Everything

 "Everything is going against me." Genesis 42:36...."If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31......."He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies." Psalm 23:5

A statement and two promises. That's what we have in the beginning of this writing. The statement is something that has either been spoken or thought by just about all of us. It was spoken first by Jacob upon learning that his sons had been directed to bring their youngest brother with them for their return to Egypt. Jacob had already lost his cherished son Joseph, and now it seemed he would lose young Benjamin. Everything did indeed appear to be against him. Have you been there? Are you there now? If not, you very likely will be. It's a "must stop" on the journey of every true follower of the King. If it weren't, we would never have the chance to discover the power and truth of the two promises, and a multitude of other promises He gives us along the way.

I have been in Jacob's place. I have lived in the place of despair, when it really did appear as if everything, and I mean everything, was working against me. Places where things went from bad to worse, to even worse. The way just kept getting darker and the visible hope lesser. All I had were His promises, the best of which was the promise of His Presence. It was in the place of "everything is against me," that I began to really discover the depths of His promise in Romans 8:31. If God truly was for me, then who was it that could be against me and prevail? My great challenge was to believe this when "everything" screamed at my mind and spirit that I was destroyed.

The first great testing of my faith came in the first year after my wife had left me and my ministry appeared to have ended. Circumstances, problems, needs, just seemed to increase by the day. I truly felt like Job, receiving one bad report after another, and each seemingly worse than the one before. I was in a tunnel, and the tunnel just kept getting longer and darker. Through it all I heard the shouting of the enemy that I really was destroyed, and the whisper of His grace, encouraging me to take one more step, one more moment, hour, day of trust. The whisper that simply said, "I am for you, and I'm greater than all that is against you. That can ever be against you." So, I kept on through the tunnel, believing that what He whispered was true. Still, the enemy kept up his shouting.

Someone said that when Jesus invited Peter to step out upon the water, Peter didn't step out on the waves, but upon Christ's words. That is how we must learn to live. That is how I am still learning to live. The dark tunnel I was journeying through didn't end overnight, but it did end. I did come out. The Bible says that He will bring us out into a broad place. He did so for me, and in the journey, the places continued to get broader and wider. They still do, and maybe the most precious realization I experienced was the fulfillment of Psalm 23:5. He did prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy and enemies. He restored me. He continues to restore me. He silenced the mockery of the devil and enabled me to partake of the riches of His table. All through the journey, my God was for me. He is still for me, and He is still for you.....if you will believe and receive Him.

Everything may be against you today. Take heart, He is for you, and He brings His everything against the everything of the enemy and the world system he operates through. Take heart and take hold. He's already prepared the table. You will partake of it in the presence of your enemy. Keep walking. One step at a time.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Gifts

 Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.  Psalm 105:19

If I were to ask you as to what you would call a "gift from God," how would you answer? When we think of His gifts we usually have them in a very positive light. Gifts, according to our definition, are things that bless us and make us happy. In fact, gifts and blessings are something we desire and almost always see as good things. We don't see how His blessings could ever come in the form of something we didn't want or a person we didn't desire in our life.....but God does.

Psalm 105:19 is speaking of Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob. God had shown him in a dream that he would be a ruler over even his brothers. He received this eagerly, bragging to his brothers about it. This earned him their hatred and they eventually sold him into slavery, with his ending up a slave in Egypt. His journey through next decade plus took him from slavery in an Egyptian household to a cell in an Egyptian prison. Through it all, he was used of God, and through it all, he grew in wisdom, discernment, understanding, and most of, in godly character. In the Father's timing, he was released through prison and because of who he'd become as man, was made second only to Pharaoh himself in power and influence. A terrible drought struck his homeland and God used him to eventually deliver his family and people. God's promise came to pass in his life, but it's doubtful that he'd have ever chosen the road he'd walked in order to get there. Most likely, neither would we. Yet, there is no doubt that as he looked back on his life events, he could see the Father's hand and blessing on all of it. Everything that had happened really was a gift because He used it to make him able to receive the promise and to enter into his destiny. God's gifts and blessings can often come in very ugly wrapping.

In the midst of our unwanted circumstances and dealings with very difficult people, what is our general view of it all? Aren't we most likely to complain, plead with Him to get us out of it, or them away from us? Is our interest most centered on it all just ending, and as soon as possible. We grin and bear it until it's done, and when it is done, we're really no different than when it all began. We missed the gift and blessing He had for us in all of it. What blessings and gifts might we be missing in our circumstances and with those difficult people right now?

