Heart Tracks - Strangers

  "All these people we have mentioned received God's approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race." Hebrews 11:39-40

"Strangers" have never been people who are naturally welcomed. I remember as a child a TV auto commercial promoting some brand of car care with the tag line, "Never pick up a stranger." It featured a car driving down a dark, rainy road at night, coming up to a dangerous looking man at the side of the road. The driver wisely passed him by. In the years since then, our avoidance of "strangers" has only gotten stronger. In the movie "Kindergarten Cop," the children are warned to avoid any contact with strangers, and in one scene, when a villain tries to abduct his son, the other children point at him and cry out, "Stranger, stranger!" Let me say, none of this is bad. Neither we or our children should ever be exposed to needless danger. But I make these points with the purpose of showing forth just what a disciple of Jesus Christ is to look like to the world....and sadly, may look like to the church as well.

A friend, commenting on the passage from Hebrews 11, focused on the words, "these people." He said that very often when they're used in the discussion about others, it is not in a complimentary way. As in, "We're not like these people." Or, "Did you notice the strange behavior of those people?" In Acts, the populace, greatly alarmed at the reports of what the followers of Christ were doing said, "Those people who have turned the world upside down, have come here as well." Being among those people is not a good place as far as the world measures things, but it is the only place for the one who has their life firmly in Christ. The question for us is, are we truly found in our day to day witness for Him to be among those people?

That same friend mentioned above likes to say that those who are His ought to live in such a way as to give the appearance that "we're not from around here." "Here" being this world and its value system. The fully devoted disciple of Jesus Christ ought to, no, must be a stranger to this world and all of its ways. To be a citizen of the Kingdom is to be a citizen of another world. It's means we're otherworldly. Somehow, I think we've come to fear such a designation. I understand the desire to reach a lost and already dead world, as well as the desire to not appear to sit in a place of superiority and judgement towards them. But I think in doing this, we have, intentional or not, more often tried to make those we seek to reach comfortable, rather than deeply convicted of their need. Much is made of being like Jesus, but nothing Jesus said or did made those watching and hearing comfortable. Indeed, in the end, they killed Him for His witness. He was the Ultimate Stranger, as well as the ultimate lover of our souls.

To really be His means we will never be at home in this world. We claim to know that, but tell me, how comfortable are you and I here right now? How much different do our lives really look to the unbelieving world around us? How much different do our fellowships? I'm not speaking about weird dress, behavior, or speech, though know this; one who lives fully in His world will look very weird indeed to all those who don't. Like the children, people will point and say, "Stranger, stranger." Maybe not out loud, but it will be their response to such lives. Do we dare to live as "those people" did? Do we have the look of "not being from around here?" Or have we done such a good job of fitting in, that we give witness of conformation to that world, not transformation from it? Hard questions that demand real answers. What's our real answer?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - The Definition

 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10....."Abundant life refers to life in its abounding fullness of joy and strength for mind, body, and soul. Abundant life signifies a contrast to feelings of lack, emptiness and dissatisfaction, and such feelings may motivate a person to seek for the meaning of life and a change in their life." One definition of what is considered "abundant life."......"The development of Christian life is only the development of Jesus Christ in that life." T. Austin-Sparks

Jesus has offered abundant life, and we certainly want and seek that life. So, why do we so often fail to enter into it? Could a great part of the reason be in how we define it? Does our definition bear much if any resemblance to His? When I went online to seek a definition of what abundant life is, I took the one listed above. There is no lack of people who feel an emptiness in their hearts and sadly, many of them are found to be among the professing followers of Christ. Most if not all, want to have that emptiness filled, and seek that end with a great amount of energy. The tragic failure here is that we so often define abundance to be centered upon things, people, or feelings. Christ centers it upon a Person, Himself.

T.Austin-Sparks sees Christ's words, "I came that they may have life," as, "I am come that they may have the same consciousness of God as Father that I have and that they may have the same divine nature in them as I have." Some say we should not try to make Scripture say what it is not saying, and I completely agree, but can we doubt Sparks' take on Christ's words in light of all scripture? In Ephesians, Paul writes that He will do "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can ask or think." Is this just limited to goods and feelings and relationships? When Jesus prayed that we would be in Him as He is in the Father, isn't He praying that we would know the kind of life that He has? No, we cannot have that life in the same fullness that He does, but we can have it in the all the fullness we can receive of it.

