Friday, January 13, 2017
The Lord talked to me about the regenerative nature of His work in us-Namely the continuing power of the Gospel, and our redemption and sanctification. He creates the need, and He fills the need, but creates more need-even deeper need. He makes us hunger and thirst for righteousness-it is the well that never runs dry. There is always more-this is the work of the Spirit.
In reading my devotional this morning, the Lord told me that the concepts outlined struck accord with my spirit because they parallel things the Lord has been teaching me, but they are not so common today. The Lord said the decline of His people in our nation in the last fifty years has been drastic. He reminded me of calling my attention to this early in my journey.
The Lord told me today that the drop off has been so drastic spiritually that many of these concepts don’t even make sense to the average Christian. The deeper concepts of spirituality and growth are not even consumable by His children today.
The Lord told me that even a concept such as “relationship” is often difficult to grasp. This is something I have felt as I have discussed this with others. Many times as I have spoken about my relationship with God, I sense agreement, but not real understanding. The Lord explained to me that this is the reason. Perhaps this is what the Lord refers to when He tells me “my people’s hearts are far from me.”
The Lord tells me that this Revival that He is bringing is a reset. He will use it to reset the starting point for His people-to create an overwhelming desire within His people – a desire for righteousness (just as He did with me). This is why the follow-on teaching is vastly important. The Lord said He is going to change the starting point, and we must teach a depth of spirituality that people simply don’t grasp today. The Revival-the sheer move of God-will create the hunger and the thirst. Redemption-the complete process of redemption and complete understanding of the meaning of the Gospel-will fill the need to continue to regenerate.
Friday, February 3, 2017
From Solitude Journal December 24, 2016
The Lord talked to me about embracing the security of walking in His light-the security of His light, guidance and provision. He told me that reality is actually inverted from what we tend to think naturally (and culturally). We seem to be abandoning a pursuit of security as we step out in faith to follow the Lord’s call. It feels as if, and looks to others as if we are not being responsible as we step out and abandon our pursuit of security (financially, etc.). The Lord said the reality is that we are stepping into absolute security. We are pursuing His will above all else, and we are walking into His complete, perfect, and all-encompassing safety net. This is true, not because we are doing His work, but because we are walking with Him, and we are focused on Him alone.
The Lord also talked to me about free will and self will. He created us with free will, and we can choose to fulfill ourselves and achieve by our own means and determination, or we can choose to deny ourselves and follow His will, in which case we can trust being completely reliant on Him This is counter to our culture, but puts us in absolute safety-and it keeps us there for eternity. We make a determination to concede our will in order to be in submission to Him. This is a decision the Lord will not make for us, but when we discipline ourselves that we want to be His completely, He will take over. Over time, we will begin to notice that our interests and activities become less about ourselves and more about the Kingdom of Heaven and service to our Lord (and others).
Friday, February 17, 2017
From Solitude Journal-Thursday, January 5, 2017
The Lord talked to me about learning complete reliance on Him. He told me that it is not so obvious to me because it has been a relatively gradual transformation, but I have become reliant on Him. He told me that this is the result of sanctification. If we want to serve Him according to His purpose, it is a requirement.
The Lord said that many times Christians run with the zeal of salvation and enter into service for Him on their own accord. They bypass sanctification. They bypass true discipleship. The Lord made it clear that we must undergo His process in order to serve Him according to His will, His purpose, and with His power. This process of sanctification is the process by which we learn to submit our will to the will of His Spirit.
Simply put, there is no other way. Everything else is just busy-ness.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Solitude Journal February 8, 2017
The Lord talked to me about sanctification today. The Lord told me that sanctification is always difficult, because it involves breaking, sacrificing, surrendering our will to him. To concede our will is never easy. We want to make it a yes or no answer to a question. Will I surrender? Yes or no. For most Christians, the answer is yes. However, the Lord told me that sanctification is never about words – it is about action. The Lord will put us through whatever is necessary, such that we answer the question with our response to those circumstances. We must show him that we are willing to be obedient when we are put to the test. We must demonstrate complete surrender in order to be completely sanctified. We must choose all of Him over any of the world. We must choose the Lord, and all of His interest, and nothing of us or any of our interests. This is sanctification, and it must always be proven – not simply stated.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
From Solitude Journal-Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The Lord talked to me about His people. He said He wants me to understand some of the pitfalls. They all come from deception. He has spent a great deal of time with me relating to lukewarm Christians. Many simply don’t have a heart for Him. Christianity is another facet of their life-they have been deceived by our culture into thinking that this is normal-balance if you will.
This is the majority, and this is where our message is targeted.
Earlier, the Lord, through personal example, taught me to be attentive to worship of the blessing rather than Him. We seek what He gives us, but will we devoutly serve Him in the absence of the blessing as it relates to what we see? This is a key to our growth with Him. We must recognize and learn this, and serve according to His purpose-we must endure to take the next step.
Today, He talked to me about a more subtle area, and more difficult to discern. He reminded me that I went through this as well-early on. Many of His people have a heart for Him, but rather than go through the process of the relationship with Him, they worship serving Him rather than worshipping Him. They are dedicated to the service-not to the relationship with Him.