Joseph never wanted slavery and he certainly didn't desire the prison cell, but he would never have become the ruler he was without them. He couldn't have been the man who could inhabit that place. His circumstances and the difficult people all along the way really were the Father's gifts to him, because they were used to shape him to His Father's purposes. He never rebelled in the midst of it all. He yielded himself to God and to what was happening in his life. And, he trusted his God in the midst of it all. He never forgot his dream and His promise in it. He never took his eyes off the promise or the God who gave it.

Gifts in ugly wrappings. He will send them. Will we, we you, receive them? Will you trust Him as He unwraps them before you. Will you believe that He will use even these things and people to further His work in you and through you? There have been several intensely dark times in my life where I have walked through "the valley of the shadow of death." I never wanted to, but I came to realize His gift to me was to know that I could walk through and reach the place where He meant to take me. And I realized that the shadow of death may be able to frighten me, but a shadow can't hurt me. Ugly circumstances, difficult people, He uses them to bring to the surface the things in us that hinder our walk, lessen our love, and keep us from growing more and more in the image of Christ. Jesus Christ is our ultimate gift, and anything that shapes us more and more into His likeness is a gift. Oftentimes those gifts will come in ugly wrappings. Will we receive them? Or will we reject the gift?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Battle Plan

 "When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the Temple of the Lord to pray 2 Kings 19:1....."After Hezekiah received the letter and read it, he went up to the Lord's Temple and spread it out before the Lord." 2 Kings 19:14

I have always loved this chapter in 2 Kings as it details the threats of the mighty Assyrian Empire against the small kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians had conquered all the lands around them and now they and their king, Sennacherib had turned their attention upon King Hezekiah and his people. Sennacherib had sent messengers to the very walls of Jerusalem, threatening the city and its people with total destruction if they didn't yield to him. Even more, his messengers mocked the trust of Hezekiah and the people in their God. He related all the nations he had destroyed, how their gods hadn't been able to save them, and how their God Jehovah would be helpless against him as well. Hezekiah's officials listened to the threats. They alone conversed with the messengers as Hezekiah had instructed the people to not "answer them a word." The officials took the message to Hezekiah, and it is in his response that we see how to deal with any and all threats hurled at us by the enemy of our souls. Hezekiah knew the heavy reality of the threats and the power behind them. He didn't panic or lose heart. He went into the presence of His God.....and worshiped Him. The first thing he did in the crisis was to seek the face of His God. In our moments of crisis, what is our "first thing?"

The immediate result of this act was that God spoke directly to his heart telling him, "Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against Me......I Myself will move against him." And the Father did so. Sennacherib soon received reports of disturbances at home, and he returned there, but before he left, he sent Hezekiah a letter, reaffirming his promise to utterly destroy Jerusalem. Hezekiah's response was to once again go before his God and give all the details of the letter and all of its threats to Him. In his prayer he said, "Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that You alone, O Lord, are God." Sennacherib did return home, but he never returned to Jerusalem. He was murdered by two of his counselors. What God had promised had happened, and what had seemed an almighty and unbeatable foe had been overcome by the One who is truly Almighty and truly unbeatable. All of this is historical fact, and in these facts God has been glorified. A tiny nation that had no chance against the mightiest empire on earth withstood all of that nation's power. Not because they were mighty, but because their God was Almighty. Can we, can you, believe that He will be the same for us? Even in the face of the greatest threats, dangers, and adversaries we may ever face?

I titled this writing "Battle Plan." I did so because we need to recognize that we have a powerful spiritual enemy in the person of the devil. He's real and He despises the human race that God loves. He especially hates those who have given their lives to this God. He will ceaselessly appear before us, breathing threats, mocking our faith in Him, painting the horrifying portrait of what he means to do to our nations, church fellowships, ministries, marriages, families, and livelihoods. In ourselves we have no power against him. In Him, in Christ, he has already been conquered. Satan counts on our, your, fear and panic. Refuse to give in to it. Take the threats, the dangers, the "letters" he sends us, into His presence. Worship Him. Praise Him. Bring it all to Him and give it all to Him. James Robison once said, "If we won't put it in His hands, into whose hands will we put it?" Satan came against Hezekiah in the person of Sennacherib. He will come against us in many other persons and forms. Stand firm. Stand tall and look to the King. He will deliver. He will be glorified. And all, including us, will know anew that He alone is God.

