Authority to Trample Snakes!

I had a dream that a snake bit me-it intentionally jumped up, as though it had legs - and bit my calf. I was on the ground level of a building, doing a new work for the Lord, and the snake was lying in a trash heap I was sweeping. I thought it was dead when I first saw it and I paused for a moment to decide how to handle it….then it suddenly reached up - fangs out - and lunged at my leg. I had no fear of the snake, which fell to the ground and died, but I immediately noticed a small patch of swelling at the site of the bite. As I went on with my work in the Lord the swelling disappeared.

This dream reminded me that we are exposed when we step out in the Lord, and the enemy is lurking and waiting to attack. He would like to attach himself to us and deter us, especially when we’re ready to obediently extend love to others through the work God’s given us.

Every person in the Bible who sought to serve God wholeheartedly suffered attacks. In fact, Paul was bitten by a snake when he was shipwrecked on Island of Malta, but he shook off the snake and continued in his service to the Lord (Acts 28). Paul was not walking in disobedience or running from the Lord’s work; he was serving diligently when he was bitten. In the long run, surviving the snake bite with no ill effects turned out to be a blessing: the island’s inhabitants honored Paul and he was able to extend God’s healing to those who were sick.

Attacks will come – but our focus must be on God, not the works of the enemy. If we remain fully clothed in His armor (Eph 6) and constant in prayer He will bring strength and wisdom to press through every battle!

“Take hold of this: I have given you authority and power to trample upon snakes and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] above and beyond the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you” Luke 10:19 (paraphrased).

"Itching Ears" Syndrome

Whether it be one of life’s painful situations, or desires in our lives that are not yet sanctified in Christ, we can develop itching ears. Itching ears long to be ‘scratched’ with words that falsely comfort us or justify our longings. They are created by desperation in the soul that turns the heart to things the Bible calls ‘fables’ (1 Tim. 4:4).

Fables are partial truths and cunningly devised schemes which lack the truth and power of God. When a fable is propagated, fragments of the word are gathered to create a doctrine that satisfies the longings of the soul: fragments that are very often taken out of context in order to satisfy the flesh.

We are most vulnerable to the ‘itching ear syndrome’ when we have unresolved hurts, great grief in life which we struggle to give over to God, or desires which have not been sanctified by the Spirit and the word. While the heart needs to be turned completely to the Lord for further sanctification and God’s strength to help us through difficulties, instead we settle for the easy way out, accepting a doctrine of self satisfaction.

Doctrines that please the flesh and line up with our own perception of God, instead of the God of the Bible, will bankrupt us in every way in the long run. Freedom comes from knowing the truth, but captivity comes with false doctrine – this is evident by looking at the lives of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Once desires are fulfilled through this false doctrine, the heart and mind shut out anything in the word of God which disagrees with that doctrine. This is the ‘in’ the enemy is looking for with false doctrine! He will subtly harden hearts from taking the whole counsel of God’s word, creating ‘new Biblical insights’ on a ‘higher plain’ to satisfy fleshly longings (more fables)!

Be a good Berean: honest and noble with the word of God. Rightly divide by the Spirit instead of by the desires of the flesh (Acts 17:11). Hold no offense toward the person who asks a question about your beliefs, but be ready to give an answer that will hold solid Biblical ground for your doctrine (1 Pet. 3:15).

It is to our advantage to read the word of God through His Spirit; allowing Him to reveal His truth instead of gathering data that serves to uphold our current doctrine.

Bloody Battles: A Spiritual Example

God is love – even in the bloody battles of the Old Testament. But that love may seem different than what our culture defines as love today. God as the One who commands Israel to physically kill her enemies; the One who opens the earth and swallows people; the All Consuming Fire – these characteristics are extremely different than our definition of love today.

But what we may not see is that God’s use of physical force in the Old Testament, His use of anything we might consider ‘taboo' or un-loving, was done out of His perfection in order to perfect and protect His people. When God took up a sword, it was the sanctified action for that circumstance. When He opened the earth and swallowed Korah, it was the holy and righteous response for that circumstance. If we try to judge God’s actions according to our cultural norms, or through our limited understanding of Him, we may wind up recreating God into our own image of Him – and that’s called idolatry! The simple fact is that God is perfect – and what He says and does in any circumstance is perfect.

The glory of the Old Testament is that it physically happened just as it’s written, but it’s also a spiritual example for us today. 1st Corinthians 15:46 tells us that natural things happened and the spiritual followed. The first man, Adam, was a natural man, but the second man, Jesus, is a spiritual man - this is the story of our lives, also. We are born of the flesh, but reborn of the Spirit.