The witness of Christ's life was that in any and all situations, He was at total peace, living in the fullness of joy, and always in victory. Nothing that happened around Him could affect or destroy what was going on within Him. The devil, in a full frontal assault, could not steal it from Him. He was, knew, and lived abundant life, even on the cross. This is the life that He gives. Is it the life we have? Paul said he had nothing, but that in Christ he had all things. He said that he could live as a doormat to others if need be, because he knew he lived and reigned with Christ in all things. Circumstances, opinions of others, and the appearance of failure in his life did not change his knowledge or experience of His abundant life. He lived in victory even when the enemy and the world thought him defeated. He had the life Christ came to give. Do we?

For too much of my walk, I thought abundance was marked by stuff, position, and outer well being. It was only through the lack of such that He was able to get my attention, and open my eyes to what true abundance is. It is, as Sparks says, the ongoing development of His life within us. I confess, I still get caught up in the wrong ideas about abundance. When I do, it is then that He shows me how the devil uses my seeking that which is not life, to try and steal all that is. Wherever we seek after that which is not Him, we can be sure, the thief is succeeding in stealing and destroying our lives.

Anne Graham Lotz wrote a book titled "Just Give Me Jesus." May it be that you and I have such a heart cry as well. The enemy will array all that is not Him before us, in hopes that we will seek to find fullness in them. Let's rebuke his offer each time with the simple prayer, just give me Jesus. In Him is life abundant. 

Anything else or less, is not life at all.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Control Freaks

 "Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4:18......."Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted there by the devil." Matthew 4:1

Do we realize that Paul wrote those words to Timothy with the full knowledge that his execution by Rome was very near? He knew he was not going to leave his jail cell or escape the executioner's sword. Just as John knew he would never leave his prison island, and as Peter knew he would not escape his crucifixion. Yet all of them could face these realities for these reasons. They trusted in the goodness and faithfulness of the Father and of Christ.....completely. They did not trust them for deliverance as would be defined by us, but as defined by the 3 in 1 God. They would get them home. Nothing, not the sword, the island or the cross would be able to stop that. They each believed the promise Paul shared with Timothy. Do we? Do we believe that in the chaos, heartache, loss, and battles of life, that none of them, not one, can prevent Him from getting us home? And doing in and through us all that He intends in the journey? 

We speak much of the Spirit-filled life, and what it is to be led of the Spirit. The thing is, we believe that He will lead us to places we wish to go. Places that offer our idea of abundance, well-being, and victory. We see the lives and deaths of Paul, Peter, and John as being necessary for them, but not us. We know and our thankful for Christ and His victory in the wilderness. We don't really believe His Spirit would ever lead us to the same place. We've decided just what the Spirit led life looks like, and cells, islands, the wilderness and crosses have no real place there....for us. Beth Moore said that we are always seeking to make the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit "behave." That is, that they will not allow our lives to ever seem to be out of control. Our control. No matter how we try to "paint it," we're control freaks, and to a very high degree. The Lord must behave according to our expectations and we will go to just about any length to see that He does. When we live such lives, the only result for us is exhaustion and burnout. We're jugglers who never stop juggling. Sooner or later, we will be unable to keep all the aspects of our lives, families, and our ministries going. All of them come crashing down. I think though, that the worst of it all is that in our incessant juggling, we never come to really know Him, understand Him, and grow in Him. We certainly never come to trust Him.

The path walked by Christ, Paul, Peter, John, and all those who have left all to walk with them and their Lord, may well include the prison cell, the sword and the island of exile. It will certainly include the cross. It will not be painless. There will be suffering. There will also be glory, wonder, and a participation in His miraculous work and life. And we will know fully that all will be well. He will get us safely home, because all the way along, we are at home in Him. The control freak in us has died. Has he died in you.....in me?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - PC Grace

 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." ....A.W. Tozer tells the story of visiting a particular church one day and going to the classic John Newton hymn, "Amazing Grace" in their hymnal. He said that he found in the "modern, up do date hymnal," that the original words just given had been changed to "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a one like me." Remarking on this, Tozer said, "We are willing to say that we are not perfect, that we missed the mark, or that we are not really up to par. But we are not ready to say that in ourselves we are nothing more than a wretch. Until we come to the point of understanding what wretches we are, we will never understand the amazing grace of God. It takes a wretch like me to experience the amazing grace of God."

