"At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, 'Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you have missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram......The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. What a fool you have been. From now on you will be at war.' " 2 Chronicles 16:7, 9
Chinese Christian Brother Yun, known as the Heavenly Man, tells of this happening in one of the Chinese house churches. The Chinese believers regularly send off other believers to go into surrounding towns and villages to share the love and life of Christ. Before each sending, the group would take up a collection for the work. Many of those who were in attendance had nothing of material or monetary value to give. These believers, with tears streaming down their faces, when the large sack came to them, would literally place themselves in the sack. Yun said that by doing this, these gentle folk wanted to signify to God that their lives were all they had to give and that they were willing to give all of themselves for His glory. I'm humbled by this. Are you?
Here in the west, there are many who are willing to give....up to a point, or as I heard one man put it, up to a tithe. There are also those who are willing to go.....again, up to a point or a place. How many of us are really willing to give all of ourselves to all that is Him? When "the sack" comes to us, are we willing to put many "things" in it, but not all of ourselves? Is giving, to us, a matter of percentage, or totality? How many invisible lines have we drawn, and boundaries placed on how much of ourselves we're really willing to be sacrificial with? Who are we really more like in Jesus' story of the rich Pharisee and the poor widow? Jesus watched the Pharisee give a large amount of money out of his wealth.
The widow gave two pennies, which was all she had. The first gave out of his surplus, the widow gave all with nothing held back. Who are we more like? When the sack comes our way, to which heart attitude are we really drawn to? What have we really put in the sack? Every moment of every day, the sack comes before us. What's really going into it. A percentage or a person?
This is not just a matter of our resources or time. It's a matter of the self. All of the self. The past, present and future. They all go into the sack. Our motives. Our dreams, desires, disappointments. People. Both those we love, and those we perhaps do not love so much. All of it goes into the sack. When the sack comes to us, we cannot stop with a check or a volunteering for some needed church ministry or job. We cannot stop with a part or percentage. It cannot be the part. It must be the whole. The whole of us.
Asa the king had trusted God with much. He could not trust Him with all. "War" was the fruit of that. For us, this means that all that we hold back from him will be under attack from our enemy satan, and we will spend ourselves on trying to protect in our strength what can only be kept by His. If this is not so, just think on how much unrest is in our lives as the result of trying to bring about the results we desire by our own efforts, be they relationships, professions, and especially ministries. Like Asa, we suffer constant "war" and have no peace because of it.
The Lord continues to search the world for hearts fully committed to Him. As He searches, what does He find in ours? Percentages? Bits that are His, but pieces that are not? Asa lived in this way, and the Father called him a fool. What does He call us?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Monday, August 31, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Heart Tracks - Talking Points
"Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." John 3:8....Or led of it either......"Then He said to me, 'Speak to these bones and say, Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord....Look I am going to breathe into you and make you live again....I will put breath into you and you will come to life."......"There are too many preachers today who are standing in their boats, blowing on its sails. We need to have our sails filled with the wind of the Spirit." James Robison
Talking points. Most anyone who watches any of the news channels knows what these are. They're the beliefs and viewpoints, particularly in the political realm, of those who speak them. Listeners never feel they are really hearing the hearts of the speakers near so much as the "company line" they've been sent out to speak. They don't seem real, and so, they don't really have power. Much as we may hate to admit it, the Church can be just as guilty of doing the same.
I heard a woman named Jenn Hatmaker say the other day that when she and her husband entered the ministry they both knew all the "rules and talking points." They had them down pat, and so, from their perspective, their lives and ministries were carried out in a manner that they could feel secure in, and have a certain amount of control over. A lot of control over. Then the Holy Spirit invaded that "security" and turned their lives and ministry upside down. They began to live, move, and minister far outside their comfort zone, and they no longer spoke talking points, but life. His Life. Real Life. How much like the before picture of Hatmaker and her husband are you and I? Not just in ministry, but in our day to day living? You don't have to be a "professional Christian" to live your life and carry out your witness depending on talking points. We know all the right things to do and say. We just don't do or say any of it in the power of His Holy Spirit. So, like the political spokespeople we hear so often, we don't sound real, and the Christ we proclaim doesn't sound real either. And He doesn't look real because we don't.
The quote from James Robison hits home in my heart. Does it in yours? I've spent too many ministry years blowing on my boat's sail, trying to manufacture movement that only the Holy Spirit can bring about. I've tried to make dry bones live by blowing my breath into them, rather than seeking, praying, and believing for a move of His Spirit. A move that only He can bring about, breathing breath that only He can breathe. And making alive what has been dead. We tend to think "I've got to do something," but so long as we think that, and act on the thinking, we limit, if not downright stop all that He can and will do.
Will we renounce and turn away from our talking points? Will we repent of trying to make the ship sail under the power of our "breath?" Will we yield, surrender to the mystery that is God, His Spirit, and believe Him to move? In His time and way? Those who've been listening, if they've listened at all, are beyond weary of the talking points. We who have been blowing on our sails are beyond weary of that. Are we ready for the power of His Word and Spirit to come together in and through His Church? His people? At the conclusion of the movie, "The Return of the King, Bilbo Baggins upon leaving Middle Earth proclaims, "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure." Are we? He invites us to go with Him in ways we can't explain, but ways that bring Life. I'm ready. How about you?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Pastor O
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Heart Tracks - Persuaded?
"David was now in serious trouble because the men were very bitter about losing their wives and children, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." I Samuel 30:6
Encouragement. Everyone needs it, and it's a blessing to have an "encourager" placed around our lives. They speak words that help, lift, sustain, and give strength. We can never have enough encouragers. But I heard Beth Moore ask the question recently, what do we do when we have no one around us to offer any encouragement? What then?
David was in such a place. Men, with their families, had come to him from all over Israel. He was their captain, and they followed him. But while they had been absent from their stronghold in the Negev, Amalekites had attacked and carried away all of the men's wives and children. They were beside themselves with anger, and they no longer spoke of following David, but of killing him. If there had been "encouragers" in the camp before, there were certainly none present now. So David was faced with a choice; bemoan the absence of any outward source of comfort and hope and so give in to despair, or, turn to His God and Source, and find in Him a strength that nothing could weaken. A strength, an encouragement that did not work its way in from the outside, but worked its way outward from within. A strength, an encouragement that only the Father Himself could give. In this place of darkness and need, David encouraged himself in his God. And in his God found endless strength and hope. And in that hope, led his men to track down the Amalekites and destroy them. And they recovered all the people and goods that had been taken away, and all that the Amalekites had possessed as well.