This does not fulfill the Lord’s purpose, because they still are not in tune with Him. This area is dangerous because it is hard to recognize. In a world that is selfish, they are not displaying selfishness. Often they appear to display the fruits of the Spirit, but it can be more of a display of their own natural gifts. They are serving as they are comfortable-that is how they were created. However, it is important that all of His people come into relationship with Him and serve His Kingdom according to His purpose. This is the relationship we must seek.
We must discern and have true understanding of our relationship. We know this only through a witness of His Spirit within us. We cannot ever just point to the things we do. We must do what we do because it is under His direction. Jesus must be in what we do-then He can shine through and He will be glorified.
October 19, 2016
This past Sunday (August 16, 2016), I was given the opportunity to speak at my home church. The audio version of the sermon is available @GeorgetownChristian.org. Below is the transcript from my talk during the sermon.
I. OPENING
I want to share some things God has put on my heart relating to our relationship with Him. I hope to challenge you this morning and then encourage you.
Challenge
I want to challenge you to evaluate your relationship with the Lord. Notice that I did not say “challenge what you believe about the Lord,” but rather I said your relationship. Our God is personal. He is intimate. I ask you to evaluate your relationship with him. To be in relationship with God takes an intentional act on our part. It takes time. It is an act of will. If you hear nothing else today, I hope that you leave here with an honest assessment of your relationship with God and a determination to take it to a deeper level.
Encourage
I want to encourage you because I want you to know that there is more – more than what you’ve experienced in the past, more than what you have right now, possibly more than you’ve ever dreamed. Without knowing you, you may ask how can I possibly know? I know because there is always more of God. I know it scripturally and I know it personally.
II. CURRENT TIMES
As (Pastor) has pointed out, it seems clear that we are in troubled times. Even in our own congregation, it seems that we are engaged in a heightened battle. What catches my attention is not the trouble per say, but the escalation of it and more importantly, the acceleration of our departure from God. (Illness, disaster, scenic hills, the election- which is a circus) The Lord can, and will make a change in the course our nation is headed, but He desires to use us to do so. It requires each one of us. It requires us to be in Unity with Him.
One thing I want us to all be assured of is that God is in control of the situation, no matter how it appears to us. The important question I want you to ask yourself today is this -“Is God in control of you?”
When we place God in control of our lives, through being in relationship with Him, it does not necessarily change our circumstances. However, what God does is change our perspective toward our circumstances. He doesn’t always change what we see, but He changes how we see it. He has a supernatural way of giving us Peace in the midst of despair. He creates in us an eternal perspective rather than temporal. Paul told us in Philipians 3:19-20 that their (the world) mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in Heaven.
Tony Evans gives us some perspective on this. He said “for the lost, their Heaven is here on earth, but for us, our Hell is here on earth.”
III. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
As I emphasize the importance of relationship,( and the need for our relationship with our Lord cannot be stressed enough), I cannot help but question our understanding of God. It is my fear that many Christians have only an intellectual understanding of God. I fear that we don’t have a proper sense of the reality of God. Do you have a sense of the reality of God? Is He real to you?
We can have an acceptance of God with our mind, but do we feel his real presence in our heart? I fear many know about God, but they don’t know God.
The catalyst of our faith that spans the gap between intellect or knowledge about God, and knowing God personally is RELATIONSHIP.
I am not saying that what we believe is not important. What I’m saying is that when we are in relationship with our Lord, he will teach us what to believe. How we live, the fruit we bear, is a direct result of our relationship with God.
IV. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
As I mentioned earlier, to have a relationship with the Lord, we must be intentional. It takes action on our part. It takes time. It is daily.
I want you to leave here today with an understanding of two irrefutable facts.
God is real, and He is personal
You can be aware of His presence on a consistent basis in every aspect of your life. In fact, this is His desire. He desires us to be in communion with Him through His Holy Spirit.
The question is- do you want God to be in control of your life? The only way for this to happen is for you to be in relationship with him.
Jesus told us this Revelation 3:19-20: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat (dine) with that person (him), and they (he) with me.
Again, The Lord desires Oneness with Himself, which is only possible by being in relationship with Him through His Spirit.
V. MY STORY
It would be natural to question how an ordinary guy – a barbecue guy – knows these things about a relationship with God. I know these things because it’s personal to me. I don’t have time today to tell you my complete story, but I will tell you that a little over three years ago, I completely submitted myself to the Lord, and began a journey with him that I never knew was possible.
This is my desire for every one of His children.
I am living evidence of the Scripture: Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Some time ago, The Lord issued a call to me to take His message to our Nation-to His Church.
The Lord has called us to travel from state to state with His message. In a nutshell, His message can be summarized with two words. Relationship and Unity. Relationship with Him, leading to unity with Him, which will result in unity of His people – His Church. Our ministry is called “Wake up His Church.”
We are going to begin a tour in November that The Lord has led me to name His “2020 Vision Tour.” We plan to spend time in all 50 states between now and April of 2020 delivering The Lord’s message. For the sake of brevity, I will leave it at that for now. I would love to discuss our plans, this journey, or any other details with anyone who may be interested.
VI. SUMMARY
If you truly desire change in the direction of our nation, we must work together to reconcile the relationship between the church and our Lord. This relationship must be reconciled one person at a time. It begins with each and every one of you. If you truly want to change, you must make a decision and an unflappable commitment to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We must put His Holy Spirit in charge of our lives and in charge of His Church. If we want to be like the first century church, this is our methodology.
