No More Black Clouds

"Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud." Romans 8:2MSG. 

The immediate context was that He frees us from the power of sin, death and the law. He frees us from that black cloud of always feeling that something is wrong. That black cloud of feeling like we're not pleasing God. That black cloud of feeling guilt or condemnation. That black cloud of the law hanging over our heads whether it's the OT law or church law or self inflicted laws. He frees us. We no longer have to live under that! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! 

"Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us" Enter into. So many verses in NT about being in Christ. We are in Him. In His very being. And this is saying Christ being-here-for-us. He's here for us.  For us.  He's here.  For freedom from law and sin. For helping us daily in little things. We get so caught up in the doing part. We don't focus on the first part, that of His being here for us. Like we're almost afraid to focus on that too much for fear of being selfish or self centered. But actually, this is the foundation. We need to get totally absorbed in Him being here for us. What He did for us. His love for us. His desire for us. His desire to help us. His desire to be in every part of our lives. Before we go out. 

We're so focused on serving Him. Doing something for Him that we don't have it right.  Foundation first. Then build. If not founded on this we often get weary and off track. He's here for us. In every possible way.  

"Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” Romans 8:2 MSG

Crowd Control

WARNING ⚠️ What I’m about to say will most likely be offensive.  It is not meant to accuse or judge any one or any organization. It said to make us think and reconsider what Jesus is looking for.  I encourage a good reading of John 6 and 12.

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?' After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” John 6:60, 66 ESV

 There's nothing wrong with huge attendance.  Its great to see large crowds of people worship and come to church. It's fun. It's encouraging.  But large crowds are not what Jesus is after.  It might be what we're after.  It might make us feel successful.  It might make us look good.  But it's not what Jesus is looking for. 

Interestingly, Jesus tried to whittle down the crowds instead of building them. ( I guess He had a lot to learn about modern church growth. ) He was looking for real believers, for true disciples.  He would rather have just a few of those than a crowd.  That’s how the gospel first spread through the world in the first century.  This is how it can change the world today.  He said, “Unless a grain of wheatfall in the ground and die… He also said, “Take up your cross and follow me”, and many similar statements.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died for his faith resisting the Nazis, put it this way, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

Reading the gospel of John has certainly made me examine my walk with Jesus as well as my message to others about Him.  After His words eliminated a crowd and sent many disciples packing, only a few stayed.  Yikes! 

Jesus is looking for true disciples not just fickle crowds or well intentioned followers.  He's looking for people who will say yes to Him - all the time.  That's why Jesus said count the cost.  He didn't pull any punches.  He is looking for the few that will say "Yes" to Him about everything He asks us.  Fortunately, it's not about our ability but His. We can't be disciples on our own.  Only the Holy Spirit can speak truth and change a person.  But what we get to do is decide.

 As our hearts are stirred by His call to come and die, as we struggle with our own humanity, we can ask Him to help us be willing.  If we want to say yes to His call, we can ask for His help.  We can say yes to be willing to say yes and let the Holy Spirit help us.  It's called radical obedience.  Radical obedience to Christ looks different for every person.  It's about following Him and saying yes each step of the way. 

Don't misunderstand.  He passionately loves everyone in the crowd.  Even His least committed followers are saved.  That's not the issue here.  The issue here is what does Jesus want?  What kind of disciple is He looking for?  What will our answer be to Him?

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?' After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” John 6:60, 66 ESV

Shelf Life of Prayer

I'm always interested in the shelf life of items at the grocery store.  Some are surprisingly long, others very short.   

The Bible tells us there can be a long shelf life on prayer.  In Luke 1, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah in the temple, next to the altar of incense (a symbol of prayer) and said "Don't be afraid" (angels always have to say that) "Your prayer has been heard, you're going to have a son."  Zechariah basically asked, What prayer? Are you kidding?"  He had totally forgotten. It had been decades since he and Elizabeth had prayed that.  He had given up.  They were now too old to even think about it.   

But not only was his prayer heard, it was fresh in heaven.  The answer was bigger than they thought. (John the Baptist!)  The timing was bigger than they thought. (the coming of Christ!) 