A great story of His power and faithfulness, but, if we were in David's place, how would we have responded to it all? More, in such a place of danger, why was David able to go right into the Presence of God and receive the strength, hope and power he so obviously needed? The answer is that he lived in what writer Thom Gardner called "the present-ness" of God. He didn't just know truths about God, he knew God. Chris Tiegreen asks whether, when a crisis arrives in our lives, do we complain to Him that He's not been watching over us, or, do we watch for His glory in the midst of the crisis? David was well aware of the crisis, but he was more aware, and assured of the presence and glory of His God in it. Are we?
Paul stated in 2 Timothy 1:12, "For I know in Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him." Do we? Are we? David knew His God's character and faithfulness. So did Paul. He knew that Christ was risen. Knew that death and all its power had been conquered. He knew the devil was defeated...completely. He knew that Christ was and is victory! He knew all this truth because it was Truth that was a part of His very being. So, despite the crisis of his jail cell, he found hope and courage. All might be gone from Him, but Christ was not. Amalekites and jail cells will always be a part o this life. Christ is an infinitely greater part of this life. He is Life.....period. David and Paul knew this in the marrow of their being. They were persuaded. Are we?
Blessings,
Pastor O
David was in such a place. Men, with their families, had come to him from all over Israel. He was their captain, and they followed him. But while they had been absent from their stronghold in the Negev, Amalekites had attacked and carried away all of the men's wives and children. They were beside themselves with anger, and they no longer spoke of following David, but of killing him. If there had been "encouragers" in the camp before, there were certainly none present now. So David was faced with a choice; bemoan the absence of any outward source of comfort and hope and so give in to despair, or, turn to His God and Source, and find in Him a strength that nothing could weaken. A strength, an encouragement that did not work its way in from the outside, but worked its way outward from within. A strength, an encouragement that only the Father Himself could give. In this place of darkness and need, David encouraged himself in his God. And in his God found endless strength and hope. And in that hope, led his men to track down the Amalekites and destroy them. And they recovered all the people and goods that had been taken away, and all that the Amalekites had possessed as well.
A great story of His power and faithfulness, but, if we were in David's place, how would we have responded to it all? More, in such a place of danger, why was David able to go right into the Presence of God and receive the strength, hope and power he so obviously needed? The answer is that he lived in what writer Thom Gardner called "the present-ness" of God. He didn't just know truths about God, he knew God. Chris Tiegreen asks whether, when a crisis arrives in our lives, do we complain to Him that He's not been watching over us, or, do we watch for His glory in the midst of the crisis? David was well aware of the crisis, but he was more aware, and assured of the presence and glory of His God in it. Are we?
Paul stated in 2 Timothy 1:12, "For I know in Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him." Do we? Are we? David knew His God's character and faithfulness. So did Paul. He knew that Christ was risen. Knew that death and all its power had been conquered. He knew the devil was defeated...completely. He knew that Christ was and is victory! He knew all this truth because it was Truth that was a part of His very being. So, despite the crisis of his jail cell, he found hope and courage. All might be gone from Him, but Christ was not. Amalekites and jail cells will always be a part o this life. Christ is an infinitely greater part of this life. He is Life.....period. David and Paul knew this in the marrow of their being. They were persuaded. Are we?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Monday, August 24, 2015
Heart Tracks - Safe Jesus?
"Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth. No, I came to bring a sword." Matthew 10:34.....Jesus didn't die to keep us safe, but to make us dangerous." Mark Batterson....."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver, "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King I tell you." C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
While out and about today, I heard an advertisement for a church that used as one of it's points of attraction that it was a place that was "relevant and safe." I confess, I don't understand the fascination with the term "relevant." I know it means that the messages are relevant to where people are living. I just wonder if such messages reach people where their hearts are really living? Maybe a better question is, how much of what we call "worship" is relevant to Him? Isn't the whole concept of worship to be centered on Him, and not us? I believe any message based on His Word, and preached in the power of His Holy Spirit will be "relevant" to where our hearts are at. We will run from it or accept it, but it will surely meet us where we are. Still, the part of the ad I really focused on was that of offering people a "safe place." I understand that as well. There have been churches and leadership that have abused, and people do need to be kept safe from such abuse. On every and all levels. But I wonder, for those who hear that ad, just how are they understanding the word "safe?" What is it in their lives that they wish to keep safe?
Any real encounter will Jesus Christ will be decidedly unsafe for our flesh, for our sinful habits and attitudes. For our spiritual laziness, apathy, and self-absorption. Against such, against everything that is set up against Him in our hearts and minds, Jesus Christ does indeed bring a sword. And trust me in this, He will not hesitate to use it. That which is within us, that hurts us, harms others, and promotes the kingdom of darkness will not be safe from Him. All of that will rise up against Him, resisting Him with all its strength. He will be relentless in His desire to destroy it all. All of it, and all of it that is within us, will not be safe. And He will not leave it unchallenged. Indeed, He will attack it with all His might. Can I say that there is nothing more relevant for this day than that? Nothing is safe from Him, but everything, and everyone is safe in Him. He's not safe, but He's good. If He truly has His way with us, we will be as well. So will the fellowships of which we're a part. They are not gatherings of His people that are safe as the flesh defines safety, but they are Body's that are good. Filled with His goodness. Dangerous to all that is darkness and death, but the fullness of His Life to all that remains.
Batterson said something to the effect that if we live fully in Him, He will lead us out to where darkness and light clash. The flesh will never be safe here, but it is here that we will see the power of the Sword of His Spirit. It will pierce darkness and death. It is where we are to live, to minister, to worship. I don't know if this is what the church who put together the ad had in mind, but I do believe it is what is in His mind. Is it in yours and mine? Relevant and safe. It's all in how we define it, isn't it? How do we define it?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Friday, August 21, 2015
Heart Tracks - Living In The Whine
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18....."My desire is that each difficulty I face is seen in the light of eternity." K.J., a missionary to Central Asia.
I just saw a photo posted on Facebook of a small African child drinking from a pool of muddy water. One of the entries below the photo stated how humbled the person was by it. I was as well. Then, as I was reading in my devotional material for the day, I came across the above entry in the wonderful "Voices of the Faithful," which are daily accounts written by missionaries from all over the world. I was humbled anew, and made aware, again, of how affected I am both emotionally and spiritually by the happenings of the temporal. And how oblivious I can be to the realities of eternity. I, we, were created for eternity, for life with and in Him, but we so easily allow this passing life to shape and control us. The day to day happenings of our lives are continually the focus. We are overwhelmed by events that will have little if any meaning even a week from now. All we can see is how we are affected, or our loved ones. We can see the stuff going on around us, but we can't see anything else. We certainly can't see Him. We live with a high pitched whine in our lives, but we know little about partaking of the new wine of His Life. "Me" is always at the center of everything. We give lip service to Him. We give our hearts to ourselves and all that affects us.