What happened in the Old Testament, in the natural, is very often a spiritual example for us. It teaches us to rid ourselves of the ways of the flesh through the Spirit of God, not through physical means. We are not living life today by physically changing the circumstances around us more than being changed by the Spirit of God inside of us.

The examples of the Old Testament take on great meaning for us today when we see them as spiritual battles. We are not battling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and wickedness in high places. Through God’s Spirit in us, we annihilate anything that sets itself up against God's dominion in our lives.

This life we live is a spiritual life which overflows into the physical – all for the glory of God!

Angels: All In A Day's Work!

-Angels strengthen us. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane he was strengthened (enabled, invigorated and empowered - emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically) by angels who were sent to Him. This came after He asked the Father to take the cup of suffering from Him, but instead God sent angels to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). Jesus was also strengthened by angels after his 40 days of fasting and temptation (Matt 4:11), and Daniel was strengthened by an angel in Daniel 9. If you need strengthening, ask God – He will dispatch angels at His discretion!

-Angels are sent of God -they are not called or directed by humans. God sends angels to assist and minister to those who are His children (Heb 1:14). When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter and a few other disciples, Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus’ rebuke to Peter included these words: “I could pray to the Father and He would send Me more than 12 legions of angels to assist Me” (Matt. 26:53). God knows the proper time to dispatch angelic hosts and He has command over them (Psalm 91). If you need supernatural help, ask God – He will send angels at His discretion!

-Angels are messengers. Daniel received a message from an angel after He prayed for interpretation of a vision God had given him (Dan. 9, 10); Zacharias received a message from an angel concerning the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1); an angel was sent to Cornelius while he was fasting and praying (Acts 10, 11) and the women who went to Jesus tomb received a message from an angel (Luke 24). The Bible contains many more examples of angels bringing messages to humans. If God wants to get a message to you He may dispatch it (and help you understand it), through an angel.

Angels also protect us (2 Kings 6), war on our behalf (Daniel 9,10), watch over and are assigned to specific nations (Dan. 9:21, 12:1), hearken to the voice which speaks God’s word (Ps 103), and rescue us from imprisonment and danger (Acts 27).

Angels are laborers for God’s specific purposes, part of the everyday life of Kingdom believers. We are not of this world: we live in a supernatural world!

Was Jesus Rich?

I’ve heard many theories about the great wealth of Jesus while he lived on earth – this seems to be a doctrine that’s floating around the church. We know that Jesus had all He needed to carry out His ministry on this earth, but evidence that He lived in lavish, earthly wealth is not found in the Word of God.

Matthew 12 tells the story of Jesus and the disciples walking through fields on the Sabbath, plucking heads of grain to fill their empty stomachs. The Pharisees saw this and were indignant. Had they finally caught Jesus sinning? Was He a law breaker? NO WORK ON THE SABBATH – and picking grain was certainly work. Jesus response to their condemnation was very telling: “Haven’t you heard that David went into the temple and ate the bread off of the altar?”

So David and his band of men, and Jesus and the disciples, had this in common: they had no food and they had no money to buy food. This problem didn’t come up simply because it was the Sabbath - everyone planned ahead to have food on the Sabbath so they wouldn’t have to work on that day to prepare meals. If Jesus had been lax in His Sabbath preparation He would have been sinning and breaking the law. But the law had a special provision in it for those who were poor and hungry – they could glean from the fields on any day and NOT be sinning.

This was how God extended mercy to the poor on earth under the law (Deut. 23:25) – it was His way of giving them provision when they were hungry. We know that Jesus kept the law perfectly, so it would have been ‘illegal’ for Him to gather the grain if He had funds to buy food and He would have ceased to be perfect if He’d been lax in keeping the Sabbath preparations.

Jesus gave up all for us – all of the riches of heaven and earth – He became poor for our benefit! He lived a life of complete sacrifice and dependence on God. How much more I love Him knowing the sacrifices He made in both living and dying.

(Other scriptures on this topic: Matt. 8:20, 17:27, 19, Luke 8:3, Acts 3:6, Php 2:6-8).

Feeling Insignificant?

There are things we do or say which seem small or insignificant at the time we do them - but we never know just how ‘big’ that small thing might be to someone else, or how important it might be to the Kingdom of God and His plans.

That was precisely the case with the woman who anointed Jesus with an expensive jar of perfumed oil. As dinner guests rested and conversed at the table she came to the house uninvited, sank down to her knees before Jesus, and poured the oil over His feet. Tears of thankfulness mingled with the oil as she kissed his feet and wiped them with her hair. While some were indignant and critical, Jesus knew she had been prompted by God to prepare Him for His burial, and He stated that this great and humble act would forever be remembered in the Gospels (Luke 7).