After losing a short argument with Gabriel, the main angel of heaven, Zechariah's mouth was shut until he saw the answer nine months later.  The next time he opened it, he was full of faith and praise.  

Dust off your old prayers.  Some of them still have life. 

The Faith Of Abraham And Sarah

I used to feel pretty beat up about my weakness of faith - all the ups and downs. It looked like I could never match Abraham. 

Romans 4:19,20 says Abraham did not weaken in faith or waver. 

But a good read of the Genesis record of his and Sarah's journey shows what it looked like in real life. God is amazing! He "forgot" about Abraham's wavering and the whole Ishmael deal, and here and in Hebrews 11 compliments Abraham and Sarah for living in faith! 

God doesn't condemn them for their lapses, (they did waver over Sarah's womb, she did laugh, they did question) but God does not hold it over their heads, does not punish them, He forgets it like it never happened! He says they didn't waver. He compliments them. And they still got the promise, Even though they struggled through it! 

Vs 20 says Abraham grew in faith. That's what happens with us. The whole faith walk is a journey, is a process. We grow in it. We learn in it. And the whole package together, all the trials and tribulations in it, our failings and successes, all of that is our faith! That's why when the big test came later, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his confidence in God had grown to the point where he knew no matter what, God would keep His promise. 

In Luke 22:31, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail and He said "when you turn back strengthen your brothers." So faith can have set backs but when you turn back you have not failed. 

Romans 4 concludes with, “But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” 

We can trust God for His promises.  Our faith works!

Marveling

We all know Jesus is wonderful!  In a million ways!  But when was the last time you did some good old fashioned marveling? “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing. And greater works than these will He show Him, So that you may marvel.” (John 5:20)

So that you will marvel! The reason given was so they would marvel. The Father wants us to be taken with Jesus! He wants us to be captivated by Him!  

Marvel. Wonder. At His great works: recorded in scripture: the healings, deliverances, resurrections, water to wine, other miracles, etc; and the current testimonies we've seen or heard about: healings, miracles, visitations, Providential encounters, etc. How about God's great, great love for us! His incarnation. His passion. His resurrection. His finished work. His unconditional love, grace, and kindness. Eternal life. 

The Father loves the Son and He wants us to love His Son. So when we see all the amazing things that make us marvel and wonder, we honor Him, and it causes us to love Him, to believe in Him, to glorify Him, and to tell others about Him all the more. The Father wants to brag about His Son. He is so in love with Him, so proud of Him, that He wants us to be as well. So He was showing Jesus even greater things, and these greater things would make them marvel even more at Jesus.

When we marvel it not only honors God, but it's also good for us. My dear friend and pastor, Charles Stock, has taught for years "Behold and Become". It's a brilliant truth. What we behold, look at, dwell upon, think about, changes us - whether for good or bad. As we become Jesus focused, we get more connected to Jesus. Take enough time to marvel. Get blown away. Behold and become.  

There's more to worship than singing and raising our hands. There is marveling!   

 "So all would honor the Son." (John 5:23)

The New Name for God, Pt. 3

It has been very difficult to write Part 3, thus the long delay in posting. It was easy to identify the problem in Part 2, regarding bad earthly father images being transferred to God, but writing about the way to healing can easily sound trite. It was a very difficult journey for me. It’s always about forgiveness. That is step one through step one million. We are constantly forgiving as each layer of pain and each memory is submitted to Jesus and peeled off. Eventually, we will get to the core. I haven't gotten there yet, but I think I’m close. 

I was very fortunate to have attended the Mission Viejo Vineyard in the late eighties and sat under Ed Piorek’s ministry on the Fatherhood of God. For two years, week after week, we heard about the Father’s love. Almost the whole time my wounded heart was annoyed because that was all he would teach. I said, “Can’t this guy talk about anything else?” I’m so glad he didn't! Getting a good foundation in the Father’s love takes years of listening to the teaching of truth, correcting of lies, and experiencing God’s presence. 