I heard it once said of a person I know that "Everything that happens to them is either the best or worst thing that ever happened." Every thing that took place in their lives was filtered through "self" and what was happening to that self in that moment. How like them are we? We live on a totally horizontal plane, both within and without. We only see what's happening around us, and are only aware as to how it all affects us. Everything is a major issue.....today. Tomorrow there will be other major issues, with most of yesterday's forgotten. That will always be the fruit of life in the self. It's a life that far too many of us are living. Our problems, needs, and situations are huge. Bigger than anything. Bigger than God, though we would never admit that. They're all we can see. We're all we can see. So we never see Him. Or anyone else. Than comes the photo of the little African boy, and our hearts are touched. We're humbled. But what comes next? Do we just scroll down on the FB page, or are we truly humbled before Him. Do we exchange, repent of our daily whine for His life giving wine? Do we cease to abide in our selves, and begin to truly abide and live in Him? Do we enter into the realm we were created for, eternity, and freedom, or do we continue to be held captive by the passing events of a world that is steadily passing away? Are we humbled by our own inadequacy to be overcomers in that realm in our own strength and so come running to Him? Or, do we just go right on obsessing about ourselves and all that our self is about? Does our whine continue, and His wine go on being untouched?
I have spent far too much of my life living in the "seen" and never seeing Him. I am weary of the living in the world's perspective, and not the Kingdom's. I've had enough of being the center of my universe. It's not mine anyway. It's His, and it's in Him that I want to live. Not with lip service, but with my heart fully in His. I've no more use for living in "the whine." I want to drink the new wine. I don't want to just be humbled from time to time by images that bring a temporary response in my heart. I want to be broken and yielded to Him. Broken and rebroken. Surrendered and resurrendered. How about you. Have you had enough of living in the whine?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Heart Tracks - The Problem
"We have lots of problems in our society, but no sins.......The church knows what the real issue is, sin, and knows what the only solution is as well, Christ, His blood, and His cross....but is afraid to say so." Christine Caine......"I appreciate the blessed fact of God's pardon but I desperately want something more. I rejoice in the forgiveness for what I have done, but I also need deliverance from what I am. I need the cross of Christ to strike at the root of my capacity to sin. The blood of Christ has dealt with my sins, but only the power of His death and resurrection is sufficient to deal with me." Watchman Nee....."Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14
If we're in any doubt as to the truthfulness of what both Caine and Nee are saying, we need only watch the evening news, and what all the "talking heads" on CNN, MSNBC and Fox are saying about things. Everyone knows there is a "problem" but no one has any clue as to what the answer is. They believe they do, thinking more money, new government programs, more conversation and negotiation, and of course, educating people as to what the problem is, and then how to eradicate it. The fact that these "problems" have existed as long as humankind is lost on them. The human race is a fallen race, living in a fallen world, and totally lacks the ability in itself to rise above it. The problem is not that we simply have not "evolved" enough yet, but that we have fallen so completely away from the Father God who created us. Sin, a bent against the ways of God entered the race through Adam and Eve, and it infected they and all their progeny. The world considers this a myth, even though the very presence of an insidious evil is beyond their ability to explain. The Church of Christ knows differently, but has become too timid, and thus powerless, to proclaim the solution....Christ crucified, risen, and reigning over all sin and death.
I still remember attending a pastor's meeting back in 1985. At it, the leader of the gathering presented a list of books he wanted each of us to read. All of them were built on the premise that our problems (there's that word again) could be overcome by a positive attitude, name it and claim it faith, and a slogan that said, "You can have anything you want if you just help enough other people get what they want." I still remember the leader admonishing us that the number one thing we had to do was to stop talking about sin in our sermons. He said people perceived this as negative, offensive, and it would keep us from reaching them for Him. The church he was a part of believed in the message he was putting forth, and was one of the largest on the district I was on. In essence he was telling us that if we wanted our fellowships to grow, we needed to adopt that message. Little more than 5 years later that church began to experience infighting, turmoil, and shrunk to a fraction of what it had once been. Were there problems? Sure. But they were rooted not in a lack of a positive message, vision, or faith, but in the presence of sin in a fallen, mostly carnal people.
Folks, I know that too many pastors and leaders have used sin as a hammer to beat their people with. Using condemnation to try and effect transformation is the road to failure. But we the church have got to bring forth a message of honesty as to where we really are, as well as hope in Him to be what He created us to be. We are born under the dominion of sin, and it permeates our world and culture. We cannot climb a ladder out of it in our own strength, but there has come to a us a Savior , right where we are in our lostness, our sin, who invites us to come up into the Life and Presence of the Father. As Nee says, His blood deals with the penalty of sin. His cross and resurrection deal with the power of sin in us that holds us in bondage to it. At the cross, Romans 6:14 comes to be reality for us. We now have victory over the central cause of our "problem," sin.
Paul said that the only thing he could say he knew for sure was Christ, and Him crucified. May this be the message of we who are His church. The cross will always be an offense to our flesh, but it will also be, as Paul noted, a fragrance of life to those who are being saved. May we not fear to proclaim it, standing once again on the solid Rock of Christ, knowing that all other ground truly is sinking sand.
Blessings,
Pastor O
Blessings,
Pastor O
Monday, August 17, 2015
Heart Tracks - Questions
"Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow strong in faith, strong and vigorous in what you were taught.... For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body. and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe." Colossians 2:7, 9-10......"Can our hearts change from saying 'You're enough for me,' to, 'You're more than enough for me?' "......"If we're rooted in anything but Christ, what happens when we get uprooted?" Beth Moore....."Are we willing to surrender to God no matter what He says?" Francis Chan
Three questions. They pierce the heart. They pierce mine, and I'm sure they pierce yours. We can try to ignore them, reject them, or put them off, but they can not be gotten away from. They break through all of our profession and confession of Him and get to our reality in Him. Is He, to us, who we say He is? Beth Moore, speaking of the unbelieving Jews who rejected Christ said, "They didn't believe the God they said they believed in." To what degree is that so for you and me? The other evening, in our fellowship, we sang of how He was "more than enough" for us. His challenge to me, and through me, to us all was, is He really more than enough for us? Bevere's question arose from a deep dissatisfaction with the state of her marriage in its early years. She said she came to a place where she told the Father that if her husband and marriage never changed, she would believe that He was enough. The Spirit spoke a challenge to her heart. Could she enter into the place where He was not just enough, but where He was more than enough? To enter that place is to enter a whole new realm of wholeness in Him. She did. Can you? Can I?
