experience I’d ever had.”
But despite the marvel and intensity of the encounter, there was a problem. He was so entrenched in his existing spiritual ways, that Michael simply did not know how to respond. He carried that memory of meeting Jesus with him for one year, when he happened to be in Berkeley, California. And there, in 1997, he had what for him was another profound experience.
“I was overcome by the conviction that my lifelong spiritual quest added up to a big fat zero. It was a powerful sense. I was reduced to nothing.”
A prominent young Indian swami was visiting California at the time, and he was looking for 20-30 experienced people to be trained as gurus and healers in their own right. Michael was not in the least interested, but when three friends, separately, urged him to attend, he took that as some sort of sign that he should be there.
He went, and was not impressed by what he saw and heard. But one thing he noted deeply. The instructor reminded him that to achieve anything it was necessary to have faith. At that point Michael clearly recognized that it was only in Jesus Christ and His promise that he could ever have faith.
But there was for him one more step in becoming a Christian. “I knew about the importance, power and place of decision. I’d created a course on it called ‘The Decision Principle Training’. I knew that becoming a Christian would be the biggest decision of my life. I wanted to make a marker of it-an event. It so happened that Billy Graham was coming to San Francisco. So I went to that meeting for the express purpose alone of making this decision clearly, cleanly, surely, with no turning back, in front of 22,000 witnesses.
“And since that day I’ve never been the same. I knew absolutely what it was to be renewed, to be reborn. I was a new creation. It was a silent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I started to be led in my Christian walk.”
Returning to Melbourne, he sought out a strong biblically-based church and found it in South Yarra Presbyterian Church, a short walk from his home, and a building he had strolled past numerous times previously with barely a glance.
Now after two years of dedicated Bible study he is eager to reach out to others with the story of his transformation. Exceedingly articulate, he has already addressed audiences at Christian colleges in Sydney and was a guest of Gordon Moyes on an Easter television special, and spoke to 25,000 Christians in India. He has also been working with the Community of Hope Christian mission in its outreach to the New Age movement.
In addition, he talks to friends and acquaintances who have been on a similar journey to his own, some of whom have also become disillusioned with the Eastern promise. “People I’m getting through to would normally never listen to a Christian,” he notes.
What would he tell today’s young spiritual seekers who are leaning towards Eastern religions?
“I’d tell them my story,” he says.
“Fulfilment is found in Christ. He is the embodiment of Truth, in whom is contained all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The point is that the salvation He offers doesn’t come through signs and wonders, though they may be appended to it, but from a turning to Him in acknowledgment of His pre-eminence and His lordship, and as the medium through which total release can be known.
“In my experience the best the higher other ways can offer is amelioration of the human condition, coupled with large promises and tantalising effects. But they cannot penetrate to the very core, which is the call to utter renewal and the discovery of our sufficiency in Christ.
“Jesus doesn’t simply show us the way, or the truth. He is the way, the truth. He’s not another guru, or preceptor, or avatar, or holy man, or prophet. He’s God Himself stepped down into human flesh to die, identified with the consequences of our decision to turn from God, and thus eternally to reconcile us. The Christian revelation is the end of the end game, not the marvellous scenery on the way.”
And now that he is reconciled with Christ, how does Michael sum up his past? He smiles as he answers: “I was a dead man walking. I can’t believe I’m saying that. Because I thought I was so alive.”
Filed under: Uncategorized
John E. Aho: The sun wasn’t up yet, but I was. We were on our way up to the redwoods in California when we stopped for the night in Redding. We had an RV at the time. With my family sleeping safely inside, I made my way to the 24 hour prayer chapel on the campus of Bethel Church. I was reading a book called Wild At Heart that encouraged the reader not to ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, because what the world needs are more people who are alive.
So with my copy of the Scriptures and my journal in hand, and that question firmly fixed in my mind, I walked the dimly lit path to the chapel.
“What makes me come alive? What makes me come alive?” No sooner did I open the door that the Spirit opened my heart. I heard a song I had heard before. “Light of the world you stepped down into darkness. Opened my eyes let me see, beauty that made this heart adore You. Hope of a life spent with You.”
I didn’t see Him standing there when I opened the first set of doors. He jumped out at me. Not physically. Spiritually. The presence of God was in that place and I felt it as soon as I walked into the door. No sooner did I sense God’s Spirit and I knew in an instant what made me come alive.