Blessings,

Pastor O

More Gleanings

 Some more sharing from my prayer journal......

"The key to faith is not the size of our faith, but the size of our God." Chris Tiegreen......Somehow, we seem to get the idea that if we just work up enough "faith," God will respond to our pleas. Nowhere in His Word are we told this, but as we so often do, we take heavenly revelation and bring it down to earthly understanding....Jesus said that if we had faith "as a mustard seed, we could say to this mountain, 'be moved' and it will be." A mustard seed is the tiniest of seeds yet when planted yields a very large tree. God does not require that we have overwhelming faith before He will act. He requires that we have faith....even if it's the size of a mustard seed. The key is in focusing not on the size of our faith, but upon the One in whom we exercise our faith. We like to say that we serve a "big God," but as A.W. Tozer points out, that designation leaves us with the idea that there is a limit to His bigness. Not so. His greatness is infinite and can't be measured. There is no limit. So, if we have even a little faith, we can place it in our infinitely great God and He will honor it, and He will act. Never forget Christ's words to the father who sought the healing of his daughter. The father had said to Jesus, "If you can do anything, please help her." Jesus replied, "If I can? All things are possible to him who believes," to which the father answered, "I do believe. Help me with my unbelief." Personally, I am thankful that Christ recognizes my humanity and struggles at times to fully believe. He takes the faith I offer, even if it is as small as a mustard seed, and acts upon it. Praise His Name that He receives even our mustard seed faith.

"We ask, 'What do I owe You?' rather than 'What can I give You?' " Unknown Source.....I believe in biblical storehouse tithing. The giving of at least 10% to the Kingdom of God. However, I think we, including myself, have gone about the teaching of tithing in the wrong way. Most often we present it as a command to be obeyed and a duty observed. We tell people that they'll be blessed if they do and have scarcity if they don't. The result is that people may give their tithe, but there is no joy in the giving. They do so because they want the pluses but not the minuses. We miss completely that He calls us to be joyful givers. He is a God who gives lavishly. I can testify to this personally in my life. Materially, financially, and above all, spiritually, He has poured His blessings into my life. So much so that He took me well past my giving as coming from a duty to that of being a ministry of joy. I traversed the gap between seeing tithing and giving as "I have to" to "I get to." In the realm of being a joyful giver I discover more and more of His heart. It's no longer an obligation, but a blessing. And I discovered anew, as the old saying goes, "You cannot outgive God." Have you really discovered this as well? If you give unto the Kingdom, do you do so because you have to, or because you love to?

"Let God's truth work in you by soaking in it." Oswald Chambers.....In close to four decades of ministry now, I continue to grieve over all those who never seem to live in the power of His Word. They attend church, Bible studies and prayer groups, and yet never seem to enter into the fullness of His promises. His Word never seems to be real to them. To be alive in them. I think the greatest reason for this is that they, and perhaps to a some degree, we, do not allow ourselves to "soak" in the beauty, wonder, and power of its truth. We read it, even memorize it, but we don't allow it to penetrate our hearts and minds. It never becomes a part of us. We know it is His Living Word, but it never comes to really live in us. We can't understand why this is, but I believe it's because we've no idea what it is to just contemplate deeply what His Word and words are saying. Nor do we really ask Him to make His Word alive in us. Jesus said, "How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" It is through His Spirit that the Word comes to be alive in us. How deep has your desire for this been? If you're one who has yet to enter into the kind of fullness He has promised, would you dare to take the step of simply placing yourself before Him, allowing yourself to be saturated with and in Him? Scripture tells us Christ is "the Living Word." We soak in His Word by soaking in Him. With this, His Word goes from being printed ink on a page, to a living, breathing reality in our lives. May His Living Word live in you and me today!

Blessings,

Pastor O

Trained

 He trains my hands for battle; He strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. Psalm 18:34

I was talking with a pastor friend recently who has been working with a number of people who are coming out of very dark and difficult places. Places where sin and its effects have had terrible impact on their lives and the lives of those around them. He is very glad to be used by Him to help them, but he shared how with all of them, there must come a time when they cease to rely upon him and come to rely upon God. More, instead of venting about the difficulties of their lives and seeking words of comfort and encouragement from him, they needed to learn to stand and fight for themselves but fight with the knowledge that their strength and skill in the battle come from Him. From the power of Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit.