Beth Moore's question probes as to where it is we really place out trust, our security, even our identity. Are they in Christ, or, in the many, almost unending "props" we have found to build our lives upon and hold them up? The King James renders Colossians 2:7 as being "rooted and grounded in Christ." We sing of Christ being the solid Rock upon which we stand, that all other ground is sinking sand. But what are we really building our lives, families, ministries and fellowships upon? How much do we talk of building upon the Rock of Christ, but choosing in the end to rely upon sinking sand? Where, in what and who do we really find our contentment, happiness, and well being? So many of us, especially in the Church, have placed our hopes in what has been called the "American Dream," the good life that this world offers. All our energy goes into securing it, and if we can get it, we hold onto it with all of our strength. Yet all of our efforts cannot keep our lives, families, ministries and fellowships from going through the hurricanes of life, the uprootings that are sure to come. When all that we have depended upon that is not Christ is uprooted, as it surely will be, what then will we do?
It may be that Chan's question hits our hearts more directly and powerfully than the other two. There is much in His Word that our human understanding struggles with. We are seeing this unfold before our very eyes today. Doctrine and beliefs that have been held since the days of the first century Church are being challenged and attacked. Hell. Human sexuality. Marriage. What constitutes holiness before Him, and much, much more. As Colossians 2 reads, He is a mystery, but He is a mystery that presents Himself to us in order to be known. He offers the treasures of wisdom and understanding to us, but it is wisdom and understanding that is consistent, and does not come from human reasoning, but divine revelation and leading. Chan asks how we can take the whole Word of God, not the parts we can agree with, or have no struggle about, but the whole Word, and come up with something different than what has come to called "orthodox" faith and belief? The Truth of His Word will challenge.....deeply. It will also offend at times, many times....deeply. He asks if, when it does, can we surrender to Him in it, trust Him in it? In those difficult, hard to accept places with Him, can we trust and believe in the goodness and greatness of God? No matter what He says?
Heavy questions. They can't be taken lightly, or gotten away from. How do we answer? Is He really more than enough? Are we really rooted and grounded in Him? Do we surrender no matter what He says, and where He leads? We can run from them. We can avoid them. But one way or another, we will answer. There may be a great deal of "rubble" to work through before we fully can, but I desire to do so. How about you?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Three questions. They pierce the heart. They pierce mine, and I'm sure they pierce yours. We can try to ignore them, reject them, or put them off, but they can not be gotten away from. They break through all of our profession and confession of Him and get to our reality in Him. Is He, to us, who we say He is? Beth Moore, speaking of the unbelieving Jews who rejected Christ said, "They didn't believe the God they said they believed in." To what degree is that so for you and me? The other evening, in our fellowship, we sang of how He was "more than enough" for us. His challenge to me, and through me, to us all was, is He really more than enough for us? Bevere's question arose from a deep dissatisfaction with the state of her marriage in its early years. She said she came to a place where she told the Father that if her husband and marriage never changed, she would believe that He was enough. The Spirit spoke a challenge to her heart. Could she enter into the place where He was not just enough, but where He was more than enough? To enter that place is to enter a whole new realm of wholeness in Him. She did. Can you? Can I?
Beth Moore's question probes as to where it is we really place out trust, our security, even our identity. Are they in Christ, or, in the many, almost unending "props" we have found to build our lives upon and hold them up? The King James renders Colossians 2:7 as being "rooted and grounded in Christ." We sing of Christ being the solid Rock upon which we stand, that all other ground is sinking sand. But what are we really building our lives, families, ministries and fellowships upon? How much do we talk of building upon the Rock of Christ, but choosing in the end to rely upon sinking sand? Where, in what and who do we really find our contentment, happiness, and well being? So many of us, especially in the Church, have placed our hopes in what has been called the "American Dream," the good life that this world offers. All our energy goes into securing it, and if we can get it, we hold onto it with all of our strength. Yet all of our efforts cannot keep our lives, families, ministries and fellowships from going through the hurricanes of life, the uprootings that are sure to come. When all that we have depended upon that is not Christ is uprooted, as it surely will be, what then will we do?
It may be that Chan's question hits our hearts more directly and powerfully than the other two. There is much in His Word that our human understanding struggles with. We are seeing this unfold before our very eyes today. Doctrine and beliefs that have been held since the days of the first century Church are being challenged and attacked. Hell. Human sexuality. Marriage. What constitutes holiness before Him, and much, much more. As Colossians 2 reads, He is a mystery, but He is a mystery that presents Himself to us in order to be known. He offers the treasures of wisdom and understanding to us, but it is wisdom and understanding that is consistent, and does not come from human reasoning, but divine revelation and leading. Chan asks how we can take the whole Word of God, not the parts we can agree with, or have no struggle about, but the whole Word, and come up with something different than what has come to called "orthodox" faith and belief? The Truth of His Word will challenge.....deeply. It will also offend at times, many times....deeply. He asks if, when it does, can we surrender to Him in it, trust Him in it? In those difficult, hard to accept places with Him, can we trust and believe in the goodness and greatness of God? No matter what He says?
Heavy questions. They can't be taken lightly, or gotten away from. How do we answer? Is He really more than enough? Are we really rooted and grounded in Him? Do we surrender no matter what He says, and where He leads? We can run from them. We can avoid them. But one way or another, we will answer. There may be a great deal of "rubble" to work through before we fully can, but I desire to do so. How about you?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Friday, August 14, 2015
Heart Tracks - Torn Hearts
"My people are being destroyed because they don't know Me." Hosea 4:6...."Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?...."My heart is torn within Me, and My compassion overflows." Hosea 11:8....."The great majority of people sitting in our churches today don'tknow the Father." Ruth Graham
I expect most have seen at one time or another those animal rescue ads that show dogs and cats in need of adoption. It's very hard to watch them and not be moved. Recently I saw something on Facebook that truly impacted me and gave me some insight I never had before on the Father. Photos were shown that had been taken by a person who encountered a stray dog along the streets of their city. It was in a terrible state. Very malnourished, missing clumps of its fur, and appearing to be literally, "walking death." This person got this dog to get into its car, and then began a process of restoring it to life. A series of photos were shown depicting that journey to health and wholeness, and I must tell you that though it was a wonderful thing to see that restoration, I was brokenhearted over the condition of that dog and the suffering it had endured. It was in that moment that I heard the whisper of His voice into my heart. What I heard Him saying was that the condition of that dog was also how He saw the spiritual state of all who live outside the fullness of His Life and Way. More, that the brokenheartedness that I felt over the suffering of that dog was as nothing compared to His broken heart over all those who have chosen to live as orphans rather than as sons and daughters of the Most High God. That these "orphans" were not found only outside His Church, but within it as well. Within or without, the words of Hosea struck home in overwhelming truth. People, lives, families, souls, are being destroyed because of our lack of real knowledge of who He is. And His heart was literally torn apart within Him because of it. Along with all of this came an even quieter question for me. Is mine? Is yours?