He did. He made me come alive. Nehemiah 8:10 says “your strength comes from rejoicing in the Lord.” I don’t quite understand how it happens, but when I worship Him, I feel more alive than ever. What made me come alive was twofold. Knowing Him and making Him known. That’s really why I created this safe place for you to read our experiences. I want you to know God even better than I know Him.
Jesus first came into my life when I was a sophomore in high school. Romeo, Michigan. KidRock’s hometown. Simpson Park Camp. Hmmm. Another chapel. I don’t remember all that David Olshine said that night, I just know that I realized how crazy God was for me. A writer by the name of John (great name by the way) once said, “We know and rely on the love God has for us.” (1 John 4:16) That warm August night in 1984 was the first time I realized it… and relied on it. That was the first time I experienced Him. That wouldn’t be the last.
If you have never experienced Him, stop what you are doing and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Jesus said that if we know how to give good gifts to our children, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:14) Call out to Him right now. Ask Him. Search for Him. Knock on the door. If you keep asking, it will be given to you. If you keep searching, you will find Him. If you keep knocking, the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)
If there was a time you experienced Him but haven’t in awhile, you can again. Worship Him. Read His word. God promised a king, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) Seek His face today. Tomorrow. The next day. You will find you will begin to experience more of His presence in your life as you give Him more of your life, your time and your energy.
Filed under: scriptures
I had an experience that changed my life. I was sitting in an outdoor chapel in Romeo, Michigan listening to a man tell me how crazy God was for me. How crazy is love when love sacrifices His one and only Son so that I can experience life? You see, God loved the world – you, me – so much that He gave up His only Child to death so that we could experience life. Real life. Fulfilling life. Eternal life. In fact, He wants to breathe new life into you.
John, one of Jesus’ closest friends, experienced Him this way. In his Gospel John wrote, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not die but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) John wrote in a letter to his friends, “This is how we know what love is – Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” (1 John 3:16)
I want you to experience Him for the first time. Stop what you are doing and call out to Him. Tell Him about your desire to know Him. Read about Him. Read one of the life stories written about Him (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) on http://www.biblegateway.com/.
At this point, if all you are doing is questioning and seeking, keep searching. This is a safe place for you if you have ever had any questions about Jesus – a man who changed people’s lives when He walked this earth; a man who is still impacting lives today. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jesus.xp@hotmail.com.
Experience is everything
His Story is About Humble Beginnings
Who is Jesus Christ? He is God’s only begotten son, yet He came from the throne of His Father to the womb of a woman. He became Son of Man that we might become sons of God.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin. He lived in poverty, and was unknown outside of Nazareth. He had neither wealth nor influence.
He laid aside His purple robe for a peasant’s gown. He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. He slept in another’s stable; He rode another’s donkey; He was buried in another’s grave.
His Story is About a Miraculous Ministry
Who is Jesus Christ? History has never known such as He. In infancy, He startled a king. As a boy, He stunned the theologians with His knowledge and wisdom, for His knowledge was directly from God.
In manhood, He ruled the elements and quieted the raging sea. He healed without medicine, and fed thousands from a boy’s lunch. Even demons obeyed Him and He gave back life to those who were dead.
Yet He suffered and sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. He was despised and rejected of men. Though He was innocent, He was condemned by a civil judge and sentenced to death on a cross.
His Story is About Life-changing Impact
Who is Jesus Christ? By His suffering and death, He paid completely for the sins of all who believe in Him. He set us free 
from the certain judgment and eternal condemnation of God that was to fall on all of us.
Some have given their lives for others, and great men have come and gone, yet Jesus Christ lives on. Herod could not kill Him. Satan could not stop him. Death could not destroy Him. The grave could not hold Him. Having fully satisfied God’s perfect justice, He conquered death and rose on the third day as He said He would.
His Story is About Personal Experience
Who is Jesus Christ? For the last 2,000 years, every man, woman and child has been confronted with this same question. In Mathew 16:15, Jesus put it this way, “But who do you say that I am?” One of His disciples, Simon Peter, replied: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Now it’s your turn. Who do you say that He is?
