Is This Church?

The life of Christ dwelt within the heart of Haig but we missed it for many years.  Haigie was a mentally and physically disabled Armenian man, without family, who lived with the elderly at the Armenian Nursing Home.  Culturally vibrant and lively, this ‘nursing home’ was a beloved Armenian community for Haigie, even though he wasn’t elderly.  Since my husband and I live 200 miles away, our visits were infrequent and our attention was spread over several residents.

After many years there, Haigie was evaluated by the state for placement into a residential group home for the mentally and physically disabled.  Now in his sixties, leaving his aged Armenian community was a crushing blow, many tried to circumvent this move but in the end it was a ‘God move’, a tremendous blessing for us all.

My husband and I began visiting Haigie at the group home, which did not have 80 residents but under 10.  With Haigie our only focus, we grew closer and the Lord soon revealed his living faith in Jesus Christ.  As a brother in the Lord, visits with Haigie became times of scriptural sharing and worship, including Armenian and English hymns.

However, within two years, Haigie’s health begun to fail.

Bob and haigy

For his memorial I wrote, in part,

It was clear that Haigie had a living faith.  We hadn’t realized before, that in his broken body was a vibrant love for God…In spite of longsuffering, he was ready to worship and expressed his love for Jesus Christ.  Haigie was a true believer whose faith greatly encourages us.  It will be a joy to worship the Lord with Haigie one day in God’s Kingdom.

I believe that ‘living faith’ doesn’t die.  

During our last visits with Haigie,  a woman wheeled herself into his bedroom as we were singing.  Mentally and physically disabled and mute, Adrienne somehow communicated to us that she was Armenian and friends with Haigie.  Another Armenian in this residence?  Adrienne joined us and we soon learned that she cared deeply for Haigie, his death would be a great loss to her.

SO following Haigie’s death we continued to visit this group home, Adrienne seemed to cherish this fellowship.  We sang songs and had scriptural reading in the ‘sun room’.  It was different.  But I soon saw the Lord doing a new thing.

One day Linda was in the ‘sun room’, her wheelchair parked by our sitting area as she worked on an art craft.  We hardly knew her but she seemed happy to have us there.  We socialized a bit with Adrienne then we opened up fellowship with singing (accompanied by much needed YouTube songs online!)  and Bible reading.  Although Adrienne is mute, Linda is not and we soon found that she had faith and something to say about it!

We came to know the other residents and the staff as well.

This Christmas our visit moved from the ‘sun room’ to the living room, the common social area.  A group seemed to form around us, including a Jewish resident!  The ball started rolling with Linda’s request for the all popular ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.  We sang out Christmas songs in every pitch and tone that perhaps only the Lord could love.  We even sang a Hanukkah song before sharing God’s word about Christ’s birth.  The story highlight became the shepherds and God’s choice to miraculously announce the Savior to simple folks huddled around sheep.

This is the best part…there was a time of prayer before leaving.  With joined hands and bowed heads I looked up, and saw residence staff come and join in!  

Was this church?  I think so!

 

Lord, speak to the heart of every resident and staff member in that home, water every seed of faith.  Open our eyes to value and seek the childlike faith of Matthew 18:3, humble and dependent upon you.  Press upon our hearts the kind of fellowship You desire, in the places that You ordain to make Yourself known.

I pray for each reader that visits this site, whet their appetite for more of You, Jesus.  Speak to their hearts and encourage them as they walk through each day, no matter how heavy the steps.  I pray for every writer that visits here, anoint them and inspire them with Your Holy Spirit.  Let Your seeds of living truth come to fruition through their work.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

Well, IS a Minute a Long Time?

 

stopwatch IIMiss Chafe, my 4th grade teacher, always gave an easy ‘bonus question’ at the end of every test, something impossible to get wrong.  To this day I remember this one, “Is a minute a long time?”  Who wouldn’t say ‘no’?…but the class was divided!

Well, is a minute a long time?

Unfortunately, our culture so highly values immediacy that any downtime or ‘waiting’ is seen as wasteful loss…inefficient and unacceptable.  Mental pop-ups condition us to cyber-check and multitask.  We wouldn’t dream of waiting a minute to hear from Google or any of the ‘answer gizmos’ of our day.   Fastest car, quickest download… instant camera and telegram = instagram.  

But God’s best – His strength, His revelation, His indwelling – only come to those who wait!

I remembered Miss Chafe’s question while praying.  Do I get up upon my last request and start my day?  Can I linger on, for one minute, and wait for the Lord to speak to me?  Can I pause, even a minute, during prayer time to allow the Holy Spirit to align my prayers with God’s will?

Can I meditate upon a verse for 60 seconds, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring it to life in my heart?

God awaits us and often draws us in through fiery trials, unmet needs, and challenging griefs.  But ‘suffering’ is not the designated time to wait upon God.  The Bible calls that designated time ‘Today’. 