I still remember so vividly being a young preacher and attending a seminar where the leader bluntly said that we needed to change how we presented the gospel. He said we had to move away from what he considered a very negative message, one that clearly stated our lost condition, and the reason for it, our inbred sin, to a more user friendly (my words, not his) one. He considered the first to be hurtful. He said that the people would not respond to it, and that we needed to point them to the love of God in Christ, and what that love could do and mean for them. I also clearly remember leaving that seminar very much on board with what he said. After all, the church he represented was one of the largest in our region. Success seemed to mark everything they did. When I got home, I began crafting my upcoming sermon with that seminar's thoughts in mind. Yet, in the midst of that, and you just have to take my word on it, I sensed the overwhelming presence of His Spirit, and His grieving over what I was doing. There was no condemnation of either me, or the seminar I had just attended. I just had the deep sense that what I was doing was out of line with the purpose for which He had called me. That call was even more deeply impressed upon me just a year later when, upon my ordination, Dr. Charles Strickland, one of the most godly and anointed men I have ever known said to me, "There are strange winds blowing through the church today. Preach the Word!"  

If you have read anything I've written, or heard what I've preached, I think you know I don't believe in beating people up over their sin, or of laying condemnation upon them. But in my spirit arises the question, ever stronger in these days, "How can a person know they are saved, how can they truly be saved, if they have no concept of what it is they are saved from?" Is Jesus just an add on for our natural life? Someone who makes things better, brings along improvements for how we live, even act? Who, if we do Him the honor of accepting Him, makes everything better. If this is who He is, and if this is what His Word reveals and does in us, than the Bible is best found in the "self-help" section of our local bookstore. But He is none of that. He is a Savior and Son, sent by His Father to offer a way out of a sure and perpetual death. The only way. A way that leads to a sure and eternal life. An eternal life that begins  the moment we truly receive Him. And we can only receive Him when we've been confronted with our hopeless and helpless situation. And our desperate need for He who is our only hope and answer to it all. How can we be found if we do not know that we're lost? How can we come to life unless we realize that we're dead? Tozer said that the real definition of a Christian is "One who has come back from the dead." The one who has come back from the dead no longer looks like a dead person. And even those around them who remain dead can see it. This is real conversion. This is the real working of His amazing grace. This, is what His Kingdom love is and is all about. Has this amazing grace and love done its work in you, in us? Are they doing it now?

Amazing grace. It's free, but it will never be cheap. It cost the Father everything through the sacrifice of His Son to give it to us. We need not fear the fullness of it. It's His grace. It will accomplish His work and purpose. We don't need to make it politically correct. His grace is already Kingdom Perfect.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Intervention

 "....and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." 2 Corinthians 5:5....."The power of His resurrection is available when the power of yourself is exhausted. Live in His power. Or better yet, let His power live in you." Chris Tiegreen

"Hi! My name is Gary O'Shell, and I'm an I-dict.......but by the grace, power and blood of Christ, I don't have to be.".....I-dict. What a great term. I heard it used by speaker and author Jennifer Rothschild to describe a large part of her life. It takes in quite a big group. It's every person alive who is trapped in the bondage of an addiction to themselves. This large group includes everyone ever born, for we all enter into this life carrying the weight of sin, the result of which has separated us from the Father. This separation has caused us to turn our eyes from Him who created us, unto ourselves. We were made to worship Him, but our fallen natures have placed self on the throne. We worship ourselves instead. Our ancestors, Adam and Eve got us into this. Only Christ can get us out. But for that to happen it will require an "intervention," and I think, a two-fold one.

The intervention happens when we come face to face with Jesus Christ, and our desperate need of Him. We meet Him not as one who can make our life better. Not as One we can just add on to our lives as our Supreme Helper. And not as One who just wants to love us and help us enjoy life to the fullest. No, He wishes to meet us as Savior and Lord. Those are His terms, not ours. When Christ intervenes in our sin clouded lives, it is not just a warm fuzzy feeling, but a head-on collision with a Risen Savior. Scripture says that when this happens, all things become new, which means they cannot stay the same. The I-diction can't remain. It has to die, and Christ's relentless purpose for us will be that it does. Yet for so many of us, it never has. Will it ever?

