Category Archives: Journal Entry

Spirit Fire: Crushed Spirit- Proverbs 18:14

For Spirit Fire last night we looked at Proverbs 18:14. It got heavy as this “Coin” proverb talked about having a crushed spirit.

“The human spirit can endure in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?”

I remember wondering as a kid why people become alcoholics. Back then I thought it was merely a consequence of party living. I thought you would just love the flavor so much you’d get addicted to it like candy or something. However, life and actually tasting it, taught me a different tale.

Loss, disease, death of loved ones, shame, regret, these and other burdens can’t be shaken but can be forgotten for a short time in the bottle. These burdens crush the spirit, who can bear it?

We talked about how in the Holy Spirit we meet the Comforter, (greater than the southern kind), John 14:26, and His peace that endures. This life is so hard at times, and yet He meets us there. He lifts us up and gives us renewed strength when we have none, Isaiah 40:31.

Its an honor to teach my children the Book of Proverbs and to show them its fulfillment in Jesus. Who can bear the brokenness and sorrow of this world? Only Jesus, He did it for us and He gives us hope.

By Your Word

Thank You Lord!  
 
By Your Word we are protected from heresies, from false teachings that would hijack our faith replacing our confidence in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with unsustainable manifestations of fantasy.
 
By Your Word we are reminded of what Rock we are founded upon. It is not some weak sandstone that could crumble at a touch, or shale that would cut and fail those who depend on it. It is not some type of chalk that can be washed away with the tide, but He is Jesus, the Rock of Ages, the Living Stone.
 
He is not shifting, He is immovable. He is our foundation and what He has written has been done so by His blood.  
 
By Your Word we are not mislead by the wolves, we are not like lambs lead to the slaughter. We are lead by Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who was the Lamb slain for us.
 
By Your Word we do not succumb, we overcome. We are not bedazzled by someone’s personal charisma, but we were bought, saved, and redeemed into Your undeserved favor by Your Gift of grace.
 
Upon this Rock we stand, this Rock that is higher than I or any other. A stumbling block for the lost, a stepping stone for the found. By Your Word we are confronted with Jesus, greater than a capstone. He is the stone rejected by men that has become the Chief Cornerstone in the house of God.
 
Thank You Lord!

Day After Easter

This life is crazy loaded with all kinds of pitfalls and traps. How furious is His love to reach us here. How unrelenting is His resolve to deliver and redeem us.

Our minds even now writhe and twist in the mire of pride for gain grabbing at lesser things meant for destruction. They are meant for destruction, not us.

You never tire to tell us You love us. The only way not to know is if we plug our ears and close our eyes. Even then You find a way.

Guide us LORD, like You did for Israel even though every step of the way they looked back to Egypt. It is so tempting and easy to do even while we are in the midst of You. Even while You are moving the seas and making paths where there are none, we look for what our hands can do, for we are so afraid.

Trust? In this life? People are too afraid to get married so instead they play the part. They’ll live together, have kids together, but to make it real when everything falls apart here, the only question is “Why?”

You have so much more for us than we will ever know or be able to see on our own. Give us Your vision.

The deceitfulness of wealth distracts many and gets us to look elsewhere for our hope. We live in the cult of self though we don’t know that the membership dues are our soul. We all live here, we all know how it is here.

Though our acceptance is already assured bought with an eternal covenant in blood, we would trade it for the momentary acceptance of those we can manipulate. Oh, to have a god we can fashion in our own image. One that we can control by committing the necessary acts we determine.

But that god wouldn’t die for us, we wouldn’t die for us. We’d need that god to perform and build confidence in our ability to appease it so that others recognize our importance and our necessity. They need us, or our god will send them to Hell.

But Yours was a different plan, a different path. You made the definition of love, something everyone needs, beyond our grasp. Even Jesus did not grasp it, but He became the fullest form of it. And He gives love’s inheritance to any and all who believe in Him.

No one has the monopoly on Your Love, there is no other mortal man whose favor determines our worth. The Son of God, the only One who is beyond bribing, the only One who can not be persuaded by lies and deceitfulness, the only One who is out of our reach to control looks upon us with Love unconditional.