There is a good chance that if you are not currently in intimate relationship with the Lord, there is a particular sin that separates you from God. I urge you to identify the sin, repent of that sin, and commit to being in relationship with God.
If you feel a tug inside, it is imperative that you respond to this call from God through His Spirit.
In conclusion, we need a move of God. We need our nation to turn back to God. We need his church to be in lockstep with him. For this to happen, his people must be in unity with him through his Holy Spirit. Again, this means each and every one of you. Our mission journey over the next 3 ½ years will be to take this message to our nation. I would love nothing more than this move toward God to begin right here.
We are to set the example for the world-Not the other way around.
Relationship and Unity were what was on our Lord’s mind just before going to the cross:
John 17:21-23 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one- I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unit. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus died on the cross and bore our sin, and His death also reconciled us-to give us a relationship with our God.
As you evaluate the depth of your relationship with The Lord, I want you to meditate for a few seconds on the depth of His Love that drove Him to the cross for You!
During the invitation in a couple of minutes, make a public or make a private decision, but by all means I urge you to make a commitment to The Lord in your heart, and honor the commitment you make.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Since I began this segment of our mission journey back in November, The Lord has been emphasizing to me the need for prayer. As He continues to tell me we are laying the groundwork for something incredible, he always seems to remind me the importance of prayer. I must admit that while I know prayer is important, I don't always completely understand the power. However, it is not important that I understand, just that I comply with obedience to the Lord's urging. Today, it was the theme of my solitude. The Lord told me that we are essentially rallying His remnant to lead into battle. Prayer is the key component in this battle. It is imperative that we set our hearts on fervent, devout, continuous prayer for His Church, our Nation, and our communities. Singularity of purpose, and Unity of His people in prayer evokes great power in this spiritual battle that our nation is engaged in.
I urge you to commit to this prayer on a regular if not continuous basis. Don't relent. The forces against us will not relent-in fact I believe they understand that their time is short, and have heightened their battle against us. This is what we see going on around us. Even if we never meet face to face, the unity of our prayers will always be heard by Him that Unifies us.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Solitude Journal-Thursday, January 19, 2017
The Lord spoke with me today about having an understanding of God. As I have gone through this process with the Lord, God has become more and more real to me. Over the last several months, His reality, and His control have really gripped me. It seems to have completely transformed my view of things.
One of the things I have felt as I have talked with others is that it often seems that many Christians don’t seem to grasp the reality deep down that God is real, and personal, and dwells in them.
The Lord told me this morning that this is true, but the reasoning goes deeper than it appears. He told me that this is not a decision that people can make. Our understanding of God, including His reality to us only comes through revelation of Himself through relationship with Him. This does not happen overnight. It happens through the same process. He reveals Himself to us slowly. The journey we are on is a lifelong process of a deeper and deeper understanding of God as He continues to open our eyes more and more to His fullness. This understanding is something only He can provide, and He does it through our relationship with Him. This is part of our maturity. The problem I see is that many have a faith that is shallow because the relationship is shallow.
Friday, January 20, 2017
From Solitude Journal January 3, 2017:
The Lord spoke to me today about the importance of having an eternal focus. This focus is to be what inspires us and what we drive toward. The best we can experience here on earth is just a glimpse of Heaven He told me I need to always have eternity on my mind, but that this should drive me forward into His work in this life. He has been teaching me a great deal lately that many people are simply awaiting Heaven, but in reality it is His desire that we work to bring Heaven here. This is the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus brought to earth.
Combined with this, the Lord has been teaching me a great deal about understanding His absolute control and majesty in every facet of my life, and every other realm. He has been teaching me to be perceptive of His control in the simple and in the complex. He wants me to see His orchestration of minute details, as well as complex master plans as He shares them with me. Perhaps the most fascinating thing is the orchestration of all of this-all that we know or that has ever happened throughout history-to set up eternity with Him. Eternity with God is not simply a reward. It was His plan from the beginning. A creation of perfection that has chosen to live in Unity with Him forever-Perfection.
The Lord told me that once the reality of His absolute control grips a person, it completely changes ones perspective. A persons view of life-or their worldview- is never the same. I pray to always remember and understand this-gaining a deeper and deeper understanding as I continue to walk with Him.
Friday, April 7, 2017
We must not divert our attention into telling people how to live. This leads people to a misunderstanding that they must achieve under their own power. We must persuade people to be in relationship with the Lord. The barrier to this relationship is more often than not a sin that we simpley won’t let go of in order to foster this relationship with Jesus through His Spirit.
We must be shepherds-guiding followers of Jesus toward Him. When in relationship with the Lord, He teaches us how to live through His Spirit. This is the priesthood of each believer that Jesus death provided for us.
Our assurance that we are saved is our relationship with Jesus Christ as witnessed to us by the Holy Spirit. Everything else that we are taught to seek is a product of this relationship. This includes fruits of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, Holiness, Sanctification, etc. These are all products of discipleship. Discipleship is a daily renewal of our commitment to follow our Lord.
As leaders in His Church, we must be examples of this daily personal relationship.