I expect most have seen at one time or another those animal rescue ads that show dogs and cats in need of adoption. It's very hard to watch them and not be moved. Recently I saw something on Facebook that truly impacted me and gave me some insight I never had before on the Father. Photos were shown that had been taken by a person who encountered a stray dog along the streets of their city. It was in a terrible state. Very malnourished, missing clumps of its fur, and appearing to be literally, "walking death." This person got this dog to get into its car, and then began a process of restoring it to life. A series of photos were shown depicting that journey to health and wholeness, and I must tell you that though it was a wonderful thing to see that restoration, I was brokenhearted over the condition of that dog and the suffering it had endured. It was in that moment that I heard the whisper of His voice into my heart. What I heard Him saying was that the condition of that dog was also how He saw the spiritual state of all who live outside the fullness of His Life and Way. More, that the brokenheartedness that I felt over the suffering of that dog was as nothing compared to His broken heart over all those who have chosen to live as orphans rather than as sons and daughters of the Most High God. That these "orphans" were not found only outside His Church, but within it as well. Within or without, the words of Hosea struck home in overwhelming truth. People, lives, families, souls, are being destroyed because of our lack of real knowledge of who He is. And His heart was literally torn apart within Him because of it. Along with all of this came an even quieter question for me. Is mine? Is yours?
We are a culture that loves our pets. I have no problem with this at all. Yet what does it say about us that we can be so moved by the plight of an animal, and yet so unmoved by the lostness, the "diseased" state of so many that we encounter every day? Not only where we live and work, but where we worship as well? How can we see so clearly the need of a dog or cat, but be unable to see the deep spiritual need of our neighbor?
Could we own up to our lack of knowledge, of discernment, of understanding? Beyond that, can we, will we, repent of it? Are we willing to have our eyes opened in that way, or, will we go on seeing, but not seeing? Will we go on being able to count who's there each week in our services, but never actually seeing them? Seeing them as He does.
We have become such a surface culture, and yes, surface Church, that we cannot see past that surface. We know how to be friendly, but we don't know how to be friends. We know how to be loving, but we don't know how to love. We know how to do acts of compassion, but we don't know how to live lives of compassion. Our fellowships seem to produce far more "orphans" than they do sons and daughters of the King. We can talk a great deal about what our inheritance is, but seem to experience very little of actually living in that inheritance. We see much, but we don't seem to see much that He sees. We can see people as candidates to become part of our fellowships, but miss seeing them as living souls wandering through life malnourished, diseased, as walking death without Him. When will our hearts be truly moved by that? When will mine? When will yours?
I heard a friend remark recently that the overwhelming desire of the early church was not to get blessings from God, or to have Him make improvements on their lives, keep them safe from trouble, or grow their fellowships. It wasn't even to see souls saved, though surely they desired that. Their single purpose was that they might truly know Him and the power of His resurrection. Not only that they would, but that all they ministered to, came into contact with would as well. Brought from death to life. From the disease of sin, to a life of righteousness. No orphans among them, but sons and daughters of the King. Not merely knowing of their inheritance in Christ, but living in its fullness. May that once more be our single desire. May it be mine, and yours.
Blessings,
Pastor O
Could we own up to our lack of knowledge, of discernment, of understanding? Beyond that, can we, will we, repent of it? Are we willing to have our eyes opened in that way, or, will we go on seeing, but not seeing? Will we go on being able to count who's there each week in our services, but never actually seeing them? Seeing them as He does.
We have become such a surface culture, and yes, surface Church, that we cannot see past that surface. We know how to be friendly, but we don't know how to be friends. We know how to be loving, but we don't know how to love. We know how to do acts of compassion, but we don't know how to live lives of compassion. Our fellowships seem to produce far more "orphans" than they do sons and daughters of the King. We can talk a great deal about what our inheritance is, but seem to experience very little of actually living in that inheritance. We see much, but we don't seem to see much that He sees. We can see people as candidates to become part of our fellowships, but miss seeing them as living souls wandering through life malnourished, diseased, as walking death without Him. When will our hearts be truly moved by that? When will mine? When will yours?
I heard a friend remark recently that the overwhelming desire of the early church was not to get blessings from God, or to have Him make improvements on their lives, keep them safe from trouble, or grow their fellowships. It wasn't even to see souls saved, though surely they desired that. Their single purpose was that they might truly know Him and the power of His resurrection. Not only that they would, but that all they ministered to, came into contact with would as well. Brought from death to life. From the disease of sin, to a life of righteousness. No orphans among them, but sons and daughters of the King. Not merely knowing of their inheritance in Christ, but living in its fullness. May that once more be our single desire. May it be mine, and yours.
Blessings,
Pastor O
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Heart Tracks - When I'm "Jerusalem"
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me." Luke 13:34
In my prayer journal, I have written in response to this scripture, "Jesus, I want to understand more deeply and clearly what was in Your heart when you spoke this." Today, as I looked at that scripture and entry, a more cutting statement/question came to me. Do I want to know what it is in His heart when I am living the part of "Jerusalem?" When I am resisting His entry into an area of my heart that I've somehow managed to keep off limits to Him? Even when that resistance brings harm and pain to my life? Harm and pain that He would not have me go through. That He longs to set me free from, yet, I will not let Him. When He looks upon me, upon us, and sees attitudes, habits, behaviors, beliefs, that cause hurt to us, and almost always to others. And His heart breaks over how it needn't be so. Do I want to know what's in His heart then? Do I want to know the pain and heartache I bring to Him then? Do you?
It's so easy to look at Luke 13:34 and get lost in the magnitude of the numbers that must be involved here. There were many thousands of people living in Jerusalem when He spoke that. We also tend to think of this scripture simply in terms of those who don't know Him, and have refused to know Him. But those were not the only kind of people living there. There were also many hundreds who had believed in Him, who did call Him Savior. But as I saw it put once, we have a much easier time calling Him Savior than we do calling Him Lord, and receiving Him as such. When He calls us to Himself, it involves coming to everything that is Him. The fullness of His Life, Holiness and Character. It means a coming to an ever growing intimacy and knowledge of who He is, and who we are as well. Just as there were many who outright rejected Him living in Jerusalem, there were also many who professed to be His, but had no desire to be His on every level of their life. Jesus said that He only did what He saw His Father doing, that His life was not His own and that neither were the lives of any who followed Him. John 6:66 relates that when He made this clear to those following Him, almost all "turned away from Him and followed Him no more." I expect they still believed in Him, but they were not ready for Him to truly own their lives. Are we?
Jesus still weeps over "Jerusalem" and every other nation, people group and person that will not allow Him full entry into their lives, and their entry into His. Where today might He be weeping over us? Where, in what areas, are we a resistant "Jerusalem" to His Lordship, leading and life? Are we running into His covering, or away from it? Urban gospel singer Kirk Franklin said he did not find freedom from his addiction to pornography until he saw his sin and the wreckage it was causing through the eyes of Christ. In that moment he was broken. In that moment he was free. In that moment, he was His. Has that moment come to us? What happens when you, we, are "Jerusalem?"