The only question is “Why?” He died and rose again for what? He fulfilled prophecy, what does that mean to me? He lived a sinless life to become the perfect sacrifice to conquer sin and death’s grip on me. He provided a way through the traps and pitfalls of this life to bless me beyond my days. But “Why?”

That was His plan,
because He is love.

Now there is Hell, but from what I know it is chosen everyday by those who turn away from His free gift of love. In fact it is because of love that allows us the choice.

What do you choose?

A Note to Followers of the Way in our Digital Social World

Dear Digital People in Christ,

I know it’s tempting to look at and read what others are saying, or shouting even, but look instead at what He’s doing. Breathe it in.

But they are killing babies! He knows. Shouldn’t we do something? Yes, mourn and love.

But they are saying God doesn’t exist and that we came from monkeys! He knows. Shouldn’t we do something? Yes, teach in love.

But they are making it ok to do what most animals don’t even do! He knows. Shouldn’t we do something? Yes, pray and love.

But… He knows. Shouldn’t we…? Yes, follow Him.

Those Aren’t Cute, Cuddly, Little Baby Panda Bears

During my time in East Tennessee, a friend showed me the beautiful waterfall called Laurel Falls out in Dennis Cove of Carter County.  I returned to it as often as I could showing it to friends, family, and even to the kids in my Youth Group.  One thing that I saw there has always stayed in the back of my mind and was a bit of a mystery to me.

Laurel Falls is about 30 ft. wide if my memory serves me correct.  On times when we had enough rain, the falls would cover the full width.  Friends of mine and I would walk out in it.  I’d lay back against the rock and let the water fall over me, it was awesome.  One time I looked down at my arm to watch the water and I noticed a little bug on me.  The water gushed over it but it stayed right where it was.  I lifted my arm up out of the water and flicked it off, then I began to see more of them.  They were all over the rocks.  I looked at them very closely for a while and saw that they didn’t move much, and when they did, it was only a step or two.  I even tried to push them around a little but the water never carried them away, they were so close to the rocks it had no effect.  In fact, as I watched and experimented like a little kid, it seemed it was the weight of the water that held them in place.  A little bit of research later revealed that they were probably mayflies.  They have gills that protrude from their sides to grab at the oxygen flowing over the falls.

It’s easy for me to see bugs as the bad guy.  If they were cute, cuddly, little baby panda bears, I’d be like, “Ah look at them, so strong, so resilient,” and feel lead to write about perseverance or something.  However, they weren’t cute and cuddly, they were creepy.  So it leads me to think of things that we can’t shake even in times of extreme beauty like Laurel Falls.

These days I think of worship services.  During these times like a waterfall, we can experience such an outpouring of His goodness that we become open to His healing, deliverance, and revelation.  But distractions come in many forms:  from technology- feedback in the mics, to ego- pre-madonna leaders, from temptations- short skirts, to stomach pains- lunchtime, these little bugs stick around and can divert our thoughts sucking out all of the oxygen if we let them.

Colossians 3:2 says for us to, “Set your minds on things above”.  For me in the waterfall, I noticed the bugs but chose to not let them take away from my awesome time in His creation.  I still put my head in the waterfall knowing I may get some in my hair.  I still jumped in the pool below knowing there were probably worse things in there.  I still had a blast and took a good shower when I got home, which in effect lived out Colossians 3:5, putting all those bugs to death.

I loved exploring that waterfall, it was for me a time of worship, little bugs included.  When I kept my mind on why I was there, “on things above”, the fun of the falls was so great I hardly noticed those little oxygen suckers.

Evangelism: The Tug of War

Evangelism sometimes feels like a tug of war to me.  My own insecurities mixed with a desire to be polite and not intrude or cause an inconvenience creates a rotten mix that in many ways becomes the opposing force.  Yes, I know salvation is more important than manners and in many ways, it’s those rude instances that people remember more.  A story I was told by a professor reminds me of this:

A mentally handicapped child was telling people about Jesus.  One person he spoke with was the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation.  The rich man didn’t want anything to do with Jesus, so the child said, “Fine, go to Hell then.”  As the story goes, the rich man went home and for days couldn’t get the mentally handicapped child out of his head.  Eventually, he came to Christ.