Filed under: scriptures
As I read through 1st and 2nd Kings, I was struck by a group of people simply called sons of the prophets. Some have commented that communities of prophets came together for the purpose of building each other up and cultivating their relationships with God. It’s quite possible that these communities of prophets were gathered together, almost forced to live with each other, when Jezebel was out to destroy them all.”Obadiah, who was in charge of (Ahab’s) palace…was a man who greatly feared the Lord and took 100 prophets and hid them, 50 men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets.” (1 Kings 18:3-4)
It was after this event, if memory serves me correctly, that I began to notice these sons of the prophets. The NIV Study Bible notes that “the relationship of the Lord’s great prophets to these communities was understandably a close one, the Lord’s prophets probably being their spiritual mentors.” It seems likely that Elijah and Elisha had been mentors of these sons of the prophets.
There was a close relationship between Elijah, Elisha and these prophets. God told Elijah, “You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha…as prophet in your place.” (1 Kings 19:16) Did Elijah do it? No. Elijah’s protégé told one of the sons of the prophets, “When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room.” So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead, and when Jehu got and went into the house, “the young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel.” (2 Kings 9:1-7)
God told Elijah to do it, but he instead passed the message on to Elisha. Elisha enlisted one of his “sons,” and had him complete this important task. There are jobs we think only the professionals should do. At times we don’t think we have the education to do certain things. Yet, in God’s kingdom, we’re all “professionals.” As my pastor told me, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”
God isn’t calling us to teach students. He’s calling us to raise children. Who are you parenting? Who would say they are a “son of a prophet” because of your influence on their life?
Filed under: scriptures
In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul told his young leader that “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
It seems my spirit of self-gratification is usually stronger than my spirit of self-discipline, and a strong marker is how I eat. Back in college I was fairly disciplined about the way I was taking care of myself. In the beginning of our marriage I told myself I wouldn’t do what a number of other men do – get comfortable and not take good care of themselves.
Paul told another young leader, Titus, that the leaders he raises up “must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.” I admire leaders who lead themselves well. Solomon said that his teachings should be used for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life (Proverbs 1:3). He said, “it is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor. Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:27).
Don’t let that one slip by without giving it some thought. You are like a city without the fortification and protection of tall, thick brick walls that keeps your enemies out if you do not control yourself. You let in a dangerous element if you lack self-control. He also said in Proverbs 29:11, “a fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Paul said what should mark every believer’s life is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Unlike those who go about living the way they want to, “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
He told Timothy that “people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:3-4)
He told the Thessalonians to be alert and self-controlled. (5:6) He told his young leaders to “teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” (Titus 2:2)
He told Titus to have the older women in the church train the younger women to “love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled” (v5) and to encourage the young men to be self-controlled (v6). He also told Titus that “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. God’s grace teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope; the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:11-13)
The reason we live self-controlled, upright and godly lives has nothing to do with how we look. To discipline my body, making it the slave of my spirit, has everything to do with worship. It is my spiritual act of worship. Everything I do has to do with my great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Peter said to “prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled” (1 Peter 1:13) for two reasons.
You need to be “clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4:7). He also said to be self-controlled and alert because “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We are to “resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1Peter 5:8-9)
We can’t hope to lead others if we are not leading ourselves well.
Filed under: scriptures
I’ve heard it said, “I love the ministry. I just can’t stand the people.” I absolutely love the kids I’m working with. I’m just having a hard time with some of the adults. Sometimes I feel like writing for a living just to get away from leading.
Sticking your neck out, you might get your head cut off. Putting your foot forward, you might get your legs kicked out from under you. Putting your hand up, you might get it shot down. Voicing your opinion, you might get shut up. Even though these may all happen, leaders lead. They lead.
They’re out front. They may get shot at first. They may also lead their troops to victory. Leaders lead. They lead. They don’t follow. They put their foot forward. They put their hand up. They voice their opinion. They’re out front. They give direction. Yes, it would be easier to follow. But that’s not leadership. I’m going to take some shots along the way, but I guess I would rather take my shots on the front lines instead of being a coward in the trenches. When Moses led, there were times when he got shot at.
“Then Moses led…” He didn’t follow. “Moses led the people…” You could lead animals. You could be somewhere where no one talks back. “Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea…” When you are leading, you are always leaving something behind.