Blessings,
Pastor O
In my prayer journal, I have written in response to this scripture, "Jesus, I want to understand more deeply and clearly what was in Your heart when you spoke this." Today, as I looked at that scripture and entry, a more cutting statement/question came to me. Do I want to know what it is in His heart when I am living the part of "Jerusalem?" When I am resisting His entry into an area of my heart that I've somehow managed to keep off limits to Him? Even when that resistance brings harm and pain to my life? Harm and pain that He would not have me go through. That He longs to set me free from, yet, I will not let Him. When He looks upon me, upon us, and sees attitudes, habits, behaviors, beliefs, that cause hurt to us, and almost always to others. And His heart breaks over how it needn't be so. Do I want to know what's in His heart then? Do I want to know the pain and heartache I bring to Him then? Do you?
It's so easy to look at Luke 13:34 and get lost in the magnitude of the numbers that must be involved here. There were many thousands of people living in Jerusalem when He spoke that. We also tend to think of this scripture simply in terms of those who don't know Him, and have refused to know Him. But those were not the only kind of people living there. There were also many hundreds who had believed in Him, who did call Him Savior. But as I saw it put once, we have a much easier time calling Him Savior than we do calling Him Lord, and receiving Him as such. When He calls us to Himself, it involves coming to everything that is Him. The fullness of His Life, Holiness and Character. It means a coming to an ever growing intimacy and knowledge of who He is, and who we are as well. Just as there were many who outright rejected Him living in Jerusalem, there were also many who professed to be His, but had no desire to be His on every level of their life. Jesus said that He only did what He saw His Father doing, that His life was not His own and that neither were the lives of any who followed Him. John 6:66 relates that when He made this clear to those following Him, almost all "turned away from Him and followed Him no more." I expect they still believed in Him, but they were not ready for Him to truly own their lives. Are we?
Jesus still weeps over "Jerusalem" and every other nation, people group and person that will not allow Him full entry into their lives, and their entry into His. Where today might He be weeping over us? Where, in what areas, are we a resistant "Jerusalem" to His Lordship, leading and life? Are we running into His covering, or away from it? Urban gospel singer Kirk Franklin said he did not find freedom from his addiction to pornography until he saw his sin and the wreckage it was causing through the eyes of Christ. In that moment he was broken. In that moment he was free. In that moment, he was His. Has that moment come to us? What happens when you, we, are "Jerusalem?"
Blessings,
Pastor O
Monday, August 10, 2015
Heart Tracks - Shaken & Uprooted
"At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:25-29...."If God shakes the heavens which are designed to manifest Him, and likewise shakes the earth, designed to show His workmanship, shouldn't we expect Him to shake the Church as well? An awakened Church may be a shaken Church." Jim Hylton....."If we're rooted in anything but Christ, what happens when we get uprooted?" Beth Moore
50's rocker Jerry Lee Lewis scored a major hit with his song "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On." I think that's a good description of what is taking place in not only the world today, but moreso, the Church. Especially the Church as we know it, or more accurately, as we have designed it here in the west. The Father is most definitely shaking His Church. Shaking us not only as concerns our dependence on so much of the "created things" around us, but also of the many ideas we have manufactured as to just what the Church is, does, moves, and looks like. T. Austin-Sparks said that our human response to any move of God is to "bring it down" to a level we can understand, and more, control. We seek to organize what He is doing and saying. We end up with an organization and not a movement. Yes, we need a certain amount of structure, but we can end up, we most often do end up, "worshiping" the structure and not the Creator. The Lord will not tolerate other gods, even when that god is His Church. It is so easy to be seduced into "making" His Church into a well oiled "machine" where all runs smoothly and according to schedule. In a recent article, Pastor and writer Jim Cymbala said that a church he recently spoke at had so planned out their service that each segment was given an exact number of minutes and seconds. He asked if he might close his message with a time or prayer and invitation, but was told he couldn't because they had not allotted time for it. Somehow I think God is very anxious to "shake up" that fellowship and so many others just like it. Maybe yours and mine as well?
Yet the shaking and uprooting goes well beyond our worship services. It will affect the very core of our being, of we who are the Church. In Colossians 2, Paul exhorts his hearers to be "rooted and grounded" in Christ. This brings even more clarity to Moore's statement. Shakings and uprootings are always going to be a part of life. As they intensify in these days, what happens to our spiritual lives when all that we have come to depend on, both within and without the Church, are shaken and uprooted? Where do we stand then? So much of our lives and that which we call "Church" have been built on sand, sinking sand. Paul said in Colossians that when we are deeply rooted in Him, we draw up spiritual nourishment from Him. What nourishment is to be found in those things we have built our lives, families, and fellowships upon? When all that is not Him in our lives and fellowships is shaken and uprooted, what will be left? What will we have?
Pastors and laypeople everywhere are crying out for an awakening. Yet I think many of us want an awakening that shakes and changes everything but us. Change the world, change the Church Lord, but don't change me. He said He will "once more" shake the heavens and earth.His once more is upon us. When His shaking and uprooting come to your life and mine, what will be left? On what will we be standing?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Friday, August 7, 2015
Heart Tracks - Not Home Yet
"It is required of stewards that they be found faithful." I Corinthians 4:2....."Well done, good and faithful servant....enter into the joy of the Lord." Matthew 25:21....."And your real life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3....."In the time of hiddenness, our only consistent audience is God." Alicia Britt Chloe....."Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's." Oswald Chambers.
A friend recently shared with me the story of a missionary couple who were returning to America from long years of ministry in the interior of Africa. On the ship with them was President Theodore Roosevelt, who was also returning from a much publicized hunting trip to that same continent. As the ship came in to dock, crowds cheered and bands played to greet Roosevelt as he returned home. Watching it all, the missionary husband remarked to his wife, "Look at this. All our years of service, and yet no one is here to greet us." To this his wife sweetly replied, "Dear, we're not home yet." In this illustration we see the pull and power of two kingdoms; the world's, and the Father's. None of us are immune to the first, indeed, many, including many in the church, spend our life energy seeking its acclaim. We may well find it, but it is an acclaim that is hollow. As Jesus said, those that seek it will have their reward. The acclaim of men, but they will miss the acclaim and applause of heaven while searching for the trophies of this world. I have not been and am still not immune from the pull of this world's applause. I expect that neither are you. In the end of it all, whose "well done" are we really seeking?