The author of the 18th Psalm is David, who knew much about being trained for battle. His training began with lesser enemies such as bears, wolves, and lions. His battle skills improved to the place of slaying the giant Goliath armed only with a sling and some smooth stones. They progressed to the point of conquering not only the Philistine people who'd been oppressing Israel, but to all the nations around them. From shepherd boy to warrior king, His God had been training him all along the way in victory. Our God will do the same for us.....but we must be willing to undergo the training.

In trouble and pain, it is human and natural to seek comfort. It isn't wrong to do so. We need friends and ministers around us who can do so, but we cannot become reliant upon them. We have to be alert to the danger of relying upon their strength and never developing any strength of our own. We are called to live an overcoming life, and we can never do so until we come to the place where we are willing to stand and fight for ourselves in the battle. He gives us all the weapons we need in order to do so. The book of Ephesians lists the "armor of God" and these weapons will enable us to prevail. However, no weapon is effective if we have no idea how to use it. We learn to trust in the shield of faith by exercising our trust in Him. We learn to wield the sword of the Spirit by growing ever deeper in our knowledge and experience of the truth of His Word and its infinite power. We learn of the invulnerable strength of the breastplate of righteousness by growing ever deeper into His holiness of life. We learn all of this and more by choosing to stop "running" to others and their weapons and learning to employ our own. We stand and fight....and when we do, we prevail. We overcome. We are victorious.

No true army ever recruits soldiers and then sends them into battle with no training in warfare. Yet I believe we have done so in too many ways in the church. There is nothing wrong with support groups, programs, or counseling. All can be very helpful, but too many have become dependent upon them and never learn to depend upon the infinite power of God in Jesus Christ. They seek to hide when the only real solution is to fight the good fight of faith. We need to make our people aware of who our true enemy really is, Satan, and the weapons he employs against us. We need to teach that he's a defeated enemy, but as a good friend has said, "he will never admit he's defeated." Therefore, he will relentlessly attack and seek to take back what he's lost. He cannot when we know how to fight him. When we know that He has given us every resource in Christ to put him to flight every time he comes around "roaring like a lion." Where is this toothless lion roaring at you today? Will you stand and fight....and prevail? All the power of the Kingdom of God is at our disposal. When David faced Goliath, he ran to the battle. When whatever "Goliath's" the enemy dredges up to try to overcome us, may we not run from the battle, but to it. Ultimately, we will win the field......every time. Run to the battle.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Precious

 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1.....You are the God who sees me Genesis 16:13

There is a message that has its origins in the heart of hell. It's author is the devil. This message has been proclaimed throughout the history of the human race, and sadly, countless souls have believed it down through the ages. Simply stated, this message says to us, "You don't matter!" God has proven the lie of this message in almost infinite ways and has most clearly done so in Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 is so much more than a sign we see at baseball and football games. It is more than the verse that so many in the church have committed to memory but have yet to really comprehend. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Such was and is the love of God for the lost human race that He created and loves so desperately, that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue it. Christ, fully God, became fully man, and took upon Himself on the cross the penalty for our sin. We could not redeem ourselves, only the sinless perfection of Christ could do that. So, He came to us, lived among us, gave Himself up for us, was killed by us, and rose again from death for us. In doing so, He offers forgiveness, spiritual healing, and newness of life to all who will believe upon and receive Him as Lord and Savior. Theologians calls this the atonement. He paid the price, atoned for our sin. As the beautiful old hymn says, "Such love! Such wondrous love!" Our finite minds cannot begin to comprehend the wonder of it all.

So, I return to that message from the pit; "You don't matter!" I cannot begin to relate all the wrecked lives I have encountered who have been convinced of that lie. The result for them has been hopelessness, despair, and deep sorrow. We were created to know and experience His love flowing out of a deep relationship with Him. Sin has separated us from that love but in Christ, the offer of restoration of that relationship is offered. We matter to Him. You matter to Him. Everything in your life may seem to contradict that truth, but it is true. It is the experience of my life that it's true. Scripture says that He came to "seek and save that which has been lost." I, and millions of others throughout the history of the human race know the truth of that Scripture. It is the testimony of my life.