Take the ‘minute challenge’ but with reverent trepidation…who brings a stop watch when meeting with a King?  Sixty seconds exposes what’s in our hearts, the importance of our agendas and priorities.

Could taking a minute before praying make all the difference?

“Once you are sure that you are talking to the One who loves you intensely and the One who has all power to do anything in this universe, i.e. once we see the greatness of God, the greatness of His power, and the greatness of His love, then we are ready to pray.”   Zac Poonen

Oh Lord, let one minute turn into two, into three…let us lose track of time in Your presence.   Lord, let us linger not for just ‘an answer’…but to to know You and fellowship with you.  What burdens Your heart?  “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening…”

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“You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning…”

 

Can Animals Preach the Gospel?

Can they proclaim the Good News and the glory of God?

Lovers of scripture can indeed find numerous examples of God expressing His great power and divine purposes through His creation.  At God’s command insects, animals, and forces of nature plagued and destroyed the world power of Egypt.  Balaam’s donkey spoke, animals obeyed the call to the ark, and at Christ’s call schools of fish arrived to the disciples’ boat.

“For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine.  If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.  (Psalm 50:10-12)

Creation declares God’s glory and He reveals it to us through the most minute details as well as the vast and endless universe.  He reveals so that we may acknowledge His awesome power.    God knows us…His will is that we come to know Him.

God’s creation reveals His glory but also His great love and divine providence.  God uses His creation to intervene into the lives of people often as divine appointments, impossible to plan or replicate.  Reigning over creation, His will often supersedes natural order, such as a ravenous bird delivering food…

 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”  (I Kings 17:4)

Or perhaps a tiny kitten going forth in the rain.  This five minute video expresses such ‘divine appointment’….

vet saved by kitten

Desperate  soldier saved by kitten

View video here

There are countless true heroic stories of dogs and other animals rescuing, guiding, and ministering to people.  Martha Thompson is one blogger and author with such a story to tell in her book,  Giving Paws, where an unlikely service dog enables her to face the many life challenges of a hidden disability.     

giving paws book

The story is as beautiful as the cover photo

There is no way to schedule such divine appointments nor could we ever arrange to have our deepest needs and hidden grief so touched through them.   These stories and perhaps even our own move us to laugh, cry and marvel.

Looking deeper,  marvel at this – God intervenes in our lives through His creation, gifting us with His mercy and revealing His greatness. As a cherished gift conveys the love of the giver, so even animals given to us can express – even silently preach – the good news of God’s love reaching into our lives.  The Lord ministers, heals, and intervenes into our lives for the divine purpose of drawing us to Himself.

When creation intervenes it is an living invite from our Creator.

Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the One holding dominion over all creatures and creation…

For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.  Colossians 1:16

Our furry friends, designed and often gifted by God, can teach, guide, love, rescue, and befriend…and perhaps they can preach as well!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”  (Job 12:7-10)

Lord, reveal Yourself to us today through the gifts of Your hand.  Let thanksgiving lead us on a journey to acknowledge You and seek You in all circumstances.  Draw our hearts to look beyond every gift and “fix our eyes on Jesus”, “the Author and Finisher of our faith”.   Amen.

 

Recognize These Birth Pains?

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Drag Queen Story Hour NYPL – in many other states as well

This above scenario troubles me in several ways. Firstly, while people have the right to live as they choose (within the law) there is grief in seeing a man happily dressed as a woman. Secondly, what could be more disturbing than celebrating this in a public venue of children? The answer – that parents, guardians of the children, are offering up their children to a value system, validating the very morals that offend God, and robbing them of the innocence that could be theirs.

There is no ‘freedom of choice’ when children are prevented from considering the choice to know God and His ways. Parents will undoubtedly shield them from the heart changing stories of Noah, Abraham, King David, the Apostles and our Savior Jesus Himself.  Most children today do not hear of God’s love, so costly and powerful but emotionally feed on stories like Worm Loves Worm, a story depicting same sex marriage.

drag queen III

Like child sacrifice to Moloch, here spiritual lives are freely given up….

Finally, the logical challenge goes forth, like a warped altar call….

 

drag queen calling

With enthusiastic invite he asks, “Who wants to be a drag queen when they grow up?”

What could be worse than children being indoctrinated with such sexual values? Worse than the parents bringing them to such an ‘altar’?

A silent – or complicit – or unloving church.

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” (Matt 24:12)

When Jesus describes the “birth pains” in the end times before His return, there seems to be a causal relationship between ‘lawlessness’ and the believers’ waning love. Betrayals, persecutions, and apostasy –an increase in wickedness – turns the love of many cold.

Here is the saddest part of the Drag Queen library presentations: most of the church has lost her grief and love for the souls that have no hope without God.

Much of the western church ‘avoids’ persecution or betrayal by ‘hiding in the world’, camouflaged by the same values. Others resist controversy and conflict by avoiding the bold truths that would convict man’s heart toward repentance.  For followers of Christ, the ‘cost’ of proclaiming the truth rises exponentially with wickedness.

