Withered Heart

And He said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." .....He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Mark 3:1,5 Chris Tiegreen, commenting on this passage said, "We must own up to our withered hand." Withered hand. Withered heart. Withered soul and life. At root, we are all "withered." The meaning of the word is "dry and shriveled." I think this marks a great part of every life being lived without Him, no matter how things may appear on the outside. That will not change until we own up to that which is dry and shriveled in our lives, as well as to what it has produced. Dry and shriveled relationships, marriages, families. Dry and shriveled livelihoods and yes, ministries...and churches. Our great problem is that we resist, strongly, to admitting that anything in our lives is withered, and if we do, we usually place the responsibility for it on something or someone else. We rarely see it as being a problem stemming from the conditions of our heart and soul. Tiegreen said, "Our fallenness (sin) is all we have to offer Him. In His mercy, it's all He asks." Someone said that we cannot be saved until we realize and admit that we need to be. Our sinful pride and self-reliance in all things keeps us from admitting that need. The result is always going to be a shriveled life. Jesus told the man with the withered hand to "stretch it out" to Him.This is our need. This is what we must do when we come to Him. Jesus wanted the man to stretch all of his hand out, with no part of it held back. It is the same in His invitation to us. We must "stretch out" all of our being to Him, with no part of ourselves held back. Ourselves and every aspect of what has been, what is, and what will be, given over to Him. When we release all from our withered hands to Him, He in turn restores all that the withering has touched. I have worked with people in all kinds of ministries for more than 40 years now. Many will be aware of the withered areas of their lives. They can admit it, but they can't bring themselves to surrender it to Him. Can you? We cannot escape the reality of our withered hand, but we can see it healed. Fully healed and restored. All we need to do is bring it to Him, give it to Him, and leave it with Him. He invited us to come. Can we? Will we? Will you? Blessings, Pastor O

Altars

And David built there an altar to the Lord. I Chronicles 21:26 Everyone has an altar....everyone brings offerings. Chris Tiegreen There was a time when most evangelical churches, particularly holiness churches, had an altar at the front of the sanctuary. It was to be a place of prayer, of consecration, a place to offer ourselves completely to Him. In many churches, they have disappeared, and that can be a topic for another writing, but their disappearance does not for a moment take away the truth of Tiegreen's statement. Everyone, including you and me, has an altar and we bring our offerings to it. It can be an altar dedicated to pleasure and comfort. It may be an altar that we bring our offerings and sacrifices to for success, money, and fame. As Tiegreen writes, We have no shortage of gifts to bring to our altars, because the world has no shortage of altars. Throughout their history, Israel kept the Lord's altar in the Temple while at the same time erecting countless other altars to all the false gods and idols they were also worshipping. Where in our lives are we doing the same? Some of them are painfully obvious, as listed above, but others are not so easily identified. They cloak themselves in religious "robes." Perhaps one of the most deadly is "ministry success." Countless pastors, teachers, and worship leaders have visited this altar, including myself. We come to His altar, but in our hearts there exists another, a rival to Him; our work, our ministry. Our recognition. We can hunger for that. Oftentimes more than we hunger for Him. There is only one legitimate altar we may come to; His. All others are counterfeits. There is only one acceptable offering we may bring to His altar; ourselves. In response, He will send His holy fire upon the offering. The result will be revival. Renewal. Awakening. Watchman Nee said that without the altar there will be no heavenly fire. Nor will there be without the proper offering of our lives. All of our lives. There's an old hymn with the lyric, "I never will forget how the fire fell when the Lord sanctified me." May we have such a testimony and may we have such a result. Bring us to Your altar Lord. Send Your fire. Send it now. Blessings, Pastor O