Our enemy offers us many avenues to attempt to achieve under our own power, but the thing our Lord desires most of all is our submission. He desires us to submit to the complete authority of the Holy Spirit, such that through His direction we will be continuously pursuing the will of our Father rather than our own interests.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
The Lord talked to me today about truth, and the deception we battle today relating to human nature. He told me that the deception that is most harmful is not outright lies or blatantly wrong, but instead is the manipulation of the truth.
We are in a battle of our human nature vs. God’s nature. The only means of holiness, righteousness, or true spirituality is if we submit ourselves to being transformed by the Spirit of God into the nature of God. We must never fall for the deception that we can work to refine our nature to have the attributes that God desires. Human nature can never be trusted. This is the battle. Self will always lead us to want to modify our own nature-so that we can maintain control. This makes us virtually ineffective in the Kingdom of God.
To be truly spiritual, we must be transformed by the Holy Spirit. This does not happen immediately or overnight. Why? I don’t know that we can ever be sure, but it seems that God desires us to overcome our own will and master the free will that He gave us and submit entirely to His control. We must submit to the process. The process is sanctification, and it is the work of God alone.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
From Solitude Journal-Tuesday January 3, 2017
The Lord said, “Its always about eternity.” The Lord has given me a teaching of late that many of us simply await Heaven, but in reality, we should be working to bring Heaven here.
The Lord told me that this truly is His desire, but today He told me that no matter what we experience here, it is never more than a taste of eternity. This is what we drive toward, and are driven by. Always keep that in my mind-eternity.
The other strong revelation the Lord has been teaching me for some time, but seems to be really taking hold in reality is the absolute control and majesty of God. His control in the simple and the complex. His orchestration of minute details and complex master plans. It includes what I wrote above. Perhaps the most fascinating thing is the orchestration of all of this-all that we know or that has ever happened throughout history-to set up eternity with Him. Eternity with God is not simply a reward. It was His plan from the beginning. A creation of perfection that chose to have unity with Him for eternity-Perfection.
The Lord told me that once the reality of God being in absolute control grips you-it completely changes your perspective. A persons view of life-or their worldview is never the same. I pray to always remember and understand this.
Friday, February 10, 2017
From Solitude Journal-Friday, December 30, 2016
The Lord spoke to me today about being a new creation. He reinforced the things I was talking about yesterday at our prayer circle. Essentially, we are “the new man”- completely transformed by the blood of Jesus at the cross. This transformation is the active work of the Gospel. It is not just salvation, but it is the process by which we become like Jesus. It is His very Spirit that transforms us.
The Lord said that the new Heaven and new Earth are dwelling places for His new creation. However, we become a new creation at the moment we accept the Gospel. This is when our transformation begins.-not sometime down the road. Through Jesus, and the indwelling of His Spirit, we are to be on the journey of complete transformation into the likeness of our Lord Jesus.
The Lord told me these concepts seem radical in our society today, but they are not new. These are the concepts that transform lives, and will transform society and our world. The Lord told me He will polish my delivery, but to always remember that the Holy Spirit will connect the dots. Deliver the concept, and the Spirit will make the connection.
We are born of the Spirit just as Jesus was conceived of the Spirit-into perfection.
October 12, 2016
The Lord has been putting so many things on my heart the last few days, especially about our government, the election, current events, and His timing, among others.
Today, I want to write something the Lord has given me regarding liberalism. Liberalism has permeated our society, and has infiltrated virtually everything. Unfortunately, it has also taken a very strong hold in The Lord's Church. The very nature of liberalism leads to a shifting morality and shifting standards. This is often expressed as "modern thinking," or "advanced learning." In reality, what it often can be summarized as is shifting ethical standards.
This "modern thinking" is in direct contrast to the very nature of God, and is contradictory to His inspired Word. Nothing about God is shifting. He is the same throughout time. We shift-God does not.
The Church must get away from liberalism and we must begin a Nationwide movement among His people away from liberalism and its shifting standards back toward the character of God-our Creator. We must use the model of the life of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and the character we find on display over and over again in God's Word. Period.
It's time for The Lord's people to take a stand. I'm not speaking of taking a stand against the world and its shifting moral standards. I'm talking about taking a stand for who we are. This is not a stand for what we are against necessarily, but a stand for who we want to be. We need to take a stand that we hold Jesus Christ as our model and we need to commit every part of our being toward growing to be more like Him each day. Jesus is Truth, and we need to take a stand for Truth.
We find a critical point of this very decision early in God's Word with one of His key people. Joshua 24:15-But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose yourselves this day whom you will serve, ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Before being taken to the cross, our Lord gave us clear direction on how we are to establish our standards based on God's Truth. John 16:13 Jesus says, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth."
We have a choice to make. The fact of the matter is that we are making a choice whether or not it is our intent. If we do not choose to take a stand for the Lord and live in relationship with Him, we are choosing the world. There are only two paths. There are only two choices. One is a default choice-the other is an intentional choice.
November 17, 2016
We have begun our journey through the states. We left for Tennessee on November 10, 2016.
We have been attending services at 1st Baptist Church in Hermitage, TN, The Lord has stirred something in me this morning relating to some conversations with the pastor of the church.
We often think that as Christians we are to "climb the ladder" to Heaven.. In other words, we attempt to work our way to God. We want to go about our works and our service, doing what we can to bring Him glory. We call this service.