There is usually no love found in ‘protesting sin’. It’s hard to find a precedent for it in scripture. But loving that ‘woman at the well’ doesn’t mean ignoring her sin or colluding with her sin. It means having a grieving love for her soul – a love that can’t resist telling her the truth so she might repent.

The ‘silent church’ does not represent the Jesus Christ. The ‘protesting church’ does not represent Jesus either. Worse is the ‘compromising church’ which Jesus warns He will vomit out of His mouth.

These ‘birth pains’ are coming faster and more painful. The devil laughs as men dress as women, men marry men and children are led into sexual and gender confusion. He may even laugh when we protest, boycott or petition these cultural changes. But Satan never laughs at the burdened heart crying out to God for the lost, deceived and confused. The devil isn’t laughing at the pleas and petitions to almighty God to deliver man from captivating sins.

I don’t want to join these ‘story hours’ but neither do I want to ignore them or protest them. I am grieved at the drag queen, the attentive children at his feet, and the deceived parents who usher their children into this arena. But if we focus our eyes on eternity, our view of all this changes.

All may suffer from these ‘birth pains’ described in Matthew 24, the tribulations that precede Christ’s return,  but only those reconciled with God, who ‘endure until the end’ will have the joy of His return. For the unsaved, ‘birth pains’ will not lead to joy of Christ’s arrival but the dread of meeting Him as Judge.

‘Today’ is always the right time to adjust our hearts and minds increasingly to the heart of our Lord. I pray for a heartfelt burden to plead for all those at ‘story time’. I pray that God reminds me frequently to pray for every ‘story teller’, every child in that audience, and every parent that applauds the ways that offend God.

Lord, I pray that you enlarge my heart toward the things that grieve Yours.  Please share Your burden for souls and lead me in prayer.  Let my prayers be aligned with Your will and be fruitful.  I pray for that ‘story teller’, bring him to a place of conviction, raise up a controversy in his heart.  Save him that he may tell Your stories.  Take away the false peace of those parents and pull back the curtain of deception.  Shake the hearts of families with the truth that, without You, there is no peace, there is no order, there is no hope. 

“But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13

“Christians On The Brink of Losing Religious Freedom”…Is That A Bad Thing?

Embedded within ‘Christian politics’ and campaigns is the ongoing rally by Christian leaders, pastors, TV celebrities, authors and watchdogs to preserve our religious freedoms. This is especially prevalent during this pre-election season. (Here see here for example) The ‘danger’ and ‘risk’ of losing religious freedom and constitutional rights even provokes leaders and ‘shepherds’ to influence their churches and communities toward various candidates based on extra-Biblical criteria.

I am a Christian and an American, but wonder if we so cherish ‘religious freedom’ more than God’s call to holiness and separation.  Do our values and priorities resemble those established by the apostles and Body of Christ in the New Testament – under the New Covenant? There are no Bible verses or precedents to undergird our rallies for government favor and support.  Jesus Himself certainly had the power, popularity and influence to effect change and establish ‘religious freedoms’ and the people wanted Him King to do so!  But neither the Lord nor the apostles ever used their following or influence to implement governmental change, even though believers were oppressed, persecuted and tortured.

I understand that the opposite of ‘religious freedom’ can lead to great suffering. Millions have perished and lives destroyed at the hands of persecutors.  The Armenian Genocide perpetuated by the Ottoman Turks as well as the holocaust of WWII are only two examples. Horrific and wicked acts continue today through radical Islam and other groups. I am grateful to live in a ‘free’ and ‘safe’ country and pray that those suffering can find such refuge. So how could all this clamor to secure ‘religious freedom’ be a bad thing?

1. Our Christian forefathers, moved by the call of God, relied on the power of  the Holy Spirit to establish the Gospel in the world. They never depended upon the ‘rights’ bestowed by any government.  They expounded ‘separation from the world’ as a mandate, hardly aligning with secular governments. Alignment with the world never brings the world nearer to the Lord but compromises us, conforming us more to the image of the world.

2. The American Church as a whole is addicted to worldly freedom, enjoyment and prosperity. We extol our ‘freedom to worship’ but isn’t worship birthed in our heart, most genuine in the privacy of our prayer closet? No one can interfere with those who worship as Jesus defines, “in spirit and in truth”. Moreover, no one can stop us from our greatest call, “to be conformed to the image of Christ”.  Is our alarm stirred by impending threat upon the business of Christianity in our country? Does our enjoyment, even pride, come from our prosperous megachurches and ‘gains’ we claim in changing social values?

“When the church was persecuted, it was powerful.  When the devil saw that persecution wasn’t killing the church, he made them prosperous.”  Zac Poonen

3.  How will Americans stand in these last days?  Rather than girding ourselves in the Lord     and the power of His word, many of us choose to bask in ‘religious freedoms’.  “When” not if trouble or persecution comes, many of us will fall away.