From the Red Sea “they moved out into the Shur Desert.” Was that their destination? Of course not. But sometimes when you are leaving your Red Sea in search of the Promised Land you may, and I say may, go through a desert or two. When you go through the dry times in life, what will your response be? “They traveled in this desert for three days without water. When they came to Marah, they finally found water. But the people couldn’t drink it because it was bitter.” As we are leaving the Red Sea in search for the Promised Land, when we move into those dry times, we have to make sure we don’t turn bitter. When the people turned bitter inside, “the people turned against Moses.”
When you allow bitterness to eat you up inside, the next step is to bring it outside. “We were supposed to be going to ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ so why are we in the desert? Who brought us here anyway? Things are not going as promised. Moses said nothing about walking through the desert three days straight. I’m thirsty! I bet if I were in his shoes I would have led us in a different way. If I were leading, I sure as heck would have made sure we had enough water. Moses sure didn’t plan this out. He should have thought more about those details. Maybe somebody else could do a better job.”
“The people turned against Moses.” Yes the people were thirsty. Walking anywhere is tough. Think about the fact that moms were walking their children. They may have been carrying things on their way. They had a right to be tired and thirsty, yet they turned from their legitimate needs to illegitimate bitterness.
What could Moses’ reaction have been? “It amazes me how fast these people can go from excitement and exuberance to exhaustion and complaining. We just went through the ‘middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides.’ We were only days from our deliverance when ‘the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians.’ We all sang together a couple days ago on the shores on the sea. Now they turn against me? Maybe I’ll just take my family and leave. We’ll just see how they manage.” Did doubts creep into his mind? Did he start second guessing his decision about leading them? “I should have stayed in Egypt. I had it made there.” Was he reminded of his failures? Did his past come back to haunt him? Did he have trouble sleeping? All we know is that when “the people turned against Moses…Moses cried out to the Lord for help.”
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“When leaders lead, they have to remember that they are spiritual leaders who are led.” |
Leaders do lead, but sometimes, well… all the time, leaders need to be led. Leaders need to be led by the Leader of leaders. When “the people turned against Moses…Moses cried out to the Lord for help.” When “Moses cried out to the Lord for help…the Lord showed him a branch.”
“A branch!”
“A branch?”
“What the heck! What good is a branch going to do? I’m ready to quit. I’m ready to ditch this whole thing. I’m so sick of people. I’d rather go back and lead my sheep. I call out to You and You show me a branch?”
That would have been my reaction. Once Moses was shown the branch, he instinctively knew what to do with it.
“Moses took the branch and threw it into the water. This made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord laid before them the following conditions to test their faithfulness to Him: ‘If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and laws, then I will not make you suffer the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.’”
When leaders lead, they have to remember that they are spiritual leaders who are led. Let that sink in. When we lead from where we have been, especially if the Leader of leaders is leading us as leaders, we will be led to do things according to the purposes of God. God called the people out of Egypt and chose Moses to lead them. Moses was given a vision of where they would be going without seeing it in the physical. When they set out, leaving behind what they were comfortable with, they went through some difficulties on the way.
Instead of the people taking their concerns to God, they turned on the leader. Instead of asking God for a solution, the people pointed out the problems. Oh, it’s easy to point out the problems. It’s so easy to talk behind the leader’s back to other followers, but it’s healthier to become a part of the solution. It’s easy to point the finger at someone else. It’s more difficult to be a part of the solution.
Since Moses got his vision from God, since he knew the destination was in the mind of God, Moses was in the habit of crying “out to the Lord for help” every step of the way.
“The Lord showed him….” He was not only in the habit of listening “carefully to the voice of the Lord,” he was also in the habit of seeing the possibilities. What was it about the branch that took away the bitterness in the water, making “the water good to drink?” Was there something about its properties that it scientifically reacted with the bitter properties of the water? Did it sweeten the bitterness somehow, or did God intervene miraculously? Whatever the case, God showed Moses the solution. Could God have revealed the solution to one of the people? Instead of turning against their leader, could the people have turned to God?
Could the Lord have shown someone else the branch? It’s possible. But the bitterness in their hearts was worse than the bitterness in the water. The branch took away the bitterness of the water. What the people needed was something deeper.