In reality, God wants to come to us and meets us where we are. All we must do is open the door and invite Him in. Then He takes over. Often, on our journey of service, we bypass the Lord altogether. We say, "Lord, Lord, I want to serve you." But in reality, He says, "I don't know you." In the end He may say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." We never knew Him because as we went about our service and the works we deemed important, we bypassed Jesus altogether.
The works of importance in God's eyes are the works that He does. They are the works that He does in us and then through us that bring Him glory. Everything else is hay and stubble, it it is even salvation at all. It is my great fear that many bypass salvation altogether.
The process of sanctification is all about the Lord changing us through the work of His Spirit. The fruits we bear are "Fruits of the Spirit." The works that we do that will be honored by Him are actually His works.
So what are we to do? We are to give ourselves to Him-heart, body, and soul. We are to lay down our lives, pick up our cross and follow Him. This is how we become His vessels, or as Jesus calls us, "My Disciples." The starting point of this true service of the Lord is revealed to us by our Lord in Revelation 3:20. Jesus Christ stands at the door and knocks. He wants us to let Him in and DINE WITH US. He wants to have a personal relationship with us, through which He can use us for His service.
October 2, 2016
Righteousness
Recently The Lord laid something on my heart about righteousness. I believe there are two phases to righteousness relating to our walk with The Lord. Sadly, I believe the second phase of righteousness is far too often either ignored or neglected by many Christians. Perhaps this is being stated too strongly, but I believe the status of our Nation is a strong indicator otherwise.
We are credited as righteous because of what our Lord Jesus Christ did on our behalf. We are seen as righteous in the eyes of God-only because of Jesus at the moment we accept Him as our Saviour. He did for us what we were and are unable to do for ourselves. However, God-in the form of The Holy Spirit then begins a process in us-as much as we will allow or invite Him to undertake this process. This process is called sanctification and it is to make us more righteous in our daily lives. It is a process to make us usable to God. It is the process that makes us more like Jesus. This is true spirituality-being led by The Spirit to become like Jesus toward the world that we live in. This process is done supernaturally on our behalf, but this process-unlike salvation-does require something of us. It requires us to invite the Holy Spirit to take charge of our lives. It means for Him todo this, we must relinquish control of our own lives. It requires us to exercise discipline and perseverence against our very nature. Most importantly, it requires us to be obedient to the guidance of The Spirit, and recognize any disobedience as SIN.
This is God's plan for us. He will take the details from there. The plan is simple. The execution is quite difficult. It is difficult because it defies our human nature which at its core is built around selfishness. According to the teachings of Jesus, the reward is great-well worth the sacrifice. However, what the reward will probably not be is immediate.
Our Lord came to earth to redeem us. While here, He taught us about true righteousness, and gave us the ultimate example in how to live as God desires. Now, it is His desire that we show the world His righteousness. Through Him we are to be His example to the world. Abiding in Him, we actually have the ability to accomplish His desire through us.
Reference Philippians 3:9
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
From Solitude Journal-Tuesday January 4, 2017
The Lord spoke to me about the patience of discipleship-learning discipleship and having the patience to undergo the process of sanctification. The Lord outlined my personal process-my journey. He told me to remember the key principles in the process that I learned primarily in the last year-even the last eight months. This is the time the Lord called my “internship.”
As I reflect on what I was being taught, it seemed that much of the time was just teaching me to be patient and wait on Him-learning to trust in Him. This is key. He does the teaching without us necessarily knowing what is taking place. Often the clarity of the lesson does not come until sometime down the road. But the key is that we must stay in step with Him. We must not forge out on our own or linger back until we have better understanding. We must not wander. We must walk with Him and endure the process. Now as I look back I understand that the process was sanctification. The teaching was discipleship. To be used for His purpose, we must endure this process. There is always an element of real world application-testing, trying, proving, refining in real world situations. This phase is critical.
Staying in step with the Lord is often difficult. We either want to quit, forge ahead on our own will, or lag back without any real purpose. It defies our nature to put the Lord in charge-at least in real life going beyond theory.
The Lord told me that He is never in a hurry. This applies now with His Church. This does not mean He does not want me to have a sense of urgency. He simply wants me to understand this critical time in history and make the most of it. However, it is important to be methodical, intentional, deliberate, but patient. Always remember that His timing is perfect.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
For some time now, The Lord has been teaching me intensely about sanctification and true discipleship. This morning, The Lord talked to me about learning complete reliance on HIm. We often hear this described as "dying to self," or "submission" among other terms. We must understand the true meaning of coming into this relationship that is best described as "Walking with the Spirit." The Lord desires us to be completely reliant on Him, and this is a progressive transformation more than it is a one time decision. Salvation is a one time decision, but sanctification is a long term commitment. It is my belief that this is what is missing from the Church today in America. If we truly desire to serve The Lord according to HIS purpose, we must be sanctified (set apart from sin, set apart for His purpose and made Holy). To truly serve Him, this is not optional, and It does not happen overnight.