The Bible is filled with these kinds of acts and they probably seemed to be insignificant to God's purposes for the people who did them. Pharaoh’s daughter, when she pulled Moses’ basket out of the Nile, had no idea that God was using her to bring about His desired results. She was moved with Godly compassion and took the child into her arms, thereby advancing God’s purpose. And Ruth the Moabitess, when she followed her mother-in-law back to Judah, had no idea that she would become the great grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ!

The seemingly small acts of life, when prompted by the heart of God, are like building blocks for His Kingdom - and each one of us is here ‘for such a time as this’ as an instrument in God’s hands to advance His work. Carry out those ‘insignificant’ acts of God with humility,joy and thankfulness… one block at a time!

Pressed, But Not Crushed!

Gethsemane means "press" or "olive press." What perfect words to describe what Jesus went through in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was pressed, persecuted, and pushed to His limits - to the point of sweating droplets of blood. He experienced agony of heart and yet maintained His determination to serve His Father by fulfilling His purpose. Out of His great agony came the pure oil of victory for all mankind!

There are times when we go through the press – feeling as though we’re being twisted and life is being squeezed out of us, perhaps agonizing over what we might have to face next. But we have a great Savior who is able to sympathize with us, knowing the feeling of the press (Heb 4:15-16).

Paul described this experience perfectly when he said “We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed; Always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus suffered, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown forth by and in our bodies” (2 Cor 4:8-10 AMP).

Here is God’s answering to the pressing: He will allow it so that the resurrection life of Jesus Christ can be shown forth in our lives! That the power of God may work in and through us for His victory and glory.

We are instruments of resurrection power! If you are going through the press know that you will not be destroyed by the enemy. You have victory in Jesus Christ and you can display His resurrection power through your words, actions and attitude of heart.

Thank God for the resurrection, because through it power has been given to you for every circumstance in life. Press through!

Unclaimed Property - Hidden FOR You!

We received an official government letter in the mail this week telling us we have unclaimed funds which could be retrieved by filling out the enclosed paperwork. How did that happen? We haven’t had a change of address for over 20 years and we’re not careless with money. But as it turns out, the business on the other end of the process hid some information from us about ten years ago, which kept the funds under their control.

This is exactly how the enemy of our soul’s works: he hides the goodness of God from us to keep us in the prison of fear, doubt, lack, ignorance, exhaustion and other hell inspired miseries. Although we know this life has trials and difficulties, the plan of the enemy is to keep us from seeing that God is bigger and He has enfolded His arms of wisdom, provision and mercy around us to hold and keep us through those trials and difficulties.

God has given us a hope and a future, and it’s hidden in Him. The world may say “What you don’t know won’t hurt,” but where life in Christ is concerned, this is a lie from the pit of hell. God has not hidden these secret things from us, He’s hidden them FOR us, and they are found in relationship with Jesus Christ. IN HIM we live and move and have our being. IN HIM is value and purpose. IN HIM all has been retrieved and restored, and we have the receipt to prove it: His love letter to us, the Word of God.

What has God so unselfishly gifted you that has not been claimed? What did Jesus Christ suffer for that the enemy has hidden from you?

“But He was broken and slain for our rebellion, He was beaten and bruised for our guilt and sin; the chastisement and reproof [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was laid upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.” (Isaiah 53:5 paraphrased)

Over Eating - The Accepted Sin

Over the years I’ve struggled to keep my weight down. It’s been like hell on earth, at times, battling myself. Food often looked like my friend but turned out to be my enemy - like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The palate’s delicacies are like the prostitute in David’s Psalms – continually drawing us to pleasures that are short lived and very destructive in the long run.

But what’s deeper in the soul where overeating is concerned? Why do we spend so much to get so little in the end? Is it like the rest of society’s vices – filling a void, comforting a hurt, suppressing a feeling, calling out for help or just rebelliously walking in self-satisfaction and destructive habits? It may be hard to stop the desire for food until we know what’s driving it – why it calls out to us when we are far from hungry or in need of replenishment.

Suppressing the appetite or saying ‘no’ to self are good, Biblical practices, but continually being consumed by thoughts of food shows a deeper underlying stronghold. The church doesn’t often recognize it as so, however, because it’s an accepted sin. Other sins seem to be far worse and are called out and condemned, while the plank remains in the over-eater’s eye.

This is not a note of condemnation; it’s a wake-up call, a call to see things as they really are, a call to cry out to God for help and a call to stop the flesh. It’s a call to myself, as well as the Body of Christ. We have to STOP over eating and killing ourselves – this is both physical and spiritual suicide and it deprives us of the funds and health needed to carry out God’s purposes. It's time to do something about it!