In August of 1979, in the dining room of the home I grew up in, I met and yielded to the Savior who had come for me. I was one living in darkness, held in the grip of death, who at age 29, saw no future, and no hope. Beaten down by the world, I was lifted up from the pit by the One whose love had sought me out. Amidst a world that told me I didn't matter, He proved to me that I did. It was not the last time that it was to be so. Exactly 10 years later, in August of 1989, my world collapsed. I lost my marriage, my family, and my ministry. I felt like I had lost everything, and in the midst, I could hear the mocking voice of the enemy telling me, "You don't matter." Certainly not to the world, but seemingly, not even to the church. Yet He had not forgotten me. I mattered to Him. I was precious to Him. And He wasn't going to leave me in that place. He didn't leave me in that place. He was and is the God who sees me. Who sees us. Who sees you. Who seeks and saves what has been lost. The Redeemer. Our Redeemer who lives.

If the voice of the deceiver has convinced you that you don't matter, that you've been forgotten, choose to reject that lie. He sees you, knows where you are, and has come for you where you are. Words fail to describe how precious to Him that you are. He came, He has come, and He comes to you now. Nothing can stop Him except your refusal to receive Him. Don't refuse. Embrace the One who seeks to embrace you. Embrace Him now.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Gleanings

 I thought I'd share a few more gleanings from my prayer journal today.....

"Lord, may we give you permission to blow our minds with the things you wish to tell us." Chris Tiegreen...One of the great obstacles we have in securing a dynamic faith is our insistence on rationally and intellectually trying to explain all that His Word says. In doing this we've so watered it down as to make His Word powerless. We never seem to understand that we infinite beings will never be able to fully comprehend, let alone explain an infinite God. Our pride keeps us from admitting this, so we try anyway. So we miss having Him reveal to us the "great and wonderful things that we do not know" that Jesus spoke to His disciples about. He told them point blank that He had so much more He wanted to share with them but that, "you are not able to receive it." He says the same to us, and too often, we also are not able to receive it. This is where we, like Tiegreen, need to give Him "permission" to share with us the wonders He has for us, even if it does "blow" all our preconceived notions, ideas, and understanding. Our need for this will be found in our examining just how long has it been since He told us or shared with us anything that amazed us? Are we willing to have the shaky foundations we've formed for ourselves toppled by revelation from His heart and mind that take us more deeply into Him than we ever thought possible? Yes, may we, you and I, give Him the permission to do so.

"If the devil picks a fight with you, stand until the storm passes by...and it will pass by." RT Kendall....The Pharaoh of Egypt could not stop picking fights with God and His people. After stubbornly refusing to release the Israelites from their slavery and suffering through many devastating plagues as a result, he finally told Moses to take the people and go. Then he had a change of heart and took his army in pursuit. He caught up with them at the Red Sea. It was there that Moses said to the people, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf." The Red Sea was parted, the pursuing Egyptians destroyed by its returning to its usual dimensions. Someone said that if we will trust Him in the midst of the enemy's most devastating attacks, He will make the devil regret ever striking at us to begin with. Surely Pharoah regretted his actions. Satan, who was the one moving through him did as well. He always will. Storms, mountains, giants, enemies will always be coming against us in this life. Our part is to stand in the midst of them and behold Him as He moves, works, and fights on our behalf. Whatever comes will pass by, and He will lead us through...to the other side...to home.

"The look of Jesus transforms and transfixes." In Mark 10 as Jesus converses with the rich young ruler, He's just been told that the young man has always kept all the rules of the law. Scripture says that Jesus looked at Him with great love, then called upon him to sell all, leave all, and follow Him. The rich young man could not. I've come to think that it was the look of Jesus even more than His words that so impacted the young ruler. In His eyes He could see that all his own "righteousness" was nothing. He, a man of affluence and position, needed Jesus just as much as the blind beggar a few yards away. When we look into His eyes, we are undone. We stand naked before Him. It is then that we choose to either come with Him or walk away. The rich young ruler walked away. Do we?

Just some words and thoughts to "chew on" today.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Hated

 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first." John 15:18....."Those who want to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come into conflict with it." Titus Brandsma, Murdered at the Nazi Concentration Camp at Dachau...."If Jesus Christ preached what is coming from most of the pulpits these days, He'd have never been crucified." Leonard Ravenhill

One of the things I like to do is post quotes on my Facebook account from a number of prominent preachers, writers, and leaders in His church, both past and present. Some of them, indeed many of them, are quite strong. Confrontational might be a better word. Oftentimes, I get "feedback" on these from well meaning, but I believe at least somewhat misguided people in the church. Usually it's on the line of "We just need to show His love to people. We'll win them by our love for them." That is correct, but the misguidance comes in the form of their not knowing or understanding the nature of His love. A book was written some years ago by a man who titled it, Love Wins! It emphasized a love that is far more human than it is divine. In response to that book, someone said, "Yes, love wins, but it also warns." I think the church is suffering from a distinct unwillingness to confront a lost world and a backslidden church with His warnings from His Word. Jesus didn't fail to do this, and lest we forget, the way was prepared for the coming of Christ the Messiah by John the Baptist, who preached a message of repentance that confronted the sinful condition of the very human race Christ was coming to redeem.