I'm struck by what Paul wrote in the above scripture. "That they who live MIGHT no longer live for themselves." The word might is easy to overlook, but to me it says that it's a very real possibility that those who come to Him may never allow this deeper intervention of Christ to take place. I think many who profess to be His, have marked out invisible boundary lines as to just how far and deep we are willing to go with Him. We'll go, give, and live up to a certain point. When it's been reached, we make our spiritual abode there. This is where the I-dict takes over. Has it taken over in you? In us?

The presence of an I-diction is so subtle in our lives. We can deceive ourselves as to its presence. We may be highly active in ministry, very generous in giving of time and resources, and very loving to others, and especially the lost. But the main benefactor is not the Lord and His glory, but ourselves. We're looking for applause, notice, or just plain self-satisfaction. When we fail to get these, the I-dict is offended. Deeply. The I-diction we suffer from will always choke out His Life in us. There can only be one on the throne of our hearts and lives. Christ. 

In the world, interventions with addicts take place when people who love them come together and confront something that is destroying them. It can be very painful. Sometimes the addict melts and agrees to seek help. More often though, they reject the help and run away. It's no different in the spiritual realm. He who is the lover of our souls, will come. He will confront our I-diction. It too can be very painful. Yet if we will stay before Him, place our I-diction, our obsession with ourselves on His altar, His cross, its power will be broken. There is no longer any "might" about it. We no longer live under the power of our I-diction, but in the power and wonder of His Risen Life.

2000 years ago Jesus Christ intervened in the darkness of the lost race of humankind. He broke the power of sin. The fruit of that intervention can be seen everywhere. Can it be seen in us? Or do we need His intervention? There is only one place for that to happen. At the cross.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Wineskins

 "No one pours new wine into old wineskins." Mark 2:22........'We know God easily if we do not constrain ourselves to define Him." Joseph Joubert...."The life of a disciple may be rigorous, but it is never rigid......Though we can certainly expect Him to be constant, we cannot expect Him to be predictable." Chris Tiegreen

Judging, if I may use that word, from what I see on Facebook and other places these days, there seem to be a great many people who feel they have pretty much figured out what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will do and how They will act. We've done quite the job of putting labels upon each other, so its small wonder we should try to place labels upon Him. We see ourselves as flexible and would reject the idea of being considered, "old wineskins." Yet our flexibility seems to disappear whenever we come into contact with anyone who might not agree with our concept of the 3 in 1 God. There is much tragedy to be shared in all of this, but the greatest tragedy is that we have succeeded to a very great degree in removing the mystery of who He is. Our western minds want a Father, a Jesus, a Holy Spirit that we can have reasonable expectations as to how They will show up in our lives. We don't like surprises, and we certainly don't like living in the unexpected. I believe very strongly in having correct doctrine and theology. However, we can construct a God that we insist stays within the bounds of our doctrine, theology, and especially the characteristics of our own group. We don't want Him to step outside the boundaries we've set for Him. When that happens, we become old wineskins, and we can be just as unaware of that as were the Pharisees Jesus spoke of.

Chris Tiegreen writes, "Do we take the time to ponder which of our own wineskins have attempted to accommodate Jesus and failed?....On what points are we rigid? Where do our expectations lie? Do we insist that Jesus bring about our own vision for the future? Do we try to constrain Him to our church structures? Do we rely on methodology in our ministry? (They)....may be good, but Jesus will not fit. He defies constraint. The Lion of Judah cannot be tamed."

Jesus said in John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases." We cannot control the wind. Why do we seek to control He who is the Source of the wind? Joubert's quote is powerful. The less we seek to define Almighty God, the more we may know Him. And the desire of His heart, His greatest desire, is that we know Him. He is a mystery. He says so Himself. But He invites us to enter into His mystery, and behold Him to reveal Himself in its midst. To do that, we have to let go of all of our presumptions about Him. I had a very great friend who has since gone home to Him. One of the favorite things he used to say was that he had an "Oops theology." As in, "Oops, I guess I was wrong." Old wineskins can never live in such a theology. Only new ones can. He will never violate the truth and authority of His Word, but we must know that our limited minds cannot begin to understand how deep, high, and wide His truth really is.