Many times, Christians run with the zeal of salvation that comes from being acquainted with Jesus Christ. This excitement is wonderful, and is unavoidable when we meet our Saviour and make Him our Lord. However, this is the first step in a lifelong process of service and discipleship. As I said, many times new Christians run with this new found excitement and begin service on their terms, in their comfort zone, and of their own will. It certainly is not wrong to begin to serve immediately, but the problem arises when sanctification is bypassed altogether, which I believe has become the norm today. Christians choose how they wish to serve, and go about the business of The Lord of their own accord. The Lord has made it clear to me that we must undergo this process-His process. Jesus made this transformation clear in Scripture. Through the active process of sanctification, we learn to serve Him according to His will, His purpose, and in His power. This is the work of The Holy Spirit. Not to be too critical, but I believe that The Holy Spirit is being largely ignored in our nation today-even within His Church.
The process of sanctification is one in which The Holy Spirit goes about making His home (every Christian) one in which it is suitable for God Himself to dwell. In addition, we learn to submit our will, our goals, and our motivation to His will. Simply put, there is no other way. Everything else is just busy-ness.
August 26, 2016
The Lord has been speaking to me-teaching me so much about The Holy Spirit over these last couple of months. My writings over the next couple of months will be teaching about God's role in our daily lives through the presence of His Spirit. It has become clear to me that any change sought on our part for our nation must be driven by The Holy Spirit, and it must begin by us putting Him in charge of our daily lives first.
A few days ago, God gave me a dream of something He wanted me to convey. As I haven't written in quite a while, I felt that this would be a good place to resume. In the dream, I was speaking to a group of people and conveying the thoughts that I wish to summarize in today's writing.
It is my belief that we have an idea of God. To varying degrees based on our maturity, we have an understanding of Him as best our minds can grasp. I believe that the reason many of His people are "lukewarm" and are not all in for Him is because God is not personal. It is my hope that each of us will take some time and attempt to understand how personal we are to God, and that this will drive our commitment to get to know Him personally. It is my desire perhaps above all other things to teach people how to know God personally and intimately. I hope to spark a desire to find a relationship with Jesus Christ and a growing commitment to Him. The Lord has taught me so many things over these past three years, but I believe the most important of all is teaching me how to get to know Him.
I want to begin with a question. Do we fully understand and believe what God has done for us? For Christians, the obvious quick answer is "of course I understand." However, I want to explore a bit deeper. I believe that if we fully understood, there is no way we would allow ourselves to ever spend any length of time at all in separation from Him. So to me (and this is personally where I have spent most of my life), we must not fully understand.
Let's start with this. God created an entire Universe to house and support us. Some may contemplate or argue that this overstates the value of mankind in relation to the Universe. The debate is simple in my mind. It is not about the importance of man, it rests solely on the FACT that God created man in His image. It is all about God-not man. Man was created to glorify God.
God created man with each and every one of us in mind. He created each and every one of us with His own hands. He created you. Contrary to His desires, mankind fell from His grace, yet in His mercy, He-again with you in mind-rather than destroy mankind, He immediately set in motion a plan to restore us to our proper relationship with Himself.
Unlike any other being we can possibly imagine, God set forth to fulfill His plan Himself. He set to put Himself in our place to accomplish what He knew we could not do for ourselves. His plan was for God Himself to bear the agony and portray the discipline required to overcome the results and reverse the impact that the fall caused and demanded by fulfilling His own established law. He had to do this as one of us. He chose to do this by giving us His own Son-putting His son as our substitute. Jesus Christ not only set forth voluntarily to do this on our behalf, but meticulously, arduously, and painfully beyond comprehension, accomplished this requirement. We must remember that Jesus did not need restored. He set aside His position, put Himself in our position, and completed the requirements we could not accomplish.
Even with all of this, God determined that His people needed help to live in a way that He desires us to live. Jesus gave us the example and taught us a standard of living to aspire to, yet God knew that His fallen creation had no means of living to the standard He set forth. We have no means or capability to implement the plan for mankind that Jesus initiated without constant help.
How does God remedy this? When we believe in His son as our Lord and Saviour, God moves into us HIMSELF in the form of His Spirit. He gives us not only power, but the same power that Jesus had and displayed while here on earth. Again, God decides it best that He do the heavy lifting for us. We simply must acknowledge our need for Him, and relinquish control of our lives to Him.
The terrifyingly sad fact is that for the most part, we are unable to even do this!!
Again, God expresses absolute love for us and understands that this is hard for us. Time and time again, He reaches out to us and woos us - beckons us to come to Him.
Reference Matthew 11:28
If we truly understand and believe all that God has done for us-for you-how can we not seek His face and get to know Him personally? The only thing I bring to the table personally is validation. God never stopped beckoning me, and finally, when I responded with my heart in the right place, God began the process of restoring me to Himself. He was already there waiting for me, and I know He will be there waiting for every one of us that truly seeks Him. If you doubt, simply look at everything He has done for you. I encourage you to find a quiet place with no distractions and sit with The Lord for a few minutes and begin by thanking Him for all of these things that He has done.
Email me and let me know what happens.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016- Solitude Journal
The Lord talked to me about the importance of the mundane details of life today. He told me that obedience during these ordinary times is important in our walk with Him. He told me because it is something important that He wants me to know and keep in mind as I come back home. These times of just living life are what He uses to keep me grounded.