This is not something I often do, but I am recommending a short book as a jump start that may possibly help in this area: "Help! I'm a Slave to Food," (found on Amazon.com). If others have information you’d like to share, please post your positive comments and encouragement.

“We can [and must] do all things through Christ.” (Philp 4:13)

Betrayed By A Judas?

A few days before Jesus death he dined at the house of his friends: Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Dinner done and conversation flowing, Mary poured a jar of expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair, preparing Him for his burial. Judas was irate – his eyes saw money being poured out on the floor – and greed swelled up in him (Matt 26, Mrk 14, John 12). Jesus shushed him, defending Mary’s actions. Perhaps this left Judas feeling humiliated, stirring his anger and greed to a new level.

Judas let the seeds of greed and irritation stew inside of him overnight – providing fertile soil for the enemy to sprout a plan of betrayal in his mind (John 13:2). With this mindset Judas attended the Passover meal with the rest of the disciples and Jesus. He was present at Jesus’ foot washing ceremony, watching as the Savior removed Judas own sandals, tenderly washing and drying his feet. But Jesus humble example of servanthood didn’t soften Judas’ heart or bring repentance.

As the meal began Jesus handed Judas a piece of bread - then satan entered into Judas. “If you are intent on this,” Jesus said, looking into Judas’ eyes, “Do it now. I Am ready.” Then Judas and satan left the table and presented themselves to the Chief Priests for the formal betrayal of Jesus Christ.

The one who Jesus broke bread with, the one who participated in Jesus foot washing, the one who handled the ministry’s finances – was the one who turned his face from Jesus for a few small coins, and later, the one who kissed his cheek in the Garden of Gethsemane. But note how Jesus wasn’t shaken. Note how He kept His focus on God and what God had given Him to do. Note how He saw it coming and gave every opportunity to the betrayer to turn from his wickedness without condemning him.

If you have been betrayed it’s time for you to move on. It’s time to carry on with God’s work and put it behind you. It’s time to extend the forgiveness of God and put away condemnation. And perhaps it’s time to consider that God may be using the betrayal to move you forward in His purposes – taking a painful situation and turning it for His good.

Forward in Christ!

Your Words - An Amazing Treasure!

God has always desired to use man to bring His will and purposes into the earth – especially through the words we speak. Amos said that God does nothing in the earth before He enables the prophets to either act or speak it out (Amos 3:7 paraphrased). Until Jesus Christ returns to this earth we are the vehicle through which He operates here – He has gifted and enabled us to be His mouth, hands, feet and presence in this world.

When our hearts are submitted to God we have the ability to bring about good things through our speech (Matt. 12). “Good” in this case means beneficial, honoring to God and used for His purposes. In fact, if our hearts are submitted to God they are a treasure trove of good words waiting to be spoken at His prompting.

A heart submitted to God should be bursting with Living Words intended to benefit others. Those words have the power to bring about His purposes, bless the socks off of other people and stir angelic hosts into action (Psalm 103:20). This isn’t talking about making a list of name it/claim items you’d like to have in your garage or on your ring finger – it’s talking about God’s words being spoken through us to lay down a road for His entrance into the earth. In fact, that road is continuously being built up and will be entirely complete at the time of His return – and your words are helping to lay the pavement.

The reason for this is simple yet profound; it’s what the Bible is about. God has chosen to manifest Himself on this earth through people. Whether you speak a word of encouragement, exhortation, prophecy, or sing a song – if your heart is stayed on Him, He will use your mouth to bring about good things into the atmosphere around you.

You are the carrier of God’s benefits for this world. You are the builder of the road which brings His entrance. Keep your heart stayed on Him and He will form Living Words in you - a treasure trove to be opened and spoken in His perfect timing.

Prejudice: Culture's Darkness

Culture plants some pretty nasty things into our hearts – and they sneak up on us so slowly and quietly that we don’t realize their effect. It’s like a stalactite hanging from the ceiling of a cave; one drip at a time, over a long period of time, eventually makes an immovable column. When the cultural stalactite is fully mature we process life and people with that in front of us, blocking our spiritual view, like a floater in one’s eye.

Friends, that’s how prejudices develop…against different ages, against different races, against men or women….the list goes on. Those cultural norms and ideas ‘help’ us sort people and circumstances into columns in our lives and we treat them accordingly.