“What was sown on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt 13:20-21)

4. Is God grieving about our possible loss of ‘religious freedom’ or is He grieving at our lack of holiness? How different would we be if we tossed our moral and political compasses away and joined together in seeking holiness before God?

5. The quest to secure ‘religious freedoms’ necessitates inclusive collaborative actions. Supporters are finding ‘common ground’ amongst many types of faith.  This innate drive of self preservation is a snare that will prepare many to accept the growing body of ‘ecumenical Christianity’.  Loss of discernment is worse than loss of ‘religious freedom’ – one day a net will cast wide for a one world religion and most will be ready to join.

Of course losing rights and freedom is a ‘bad thing’.  I don’t want to be persecuted, attacked, rejected or killed. I don’t even want a sneer or harsh word toward me. But the closer we draw to the heart of Christ, the further we should stand from the world’s arena. Our devotion to the Lord is necessarily tested through loss, harm, persecution and suffering (I Peter 1:7).   Our strength to endure and to honor God is directly related to our separation unto Him.

True strength flows from our dependence and confidence in Him.  The quest for political influence and preservation of rights increasingly promotes a wrong vein of dependency for Christians. When trials of faith come upon us, we will not be like the tree planted by the water, our roots will be shallow – planted in a temporal and condemned world.

God is for His people. He wants to indwell us, move through us and enable us to be “the light of the world” and “the salt of the earth”. But that doesn’t come from securing our rights, it comes from dying to them….  ‘Pick up your cross and follow Me’.  

A person carrying the cross of Christ has no rights.  They are dead to the world around them.  They are totally dependent on the life of Christ to empower them, to give them life, and lead them to victory.

some-trust-in-chariots

Revival In America? What Do You Believe?

Everyday there is a new celebrity push to GATHER TOGETHER or MARCH AS ONE or somehow STORM THE CAPITAL FOR JESUS. Whatever the launch, the driving force is the same: ‘Bring America into Revival!’ ‘Bring America Back to God!’ Many of the involved Christian leaders are well respected pastors, authors, and servants of God. Of course, to gather, march, or otherwise make an impact there must be a concerted ecumenical effort.

As a plea to other believers I humbly suggest to please stop and consider the Biblical basis for these popular movements. There are no such events organized in the New Testament. No such campaigns are found in the Old Testament, where godly prophets risked their lives to admonish and warn, preaching repentance to the nation. They stood alone unlike leaders today who strategize national repentance.

When Christians – or any people – strategize, they are in the flesh, utilizing human capabilities of cleverness, intellect, creativity, social and political connections, and media blitzes. How could this possibly align with the teachings of the apostles that we are admonished to follow?  “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings that we passed on to you…” (II Thessalonians 2:15)

John 6:63 records the words of Jesus,

“The Spirit gives life but the flesh counts for nothing.”

Similarly, collaborative ecumenical efforts toward the goal of national repentance have no grounding in the New Testament. The most powerful, Spirit filled men, launched by God into the world, did not rely on money, media, strategies, collaborative committees, or social/political connections. They were separated from the world system, they did not try to employ it to ‘help’ God.

WHEN was America a ‘Christian Nation’? When were your neighbors truly your ‘brethren’? Yes, historically the United States has been prosperous and upright in many ways, but godly? Only selective memory can lead to that conclusion. Our country’s long standing and deepening love affair with sensuality, sexuality, greed and violence has opened doors of sin in other nations. When we study the scriptures we must conclude that there is no ‘Christian nation’, every country is included in the ‘world system’ and every country is under the domain of the prince of this world – Satan. Every country will willingly and without exception join into the one world government. Christian nation? The United States may be the driving force plunging us into these dark last days.

Outside of our borders, no one thinks we are really a Christian nation, in fact, most of the ‘heathen’ countries are being inwardly destroyed by our exportation of gross immorality.

815606        Neither one of these represent Jesus Christ…. Which                                             american-homosexual-flag                           one represents America?

 

 

 

 

So, what’s wrong with all these grand revival plans anyway? Aren’t these rallies better than just watching the country implode like a slow train crash? Sadly, no….

Intertwining ‘nation’ and ‘God’ does not revive true faith but truly revives NATIONAL PRIDE. Pride skews our thinking and separates us from God. Creating a ‘vision’ and ‘formulating a plan’ blinds us to God’s ways and view. How does the Lord see the United States of America?

“Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales….” Isaiah 40:15

Strategized events with emotional and ‘spiritual’ fervor, formulated and launched by man, can never amount to anything of eternal value. If we’re doing something that God has not ordained then we are missing what He had planned for us to do. It will count FOR NOTHING (Matt 7:21). ‘Servants’ don’t busy themselves with self-assigned projects and missions, they wait upon their Master. More powerful than us in every way, would the angels of God ever think to devise their own plans to serve God? Never! The “good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” may not be grandiose, emotionally tantalizing, or popular amongst the masses but those ‘good works’ will never fail to yield God’s intended eternal fruits.