“For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will place a Righteous Branch on King David’s throne.” (Jeremiah 23:5) “Soon I am coming to bring My Servant, the Branch.” (Zechariah 3:8) Jesus, the Branch, died on a tree to take away the bitterness. Just as the branch was thrown into the water, the Righteous Branch must come into the water of our lives. We are of no use until the Branch takes away the bitterness in our hearts. Both leaders and followers need to see the Branch, seize the Branch, and place that Branch into the waters of our own lives to turn the bitterness into sweetness.
We will quench the thirst of no one, whether we are a leader or a follower, if the Branch has not taken away our bitterness. Follow Moses’ example. Turn to the Lord for help. Look for the possibilities and then be a part of the solution.
Filed under: scriptures
Why are there times we experience blocks in communication and connection with our Creator? When we’re thirsty for more of God, where do we go? How can we experience Him more?
Draw near: “Since He had healed many, all who had diseases were pressing toward Him to touch Him.” (Mark 3:11) I have heard of His healing power and know what it means to be close to Him. I’ve been there, and I want to go back. I believe I am on my way, but there may be some things in the way as I press toward Him to be touched by Him. “The crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word.” (Luke 5:1)
The crowd. That’s my problem. Too much is crowding my life right now. In fact, I attemped to get away from my office so my administrative tasks wouldn’t crowd out the time I wanted “to touch Him” and “to hear God’s word.” The crowd. They are always in the way. They’re loud, always clamoring for our attention. They keep you from where you’re heading. They bump into you, demanding your attention. All you want to do is have someone simply remove the crowd so nothing hinders His touch and His word. What’s crowding your life? What do you need to remove in order to “draw near to God?” (Psalm 73:28). James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Hosea wrote in his prophecy, “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.” (Hosea 6:3) My camouflage Bible (Holman Christian Standard) reads, “Let us strive to know the Lord.” As you draw near, what do you draw with?
What to draw with: Do you remember the Samaritan woman drawing water at the well in John 4? When Jesus told her about the living water, she told Him, “but sir, you have nothing to draw with.” My camouflage Bible reads, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep.” Yes, ma’am. The well is deep, and you had better know what to draw water with.
What are you drawing (living) water with? Do you have a bucket? This well is deep. Too many people don’t realize the living water is there to draw. She didn’t know until Jesus told her. Others had heard about it but were mistaken what it was. Her first response continued on the line of her physical thirst: “Sir, give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.” Since Jesus had the right bucket, He knew where to drop it. “Go call your husband and come back here.”
He dropped the bucket into the deepest recesses of her heart, but only found her hurt. Her heart was full of hurt. Five weddings. Five divorces, and now she’s living with a guy because she is afraid of taking the plunge into a long-term commitment. The plunge she needed and received was into the living water. “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.” So what do you draw with? “You will worship,” Jesus said. Worship is what you draw with.
Sometimes the well is deep. Real deep. It might take longer to get to the water. Why?
Draw deep: One reason is that God is not shallow. Jesus said, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) At times you will have to go deep to draw near. You may have to fight the crowds to get there. You might have to eliminate what crowds your mind and your heart. Don’t you think the woman at the well had a lot of hurt crowding her heart? Go deep. Draw near. Press in. Press on.
Reopen to draw out: Another reason it might take awhile to draw living water out is that the well might be stopped up. “The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s slaves had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt…. Isaac reopened the water well that had been dug.” (Genesis 26:15, 18) Do you realize that soon after he reopened the wells “he went up to Beer-sheba (and) the Lord appeared to him that night.”
When you reopen wells that had quenched your thirst in earlier days, it’s as if those waters of living water start to flow again and God reveals Himself to you all over again. God doesn’t dangle food in front of my face saying, “Here, boy. Go fetch.” He is always there ready and willing to pour His Spirit into our lives. If I am in the practice of protecting my heart so no dirt enters, and if I am cultivating a life that draws the living water out, then it won’t take so long to experience His outpouring during worship or prayer, whether those times are corporate or personal.
Isaiah said, “On that day you will say: ‘I will praise You, Lord, although You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have had compassion on me. Indeed, God is my salvation. I will trust Him and not be afraid. Because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.’” Isaiah then told them what the result of their worship would be: “You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation, and on that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim His name! Celebrate His deeds among the peoples. Declare that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in His greatness.’” (Isaiah 12:1-6)
Just like the woman at the well, our attention is turned to worship if we want to “draw water from the springs of salvation” and experience the presence of the Holy One: “The Holy One of Israel is among you in His greatness.”