Now when I heard this story I was so relieved.  It isn’t always about some cookie-cutter approach to ministry.  Evangelism is alive, it breathes, it shocks, but most of all it loves.  It becomes a goal not to strangle it in the panic.  Our minds get attached rather quickly and when the words come out all jumbly, we can feel it’s our fault if they go to Hell.  For someone in those shoes, I would say to trust in Him.

This brings me to the other Tug-of-War, the real one.  Here’s the secret, know the Holy Spirit.  The more you do, the easier of a flow it becomes.  He guides your eyes and covers your heart; He shields your thoughts and directs your steps.  I know of people who meet together with no plan other than to go out there into the harvest.  They meet, they pray, and they go.  Healings, deliverances, and salvations follow them.  You don’t have to know everything, but you do need to know Him because He is everything.

Out there, it seems Satan has one goal:  Keep people from knowing the love of God.  Everything can be understood that simply, John 3:16 style.  Now how you communicate that is where the rubber meets the road.

Years ago, my brother took me to Scotland.  At one of the youth hostels I got into a conversation with another traveler and the hour became late.  He was so hungry for Jesus, I didn’t think about anything else other than answering his questions to the best of my ability.  Soon the others in our room told us to shut-up.  What works for some will not work for others.  Be sensitive to the Spirit, be aware that at times He will guide your tongue before you even know it.  Don’t take the reins back, let Him flow.

The real Tug-of-War is when you are in the thick of it and you become intensely aware of the demons and the lies the person has embraced over the years.  Your words pull their soul from the clutches of darkness into His wonderful light.  Remember you’re on a team, angels work with you, the Holy Spirit is within you.  Work with your team, not against them.

What does that look like?  I don’t know for everyone, but ultimately I would say it is about putting yourself aside until He tells you to take it back up again.

The only way to get good at evangelism is to do it.  Books can strangle it, classes can castrate it, you have to listen to the Spirit and follow.  Let your ignorance free you to trust.

-Brian

Hunt of the Woodpecker

Out in my woods God showed me many things.  Things within me and things around me.  One time He wanted to teach me about listening.  As I walked the trail, I heard the distant sound of a woodpecker pounding away on a tree.  He told me to look down and follow.  So I did, no matter where it lead me, and no matter what I had to walk through to do it.

I only looked at the ground straight in front of me, just enough for the next step.  The tapping got louder as I followed.  I tried to keep silent so as not to disturb anything.  Finally my search was over as my quest brought me to the foot of a tree; the hammering continued directly above me.  I looked up and there he was digging for his next meal.

There is an almost endless amount of wisdom in that experience, and even now 20+ years later, I learn new things from it.  Back then, He showed me I can follow best with my ears.  If I would have tried to follow with my eyes, I would have tripped and scared the bird.  Only by using my ears was I allowed to make it to him.

Today, I think about my walk with Jesus.  If I would have used my eyes during different times of my life, I would have tripped and been like the seed sown among thorns, Mark 4:18-19.  The circumstances that surrounded me would have choked me, making me unfruitful.  But only by listening to His voice am I able to pass through as He did amidst an angry crowd in Luke 4:30.

So go ahead, go outside.  Listen for the knocking and follow.  Join the hunt of that Divine Woodpecker.  Let His voice guide you one step at a time, Proverbs 16:9.  It was Jesus’ obedience to the will of the Father that brought Him to the knocking on the cross, Luke 22:42.  He fulfilled that path opening the door of salvation for us all, so that in the end, we would receive it, 1 Peter 1:9.

-Brian

For Those Who Have Gone Before and For Those Who Remain

Such a chorus it must be of saints and angels welcoming them home.
Such a sight to see when they receive their white robes and the crown of life to don.

When the Son of God no longer takes the form of a Lamb but girds Himself for war,
taking up their cause the world trembles and quakes for on it His wrath He will pour.

Look to the sky for the time is coming nigh when you will either enter His throne room
or call for mountains to fall and hide you from your doom.