God’s way of salvation calls for the old man to die. Many of those gathering with revivalists do not subscribe to foundational tenets of salvation. Godly sorrow brings  repentance that leads to salvation.”  (II Corin 7:10) God does not lead men into godly sorrow through prosperity but through severe chastisement, sometimes devastation. While many are calling for ‘national repentance’ there is hardly a cry for godly sorrow. And who would rally around such a cry?

The Old Testament prophets carried the burden of the Lord with much grief and sorrow – knowing that destruction and judgement were in store for backslidden Israel. Separated from the world with words from God, they were unpopular and persecuted. Nobody rallied around them. They did not work up a cheering crowd or organize media blitzes, financial backing, or celebrity participants. They were compelled by God alone.

I pray that we do not rob God of what He truly wants to do through us in these last days. May we be watching for His return, praying, and “making disciples of all the nations” – perhaps as far as our next door neighbors…engaging in those “good works prepared for us” noted in Ephesians 2:10.

A drop in the bucket

Here we are as a nation…a drop indistinguishable from any other.

We as believers are called out of the world by God who “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves” (Colossians 1:13) It’s time for us as true believers to give up ‘national pride’ and dreams of ‘past traditional values’, and get deeper into the Word of God.  God has placed us in His Body exactly where He wants us, (I Corinthians 12:18) with ‘good works’ prepared for us, rooted in the heart of Christ that He may welcome us on that soon coming day,

“Well done My good and faithful servant!”

Christian Counseling or Counseling in Christ?

Firstly, what is Christian counseling? Typically, ‘Christian counseling’ offers therapeutic interventions by a therapist who subscribes to the Christian faith. Reference may be made to the Bible and godly principles however a Christian therapist is trained to assess, analyze, utilize treatment modals, and maintain ongoing notes of a client’s history, presenting problems, coping skills, and treatment goals. Christian therapists are professionals that will employ techniques from various psychologists and psychiatrists to address grief, anxiety, depression, and averse or addictive behaviors. (Note: someone suicidal or homicidal requires immediate crisis intervention at the closest facility).

When the Apostle Paul declared, “Mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days”, he was not exaggerating, he was warning. Believers in Christ are living in those ‘terrible times’ and few are spared from the ravages of sin and the grief brought through others’ sins upon us, physical disease, great personal loss, and deprivation. Many of us find ourselves facing emotional pain and confusion. We belief in God, we go to church yet our lives become surprisingly ruined by calamity. Will Christian counseling help? What could be wrong with Christian counseling?

Today much of ‘Christian counseling’ is a misnomer, “a wrong or inaccurate name or designation”. What a Christian in crisis needs is counseling in Christ.

For the believer in Jesus, every painful upheaval, every fiery arrow, every fearful precipice, brings us to critical crossroads. Suffering can deeply challenge our faith and force us to reaffirm.
Do we believe?

  • that the Lord knows every minute detail of our situation and pain and understands every aspect?
  • that He foresaw every calamity and perhaps orchestrated the trial?  If our lives belong to Him, it is He alone who can lower the hedges of our life.  Do we believe that the Lord is sovereign,  with full control and authority over every power in heaven and on earth?
  • that, sovereign and all powerful, God alone can make our enemies His servants?  Do we believe that God can bring healing to deep wounds and deliver us from every snare?
  • that the power of the cross, the blood of Christ, cleanses us from every sin?  And moreover, avails to us His indwelling Holy Spirit with power to break every curse, loose every chain, and overcome spiritual and fleshly bondage?
  • that we are chosen by Him, His ‘treasured possession’ and that He truly loves us?

What do we believe?

The critical question at junctures of suffering and confusion is this: Are we determined to empower the flesh or defer to a living faith in the power of God?

“Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.” (Proverbs 8:14)

The Lord has no need to assess the problem, explore our family background, or development treatment options. He is not interested in certificates or diplomas – He declares “Jesus the power and wisdom of God”. “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? …For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom…” (I Corinthians 1:20-25). When we leave a counseling session, having poured out our emotions, described the pain, and handed over a hefty hourly fee have we found enlightenment, living waters, an anointing upon us…true power to heal and deliver?

Will we find relief in the next session? When will the ‘waters part’ for deliverance? What will we gain by unraveling quagmires of the past and explore the depths of our “exceedingly deceitful heart” which is “beyond cure, who can understand it?” Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with paying someone to listen to us and offer coping skills to lessen our pain. We may feel better, but no amount of money spent on clever interventions in timed sessions can bring about the presence, the power and deliverance of Holy Spirit.

As followers of Christ, God’s unchanging purpose is to “conform us to the likeness of His Son”. This is our destiny. There is no alternative for the Body of Christ – we will suffer in this world – but unlike those in the world, our suffering is appointed to bring about greater revelations of God and His power to deliver.