I continue to grow older, and my natural skin is losing the soft, flexible feel it once had. Yet it is my fervent hope that the "skin" of my heart remain as tender and pliable as that of a child. How about you? In the spiritual realm, we're all wineskins. Are we old ones.....or new?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Lost Art

 "He who abides in Me and I in him will bear much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing." John 15:5....."Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30...."And you do not have His message in your hearts because you do not believe Me, the One He sent to you." John 5:38............"The yoke are His Words." Steven Scott

"We have lost the art of abiding in Him." Steven Scott.....The above scriptures may not seem related, but I think they are. The quotes by Steven Scott certainly are. As for the scriptures, they are familiar to most who would profess a long relationship with Him. We've likely done Bible studies and heard sermons where those scriptures were taught, preached, even memorized. The question for us is, are they being lived out in our lives? Do we abide in, live in His Words? Or is our reality that we live apart from the power and life of those words? Is our reality that our day to day lives show forth the unrest of all our labor and heavy burdens? In a devotional written by Scott, he uses this scripture to say, "Others want to weigh you down. Christ wants to carry your load." He carries that load by our walking in His Word. It is His Living Word, alive in our lives that carries the weight the enemy, our flesh, and the challenges and dangers of life seek to place upon us. He who was sent by the Father has given us a message. We may have believed that message in our minds, but does it abide in our hearts, and do our hearts then abide in Him....and His Word?

I wrote the other day of the testimonies that our lives are to speak. Too often the testimony of our life is that we live in ways little different than the world. We are weary, worn out, burnt out, and discouraged. We are held captive by the same things the world is. We live in fear, anxiety, and hopelessness. His Presence seems as far off to us as it is to those who are without Him. We read John 5:38 and feel it applies only to those who have completely rejected Him. Do we dare to ask to what extent it's also true of us? We may know His "message" intellectually, but do we know and live it out in our hearts and spirits? Are we vessels of that message to both a world and church that is desperate to hear and receive it? When we tell people that Jesus saves, can they see in our lives what it is that He saves us from? What He gives us victory in and over? Has His message been written upon our hearts.....for all to see? Or do we more resemble parrots, who can speak words, but have no understanding as to what they mean?

Scott says that we have lost the art of abiding in Him. What say we to that? Do our lives and witness prove him wrong, or right? Saving grace places us in Christ, but it is our moment by moment choice as to whether we will live there. This will require us spending real time in His Presence, soaking spiritually in His Word. Listening more than speaking. Learning to lay aside every distraction. Learning to discern His voice. Learning to abide in Him. Then the "art" that has been lost is rediscovered. And we are now those who have believed, received and live in the power of His message. We know what it is to abide.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Way Of Fire

 "I am already being poured out as a drink offering." 2 Timothy 4:6....."Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." Psalm 118:27....."The altar means fire - burning and purification and insulation for one purpose only, the destruction of every affinity that God has not started and every attachment that is not an attachment to God.............."What is your way of fire?" Oswald Chambers

I am confronted by Chambers question. "What is your way of fire?" The concept of sacrifice is not completely unknown in the western church. There are many who sacrifice a great deal to serve and follow Him. Yet is the sacrifice one that involves the whole self, or is it partial? At root, is the sacrifice really offered up to Him, or is the motivation one that in the end benefits we who make the sacrifice? We can do a lot seemingly for God and others, but be doing it for our gratification far more than His pleasure.

Paul's words to Timothy give witness that he was not his own. He saw his life as being completely poured out for His Lord. Poured out in whatever way or direction it pleased His Father to do. If it led to prison and death, and it did, He received it.....joyfully. He was the bondslave of Christ. Are we?

There seems to be a growing neglect in the church for the teachings of the books found within the Old Testament. "That's law," we think, "and we don't live under the law, but under grace." We show our ignorance in such a statement because the grace and mercy of God is seen throughout His Word, Old Testament and New. More when we fail to understand the significance of those Old Testament offerings to the Lord in our current walk with Him, its no wonder so many of us live such small and powerless lives. Lives that for all their energy, make little eternal impact. Instead of being a whole, burnt offering to Him, we end up presenting Him a mixture. A mixture of our own agenda mixed in with His. And it's usually our agenda and purpose that gets lived out.