One Sunday, after almost two years of this, (not that it will take this long for you, this was my journey) while I was getting prayer behind the curtain (thank you Eric Martin), all of a sudden, like a vision, I saw myself as a child in His lap as He held me. I was overwhelmed with His love and starting sobbing and saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", over and over again. I wish I could say it was the once and for all healing experience, but it was just the beginning. However, it was a turning point. It took many years of inner healing, counseling, prayer and reading everything I could on the subject to pull out of the quicksand I was in. I’m still in process. I have not arrived. I’m still learning and growing and experiencing. It has become my life message and focus of ministry.

(Btw, the Mission Viejo Vineyard is now the Laguna Niguel Vineyard, wonderfully led by Mike and Janiece Hudgins. Definitely a place to go for healing and encounters with the Father’s love if you live in Southern California.)

There aren't 5 or 10 easy steps. Everyone is different; every experience is different. But if the following elements are consistently involved, healing will eventually take place. Here they are in no particular order: 

• Find and attend a place of worship where God’s presence is honored and experienced.
• Recognize God is always good - He is a good Father, even better than the good one you might have had, and certainly not like the bad ones. Most people intellectually know this but not often in their hearts. 
• Realize that God is always much more loving, kinder, and patient than we think.
• Forgive, forgive, forgive - our earthly fathers and those in authority over us who did hurtful things. You will need help walking through this! There are so many layers and so many methods of getting through it. I highly recommend Linda Forster’s booklet, Forgiveness: Gateway to Healing.
• Get ministry from anointed and knowledgeable prayer counsellors
• Repent of any judgments or vows made (judgments are when we act as judge and jury about someone - their character, their nature, their punishment - as opposed to just dealing with their behavior. Vows are when we determine, articulate, promise we will never be like them or do certain things, etc.) Again, you also will need help walking through this.
• Keep confessing the truth of what God is really like - always good, always loving, always fair, always kind, always has our best in mind, etc.
• Break off any demonic infiltration. Have a prayer partner for this. 
• Keep seeking God for a fresh encounter with His love.
• Read all you can about these things. Listen and watch all the teachings you can.

I hope something I said might lead you to an encounter with the Father's love. 

"Nothing can separate you from God's love!" Romans 8

The list of resources below is far from being a thorough list, but its a good start. These will lead you to others. 

Books: 

The Father Loves You by EdPiorek;

Experiencing Father's Embrace and Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship  by Jack Frost;

Unmasking the Great Pretender by Linda Forster; 

Healing the Orphan Spirit by Leif Hetland; 

The Importance of Forgiveness by John Arnot. 

CDs, DVDs:

Go to Amazon or Youtube to catch many of the above authors’ teachings.

Ministries: 

Life Center Ministries International, Harrisburg PA

Covenant of Peace, Harrisburg PA

Kingdom Life Ministry, Harrisburg PA

LionsGate Ministries, Harrisburg PA

Revival Scene, Lynchburg,VA

Shiloh Place, Myrtle Beach, SC

Vineyard Community Church, Laguna Niguel, CA

Catch The Fire, Toronto, ON, Canada

Bethel Church , Redding, CA

Freedom Centre, NSW, Sydney, Australia

Vineyard Christian Fellowship, QLD, Brisbane, Australia

The New Name for God, Pt. 2

In the last entry I said that Jesus gave us a new name for God, one rarely used before.  It was Father.  Jesus went on to call God "Father" 165  times in four gospels!  

When I found Christ, that became a problem.  I didn't understand why at first.  I loved Jesus. I could relate to Him and what He said.  Jesus was great, but I had a hard time with God the Father.  I would be uncomfortable when Jesus called God Father.  I was especially uncomfortable when someone would call God, “Daddy”.  I felt like hollering, “Daddy!?  How can you call God Daddy? He’s The Father!” 

As time went by I realized what was bothering me.  Unconsciously I was having a difficult time with the name Father because I had serious issues with my father when growing up.  Father, was not a pleasant term or memory for me.  Somehow, my earthly father’s image was being transposed over my Heavenly Father’s. The longer I was a Christian, the more this certain issue was exposed.  As I began the long and arduous journey of healing, this wrong image of God and all the lies attached to it had to be dealt with. When we have a problem with our fathers or other major authority figures, it gets passed on to God the Father. I have seen this repeated over and over.

