Category Archives: Walk with Jesus

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?

No One Knew

No one knew what was going to happen.  They witnessed the incredible for 3 years as they followed Him.  People left their homes and jobs on the spot just because He called or merely walked by.  They knew that whatever they knew about life just didn’t matter or apply to Him.

Oh some were jealous, and they were filled with hatred for the One who with a few words tore down their palaces of oppression.  They worked hard for their positions, they had authority and control over others that was unquestionable, “God ordained” even.  And yet, here was this man who did what no one has ever done.  The miracles He did and the teachings He gave shook everything and everyone to the core.  He questioned them and claimed a position of authority no man ever dared to claim.

Scandalous.  Could it be that the jealousy of the fallen drove them to it?  Having the perfect One in the presence of the twisted only reminded them of their evil?  That the perception of their own inabilities to ever be allowed to taste of the Tree of Life that He said was in reach if they only would stretch out their hands and believe gave birth to the evil that awaited them in their hearts?

They showed Him a different tree and nailed Him to it.  The sheep scattered as the wolves killed their Shepherd.

But no one knew.

No one but the Father.  His plans shattered everything even death itself.  For three days later, Jesus came forth from the tomb and revealed the Father’s plans to those He had chosen.

Scandalous.  Though sin had created the thrones of man, thrones that bound their kings to them and any who would bow before them to the grave, Jesus’ death and resurrection broke every chain and set every captive free.

The power of Sin and Death was broken and the grip of this world could no longer hold those who followed Him.

No one knew the depths of His love, no one knew how great and complete were His plans.  When Jesus came forth from the tomb, He set us free from ours.

His work continues today, will you step away from this world into His embrace?  This ending world with thrones of the grave for His eternal home with crowns that will never fade?

No one knew, but now you do.

Spirit Fire Ch. 7: Share the Fire

It started out from watching a Darren Wilson movie that shared about a woman named Heidi Baker who evangelizes in Mozambique, Africa.  She travels from village to village calling the people there to bring forth their sick and blind.  She then invites children to pray with her, and God answers.  Now I’m not saying to get healed you must get prayed over by African orphans, but it stood out to me that if you open your kids up to experience God at such an early age it sets them up for an even greater awareness of Him.  When I think about my own children, I know I want that for them.

This world has been dark ever since the Fall, but Jesus came to be THE Light.  The Bible says some pretty amazing things about what we get to be a part of as children of Light:  Spiritual Gifts, healings, resurrections, demonic deliverances, and other signs and wonders.  Every generation thinks it’s living in the last days, and with the constant barrage of violent and tragic events all over the globe, it’s not hard to see why.  But along with the people in Darren Wilson’s movies, I want more of Him in midst of the chaos.  I don’t want to sit and try to find meaning in how we are doing it all wrong or try to find creative ways to kick a dead horse, but I want to be a part of what He’s doing now.

I want to be so familiar with His presence that when people look at me they see Him.  I want for my wife to be blessed with the opportunity to help others gain His Beauty that she has more than any other woman I have ever known.  I want for my children to have the opportunity to be a part of something more than simply going to church on Sundays and playing video games the rest of the week.  So as I walk this path with my amazing family, we began to go out and “Share the Fire”- the “outreach” version of our Spirit Fire times.

We go out, grab a few $5 gift cards and hit a shopping store.  We have our kids pick the person we are going to bless and off we go.  Betsy is the lead talker and after we give them the card, she asks if there is something we can pray for them about.  Responses have been pretty wild from tears of thankfulness to smiles of joy.  It gives my kids the opportunity to see His power at work through them for others.  To the people who say, “No thank you,” they are free to keep the gift card.  We still pray for them as they leave.

God has given Betsy and I many opportunities all over the world to share His love with people from Mexico to Africa to Hong Kong.  Since our days at Great Lakes Christian College we’ve felt lead to be missionaries, and though we wait for His call to go elsewhere we know for now He has us here.  We seek to live always for Him no matter where.

Spirit Fire Ch. 6: “No Longer A Slumdog”

A couple of months ago I saw an ad on Facebook for a free book about children in Asia titled “No Longer A Slumdog”, written by K.P. Yohannan.  I thought it would be an interesting read because I know people who serve the LORD there, plus it has a forward written by Francis Chan, so I ordered it.  When it finally came in the mail, I set it aside on the shelf next to where I sit for our Spirit Fires, and truth be told, I forgot about it.  Till one day I saw it sitting there and thought to give the first chapter a read.  Boy, I’m glad I did.  As I read the stories about the hundreds of millions of children that suffer in this world, and about the work of the Spirit and the light God brings to such places, I quickly thought about my own children and how invaluable it would be for them to learn and hear about it.  Most of the children mentioned in the book are around their age of 7 so it seemed even more appropriate for my kids to hear about them during this stage of their lives.