Jesus was unaffected by the approval or rejection of men. His Word tells us that "He knew what was in their hearts." We say that we do as well, yet time and again, their approval and applause is fervently sought after by us. We so easily forget that the majority of those who cried out "Hosanna" when He entered Jerusalem cried out for Him to be crucified outside that city just a short time later. Beyond this, human memory is short. Last years champion will always be replaced by this years. Trophy cases become full, but in a short time, few passerby's know what the trophies are for. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family tells the story of his obsession with winning his college's tennis championship and the large trophy that went with it. He did win, and the trophy was eventually displayed in the school's trophy case, emblazoned with his name, and to his immense pride. A number of years after his graduation, he received a call from one of the school's custodians. He had found the trophy in an outside trash bin and wanted to know if Dobson wanted it. So it is with all the treasures of this world that we seek.
Our flesh struggles with being anonymous. It wants to be seen, known, applauded. Like the missionary husband, it grieves not being greeted by a crowd and band. What we who are His must have is the heart of the wife. A heart that recognized that while in this world, we are not home....yet. But one day, we will be. Is it our deepest desire to hear from His heart, "well done, good and faithful servant?" Our life, work, ministry, may well be hidden from most if not all who are around us. No crowds. No bands. But in it all is the consistent audience of the Father. Does He take pleasure in us? We are not home yet. Do we realize that? Or, will we go on yearning for the crowds, bands, and applause of this world, even as it manifest itself through His church? Are we willing to so identify with Christ that we're willing to be abject failures in the eyes of the world, yet overcoming victors in the sight of the Father? What's our true heart answer to that?
Blessings,
Pastor O
A friend recently shared with me the story of a missionary couple who were returning to America from long years of ministry in the interior of Africa. On the ship with them was President Theodore Roosevelt, who was also returning from a much publicized hunting trip to that same continent. As the ship came in to dock, crowds cheered and bands played to greet Roosevelt as he returned home. Watching it all, the missionary husband remarked to his wife, "Look at this. All our years of service, and yet no one is here to greet us." To this his wife sweetly replied, "Dear, we're not home yet." In this illustration we see the pull and power of two kingdoms; the world's, and the Father's. None of us are immune to the first, indeed, many, including many in the church, spend our life energy seeking its acclaim. We may well find it, but it is an acclaim that is hollow. As Jesus said, those that seek it will have their reward. The acclaim of men, but they will miss the acclaim and applause of heaven while searching for the trophies of this world. I have not been and am still not immune from the pull of this world's applause. I expect that neither are you. In the end of it all, whose "well done" are we really seeking?
Jesus was unaffected by the approval or rejection of men. His Word tells us that "He knew what was in their hearts." We say that we do as well, yet time and again, their approval and applause is fervently sought after by us. We so easily forget that the majority of those who cried out "Hosanna" when He entered Jerusalem cried out for Him to be crucified outside that city just a short time later. Beyond this, human memory is short. Last years champion will always be replaced by this years. Trophy cases become full, but in a short time, few passerby's know what the trophies are for. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family tells the story of his obsession with winning his college's tennis championship and the large trophy that went with it. He did win, and the trophy was eventually displayed in the school's trophy case, emblazoned with his name, and to his immense pride. A number of years after his graduation, he received a call from one of the school's custodians. He had found the trophy in an outside trash bin and wanted to know if Dobson wanted it. So it is with all the treasures of this world that we seek.
Our flesh struggles with being anonymous. It wants to be seen, known, applauded. Like the missionary husband, it grieves not being greeted by a crowd and band. What we who are His must have is the heart of the wife. A heart that recognized that while in this world, we are not home....yet. But one day, we will be. Is it our deepest desire to hear from His heart, "well done, good and faithful servant?" Our life, work, ministry, may well be hidden from most if not all who are around us. No crowds. No bands. But in it all is the consistent audience of the Father. Does He take pleasure in us? We are not home yet. Do we realize that? Or, will we go on yearning for the crowds, bands, and applause of this world, even as it manifest itself through His church? Are we willing to so identify with Christ that we're willing to be abject failures in the eyes of the world, yet overcoming victors in the sight of the Father? What's our true heart answer to that?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Heart Tracks - The Middle Place
"After this, Jesus made His disciples get back into the boat and head out across the lake to Bethsaida......During the night the disciples were in their boat out in the middle of the lake......He saw they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o'clock in the morning He came to them, walking on the water. They screamed in terror thinking He was a ghost.....But Jesus spoke to them at once. 'Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid.' " Mark 6:45-50......"Will we take courage, or take fear?" Charlotte Gambill
I heard a powerful teaching on the above passage of scripture in Mark 6 from an English pastor and writer named Charlotte Gambill. She focused on those places in our lives where we find ourselves in the middle of our spiritual journey, and all that is entailed in that journey. Our relationship with Him, with one another. Marriage. Ministry. Life. It's in the middle places in all of those that our greatest tests can come. In the middle places, will we believe what we say we believe? Will we believe the God we say we believe in?
I've always been intrigued by the failure of the disciples to recognize Christ as He came walking on the water towards them. Why? Gambill says that it's clear that the Jesus that came to them on the middle of the lake did not look at all like the Jesus they knew on the safety of the shore. This speaks to me that in those middle places into which He sends us, when we are far from our starting point, but equally far from our destination, Jesus will very likely show up in ways we never expected, appearing in forms we never knew. The middle place that, like the disciples struggled to go past, cause us to call upon a Jesus we think we know well. A safe, predictable Jesus who operates in ways that give us a feeling of control, that give us a sense, a false sense, of security. When all that is shattered while we're floundering about in the middle of the lake, will we still trust Him? Believe Him? Know Him? When we're still far from the shore, and the wind and waves are increasing in their intensity, will we, as Gambill asks, take courage in Him, or take fear without Him?
James Robison said that in that storm, Jesus came walking on the very things that troubled the disciples. They saw everything against them. They did not see or recognize the One who commanded and ruled over all that was against them. Gambill said that, "In the worst case scenarios, He will show He is the best God possible." It is so easy to say we believe these things, trusting in their truth while we are on the shore. Out in the middle of the lake, amidst the wind and waves, we'll be put fully to the test. Will we take belief or unbelief?
Many of us may be in that middle place right now. Rowing hard and getting nowhere. It may have been going on for a long time. It may go on longer still. How will we respond? Cry out to Him to get us swiftly to the other side? Complain that He's even allowed us here at all? Or, will we trust Him no matter what the situation around us looks like, and no matter how the appearance of His Presence seems to be, or not be at all? He has something greater in mind for us than just getting us to the other side. Oswald Chambers said our eagerness to be done with a trial robs us of all that He wants to do in us in the process of that trial. It robs us of His gift of Himself in the storm, and robs Him of the joy of giving Himself to us there.
One way or another, we'll all find ourselves in the middle someday or this day. What will we take there? Fear? Courage? The lie? The Truth? Jesus?