One of the enemy’s big plans of deception is to discredit God as a good Father. Because our security and identity are supposed to come from the Father’s love, not having that derails our lives. We end up striving, insecure, trying to earn God’s approval, feeling that He is not pleased, feeling condemned, seeking for love and acceptance in the wrong places; and the list goes on.

All Jesus needed at His baptism was "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." Once you know you are a beloved son or daughter and that He is pleased with you, once you know and feel loved by God, all your security and identify comes from that. The world teaches performance, many earthly fathers teach that, unfortunately, many churches also, but not God the Father. You are loved just as you are, not for who you can be. But of course, when you know you are loved and approved of, and that love is your joy and identity, you change - into the image of the One that loves you.

I always thought God was mad at me, unhappy with me, displeased with me, that I wasn't good enough, that I was too sinful, too weak, that I didn't do enough, that I needed to work more, work harder, etc, because that is how I grew up.  These were the parameters of my existence. So after I was born again, it wasn't long until I started to think the real Authority figure in my life  was the same way.  In my head I knew that wasn't true but in my heart was a different story.  No matter what our heads say, we usually believe what our heart is telling us.  If your heart is broken and unhealed, it will keep telling you lies. 

As I found myself acting out in immature and unhealthy ways, or in the subtle ways of hidden ambition, jealously, and striving, it all came back to the same root.  Father. 

Here are some scenarios I've heard from people over the years:

“You're a %#**# stupid idiot!” 
“I wish you never born!” 
“You are such a disappointment!” 
“Can”t you ever do anything right?”  
"Why don't you use your head?” 
“Why can't you be like ___ they are such good kids!”

What you did was never good enough.
You were never smart enough.
You weren't talented enough.
You never did anything right.
You failed at everything.
Someone else, sibling, neighbor, was always better than you.
You were often punished unfairly.
You were often hollered or screamed at.
You were taught that your value was based on performance.
You were guilted.
You were manipulated.
You were shamed.
You were sexually molested.
You were physically abused.
You were verbally abused.

Etc.

Then you find Jesus.

How are you supposed to relate to Father when all you know is some version of the above?

My next blog entry will give some answers and directions for healing, plus recommend some great resources.  In the meantime, you may want to look at these verses (John 17: 20-23; Romans 8; Hebrews 8:12,13, 10:9-20; 1John 4:16-19 )

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14)

Ever wonder why the angels only appeared to the Shepherds? No one else. Not to the respected religious leaders, who then could have told the masses. Not to devout believers who were praying. Not to any others. But they came to the dirtiest, smelliest, lowest, loneliest, and least respected of all the people! Up until then, the angels had only spoken to Mary, Joseph, and Zecharaih, the key players in the story. But now the shepherds.  

Heaven couldn't contain its joy and who does it share it with? The most broken group of people and the least reliable group of people it could find!  Isn't that why He came? And what a visitation! Not just one angel but a whole choir proclaiming the most amazing thing that has ever happened in the history of whole world since creation! 

Why them? In my readings about shepherds one source says they were held in such low esteem that they weren't considered trustworthy enough to even testify in court! Yet the first gospel message was entrusted to them and they were the first to proclaim it! Isn't that the way the Lord works?! Think about that. Who would truly believe them? His message always leaves just a little room for doubt. After seeing one miracle and healing after another, the religious leaders (and us at times) said show us a sign from heaven and then we’ll believe. How many times have we seen healings and miracles or talked to those that have, yet it's still hard for us to truly believe. Even the disciples were slow to believe. 

He could have appeared to the earth in great glory, coming from heaven, and leave no doubt. He could still do that today if He wanted, but instead He wants us to believe. He wants us to use the faith we're all born with, to look around and acknowledge the very obvious - that creation must have a creator and that the gospel is true because we instinctively know He loves us. But there is always room for doubt and we get to choose to use that gift of faith that every man is born with and put that faith in Him. 

The Shepherds were the first to know. The Shepherds were the first to go and see. The Shepherds were the first to worship Him. The Shepherds were the first to testify about Him.  And later on our Lord was called the Good Shepherd and the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:15-20)