Christian counseling is a business that arose to address what is lacking in the Body of Christ – the anointed ministry of “iron sharpening iron”. Are we, the church, just too busy? Are we knit together with a body of believers? Have we come under the Lord’s appointed authorities – pastors, elders, deacons? This is the heart of Christ, that we as His Body “be brought into complete unity”. He commands, “Love one another. As I loved you, so you must love one another.” We are given gifts through the Holy Spirit – the Lord’s indwelling power and anointing. We have access to God’s throne for discernment and wisdom. It is God’s will that His Body minister to one another, receiving from Christ and ministering outward to our brethren. We are called to allay each other’s fears, encourage, exhort, stand alongside through dark storms…counseling each other in the power of Christ. Even the weakest vessel shut in with God, is mightier than a world power.

There is a place for doctors and professionals but there are times of confusion, turmoil, heartache and spiritual attack where God’s word states and demonstrates that, “The help of man is worthless.” That may seem offensive but in His exclusive claim over us as our Lord and Master, He calls us to trust in Him completely. Faith does not build our flesh but systematically kills it, a painful process that will cost us but lead to supernatural victory.

“This is what the Lord says, ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

  • Paths of untimed prayer, shut in with God with determination to wait upon Him and hear from Him.  The flesh likes control, but the Lord may call us to all night prayer, a meeting that may hold eternal value and reward.
  • Paths that open the Word of God as we prayerfully pore through, eagerly anticipating the ‘Wonderful Counselor’ to open up living waters into our soul.
  • Paths of deliberate praise and worship, even during emotional grief and turmoil.  The sacrifice of praise is a high expression of faith in God’s deliverance, even before it arrives.

In these ‘terrible times’ there is a great need for anointed servants of Christ, those prepared from the prayer closet and diligent study of God’s word with a burden to minister. We can find our very heartache, grievous loss even devastation in the Bible and also see there God’s power to heal, restore and renew. He longs to show Himself strong in our lives as we trust in Him. I pray we begin to understand the authority of God, the power of the cross, and the supernatural counsel of the Holy Spirit. As He breathes His Life upon us, may we glorify Him by serving others with the counsel of Christ.

There is no higher calling.

lazaraus-tomb

“Lazarus, come forth!”

Let us also come forth to Christ and go forth to speak life to one another.

 

(Disclaimer:  this website does not provide medical or psychiatric advice.  It is intended to provide spiritual inspiration and is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Always seek the advice of a medical professional before changing or neglecting necessary treatment.)

Could God Be Against Us?

With a spirit of fearless irreverence, The Daily News has actually stated the truth. God is not fixing this.  He is not our servant, nor does He intervene with any position less than sovereign God, worthy of worship and praise. The question is not ‘will God fix this’ but rather, is God against us?

God front page

“Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 2:29)

God did not defend His people who chose to live in rebellion,

“He sold them to their enemies all around…Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them….They were in great distress.” (Judges 2:15)
“The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (II Chronicles 15:2)

Scriptures abound which declare God’s faithfulness to those who follow Him, even in their struggles and battles. The Lord upholds those who choose to align themselves with His Word and sovereign authority, however there are always consequences to sin and rebellion.
Our national security totally hinges on the answer to this question: Where do we stand with God? Do we have the right to call upon Him, standing under His protective hedge and sovereign power or…

removing 10 commandments

The Ten Commandments ordered removed from Oklahoma Courtyard

… have we blasted out His Word from our communities?

Have we spearheaded to the world celebrations for the things that offend God? We, as a people, have strayed so far from the Lord that we cannot see His hand removing His protective hedge.
We err grievously, believing we could be free to revel in sin when in fact sin always creates bondage and despair. The chastisement of God, even if He raises up our enemies, is a painful call to bring us into repentance and right relationship. Abandonment by God is not freedom from God but the fearful state of pending wrath.   The time is short,

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”  Romans 6:2

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”  Acts 3:19

God’s Word warns of “terrible times in the last days”. He is not on-call to ‘fix’ this world, Jesus is returning to judge it. The only question is, on whose side are we standing, is God for us or against us?

“He who is not with me is against me” declared Jesus.

CAN ISIS WIN?

Egyptian Christians martyred by ISIS

Egyptian Christians martyred by ISIS

While the world apparently slumbered, the terrorist group ISIS rose up with increasing power, resources and resolve.  Depraved and inhuman, defying even the base instincts given to man, gruesome beheadings, torture, and brutal human enslavement have become their trademark.   Their movement is ghastly and historically unique in its ability to broadcast treachery through the media.  Other gross inhumanities, such as Hitler’s death camps, the Turkish genocide of Armenians, or the forced starvation and death of millions under the oppression of Mao Zedong and Stalin, might parallel in terror.   Most certainly man is capable of loathsome sin however, merciless brutality may be inspired and fueled by spiritual power.      