Jesus did indeed come with a message of the Father's love. Love for a race that was hopelessly lost. He performed many miraculous acts of love. He was the exact representation of His Father's love. He still is. Yet it was not His miraculous acts and displays of God's lavish love that got Him into trouble. It was the words He spoke that confronted people with their spiritual captivity to their sin. Words that He spoke from a heart of love, but words that had no room for compromise. It was His words that declared that He alone was "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." It was His confrontational proclamation that "No one may come unto the Father EXCEPT THROUGH ME." It was His rejection of our good works alone being enough to atone for the guilt that the entire human race has been under since the sin of Adam. It was His call to "take up your cross and follow Me." These and so many other "words" enraged not only the religious leaders of the day, but all those who would refuse to receive Him on His terms and not theirs. He spoke in absolutes. He still does. Why don't we? Why won't we?

Look, I am not for a hardline message that only seeks to threaten people with damnation unless they receive Him. I want no part of a presentation of a harsh, unforgiving God who delights in punishment and banishment from His presence. Jesus never presented such a message. What He did present was a Father God who stood before a lost human race, bound for hell, in the Person of His Son. A God who cried out for the heart and souls of a people He loved and still loves. A God who continues to cry out to every generation since. He boldly tells us our state and the consequences of rejecting Him. He also boldly tells us of all that we may have in Him. Abundant life. Here and through eternity. He never whitewashed anything. He told the truth, all the truth of His message, and He never feared the consequences. He already knew what they'd be, death on a cross. That's why He came, because He knew that only through His death and His taking of the sin of the world upon Himself, could His offer of life make us free. His message got Him crucified. Are we so committed to also telling that message that we'll undergo the same?

Where does Ravenhill's quote apply to us above? Would we proclaim His message of life even if the result was being placed in the hellhole that was Dachau? As preachers, teachers, members of the Body of Christ, is what we're proclaiming enough to bring upon us what was brought upon our Lord? Or do we want to play it safe.....and call it love?

Blessings,
Pastor O

God Works

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I don't remember whether it was my own thought or I picked it up from someone else, but I've written in my prayer journal in response to Romans 8:28, "In the Beginning....In the Meantime....Till the End....God works." God works. He is always working. No matter what we see going on around us and no matter what lies the enemy whispers to us, He is working for our ultimate good. He never ceases, and He never rests in His efforts on behalf of us. What joy should we have, what assurance and what peace to know that the Creator of all things, the Infinite Almighty, is working His will and purposes in and through all of that which makes up our lives.

We live in a fallen, desperately sin sick world. We will never be immune to the effects of that on this side of eternity. But as the Word says, we are not those who live without hope. We are not victims to this broken world. In Christ, we are Victors over it. We are because He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness, death, and sin. We live in time, but He works in time through the perspective of eternity. Life will most often take us by surprise, but it will never surprise Him. When the crisis comes, He has already been working out His means of provision, help, deliverance, and victory. It is oftentimes a process, which is how He works "in the meantime." We walk with Him through the process, the meantime, and He works out our salvation in the journey. And there will not be only one crisis, but many. He will be faithfully working in the beginning of them, through their meantime, and to the end of them, and the end of our time here in the temporal. We rarely see this as it happens, but His expectation is that we take Him at His Word and trust that He is, and He's not at all limited by our circumstances or the seeming impossibilities that they carry. Such knowledge brings peace. Do we, do you, have such knowledge, such peace on this day? On all days?

As I look back on some of the darkest times that I walked through, I remember how I foolishly accused Him of "doing nothing" while I suffered. Now, from the perspective of looking back, I can see so many places where He was working on my behalf, piecing things, supplies, and people together to bring about His purposes for me. I came to realize that the reason I thought He was doing nothing was because I could only look around at all that was wrong. I was not looking upward to the One who promised to get me through and get me home. Maybe you're making that same mistake today. Paul in his writings talked about how not even the bite and sting of snakes and scorpions could deter him from the calling and purpose the Father had placed on his life. As someone said, he did not give his time to looking at the snakes and scorpions of the fallen realm, but upon the face of His Father and the reality of His Kingdom. We can do no less.