A sacrifice that is bound to the altar cannot leave that altar. It is presented to the one who holds the fire. The fire that consumes. For the believer, that One is God, and that fire is His Holy Spirit. When the whole offering, the whole self, is placed on His altar, bound there by holy cords, His Holy Fire then consumes that offering....totally. He then, as Chambers writes, purifies and insulates we who are the offering, and at the same time, destroys every motive, inclination, desire, and thing that is not of Him. This is a lifelong process that goes on as we stay bound to the altar of the Lord. Are you and I bound to that altar, or do we jump off whenever His Holy Fire seeks to burn up something we don't care to have burnt up and out?

What's our way of fire? We will have no way to answer that question so long as we seek a path off the altar? We will know it and discover it as we live lives that are bound with holy cords to His altar and experience the ongoing purification, insulation, and wonderful power of the fire of God. There is a way of fire for each of us. Will we go that way, or, will we continue to insist on having our own way?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - The Testimony

 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony." Revelation 12:11.....".....for death could not keep Him in its grip." Acts 2:24

In my prayer journal I have written down, "He is King of kings and Lord of lords." It's a truth that I want to live by and in. There are times when I don't live as if that's true. Where circumstances, needs, and the opposition of hell seek to pull me away from my standing on that truth. Yet though I forget, He never does. And when those things, and so many others try to crowd out and blind me to this fact, that still small voice that speaks so loudly and clearly, whispers in my ear anew, "I AM King of kings and Lord of lords." When death and darkness seek to choke out His Life and Light in my life, He brings to my heart again His Truth. No amount of death and darkness, and not all the power of hell can keep Him in its grip. And since my life is in Him, it cannot keep me in its grip either. So if they cannot, why do we so often fall prey to them?

By the blood of Christ we are free. By His blood, we have free and total access to the Father and to all the power, unlimited power, at His disposal. This does not mean we will not be faced with tremendous challenges and total impossibilities. It doesn't mean that we won't see situations where "everything is against us." We will. Perhaps often. But if we will truly stand in Him, not just repeating memorized truths, but actually living in those truths, we will, as Revelation says, overcome all the power of darkness, death, and hell by the blood of Christ and the power and truth of our testimony. The death grip on us is broken. His Life grip is now in effect.

Watchman Nee said, "Satan... does not mind our knowledge of the Bible or our theology, but he has to yield when, out of hearts committed to Christ, we declare that Jesus Christ is Lord." On the battlefronts of our lives today, is the enemy yielding to the truth that we serve and live in a risen Savior? Are we the overcomers, or is he the overwhelmer? Do we believe and live in His truth, and so in His grip? Or, have we bought his lies, and so live in the grip of those lies?

He is King of kings and Lord of lords. We know that. It's our theology. Is it the witness and testimony of our lives? The enemy has convinced us that victory will only come when we leave this realm. Till then, he has the upper hand and our lives will reflect that. It's a lie. Have we accepted it? What's the word of our testimony? Whose grip do we live in today? Overcoming or overwhelmed. One or the other is our witness. Which is it? One.......or the other?

Blessings,
PastorO

Heart Tracks - Look At Me!

 "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" Hebrews 12:2

You hear the term "eyes on" a lot in popular culture these days. The idea is one of total focus upon that which we're looking at. We sing, preach, and talk a lot about living with our eyes upon Jesus. How we actually do live can be another matter altogether.

I forget the source of this, but I have in my prayer journal the three kinds of "theology" that those who profess faith in Him can live by. The first is a "Mirror theology." This is where we filter our perception and hope in Him through the self. We, and that which concerns us, are the center of everything. Our eyes are set upon ourselves. Everything else, including the King, is outside of that center....The second life theology is "Window theology." This is where we place everything that is going on around us at the forefront. This can include a very great mixture of what we would consider both "good" and "bad" things. We can be very focused on our circumstances, needs, or the circumstances and needs of others. We can be living in fear of them, or we can be actively seeking to change them. Whatever our reaction, and no matter how much energy we may be expending in trying to do "good," our focus is still on what is going on around us. We're "eyes on" with what is happening outside the window we're looking through. They, like the self, have our attention, and so, they have control over us....The last theology is likely the most elusive. This is "Skylight theology." We are neither looking inward, focused on ourselves, or outward, focused on our circumstances, but upward, focused on Him alone. We are "eyes on" with Christ the King. John, held prisoner on the island of Patmos, could have easily been living in both a mirror and window theology. He chose not to. With all that was happening in and around him, Revelations 4:1 reads, "Then as I looked I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, 'Come up here and I will show you what must happen after these things.' " .............Those of us who are committed to living out a mirror or window theology will not be hearing the sound of the mighty trumpet blast in our lives. We have to live looking up for that.