Protecting the source: In order to experience God, more of Him (quality) and more frequently (quantity), we need to protect the mouth of the well. After Jacob had his worship experience in the House of God (Bethel), after he had his experience of God (Genesis 28:10-22), “Jacob resumed his journey and went to the eastern country. He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep. The stone was then placed back on the well’s opening.” (Genesis 29:1-3)
A flat stone was placed on the well’s opening to protect what was inside. When you get to a well, if you only have to slide the stone from the opening, you can water the gathered flock of sheep right away. Could you imagine the painstaking labor if you had to first clear the well of impurities every time you gathered at the well? The sheep would go away thirsty.
Too many people think they don’t experience God because God isn’t in the practice of showing Himself. They get so used to going through the motions that they don’t expect God to show up. The real problem may be that they haven’t protected their heart, so when they go to draw living water from the well there is so much filth and dirt they can’t get to the water.
Solomon wrote, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Guard the very opening of your life. Keep a stone over your heart to guard it from being tainted and stopped up from impurities and sediment. Otherwise, every time you gather together, you will be trying to clear dirt away instead of drawing water.
You know, of course, that the purpose for going to a well is to draw water, right? Just checking.
I am thirsty. I want to drink often. I want to drink deep. The well is deep, and that is where I want to go. “Deep calls to deep,” David wrote (Psalm 42:7). It’s no mistake that this is the same song where David sang, “As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?” (42:1-2) The depths are calling to me. That’s where I want to be. That’s where I want to go.
Drink Up: How do I bring people to a place of fresh revelation? Asked more simply, how do I help people encounter God? “His delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that bears fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:2-3) If I really want people to be fruitful and not wither away, I must uncover wells of revelation and living water so they can go and drink on their own. I also have to be a man who meditates on God’s instructions day and night. I need to lead where I want others to go. Both sheep and shepherd drink from the same well.
Prayer: Jesus, I want to experience you on a deeper level more frequently. Protect the opening of my heart so that when I go to that place I can drink deep and drink often. You said, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” (John 7:37-38) You said this “about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive.” (7:39) I can experience You from deep within my soul. Isaiah experienced Your Spirit while in worship. The woman at the well was encouraged to tap the well of her heart by worshiping in spirit and in truth.
Filed under: about
What in the world would Jesus and blue jeans have in common? What would one of the greatest figures in human history and a pair of regular, everyday pieces of clothing share together? Well, those which clothe the outside and fill the inside are for the common, the regular, the normal, the ordinary, and the everyday.
Like a great pair of jeans, there’s a prophet that fits my style. Amos. Amos was a simple sheep herder and fig tree farmer. Called out of the field by God, Amos was directed to speak to a nation that had gone astray.
A highly educated, highly decorated professional priest had problems with this shepherd turned prophet. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, told Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living and give your prophecies there, but don’t ever prophesy at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Whose sanctuary? The king’s. The audience was important, well known, well to do. What kind of temple? A royal one. Special. Extraordinary. Ornate. You shouldn’t be here, Amos. You’re a farmer. Your normal. Regular. Ordinary. Uneducated. Amaziah liked his status. He liked the fact that he was priest in an important place. It’s what everyone climbs the corporate ladder to get to, right? He believed Amos needed a proper theological education in order to understand God’s Word. People need “an education” before they can really make a difference in other people’s lives.
Yet, the Scriptures were written for the common, the ordinary, the normal. Case in point. The New Testament books were written in Koine Greek. It was the everyday language spoken by everyday people. Koine means common. It was so common archeologists have found ancient shopping lists written in Koine Greek.
So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Amos 7:12-15) There were prophets who were paid preachers. There were prophets who were discipled and developed by older prophets. That’s what a “son of a prophet” was – a protégé of a senior prophet. Amos was neither. He wasn’t discipled by another prophet. He wasn’t educated. He wasn’t a professional. He was normal. Common. Simple. Ordinary.
Simply put, a prophet in blue jeans.
Isn’t that what people noticed about two of the most important Apostles? “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these man had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) Don’t let anyone fool you. God’s message is for very normal, everyday, ordinary people. In fact, the ones He chooses to use are very normal, everyday, ordinary people… if they care to admit it. That’s really the point behind these writings. I hope in some way I can encourage ordinary people to experience an extraordinary God.