Prejudices are from the pit of hell and they are meant to usurp the authority and power of the Spirit of God in us. They draw us to their pre-established judgment of people and away from discerning and trusting God. If Jesus had allowed the prejudices of the world to settle into Him the woman at the well would not have gotten saved…nor would the town’s people she witnessed to.

Discernment is not prejudice, and we are called to discern. However, if the discernment process is by-passed, if the Spirit’s input and direction is shut down, then we have reverted back to operating in an earthly kingdom and left Spiritual Kingdom behind us. But when we take all things before Him who knows each heart and mind, then He will reveal the stance we should take in every circumstance and with every individual.

We are called to live in the Light of Christ, not the darkness of a cave, where stalactites form. Those who are in Christ are a new race, called the “Royal Priesthood.” We are a nation of people set aside for living in the Light of God, a people led by the One who has saved us! (1 Pet 2:9, paraphrased)

Healed and Cleansed - A Dip in the River!

Leprosy! It was the disease of doom – the dreaded, incurable skin infection so prominent in Biblical times. This was Namaan’s diagnosis - and it meant that his days of leading the Syrian army were done. But Namaan’s servant girl knew the God of Israel and she’d seen the miracles He’d done through Elisha the Prophet.

Now eager for his healing, Namaan headed to Israel and presented himself at the door of Elisha’s home. Elisha sent a messenger out telling Namaan "Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean" (2Kings 5).

Namaan was furious at both the lack of attention he got and the idea of dipping himself into the Jordan River. “I thought he would at least lay his hands on me or do some sort of incantation, but he wants me to dip in that filthy Jordan River – no one who steps in that river will come out clean. I’ll go back to Damascus and dip in my own river!”

But Namaan didn’t understand what ‘clean’ meant. He didn’t understand that God not only wanted to heal his leprosy, but wash away his pride and indignation. However, his servants convinced him to do what Elisha had said – and he was restored to health and made whole in body and attitude!

Every healing in the Bible is different. God knows our uniqueness and what our bodies and souls need to be healed. We may be looking for a cure for the pain we’re suffering, but He’s looking to make us whole – sound and well in body, soul and spirit.

God is not practicing medicine, but administering life. Seek His prescription first – save yourself the time and heartache of doing it your own way, then be willing to follow his plan whether it’s a doctor’s visit, a day of resting in Him, or a dip in the Jordan River.

When It Hurts To Give

The very thing you think is sustaining your life, the thing you think you can’t live without, may be the very thing God asks you to release.

Consider the widow of Zarephath, who had one small jar of oil and a handful of flour: she was in distress and anguish of heart as she watched her child slowly fade away for lack of food (1 Kings 17). Then Elijah showed up on her doorstep, sent by God, and asked her for food and water! Was he crazy? Couldn't he see they were destitute? But she did as the prophet commanded, using the last of her flour and oil to make a meal for him. In the days and weeks and months that followed the jars of flour and oil were continuously refilled - God sustained them through their season of lack and poverty!

Many years later Jesus stood in a deserted place teaching the multitudes. They were desperate for him, having walked long distances to hear His teaching and get a touch from His healing hands. Yet only one small child brought a meal to sustain himself. His Momma packed him a lunch – perhaps she didn’t want him to leave Jesus feet, but stay and soak in every word from the Master!
As the evening meal time approached the helpful disciples gave Jesus a bit of a rebuke, “You’d better send them home now Jesus, they have a long way to go and we don’t want them to faint for lack of food, it’s getting close to supper time.” Jesus response was “You feed them!” Yeah, right – there are thousands of people here-we don’t have enough money and there’s only enough food for us 12. But ‘enough’ in the Kingdom is different than ‘enough’ in the world! Five small loaves and 2 small fish are enough for God to work with - and the faith and obedience of one little boy is enough to bring in the wonder working power of God (Matt 14, Luke 9).

Perhaps the phrase “I surrender all” has more meaning than what we had previously given it? The thing that sustains us or holds our hearts is the very thing God may call us to surrender to His kingdom. That which we hold dearly and think we can’t do without may be the thing that blocks us from seeing the miraculous happen – in both our lives and someone else’s.

Do we surrender all as He beckons? Or are there some things which it seems unreasonable or impossible to surrender?

The Hammer of Condemnation

The Law was set up to protect God’s people – it was never meant to be a ‘hammer’ administered by a few leaders as they sat in judgment over common people. But the Pharisees made it into an unimaginable burden which they used to fling guilt and pain on those who didn’t follow their interpretation of it.

Such was the case when Jesus and His disciples passed through fields of grain on the Sabbath, pulling ripe heads here and there to fill their empty stomachs (Luke 6). A Pharisee stood watching them, eager to accuse Jesus of breaking the Law, ready to step on Jesus and prove his own superior position as an authority over the Him. 