“We must understand that ISIS is a demonic movement.  This is not mere terrorism.  These barbarians are making blood sacrifices to their god.”  Joel C. Rosenberg

While embedded within ISIS territory, journalist and author Jurgen Todenhoefer observed the operation itself and interviewed ISIS fighters.  Reporting to CNN on 1/4/15,

“When we stayed at their recruitment house, there were 50 new fighters who came every day,” Todenhoefer said. “And I just could not believe the glow in their eyes. They felt like they were coming to a promised land, like they were fighting for the right thing….These are not stupid people. One of the people we met had just finished his law degree, he had great job offers, but he turned them down to go and fight … “

Toward the progression of world conquest, ISIS freely admitted to Todenhoefer,

“…slavery is a great help to us and we will continue to have slavery and beheadings, it is part of our religion…“ 

The journalist concluded,

“ISIS is preparing the largest religious cleansing campaign the world has ever seen.”

Yes, they are richly armed, yes, they have increasing recruits and resources.  But all that is nothing if not fueled by living fervor to conquer – they have answered a powerful call into a dark mission.  They are spiritually and mentally prepared to take on  barbarianism with steely satisfaction and pride.   

Against this onslaught, the western world scrambles to manufacture resolve and strategies.  Amidst the complaining, opining, and posturing, the deep void of conviction, mission, and sacrifice remains our greatest weakness.   Defending ‘our way of life’ is not a strong platform since our ‘way of life’ has cultured a lifestyle of complacency, comfort, and tolerance for the very things that compromise our strength as a people.  We have lost our moral compass and any sense of righteousness – how can we muster up the will to sacrifice and defend, to push back the enemy at great cost? 

If we don’t acknowledge that ISIS is spiritually endowed, we can proceed to trust in our own defenses and wisdom,  and strategies which have availed little in this battle.  However, ceding that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood….but against powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6), what should our response be? 

Many will exclaim, ‘Just bomb them and utterly destroy them!’ A spiritually endowed movement cannot be exterminated like a bug when it has most likely pervaded our land.   God may employ man into the physical battle, but our readiness and call must start with an undergirding, a separation unto Him….

Head for the hills…. “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121) If we are serious about a battle, we will get alone with our Commander, hear from Him and wait upon Him, with a willingness to obey His Word.  Now is the time to prepare with repentance and renewal, to “Prepare our minds for action” (I Peter 1:13) as surrendered vessels given to Most High God, with resolve to align with Him and behind Him in every struggle.  The smallest army, backed by heaven, will never fail. 

Of the Bible, godly leaders admonish, “get into this Book and get this Book into you!” pleading with believers to study, meditate upon and accept the WHOLE counsel of God, resisting the will to conform His changeless word into our comfortable lifestyle.  Surrendering to the whole counsel of God is the only assurance of His whole promises to us.  There is no power nor promise – and every reason to fear – when we know the Way and the Truth but have a willing heart to adulterate His Word.

Encroaching enemies and dire threats expose our complacency and the sin that weakens and disqualifies us for spiritual battle.   The Lord always raises up godly messengers to warn us, draw us, and prepare us.  Yet admonishments, warnings, and calls to repent are as unpopular today as in the days of Jeremiah.  In Jeremiah 20, he is beaten and humiliated in stocks by Pasher the Priest.  

After beating and humiliating Jeremiah, the Priest's name was changed from Pasher to Magor-Missabib, "Terror on Every Side".

Following this, the Priest’s name was changed from Pasher to Magor-Missabib, “Terror on Every Side”.

 

Jeremiah’s message warned of God’s judgment, the rise of a powerful invading kingdom, to chastise those called by God’s name as they refused to repent of faithlessness and idolatry.  Complacency and comfort led to a false security in self as Jeremiah warns, “This is what the Lord says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 17:5)

ISIS calls us the ‘People of the Cross’ and the ‘People of the Book’ but are we?  Do we represent the Cross of Christ and the Word of God?  If so, are we endowed with the power of the cross and the living word of God?

Much of the western church is either weakened by willful sin or busy ministering to the wounds of sin’s victims.   Perhaps only dire threat will quicken us to our knees before God, a position of readiness long forgotten by many.   Godly churches who resist prevailing world culture to surrender and wait upon a living word from the Lord are dwindling in numbers.  Obedience to God has become so unpopular, those who subscribe to the whole counsel of God are viewed as the ‘enemy’….mocked, derided, and marginalized….until a true enemy, armed with cruel hate, arises upon us.

  

congress singing God Bless America

Members of Congress, on the Capital steps, singing together, in itself is a surreal image.  Yet this group,  not known for honoring God, is singing God Bless America!   A spiritual stirring, albeit hollow and temporary, ensued following the terrorist attacks on 9/11.  Perhaps an inner compulsion, a quickening for the ungodly to acknowledge God, evoked such cry after these horrific attacks. 

How much more should the Body of Christ be prepared before a coming storm? 

We are called to separate unto the Lord, come together in His presence, and break forth from spiritual huddles.  The Lord calls us in to send us out; can we see ourselves, the Body of Christ, as ‘first responders’ on any front in this dark world?  If we avail ourselves to the living God, surrendered with a willingness to obey, He will call upon us in times of darkness to be a light.  The will of God has not changed, He desires to indwell believers as vessels for His Holy Spirit, to represent Him and bring glory and honor to His name. 