In the beginning. In the meantime. To the end....God works. May that be burned upon our hearts and minds. The only thing that can stand against the power and truth of this is our failure to believe it.

Blessings,
Pastor O 

The Yoke

 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30......"His "yoke" is the calling we have from Him. It is tailor made for us individually. It is how we can do what we do." Michael Brown

An article from Michael Brown helped me to see this, perhaps, too familiar Scripture in a new and deeper way. In Matthew 11:28-30, I think we tend to emphasize the rest He invites us to, and He does, and it is beautiful. But what thought have we given to the yoke and its makeup? What about the words "easy" and "light?" What do they mean? As Brown points out, Christ nowhere invites us into an easy life. He promises that we will have trouble in this world. He calls us into the fellowship of His sufferings. What's easy and light about these? 

Part of it is in understanding how a yoke works, which most of us non-farm folk don't. A poorly fitted yoke would chaff and cut an ox as he pulled a plow or performed some other labor. Fitting it just right meant that the animal didn't suffer needlessly in the carrying out of his purpose. That's where Brown's above quote comes into clarity. His yoke for us is the calling He has placed upon our lives, and all of us have one. We tend to think only in terms of those called to full time ministry, but He places no such limitations. His calling can place us anywhere doing anything. The point is that wherever we are, we are to be His witness and His presence. Business world, sports world, entertainment world....family world. If you are truly His and if you really seek to be His living will, then where you are is where He's placed you, and He has purpose for you there. And He has fitted you, by His grace, for the task. It's how we can do what it is we do. It's how we can press on in the midst of overwhelming circumstances. It's how we persevere in the pain and hardship. His yoke of grace is upon us, and with and in it, we fulfill our calling.

There are two other points about His yoke and His rest that Brown makes that I need to share. First, a great part of the rest Christ invites us to is a call to rest from the oppressive burden of legalism. Brown says legalism is, "Laws without love. standards without a Savior. Rules without relationship." In Christ we have spiritual rest from all of these......The second point has the illustration of Eric Liddell, the missionary to China who was also an Olympic championship runner, and was the focus of the great movie, "Chariots Of Fire." In the movie, Liddell's sister presses him on his calling to the mission field, and how running in the Olympics will delay its fulfillment. Liddell answers that he knows he's called, but that he also believes that His God had also made him fast and that, "When I run, I feel His pleasure." A great part of the beauty and rest of the yoke is that when we fulfill what He has called us to and created us for, we give Him great and deep pleasure.......May it be that each of us lives out what He has called us to and created us for. May our lives and the fulfillment of our calling give Him pleasure. Great and lasting pleasure.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Practical Atheists

25 Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?”  John 11:25-26

Jesus confronted Martha, who had already professed belief in Him as the Messiah, as to whether she truly, in the depths of her soul, believed all that He said about Himself. He was not and still is not interested in our nominal belief in Him. His claims are too earth shaking for that. In this statement to Martha, given just before He raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, He told her that He has total power over all things, including humankind's greatest and last enemy, death. Could she believe that, receive that, and live in the power of that truth? Can we? Before we answer, here are some powerful truths/questions to consider. I forget the name of the one who first raised them, but I have them in my prayer journal and am often confronted with them in my day to day life. I believe each of us will.

"Are we practical atheists, making decisions as if He didn't exist?" I have known too many who have lived this way. Spoken or unspoken, many "believers" live and choose as if He didn't exist. They say they believe He does, but their life choices tell something different. At root is a reason I once heard someone speak openly; "Christian faith just doesn't work in "the real world." The person was speaking about their business, but we can make that statement about so many things. We are so immersed in the spirit of the world that to live by faith, by His Word, makes no sense to us. We forget that He said that His ways will always appear as foolishness to the world. They are unable to discern how His ways actually do "work" and do overcome that which stands against them. To "see" this takes a life lived out in the Spirit, in the discernment of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, everything He directs will clash with the spirit of the world. As you read this, is it clashing with you?