“You don’t understand the Law,” Jesus told the Pharisee. “Don’t you see that God desires mercy, not your rigid misinterpretation of the Law? "Hunger knows no law and God has made provision for the poor to eat instead of faint and be ill" (Deut. 23:25). But this didn’t sway the Pharisees; they continued to follow Jesus to see if He would heal anyone on the Sabbath.

These self-righteous leaders were desperate to find something wrong with Jesus! They craved power so they twisted the Word of God to their liking, putting it on people’s backs like sacks of flour - all the while waiting and watching to see who might drop the sack. Then they condemned those who couldn’t carry the burden, humiliating them publicly. They carried a critical and fault-finding Spirit which sought to condemn people instead of seeing the workings of God. 

The Law and the New Testament are about loving God and serving people. If we walk in constant condemnation of others we will find ourselves at odds with the entire Body of Christ. We are called to be modern day dispensers of grace and truth, carrying God’s word of mercy. Love kindness, be discreet, have pity and compassion, and hold close to God’s motives!

Dancing Queen or How NOT to Handle Conviction!

How NOT to Handle Conviction!

Herod and his brother’s wife, Herodias, had a thing goin’ on - they were having an affair. John the Baptist told them this was wrong – it was both adulterous and incestuous (because of their family bloodlines). So Herod threw John into prison, and Herodias did the only logical thing she could think of – she moved into the ‘castle’ with Herod, taking her teenage daughter with her!

While Herod was partying during his birthday celebration, his niece (Herodias’ daughter) danced for him. The Bible says this ‘pleased’ Herod. In fact he was so excited about this dance that he offered the girl, on oath, whatever she wanted. Taking her wicked mother’s advice, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. She didn’t want the rest of him…just his head. Since he’d called her out on her sin, she effectively bit his head off!

So what do we do when someone calls us out on our sin? The world’s logic is opposite of Kingdom logic – kingdom logic calls for repentance and forgiveness. Kingdom logic calls for self examination and retreat from vices that serve the flesh. Kingdom logic calls for serving others before ourselves, for putting our husbands and wives first, for protecting our children instead of using them as pawns.

God’s messengers will bring conviction to us – whether they be “John the Baptists” or “Balaam’s donkey.” But the message is born out of the heart of God, so that He can restore us to himself - so that the shed blood of Jesus would be utilized on our behalf and we could draw close to the Father.

Conviction and repentance are a gift from God - unwrap and open them today.

The End of a Brutal Season!

We've waited a long time for spring - this has been a brutal winter. But all the while we were waiting something was going on under the snow - just below the surface of our vision. Something was coming to life and yawning from its wait under ground, even while we were beginning to feel discouraged and hopeless in the wait.

Then life manifested! The season we were waiting for suddenly proved its presence with the small green stems that were here this morning but hidden beneath the soil yesterday.

Friends, don't get impatient! Just as God made the seasons and is faithful to perpetuate them, He has a covenant with you and is faithful to bring His promises to fruition. Take heart as you look at the budding of spring and rejoice that you will see His promises fulfilled in their proper time. There is nothing in the universe that can stop the promise of God from being fulfilled once it has taken root in your heart: God said it and it's so!

Keep preparing yourself for the fulfillment of His promises - this shows faith in what He has said to you. As long as the earth endures there will be seed, time and harvest (Gen 8:22). In the 'time' portion of the process, thank God for the upcoming harvest!

A Message for Fault-Finders

"I sent people to you in many ways:  some played a happy dance and some lamented and mourned over the condition of your hearts.  I even came and ate with you, while others I sent fasted – giving up eating on your behalf.  Yet you were happy with none of these approaches.  I tried to reach you in your every mood and attitude of heart with the message of salvation, but you would have none of it!" (Matt 11 paraphrased)

These were the words of Jesus to the crowds who gathered around Him after he heard the news of John the Baptist’s death.  He’d given the people every possible way to come to him, including John’s unconventional appearance and message, but what He got back were complaints about His approach.  “If you were really Godly you wouldn’t have so much joy, you’d be more solemn and reverent.”  “God would never send someone who cries over Jerusalem, look at this great city – you should be leaping for joy.”

DISSATISFACTION  and FAULT FINDING– this is what Jesus was talking about.  He had sent messengers and He himself had come to them – but they found fault with each one.  In the end, Jesus was proved right by His methods.  He was proved right by His approach and by dying the death of a thief on the cross.  In the end He said “if you are not offended by Me, by what I do and say, then you will be blessed” (Matt 11 paraphrased).