Henry Blackaby writes much about how easily we can become disoriented to the Father through self-interest and and the power of circumstances. Such a life distracts and distorts, and that is how we end up living; distracted and distorted. We need to be reoriented to God, but that can only happen when we live eyes on with Jesus Christ. the author and finisher of our faith. The beginning and end of all that we see.

A missionary grandmother named Cheryl tells this story about she and her husband's contact with their granddaughter while far removed from her on the mission field. They kept in touch with her through weekly sessions via computer webcam. In one such time they were talking to the little girl when, in frustration, she pointed to herself and said, "I'm right here, I'm right here." They had been looking at the screen, and doing so made them look down, not up at their granddaughter. She thought they were looking at everything but her. The missionary then wrote, "I began to think of the distractions in my life and the times I look down instead of up. I think God is often saying to me, 'I'm right here, I'm right here! Look at Me!' It's only when my eyes are focused on Christ that I gain a proper perspective on everything and fully experience His joy and peace."

We'll  live "eyes on" with something or someone. Is that Someone Christ, and is that something His joy, peace, life, and love. Or, are we trapped in the morass of a mirror and window theology that keeps us seeing everything and everyone but Him and the fullness of His Life? There is a mighty trumpet blast to be heard, and a window open in heaven for us to see, as John did, the Father on His throne, and the Son, at His right hand. Do we hear, and do we see? Or, do we go on looking into the mirror, and out of the window?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Running On Empty

 "When the vessels were full....she said to her son,'Bring me another vessel,' and he said to her, 'There aren't any more!' And then the olive oil stopped flowing." 2 Kings 4:6........."The oil of God's Spirit flows according to the measure man has prepared for God." Watchman Nee

Questions: If all we do is to be done for the glory of God, how much time do we spend just bathing in that glory, in His Presence? If worship is to be a lifestyle, how prepared are we to live that life? As individuals, families, and fellowships, how prepared are we to receive all the "oil" of His fullness? Do we come before Him empty of self, or full? What's in, or not in, the vessels we bring before Him?

"Preparation is everything." That, or a phrase quite like it is commonly heard among people. Not a lot happens according to what some would call, "Dumb luck." Most people who excel have done so because they prepared to. This seems to be a trait in athletics, business, and chosen professions. I don't think it's a trait found very often in the western church. When we come to whatever we wish to call our church services these days, as well as to the living out of our day to day lives, how prepared are we to truly encounter the Spirit of the Lord there? I'm not saying we're not "prepared" to be there. Indeed, countless hours may have been spent in worship team and choir practice. Not to mention in teaching lessons, and certainly in the message from the platform. That kind of practical preparation may not be lacking, but how about our spiritual prep? From the one who arrives first to the service to the one who comes last, how prepared are they, we, to truly hear, receive from, and encounter the wonder that is Almighty God? This is a question for us whether we are walking through the doors of the church, or out of the door of our home.

We come to our gatherings in just about every kind of condition. We come filled with joy and praise, as well as brokenhearted and grieving. We come with many expectations, and in too many cases, no expectations. We seem to be able and willing to come in most every kind of condition except that which is most needed. That's the condition of emptiness. Empty of self. Self reliance, self congratulation, and maybe worst of all, self satisfaction. We may come with a great deal of realized need, but with a full load of resentment, anger, bitterness, hopelessness, and despair. We can be so full of both "good" and "bad" things that there's no room at all for He who is the One thing. In the world, running on empty carries a negative meaning. It says we lack strength, endurance, and are in a deep state of need. Self reliance seeks to find a way to reverse it all. Christ reliance seeks the fullness, filling and refilling only He can give. And He loves to pour His fullness into every area of our lives. As I have it in my prayer journal, "We keep on being empty so that we can keep on being full." The only limit on His filling us with His Life is the room we have for it in our hearts and spirits. This is where our role in the preparation comes in. We surrender all, and in return we receive His all. All of Him in all of our lives. Whether we be pastor, teacher, singer, or attender, how much of this "preparation" will actually go into our next gathering for what we might call worship? Indeed, how much of this preparation will go into how we step out into the chaos of the world we live in? Worship is a lifestyle, not a scheduled event.