Beauty

The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy has long been a favorite for me. In them, intentional or not, there is so much biblical truth. There is one such scene in particular that speaks deeply into my heart and spirit. Frodo and Sam, the hobbits entrusted with taking and destroying the ring of power in the fires of Mt. Doom, located in the heart of evil Mordor, are walking through its very center. Darkness and death are all around them. They are weary, at the end of their strength. They have collapsed upon the ground, near total despair and defeat. Mordor is the blackest and most evil place in Middle Earth. Suddenly, Sam looks up into the thick darkness of the sky and sees a section of it where the stars, shining in their glory can be seen. He says to Frodo, "Look, Mr. Frodo. There is beauty here that no amount of darkness can hide." With that, the hobbits stand up and journey on, destroying the ring, Mordor, and its evil ruler, Sauron, as well. I feel we, the church, may be feeling much like Frodo and Sam these days. Thick darkness seems to be covering our nation and the nations with increasing density. Evil is abounding and even seems to be winning. All of it can be suffocating to those committed to following and living for Him. We too can reach a place of near despair in believing that it can be defeated. This can be even more true as concerns our personal lives and situations. Marriages are disintegrating, families are being broken apart, trouble and need seem to be assaulting us from every side. All around us, the darkness is pressing in, threatening to crush the life out of us. It is here that His Word needs to be heard in our hearts, "Look up, for your redemption draws near." We, like Sam, need to get our eyes off of what is going on in our circumstances and "see" the beauty that cannot be hidden or defeated. The beauty that is Christ the King. He reigns despite all of it because He has already defeated all of it. It may have its season, but He rules over every season. His beauty went to the cross, rose from the tomb, and reigns over all the earth and universe. The deepest darkness cannot stand against it. We have just celebrated His resurrection. Let it not be a one day event. May it be our lifestyle. You may be walking through your own "Mordor" and all of its fire. Darkness may be pressing you on every side. Ugliness may be all you can see. Look up. There is beauty there that no one can hide and nothing can overcome. That beauty is for you and for me. Rise up and walk, to victory, to life, to His glory. Our God reigns. Christ the King reigns....and we, His people, reign with Him. Blessings, Pastor O

Living Hope

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3 How do Peter's words above affect you? What emotions and thoughts do they stir? As we contemplate the meaning of the cross, the tomb, and His resurrection, where do our meditations take us? There are no words that are adequate for the greatest event from the beginning of creation till now. Because of it, we who believe and fully receive the risen Christ are "born again to a living hope." A LIVING HOPE. This truth should be coursing through our being no matter where our lives are currently situated. Think upon the disciples in the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion. Think of the depths of their sorrow, their seeming hopelessness and despair. They had no idea of the living hope that was their inheritance. Perhaps that's where you're at on this day. You know about the cross, of His "blowing the doors off of His tomb," of His resurrection, but like the disciples, you're not experiencing the riches of what has happened. You know the facts, but you don't know the experience and reality of it for yourself. But, you can! I know what it's like to be in the place described above. I know what it's like to wake up, day after day, each day looking like the last one; gray, dark, with hope nearly gone, or fully gone. I know what it's like to be faced with the choice to either believe His promises, His truth, and the promise of His living hope, or to turn from it. I also know the result of choosing the former, regardless of what the enemy, working through the circumstances, tries to get you to believe. I know what it's like to live in His living hope even when it feels like anything but. I know, because at the perfect time, He blew the doors off of my tomb and brought me into the fullness of His risen life. And He has done so for me time and time again.He will for you as well, if you truly believe, you will fully receive. I promise you, where you are is not where He will leave. He didn't leave the disciples huddled in their fear. He appeared to them, and more than once. Wherever we are, He will show up, and He has infinite ways of doing so. Your day may be gray and dark, and your feelings and emotions may be at their lowest ebb. Look up, as Scripture directs, for your redemption is not only near, it is here. He is here offering you all the fullness of His risen life. If you have believed upon Him for salvation, believe upon Him for His resurrection life. It is the fruit of His victory. It is yours, and it is mine. Let us walk in it, with Him, all the way into eternity, and beyond. Blessings, Pastor O

Crucified

Sadly, though Christ and His cross are central to our Christian faith, we seem to know little of what the crucified life entails. Paul said in Galatians 2, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in (and through) me. Paul's letters are filled with descriptions of living out a crucified life, a life where we have died to our own will and are completely surrendered to and live for His, yet we seem largely ignorant as to what it all means to us personally. When Christ calls us to Himself, He also calls us to His cross and go to our own Calvary. A.W. Tozer gave a powerful description of what is entailed in the crucified life. I share it with you today. The Romans were highly skilled at putting people to death and had many cruel means of doing so. Crucifixion was among the worst, if not the worst. Tozer listed three things about crucifixion that apply to everyone who comes after Jesus Christ..... The one being crucified could face in only one direction. When we follow after Him, we go in only one direction; where He leads. We're not to be concerned about any other. Where He leads we follow, regardless of the danger, the cost, or the place. This must already be settled in our heart and will. If it hasn't, we will always be looking for a way out of our following, or we will have set pre-determined boundaries as to how far we will go with Him. With the crucified life, there can be no reservations. The one being crucified can never turn back. The old hymn comes to mind here; I have decided to follow Jesus...no turning back, no turning back. Again, those who have chosen the crucified life have already made the decision that there would be no turning back in their journey with Christ. They would not lag behind and they would not run ahead. They don't ask the Lord for details about what lies ahead, they simply trust that He knows the way and that He leads in a direction that will bring us our ultimate good and blessing. The hardness of the way, the pain that may be involved, the losses that may be incurred, none will deter them. They will not turn back....ever. The one being crucified no longer has any plans of their own. The one condemned to crucifixion was under the complete control of those who'd nailed them to the cross. Those who live the crucified life have yielded all control and all the details of their life to Jesus Christ. They may talk with their Lord, ask of their Lord, and have hopes in their Lord, but all of this is completely surrendered to Him. Their attitude is like that of their Lord in the Garden when He asked the Father to remove the "cup" of the crucifixion from Him, but said in the asking, Nevertheless, not my will but Your will be done. This is the crucified life. Is it yours and is it mine? There is no such thing as a casual follower of Jesus Christ. That's an oxymoron. We should tremble even thinking that it's possible to be such. Jesus said that Where I am, you shall be also. That promise entails riches untold stretching into and throughout eternity, but it also includes a cross. Yours and mine. The cross will always lead us to the tomb of our old carnal flesh life, but it will also yield the wonder of His resurrection life. May we meet Him at His cross. Our flesh will fight it, but our hearts will yearn for it. Which wins out in you and me? Blessings, Pastor O