Weeding

I like to meditate while doing chores.  Weeding has been one chore throughout my life that has given me metaphor after metaphor to understand the reality around me.  My Lord Jesus used sowing seed as an illustration in a parable about people’s reception to the Word, Mark 4:1-9.  Rocks and weeds took on special rolls in it- the rocks made the soil too shallow for the seed’s roots to get any depth, and the weeds would choke the seed making it unfruitful.  Now if you had both rocks and weeds where the seed was sown, that’s a double whammy.

At a college I worked at, they covered all the in-between places with rock.  Weeds would grow there as soon as Winter had passed and the snow had melted.  During times when I just needed to think, I would go out to the patch of rock and weeds just outside my door and get my hands dirty.

A couple things about weeding in rocks- 1.  Don’t expect to be a hand model afterwards.  The rocks made my knuckles raw and often they would bleed; forget about my nails.  2.  The lack of soil made pulling the weeds extra difficult.  I normally like to dig down to the roots to really get them up, but with the rocks I would just grab as close as I could to the base and pull.  On dry days they would often break at the rock level.

What are weeds?  Google defines a weed as, “A wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.”  Within the rocks, the college had planted beautiful flowers and shrubs, but when the weeds grew it was sometimes difficult for me to know the difference.  When I’d pull on the keepers, since they were planted before the rocks, their roots held fast.  In a way, the rocks became an armor and the role Jesus spelled out for them was turned on the weeds

Working with people can sometimes be very much like pulling those weeds.  The hardness of life can make those plants closely guarded and it is often a battle to help them see that life with Him is much more than mere survival.

Adventures in Prayer Part 10

My family and I now live on an intersection.  People walk, ride bikes, and drive through it everyday.  It has provided for me the canvas and background for my prayers:  anyone who passes through experiences an intersection of their life with the presence of God.  Wherever they are at in their journey in life, far or near to Him, my prayers are that they would experience a fresh outpouring of His love for them.  I pray for angels to be stationed over every house along the street.  I pray darkness to flee:  regret, anger, hatred, violence, addiction, depression, and all kinds of evil spirits are cast from the neighborhood.  I claim this ground to be holy in Jesus’ name.

For those who pass through, I pray new thoughts.  New thoughts about God and His love for them.  New insights into the plans He has in store for them.  I release His goodness over their lives, over their families, over their jobs, and futures.  He has so much in store for each of us, if we would but have the ears to hear.  I pray burdens lifted; foul thoughts averted, and as they pass through, they would feel such a moment of refreshment that they’d leave inspired.

Who knows the paths of thoughts?  Who knows from where they come or where they go?  I’ve had thoughts I didn’t invite before, harmful thoughts.  Thoughts that brought nothing good with them to my mind.  Thoughts that did not encourage or build me up in any way.  One day it hit me that this was an attack.  So in a strange way I realized if the enemy can do this to me, what can the Holy Spirit do for me and others?  In the end, I want to know His thoughts more than my own, and surely more than the enemy’s.  1 Corinthians 2:11-16.

I want to be old friends with the Holy Spirit, I want Him to fill every corner of my being and my home.  I know some of what lives near us now, con-artists and thieves are the most prevalent and I try to walk in wisdom in all my actions and conversations with my neighbors.  But I also move to advance while protecting my family and neighbors.

I have not forgotten the last place we lived.  I still pray revival over that street: an outpouring of the love of God so great that it changes everything, may His name be praised.  It is actually because of what happened there that inspires me to take it to another level.  I don’t know of any limits, so if I’m going to pray, I’m going to do it full on crazy.

Ephesians 3:20-21 states,  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…“  Might as well make Him work for it.  To quote Han Solo, “I don’t know, I can imagine a lot.”

I write this in hopes that it may encourage others in their battle against fear during these days.  If these posts are not encouraging to you then please stop reading them.  If they give you a new perspective to understand the world around you that you may have never considered before, then amen.  I told a friend of mine that I write to fight.  This is my own small way to combat fear by reminding myself what He has done in my own life.  He works in all of us differently but always powerfully.

May you find encouragement in these days to continue following after Him, Romans 12:2.  Till the day He comes again my friends, Jesus be with you.