I read somewhere recently that most of us tend to live like reservoirs, depending on the oil we can store up. What God desires is that we live like channels. Channels that receive the constant inflow of His Life and Spirit, and in return, give back to Him the glory due His name, and the oil of the Spirit that a starving world so desperately needs. Then a great impossibility takes place. We run on empty, but we are never found empty. We are prepared to be made full, and we are made full.... We all run. On what are we running right now? The fullness of self, or the fullness of Him?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Heart Tracks - Is There Room?

"As the priests came out of the inner sanctuary, a cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not minister because the glory of the Lord filled the Temple." I Kings 8:10-11.........'Dare we confess that even in our public worship, the influence of the Lord is very small? We sing of Him and preach about Him, but He must not interfere!.........."The prevailing condition among Christians today, as I see it, is that there is a sense of God's absence among us. Many believe in God. Many worship God and even sing about Him. But it is almost as if He is not there." A.W. Tozer

In my last Heart Thoughts, I wrote of our having a deepening hunger to behold the glory of the Lord. In response to that, a good and fine brother, Earl Robertson, wrote me of a story told him by a friend and fellow minister named Dick Eastman, a man much used of the Lord, and someone I too have had the joy of meeting. Dick tells of a youth conference he had been called to participate in, and how in the midst of it, God spoke, asking him if in this conference, there was "room for His glory." Here is the story that Earl shared with me...................................
Finally in the early morning hours, the Lord clarified to Dick what He meant.  He asked Dick a series of questions:  Have you ever heard better speakers?  Dick's response, No.  Have you ever heard any better choirs and singers?  Dick's response, No.   Have you seen a better organized convention?  Dick's response was , in essence, it has run like clockwork.  The Lord then said, "Who is going to make room for my Glory?"  "I want you to make room for my Glory".  How Lord?   I do not want you to do what you planned.  Dicks response, But Lord, I have all these notes that complete the previous sessions.  God responded, "Who is going to make room for my Glory?"   In a surrender, perhaps of resignation, he said "I will Lord.  What do you want me to do?"  God responded, "Nothing,  I just want you to stand up there (you can imagine what when through his mind).  Tell them to read Isaiah 6."  So he did that.  God moved in as those young people allowed the Word to convict them and repented before a Holy God.  Dick was praying during this time and when we he looked out, he said it looked like a "war zone".  Young people crying out to God, some kneeling in their seats, some lying face down, some clinging to the altar.  The Glory of God fell on that place because one man dared to make room for His Glory. 

I love the music of the church, and I believe we deeply need to have Christ and scripture centered preaching, laced with Holy Spirit fire. Yet I also believe that there are times, many times, when what we're singing and preaching actually distracts from Him. You think not? Just how open are a great many worship leaders to the idea of not being able to go completely through their selected song list for that service? How many are truly willing to step aside and away, so that God alone is the focus? We're so anxious to create an atmosphere of worship that we lose sight of the One we say we're worshiping. For we preachers; how many of us are really willing to have the message we put so much time crafting, so much thought, even prayer into, swept aside? And we say nothing at all, so that He alone may speak? How honest are we willing to be in this?

Matt Redman wrote the beautiful but simple "Heart of Worship" in the aftermath of the church he led  in worship foregoing any kind of music at all for more than three months. They thought they had become performance centered and emotion pleasing. They were taking away from Him. They removed themselves from the "picture," and the result was a great move of the Spirit upon the people, the worship ministry, and the pastor. The reality is, we can, as Erwin McManus says, "lose Christ in the midst of the church that bears His name." We can, and so often we have. Can we dare to allow the Spirit to search as to how true it may be in us?

As I write this morning, churches across the nation are preparing to gather in His name. Will there be room for His glory? Will we be willing to make room for it? Do we really desire to have such a time as came upon the priests of the Lord in I Kings? Where we cannot stand to minister because He fills the church? Or, will brother Tozer's words be more to the fact for us? Will we sing of Him, speak of Him, but all the while not notice that it really seems as if He's not there? Who and what will be at the center of it all? Our songs, message, and agenda? Our singers and our preacher? Or God and God alone? Seen in Christ alone, through the power of the Holy Spirit alone. May He not be lost in the midst of we who call ourselves His church. May His glory fill these temples we call our bodies, as well as the temples these bodies meet in. To God be the glory. All the glory.

Blessings
Pastor O