Persuaded

Jesus asked, 'Do you finally believe?' John 16:31 Written in my prayer journal is the simple question, "What will I believe today?" I don't remember what prompted me to write it, but it's a question we should hear from the Holy Spirit every day. What is it, in the midst of the day's challenges, heartaches, disappointments, and defeats, that I will believe? What will I believe about the Father? Is He Almighty, all knowing, filled with compassion, mercy, and love. That's what I've always said of Him. Now, today, when everything seems to suggest that He's none of these, what will I choose to believe? The same question is asked of me, and of you, about the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the truth of Scripture and His promises. I have come to see that none of us will really be able to say we believe until that belief has been tested in the fire. Jesus asked this question of His disciples after they had proclaimed their belief in Him. The key word in the question is "finally." They'd professed their belief and trust in Him before and He'd witnessed their wobbly faith. Their belief would soon be tested in the fire, the fire of Pentecost. They, the ones of wobbly faith, would emerge from the flames of the test with their belief in Him established. They could say, as Paul would eventually say, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He will keep that which I've committed unto Him." Are you and I persuaded? Has our belief in Him ever truly been tested? Has our faith really gone through the fire of adversity? It will be, and more than once. That's why the question about what we will believe today is so pertinent. Each day is a new day with new giants, mountains, and valleys containing the shadow of death awaiting us. We can't depend upon what we believed yesterday, but we can resolve that we will believe it is so today. Our tendency is to take He and His promises for granted, and this makes us vulnerable. We need to face the day with a Holy Spirit empowered resolve to once again, believe and trust Him. A resolve salted with Holy Spirit fire. Do we finally believe Him? The answer will be found in what we believe about Him today. Will what we believe stand the test of fire? Blessings, Pastor O

Peace Treaties

Today, I want to expound on some quotes I have in my prayer journal. It's easy in an unholy world to make peace with unholiness Paul Tripp We, the professing church, know that this fallen world is unholy. It always has been. So much so that I believe the depths of depravity that we're seeing in every corner of society are succeeding in hardening our hearts and conscience towards it all. To what degree have we, you and I, made peace with it? How much of what is happening all around us doesn't really bother us all that much? No, we may not indulge in it, but neither are we much offended by it. It invades our hearts, our minds, our homes, and even our churches. Have we just decided to co-exist with it? Worse, are we, His church, His holy church, actually participating in it all to varying degrees? Where have we signed peace treaties with the world? We keep lowering the bar of what's acceptable Paul Tripp This quote should make us all squirm, because we know it's true. In many corners of His church, we just look like cleaned up versions of the world around us. It didn't happen all at once. It never does. Satan is far too subtle and sly for that. He slowly increases his depravities in the world, and we slowly acquiesce to them. Things thought unthinkable just 25 years ago have dug deeply into the church. The word "holiness" is disappearing in the teaching and preaching of the church. It is not only a central attribute of Almighty God, it was a central doctrine in the church. It may still be found on plagues and wall hangings in the church. Is it found in the heart of the majority of our people? We are tolerating things in ourselves, things we should be confronting. Lisa Bevere When we "sign" peace treaties with the world and the flesh, we give ourselves permission to cease asking Him to search our hearts for "any sinful and hurtful ways." In short, to make straight that which was crooked in our behaviors and thinking. When this happens we grow ever more tolerant of and at peace with things we would once have given no place to. By His grace, we confront the issues He has pointed out, but our compromises have ended that. The result is that we grow ever more blind to our inner corruptions and ever more "at peace" with them. Have many such peace treaties have we signed? Do we realize that they bring no real peace at all, and eventually, the enemy will destroy us through them. May the standard of His holiness be lifted up in our midst. May we cease making treaties with the enemy that only end up surrendering more and more of our heart to him. May we refuse to tolerate the very things within us that put Jesus Christ on the cross. Blessings, Pastor O