"Are we disregarding He and His Word in our approach to life?" Jesus said that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Christ is the Living Word of God and is the Bread of Life. When He ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well, his disciples went into town to buy food. When they returned, He refused the food they offered, astounding them. He told them, "I have food to eat that you don't know about." He was not saying we never needed physical food. What He was saying was that we can be the most well fed people on earth and still be dying daily of spiritual starvation. Christ knew it was His connection with His Father God that gave Him life, not the fare from the local McDonald's. His life and His approach to life was centered on that. Is ours?

"Do we view the structures of the world as more real than God?" This connects back with that person mentioned above who believed His ways would not work in the business world he moved in. The numbers of those who would agree and who occupy seats in the church each week are legion. So many conduct their affairs according to the world's precepts and not His. At root, they just don't trust Him. They don't trust that He and His ways are more real than the world around them. They think everyone begins and ends with that which they can touch, see, and feel humanly. They are blind to the ways of His Kingdom, which is an eternal Kingdom. This world and everything about it is passing away. His Kingdom, and the Truth it is established upon is eternal, forever. We say we know this, but we too often live as if we don't. We are so spiritually dull, blind, and deaf that we only relate to the natural. We have no real concept of the supernatural realm that is eternity. The natural, which is what we know, is more real and comfortable to us than the Kingdom, even though it was His Kingdom we were created for.

So, as we examine our ways before Him, do we, do you, end up looking far more like a practical atheist than a vital and vibrant believer and vessel of His Kingdom life? The question demands an answer? What will ours be?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

The Mantle

 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. Deut 18:18....."The days of Elijah are gone, but the God of Elijah lives today." Vance Havner

There are so many things expected of a pastor today, but I wonder how many of them are expected by God? CEO, outreach/growth guru, counselor and healer, conflict resolution expert, and more. In addition to all of these, there has been a growing emphasis to feature "the cool pastor," who projects the image of representing a "cool church," and even more, a "cool Jesus." 

The best example of this that I've seen came recently in a video of a pastor located in Arizona. He appeared to be in his mid-40's and was dressed in skinny jeans, what looked to be expensive athletic shoes, and sporting a trendy, spikey kind of beard and an earring. When I looked at him in his skinny jeans, I saw Big Bird from Sesame Street. Now, let me stop here and say I am not coming against any of these things. My problem is, have we gotten so caught up in projecting an image, particularly a youthful one, that we have forgotten what I believe is the single most important calling of a pastor, that of being a preacher/prophet? Have we forgotten that those called to the pastorate are also called to a pulpit? Have we forgotten that those called to that pulpit are to be spokesman for the voice, mind, and heart of God. Jesus said that He spoke only what He heard His Father speak. Is that the singular mark of a pastor ministering in the 21st century western world?

We don't have to try and "make Jesus cool." We just have to present Him as real. This means proclaiming Him as all that He is. Not just the Gentle Shepherd, but also as the Warrior King. Not only as the Lamb of God, but as the Lion of God as well. Not just as One who heals and forgives sin but as One who comes against and judges it. Not just as the One who calls us to and gives us life, but One who commands that the life be a holy one. The One who announces not only all that we have in Christ, but also the terrible end for all who ultimately reject what He offers and brings. The cool pastor and his cool Jesus might spark some interest, but they will not sustain it. Only Jesus as He is can do that. 

Jesus Christ was unafraid to proclaim not only who His Father God was, but was unafraid to proclaim who He was. He remains unafraid. So why are we? Why do we think we have to resort to a trendy, crafted, "look," when the real Jesus will draw those whose hearts are impacted by hearing His words, all of His words, and showing a desperate world who His Father is, what He calls us out of and into?

The Elijah God speaks of was one of God's greatest prophets. He called a rebellious Israel back to their God. The line of his prophetic sons is a long one. Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, Peter, John, and all the disciples. It continued down through the centuries in Luther, Bunyan, Wesley, and Whitfield, and on through Spurgeon, Moody, Chambers, Tozer, Havner, and Sparks. The line continues through to this day, but I fear there are fewer who take up Elijah's mantle, which is symbolic of his calling as a prophet. If you fill a pastorate today, are you also truly filling a pulpit? There's an old hymn with the lyric, "Let your mantle fall on me," referencing the cry of Elisha the prophet upon his mentor Elijah being taken up into heaven. Is it your heartcry? Is it the heartcry of your pastor? May His mantle fall upon His shepherds, preachers, and prophets. May it be His mantle, and not skinny jeans, earrings, and flashy shoes that mark them. May His mantle fall on me, and on you. On us!

Blessings,
Pastor O