The Lord said it is not only important to be obedient as we seek great moves of God or Spiritual breakthroughs, but it is important to be obedient in the ordinary things of life. This is where most of our time is spent – not the highs and lows, but the ordinary. These are important times with God-times He will use to keep us grounded in our walk with Him.
The Lord said He does not give more weight or lend more credence to the ”important” times. Obedience is obedience. The spiritual highs are His work anyway – He alone controls them. Our obedience is of equal importance to Him at all times. We need to know that when we go about the ordinary things of life as ordinary people, but as Godly people displaying His character He notices. It is important that we know that He notices and is integral to our lives in these times as well. These are the times we may have the most influence on people, because they too are ordinary people living ordinary lives for the most part.
Saturday, November 19, 2016.
The first leg of our mission journey (Tennessee) is drawing to a close, The Lord has made it crystal clear to me that we are a Nation in need of repentance. We are a Church in need of Repentance. The Lord is going to bring Revival to America, but it is going to be a painful process. The first step that is going to occur is going to be the harsh reality of our sinfulness as a people. The Nation is accountable for the direction we have taken, and the Church for sitting idly by and ignoring sins against God. The painful part of this process is personal. We are not in relationship with God through His Holy Spirit because we live in personal sin ourselves. I have spoken often of relationship, which is vital. However, God has made it clear to me that for relationship to begin, we must recognize and repent of sin. This is the part of my own journey that God has reminded me of this week. It is the part that I like to forget because it was intensely painful. I focus on the joy that sprang from this relationship with God, but the pain required to get there is vital to the process. The fact of the matter is that we are an unclean people. Every single one of us is wretched in the eyes of The Lord. We are only righteous because of Jesus Christ. In order to be fit for a relationship with Him, The Holy Spirit must retrofit His living quarters into a place worthy of a Holy God.
When we read 2 Chronicles 7:14, we must seek the Face of God. Rest assured, when we seek the Face of God, He will convict us of our sin (John 16:8). The next step in the verse is the repentance of our sin, and then, He will heal our land. Isaiah, a prophet, whom we can only assume was holy by human standards, was ruined (undone) with a mere glimpse of God in His Holiness. (Isaiah 6:1-5). He recognized he was a man that was unclean. He was then made clean by God Himself. The first step in our relationship with God today is no different. We must recognize ourselves as unclean, invite The Holy Spirit to sanctify us, and then we begin our journey of devotion and discipleship with our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no shortcut.
I hear much talk and desire for revival in our nation. I believe revival is coming to America. Many in our nation have been praying devoutly for quite some time, Revival for our nation begins with revival of His Church. Revival of His Church begins with each person-it begins with you! Please understand that true revival is not an event, but rather it is a process. It is time to begin the process!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
From Solitude Journal December 17, 2016
The Lord talked to me about the regenerative nature of His work in us-namely the continuing power of the Gospel, and our redemption and sanctification. He creates the need, and He fills the need, but creates more need-an even deeper need. He makes us hunger and thirst for righteousness-it is the well that never runs dry. There is always more-this is the work of the Spirit.
In reading my devotional this morning, the Lord told me that the concepts outlined struck accord with my spirit because they parallel things the Lord has been teaching me, but they are not so common today. The Lord said the decline of His people in our nation in the last fifty years has been drastic. He reminded me of calling my attention to this early in my journey.
The Lord told me today that the drop off has been so drastic spiritually that many of these concepts don’t even make sense to the average Christian. The deeper concepts of spirituality and growth are not even consumable by His children today.
The Lord told me that even a concept such as “relationship” is often difficult to grasp. This is something I have felt as I have discussed this with others. Many times as I have spoken about my relationship with God, I sense agreement, but not real understanding. The Lord explained to me that this is the reason. Perhaps this is what the Lord refers to when He tells me “my people’s hearts are far from me.”
The Lord tells me that this Revival that He is bringing is a reset. He will use it to reset the starting point for His people-to create an overwhelming desire within His people – a desire for righteousness (just as He did with me). This is why the follow-on teaching is vastly important. The Lord said He is going to change the starting point, and we must teach a depth of spirituality that people simply don’t grasp today. The Revival-the sheer move of God-will create the hunger and the thirst. Redemption-the complete process of redemption and complete understanding of the meaning of the Gospel-will fill the need to continue to regenerate.
I believe this process is what Scripture calls “Christ in me.” It is the ongoing process of being regenerated into the likeness of our Lord and Saviour.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Today, I want to convey additional thoughts on Unity that we must seek for The Lord's Church. I want to call attention to Paul's writing in Romans Chapter 14. I believe these words from Paul can be applied today relating to difference in theology between denominations in America. To find Unity in the Church today, we need to take Paul's direction and apply his words to our minor differences in theology. We may not completely agree on what is "minor," but I will write about that later this weekend. As you read Romans 14, I ask you to meditate with The Lord seeking His direction. In my next writing, I am going to issue a call to Unity, where I will again ask you to pray fervently about before responding.
I believe many of the walls we have built between denominations may be things that can simply be overlooked as we seek Unity. We must accept that we are all made differently and uniquely. We are all in a different place in our journey with The Lord. It is not important how far along the journey we are currently, but the fact that we are walking with The Lord and engaged in the journey. Much of what separates us are walls built by men that need to be set aside such that we can have unity between brothers and sisters of all denominations. Please keep in mind that this is not a desire that finds its roots from me, but it is the desire of our Lord. We must allow Love to be the guiding factor. If Love does not move or inspire you, I beg of you to spend time with God and ask Him to help you to assess your walk with His Spirit. Love for God is what binds us together.