A raging battle quickly exposes the nominal, the lukewarm, from the readied, red hot, vessel of God.

ISIS fighters are not lukewarm nor are they attracting nominal believers.  They have availed themselves to spiritually dark forces and are displaying their conquests to the world.  

Can ISIS win?  They can achieve the domination measured by God as it serves Biblical prophecy, further spinning the world’s course into the coming judgment and return of Christ.  The question for us is, can their rampage serve to quicken the Body of Christ out of slumber and frivolity, into His presence?  Can we find power in prayer, in the Lord’s presence, and gain His burden for the persecuted, the desperate and suffering?

 It is God’s will that He be glorified in this world.  Jesus came as the Light of the World and passes this defining call onto His followers, “You are the light of the world.”   (Matt 5:14)  Through Him we can be that readied beacon, a point of refuge and hope, a conduit for God’s power, pointing to Him as the saving light through the coming dark storm.

lighthouse in the storm

“A lighthouse is only a tourist attraction until the storm comes…then, no longer a tourist attraction, its light is essential for survival for people trying to find their way home in the storm.”   (Pastor Carter Conlon, Times Square Church)

 

 

 

DOES SATAN REALLY TORMENT BELIEVERS?

Does he.

Like a hail storm upon your head

Like a hail storm upon your head

That is his secondary mission – and he only has two!
There are times in our spiritual walk where the mixture of elements – mental, emotional and spiritual – intertwine with traumatic events and tribulations, tap into our own weaknesses and fears to create a spiritual stronghold. Like a perfect storm, none of the elements alone are capable of utter destruction however, infused with supernatural influence, our mind becomes a battle field for every exaggerated lie and distortion, for every magnified and imagined fear and failure. Unexplainable depths of confusion, fear, anxiety, and guilt spearhead the torment in spiritual battle.

When you’re there, you will know it.

In Matthew 8:23-26, the disciples were following Jesus into a boat. They had done nothing wrong. Yet, “Without warning, a furious storm came up” evoking great fear, convincing these seasoned fishermen of sure death. Jesus was sleeping as the storm raged around them.

A spiritual storm may last days, weeks – rising up without warning, to rob us of peace, crush us underweight, and draw us toward ungodly relief. A spiritual battle is a furious storm, whose instigator is full of hatred, fury and supernatural power – power second only to Almighty God.

Rational thinking and fleshly logic are powerless, like fighting a fire breathing dragon with a toothpick. Clichés and platitudes – even self-application of scripture – are merely oars futilely striking raging waves and wind. Others can advise but none can enter the battle, save the Holy Spirit, the ‘Wonderful Counselor’, through prayer. Our course of action remains unchanged: to actively and expectantly wait upon the Lord. He may seem to be sleeping during your utter distress and attack but He has, in fact, gauged and measured the spiritual battle for His purpose.

The principles and purposes of battles remain constant over the ages. In Judges chapter 3, following miraculous deliverance, God led the Israelites victoriously into the Promised Land – a foreshadow of us in Christ. However, God Himself left enemy kings in this promised land to test His people and train them for war. The Lord called His people to completely depend and rely upon Him, their battles are His. It is a call to stand, to remain obedient when under fire with the expectation of God’s deliverance. How much more, in these last days, are we to “…be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power…take your stand against the devil’s schemes…not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world…” (Ephesians 6:10-18 recommended).

The devil can torment the minds of believers, launching a battle on emotional, mental and spiritual fronts churning together the elements into a raging perfect storm. Our ‘sleeping’ Lord is a waiting Lord, ever-present to take the helm as we, in mustering faith, cry out to Him. Our weakest prayer, offered in faith, can open a door of light to expose the powers of darkness and bring understanding.  In the midst of turmoil, the willfulness to praise and worship God releases His presence. As the Lord speaks through His Word our heart gains strength – His strength – and “divine power to demolish strongholds” (II Corinthians 10:3-5)

Deliverance may not be forthwith, neither are we immune to suffering and wounds in the battle as the Lord trains us to fight but in that fight, He will reveal spiritual truths not otherwise learned.

Tormenting the saints is secondary; Satan’s primary mission is to maintain man’s separation from God through pride, rebellion, disbelief and the deceitfulness of sin. If the “wages of sin is death”, those who live in unrepentant sin, separated from God, will reap fruits of guilt, confusion, and anxiety with a real expectation of judgment. Spiritual battle for the believer is not wasted, needless turmoil and suffering but rather an appointed interface with powers of darkness. We are promised victory before the battle and great reward therein – a deeper revelation of our Deliverer. With strengthened faith and resolve, and humbled dependence on the Lord, may we better refresh and minister to brethren, and beckon the lost to His salvation and deliverance.

“In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free.” (Psalm 118:5)