What people wanted was for Jesus to do things their way – but His ways are not our ways.  They set themselves up as judge over Jesus Christ and His followers.  They judged Jesus through their lack of understanding of God. They set themselves as the plumb line for right and wrong, the compass for the way God should move – and they weren’t afraid to criticize the works of the God of the Universe!

If you have a fault-finding spirit get rid of it today! Bless the people of God and stop criticizing.  Do unto others in love......and let God do the rest.

Vigorous Pursuit!

Today I pray for you to be imbued with zeal for God; to have passion for His life and purposes! Make a decision to pursue Him. Draw a line and step across it - don't turn back to status quo.

VIGOROUSLY LAY HOLD OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. Those who are vigorous and determined press in and take hold of it at all costs! (Matt. 11:12 paraphrased)

 

 

Same Old Boring Life!

A farmer I know had a barn fire a few years back. His cows had become so accustomed to life in the barn they were afraid to come out. The light of day was unknown to them and they preferred to stay in the heat and smoke of the barn rather than step out into the cool, fresh air. When firemen and neighbors finally got them out of the barn their appearance was shocking – they had overgrown hooves, straggly coats and agitated demeanors.

What was once the exact place God put us can become a trap if we stay in it longer than He intended. The people we like working with, the things we’ve learned to do well, and minimal resistance may be in the comfort zone, but so are sluggishness and stagnation if we remain there too long.

Don’t let your comfort zone become an excuse to disobey the prompting of God. Naman’s ‘personal standards’ were his comfort zone and he kept them so rigidly he almost missed God’s healing (2 Kings 5). When God tried to pull Jonah out of his comfort zone he fled the assignment. Jonah wasn’t too happy about prophesying to people outside of his ‘normal’ audience. When God called Peter to take the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles his first answer was “I will never touch anything unclean” (Acts 10). Personal comforts and preferences can be roadblocks to God’s work in and through us.

When God said He would send the Comforter, He wasn’t talking about keeping us comfortable – but empowering us to be the voice, hands and feet of Jesus Christ on the earth today. Don’t keep our Lord and Savior under lock and key in your comfort zone – use that empowerment for the advancement of His kingdom in whatever way He directs.

Drop your protective comfort zones and step out on the water!

Heaven Speaks!

Hell says “Look at your past.” Heaven says “I know the plans I have for you.” (Jer 29:11)

Hell says “I gotcha now!” Heaven says “I always provide a way of escape.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

Hell says “If you really are the Son of God...” Heaven says “You are sons of the Most High God.” (Gal 3:29)

Hell says “Let His blood be on us and our children.” Heaven says “They overcame by the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev 12:11)

Hell says “Things don’t look good.” Heaven says “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7)

Hell says “You’ll never make it, it’s a failed dream.” Heaven says “Before you were born I knew you and set you apart.” (Jer 29:11)

Don’t believe Hell’s lies - your identity lies in Heaven! Heaven sees you in the Spirit - it's time to walk out Heaven's vision of you.

Agree with Heaven!

Love of 'Stuff'

When I was in high school I helped my elderly grandparents at times, either cooking or cleaning for them. They had an old house with a partially finished upstairs which held a sort of makeshift spare bedroom, some of grandma’s sewing projects and a very large two door cabinet. One day I opened the cabinet to find it stuffed to the gills with laundry detergent -approximately 35 boxes of detergent!!

Grandma and Grandpa had been through some horrendous things in their lives. The stuff that movies are made of was buried in their past, but its affects were staring me in the face when I opened the cabinet. War, poverty, death….all of these had left an imprint on Grandmas heart but hadn’t hardened her. She never let on that she had deep hurts and fears over the things that had happened, but when I opened the upstairs cabinet that day I realized the immense fear that must have been inside of her for all those years.

The day came when I looked around my own home and garage and saw that I had taken a bit of comfort in the ‘stuff’ I’d accumulated. Most of this stuff wasn’t necessary for life, but it absorbed my time, money and attention. Maintaining and protecting material stuff also put a drain on my energies and frustrated me at times.

I don’t know the exact day I lost affection for my stuff – it didn’t happen overnight. I do know that my lost affections for more and more, and bigger and better, paralleled the healing of past hurts that took place in my heart and emotions. That’s when fear lifted and material things brought no comfort. That’s when pain from the past and the comfort of material things was washed away by the love of God.

Jesus had no place to lay his head - He attached to no physical place or thing on this earth and allowed nothing but God and His purposes to grasp His heart and affections (Luke 9:58). That is not to say that we have to live in a cave without comfort. It’s an opportunity to question our accumulation of ‘stuff’ and see where it might be filling a void or comforting a hurt that God wants to heal.

Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself, “What’s in that upstairs cabinet?”

Enter His Chamber!

When you step into Christ you step away from the world. The more you enter into Christ the farther you are from the ways and desires of the world. There’s no way to enter into the life of Christ and intimacy with Him, to go through the door to His chambers, while you are in the world. These are two different places spiritually and you cannot be in both places at one time.

We have to remove the obstacles that stand in our way to entering into fellowship with Jesus Christ. It’s a ‘must’ for us to press in and remove those obstacles, taking them out of the way in our physical life and our spiritual life, in our thought life and our emotions. Get alone with Him regularly: worship, praise, absorb His word and be washed from the filth of the world.

God’s word is life to us and it brings our bodies to life. Just as the Word became flesh in the form of Jesus Christ it becomes flesh on us as we are changed into His image through His word - we become more and more Christ-like. We transform to what our attentions are focused on - from the inside of us we are changed to accommodate our focus and surroundings. This is why Lot found himself living in Sodom – he kept his eyes on it continually and eventually he was pulled into its inner chambers.

Open the door to the chambers of the Holy One, to residing in His presence, by putting your focus on Him - He is already knocking and waiting for you. Life is about Christ and there is no true life outside of Him. If you want to really live and exist for a purpose, it has to be by living this life through His Spirit and under His wing. Let this be your dwelling place.

Pray for a holy zeal, a burning desire for God. Don’t seek Him for blessings, seek THEE blessing, the God of the universe, and let your life flow out of Him. Set your spiritual face like flint in the direction of His chambers and enter in.

Do I Love Me?

Do I Love Me?

Healthily loving self puts an intense desire inside of us to completely fulfill God’s purpose for life as it relates to the advancement of His kingdom. It gives us the perspective of God for our lives, allows Him to define who we are, and shows us how we fit into His Body as His gift of grace to those around us. In this way, loving self is a completely selfless concept!

When self love is in proper perspective, we have no problem treating others as we would want to be treated or as God would direct us to treat them. Jealousy and dissension are done away with because we know our part in God’s kingdom and we love others into their kingdom work by encouraging and advancing them. However, if we despise ourselves we become self abusive, and in turn abuse others.

Loving self means you see yourself through God’s eyes instead of the eyes of the world or the eyes of those who condemn or the voice that says you are worthless. This enables you to put aside wrong feelings and ideas about yourself, in effect breaking down barriers to becoming an instrument of God’s love and grace. Knowing you are created in God's image should impress your heart with love for His creation - including yourself.

We should have no fear of over-loving self because true love has perfect boundaries. The person who exalts self will have left love long before self exaltation and pride have set in. This concept of love is worldly and brings confusion to God’s people; but God’s love inspires us to exalt others over self and do good to those who harm us.

“You shall love the Lord your God with your whole being: mind, body, thoughts, strength and actions. And you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Mark 12:30-31 paraphrased).

Are You Loaded?

“All [of] your teaching of the truth is better [and] your understanding of it is more complete - our witness about Christ has been proved to be true in you. There is no gift of the Holy Spirit that you don't have. You are full of hope as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. God will keep you strong to the very end. Then you will be without blame on the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns” (1 Cor 1:4-7 NIRV).

Paul said it very plainly: everything became more complete, enriched, hopeful and imbued with power when the Holy Spirit poured out His gifts on the Corinthians. Paul told them this would happen, it was part of his testimony of Jesus to them, and He was pleased to see that it had come to pass.

Even more exciting for us today, Paul said “you are full of hope as you wait for the return of Jesus Christ.” In saying this he was referencing their preparedness and encouragement obtained by the gifts God had bestowed on them through His Spirit while they waited expectantly for the return of Jesus Christ.

The return of Jesus Christ has not yet happened, of course, so we fall into the same ‘waiting period’ as did the Corinthians in Paul’s time. We are the same body of Christ, living in a different time frame as spiritual ancestors, in a sense. While we’re waiting we, too, can be imbued and equipped, confirming the testimony of Jesus Christ in ourselves.

Paul later told the Corinthians that he didn’t want them to fall behind [be lacking, ignore or be ill-informed] concernng these gifts, but to be fully filled and operational in using them as part of their kingdom responsibility toward one another (1 Cor 12). They were to fully load their arsenal with these weapons of grace and serve the Body through them as a testimony of Christ in them and evidence of their love for one another.

In short, Paul told them to load their spiritual arsenals with the gifts of the Spirit, and let love be the platform for the operation of these gifts – until the return of Jesus Christ! (1 Cor 13).

Are you loaded?