In our way forward, we must establish and be driven by the following principles:
- In Essentials, we have Unity
- In Non-Essentials, we allow Liberty
- In Everything, We have Love -Love for our Lord who gives us Love for each other.
In my next writing, I will post on the "Call to Unity Page," and after spending the weekend in prayer, I will include direction from The Lord on the essentials.
Monday, December 5, 2016
When I spend my time in solitude with The Lord, He typically shares things with me that are critical to my personal journey with Him. In the last couple of weeks, The Lord has shared some things with me that I felt may be useful to other readers as well. For this reason, my next couple of writings are going to be from my daily journal. Keep in mind that He is talking to me, but if it can be useful for you all the better.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
The Lord put a couple of themes on my heart this morning that I wanted to share. The thoughts seemed to fit nicely with our pastors sermon today.
We must always understand that the Lord will provide for us. Whether that be needs, blessings or otherwise, He promises to provide for us-always. It seems that we should not spend so much time focused on what we hope God will do for us, but rather set ourselves about seeking what we can do for our Lord and His Kingdom (which includes how we can serve others as led by God). How much of your prayer time is spent in this way?
Secondly, throughout my journey, it seems that I have repeatedly been confronted with the reality that I simply did not believe that my God was pertinent in certain circumstances of "real life." The Lord continues to teach me that He is not only pertinent, but in absolute control in every situation and every aspect of my life. We serve a God that is not theory or fantasy, but is absolutely real and personal. The only limit to His control is restraint placed on Him by me in my unwillingness to submit to His authority.
THE LORDS
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Please see post on "A Call To Unity" page.
Previous Posts (Page 2)
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
From Solitude Journal December 26, 2016
The Lord spoke to me more about unity with Him-communing with Him. First, He said when we come into oneness with Him, our subconscious as well as our conscious mind is affected and permeated. This leads to the supernatural guidance that I have been experiencing. The Lord said this is “walking in His light.”
But the Lord went deeper. He talked about the “holding pattern” that many Christians seem to reside in. The Lord told me that the cross made oneness with Him not only a possibility, but something to continually aspire toward.
Through the cross, Jesus redeemed us, and provided for us to be restored to our created order. This is the work of the cross. It is deeper than Salvation. We are redeemed from the curse, we are revived from death into life, and we are given new life through His Spirit. We are to be restored to our proper relationship with Him, as we were at the original creation-perfect communion with God. I believe that the Lord is teaching me that while we tend to gloss over this, or simply await this relationship in Heaven, it is ours to have now-in this life-all because of the cross. This is the “Kingdom of Heaven” on earth. Through our relationship with Jesus Christ, made possible by the cross, and the subsequent indwelling of His Spirit at Salvation, we are to come into unity with God-here on earth. At least we are to be working continually toward this perfect communion with Him. The cross and the Gospel go much deeper than Salvation.
This relationship is why God created man in the first place.
Wake up His Church
CHURCH
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
I have often found it amazing that the Lord ties my teaching together on a particular subject over time. He uses different sources to reinforce teachings. He tells me something in solitude and then it may get reinforced in something I read, something someone else says, or a song that I hear. Whatever theme He is instructing, He ties other things in from my daily life.
He has been teaching me for some time to have a deeper understanding of the Gospel. We tend to think of only salvation-summed up in John 3:16, but Jesus death and resurrection go so much deeper. He redeemed all of creation. He restored all of the Universe-He set the path for complete and total restoration of the impact of sin. He conquered death. His work and impact cannot be overstated. He set all things right.
Today, in my Chambers devotion, I read his thoughts on the same subject. The Lord told me that while the words are slightly different, this is the same thing He has been teaching me. He told me not to get caught up in the wording-only understand the depth of what He is teaching such that I can learn to convey these principles to others. He told me it is important that I understand the other works of the Spirit are by-products of the redemption of the Gospel. Sanctification is a by-product; Holiness is a by-product. My personal testimony is an illustration of the work of Jesus. My testimony has no power-the cross and Jesus Christ are the power-I only illustrate personally the demonstration of that power.
Recognition of the Lord’s work-His redemption of creation, subsequent salvation and devotion to Him are what leads to our relationship with Him. Jesus alone made this relationship possible. Through the relationship, He prepares us for the call and purpose that He has for us. This includes sanctification, Holiness, Fruits of the Spirit, etc. This is all the work of God in our personal lives.
All of these things were made possible for us to receive because of the work that Jesus did on the cross.
We need to always be in disciplined pursuit for a deeper understanding of the Gospel, and Redemption. We do a disservice to the Lord and to those we are to serve when we over simplify the Gospel. Its depth is what transforms. The depth is what brings the Word of God to life through His Spirit. The redemption that Jesus paid the price for transforms people, cultures and all of creation.
While I have attempted to draw attention to help others look deeper, nothing I could ever write in this life does it proper justice. However, what each of us is meant to do through relationship with our Lord is to endeavor to grow in understanding each day. This is our lifelong pursuit.
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