Blessings,
Pastor O
I've always been intrigued by the failure of the disciples to recognize Christ as He came walking on the water towards them. Why? Gambill says that it's clear that the Jesus that came to them on the middle of the lake did not look at all like the Jesus they knew on the safety of the shore. This speaks to me that in those middle places into which He sends us, when we are far from our starting point, but equally far from our destination, Jesus will very likely show up in ways we never expected, appearing in forms we never knew. The middle place that, like the disciples struggled to go past, cause us to call upon a Jesus we think we know well. A safe, predictable Jesus who operates in ways that give us a feeling of control, that give us a sense, a false sense, of security. When all that is shattered while we're floundering about in the middle of the lake, will we still trust Him? Believe Him? Know Him? When we're still far from the shore, and the wind and waves are increasing in their intensity, will we, as Gambill asks, take courage in Him, or take fear without Him?
James Robison said that in that storm, Jesus came walking on the very things that troubled the disciples. They saw everything against them. They did not see or recognize the One who commanded and ruled over all that was against them. Gambill said that, "In the worst case scenarios, He will show He is the best God possible." It is so easy to say we believe these things, trusting in their truth while we are on the shore. Out in the middle of the lake, amidst the wind and waves, we'll be put fully to the test. Will we take belief or unbelief?
Many of us may be in that middle place right now. Rowing hard and getting nowhere. It may have been going on for a long time. It may go on longer still. How will we respond? Cry out to Him to get us swiftly to the other side? Complain that He's even allowed us here at all? Or, will we trust Him no matter what the situation around us looks like, and no matter how the appearance of His Presence seems to be, or not be at all? He has something greater in mind for us than just getting us to the other side. Oswald Chambers said our eagerness to be done with a trial robs us of all that He wants to do in us in the process of that trial. It robs us of His gift of Himself in the storm, and robs Him of the joy of giving Himself to us there.
One way or another, we'll all find ourselves in the middle someday or this day. What will we take there? Fear? Courage? The lie? The Truth? Jesus?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Monday, August 3, 2015
Heart Tracks - Pioneers
"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:8......"If we are seeking to go on with God to any degree beyond that which is commonly accepted as a true Christian life; if we are called to pioneer the way for any further advance in spiritual life or Divine service; if we are given a vision of God's will and purpose not seen by the general mass of God's people - or even the larger number of the servants of God - ours will be a lonely way." T. Austin-Sparks
In the first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo the Hobbit tells the elf queen Galadriel of the heavy burden and great sense of isolation he feels as the one who carries the ring of power. She tells him that "You are a ringbearer. To be a ringbearer is to be alone." We who follow Christ do not bear rings of power. We do however bear the power of His truth. If we are determined to be full bearers of that truth, than we must know that to bear it will lead us on a path that is not trodden by many. Most around us will not understand, will not hear or receive. Rejection, derision, hostility may well be our lot. It will not come only from the world. Some of the worst may come from those who would also count themselves as followers of Christ.
To be a bearer, proclaimer of the fullness of His Truth, His Life, is to be alone. Jesus Christ boldly proclaimed, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come unto the Father except through Me." People will not quibble with His being the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but they may well build a gallows for he who states that He is only Way, Truth, and Life. They did so for Christ Himself. Why would they do less for we who carry the fullness of His Words and Life?
So often, we fall into the trap of Elijah, believing no one but us is standing with Him. This is not so. He has placed others, many others throughout His church and His world. Witnesses to, and bearers of His Truth. Yet, the inescapable fact is that to be such a witness will be a lonely way. Applause, recognition, and the accolades of men and even the church will rarely, if ever be our lot. And the seduction of these can be powerful. When Moses went up the mountain to encounter the Father and His Word, his brother Aaron was to be with him there. Instead, he stayed in the lowlands with the people. He ended up doing what the people wanted, building a golden calf. Moses heard, and followed His God. He was alone...with Him. Aaron was surrounded by the multitude, but deaf to the voice of the Father. Who do we more resemble?
To truly be His, to truly hear and speak for Him, means that we must undertake the life of a pioneer. Years ago I first heard a song from a Jesus Movement singer named Honeytree. It has stayed with me through all this time. I share her simple but powerful lyrics with you......."Pioneer, Pioneer, Keep pressing onward beyond your fear. Only the Father goes before you, to your own frontier, you're a pioneer." Today, more than ever, a lost world and a stagnating church need such pioneers. The path will not be easy. Indeed, it will be strewn with danger and be at times, many times, lonely. Very lonely. Yet He does go before us, leading us ever on into the Kingdom frontier He places before us. He calls us to embrace such a life. Will we?
I close with these other lyrics from that wonderful song. They whisper deeply into my heart. "You travel light, you travel alone and when you arrive, nobody knows. But the Father in heaven, He's glad you can go, for those who come after you will need the road." Who is it in our lives, our walk, that will need the road?
Blessings,
Pastor O
To be a bearer, proclaimer of the fullness of His Truth, His Life, is to be alone. Jesus Christ boldly proclaimed, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come unto the Father except through Me." People will not quibble with His being the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but they may well build a gallows for he who states that He is only Way, Truth, and Life. They did so for Christ Himself. Why would they do less for we who carry the fullness of His Words and Life?
So often, we fall into the trap of Elijah, believing no one but us is standing with Him. This is not so. He has placed others, many others throughout His church and His world. Witnesses to, and bearers of His Truth. Yet, the inescapable fact is that to be such a witness will be a lonely way. Applause, recognition, and the accolades of men and even the church will rarely, if ever be our lot. And the seduction of these can be powerful. When Moses went up the mountain to encounter the Father and His Word, his brother Aaron was to be with him there. Instead, he stayed in the lowlands with the people. He ended up doing what the people wanted, building a golden calf. Moses heard, and followed His God. He was alone...with Him. Aaron was surrounded by the multitude, but deaf to the voice of the Father. Who do we more resemble?
To truly be His, to truly hear and speak for Him, means that we must undertake the life of a pioneer. Years ago I first heard a song from a Jesus Movement singer named Honeytree. It has stayed with me through all this time. I share her simple but powerful lyrics with you......."Pioneer, Pioneer, Keep pressing onward beyond your fear. Only the Father goes before you, to your own frontier, you're a pioneer." Today, more than ever, a lost world and a stagnating church need such pioneers. The path will not be easy. Indeed, it will be strewn with danger and be at times, many times, lonely. Very lonely. Yet He does go before us, leading us ever on into the Kingdom frontier He places before us. He calls us to embrace such a life. Will we?
I close with these other lyrics from that wonderful song. They whisper deeply into my heart. "You travel light, you travel alone and when you arrive, nobody knows. But the Father in heaven, He's glad you can go, for those who come after you will need the road." Who is it in our lives, our walk, that will need the road?
Blessings,
Pastor O
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