In our beginning prayer time, we talk about our Treasure Rooms which are filled with all kinds of riches from God.  When reading Yohannan’s book, I spoke to them of a rare jewel of Wisdom called Perspective, and each page of his book was loaded with it.  Perspective provides for us an opportunity to value others and ourselves, and it is something every child and adult in every culture needs.  With it we take a step out of our own shoes with our needs and wants and step into another’s and hear of even greater needs and in that trade off, a new need awakens, a need to help and do something about it.  A need to love.

Yohannen’s book provides a personal view into the dark streets of cities like Bombay and what daily life is like there for the Dalit children and communities.  Children who don’t know the love of God, let alone the many who don’t even know the love of a parent.  The harshness of dealing with a pimp who knows a maimed child makes more money begging than a healthy one is contrasted by the blinding glory of God’s redemptive love as the life of a violent child changes to that of a loving child becoming a blessing to his community.  Yohannan shares many stories of hope and joy amidst the dark, each one of these stories is a seed for my children; a seed I know that will grow in the garden of their hearts, souls, and minds.

Last night we had our recap discussion time.  Honestly, my kids couldn’t follow many of the questions I asked like:  “So what did we learn about the Jewel of Perspective?”  But when I asked them about specifics in the book, they couldn’t stop talking about the children we read about.

I know this almost sounds like a commercial, but to get the info out plain and simple here it is:  “No Longer A Slumdog” written by K.P. Yohannan was a perfect book for my family to read and talk about together.  I look forward to the ways its seeds will impact my kids and myself in the days to come.

You Are The Only

LORD thank You! Nothing is hidden from You. There is no place to hide from You. None can trick or deceive You. There is no mass media that can jade Your understanding. No politician can persuade You. No amount of reward can bribe You.

Your Word separates between bone and marrow. You know us completely, You are the only One who does.

And You love us.

Psalm 139, Hebrews 4:12, John 3:16

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

Spirit Fire Ch. 4: More Family Time in God’s Word

We finished reading through Revelation, wow what a time that was!  We read about the end of the world and the salvation of God’s children.  We read how Jesus will come again to bring an end to suffering and pain.   We even took a look around in the heavenly courts and saw some strange creatures.  Each night we reviewed the major points we found along the way, an example is the 7 churches.  We would name them and a word about what was written to them.  If you think of Revelation as a painting, the first three chapters create a great background for the rest of the book.

After we finished Revelation we went into Mark.  So far in the past years, we’ve gone through Acts exploring the power we’ve been given, Revelation for the victory, Proverbs (which we are still in) for the Wisdom, and now Mark for Jesus.  Honestly, there’s no rhyme or reason to the order that I know of, but I do know paths converged for a moment when about halfway through Acts, Pastor Kevin from my church began taking us through it on Sundays.  That was cool.  Then Bill Johnson, another leader I respect, mentioned wisdom and power being for the believer when we were in both Proverbs and Acts.  Both emboldened me for our Spirit Fires and what I wanted for my kids.

The intro for Mark is easy.

Leader:  “Who wants Jesus to be in their treasure room?”

All:  “Meeeee!!!  I dooooo!!!”

Leader:  “Good, I have a book here called _____”

Kids:  “Mark!”

Leader:  “Written by _____”

Kids:  “Mark!!”

Leader:  “To teach us about ______”

Kids:  “Jesus!!!”

We review by calling out one thing that we’ve already read, we’re at the end of chapter 4, and by each of us naming one of the disciples.  Then I read all their names from Mark 3:16-19.

We are still making our way through the book of Proverbs on the alternate nights.  We’ve added a few more things to the intro as we’ve come across new types of Proverbs, two of which are the “Coin” and the “This and more” proverbs.  My kids’ favorite is the “Coin” proverb.  We call them “Coin” because they have two sides saying the same thing but from different viewpoints often in reference to comparing the wicked and the righteous.  My kids like the word that reveals the other side, “but”.

So we say:

Me:  “Some proverbs are like a _____.”  And then I hold my hand out flat.

Kids:  “Coin!”

Me:  “One side talks about the _______.”

Kids:  “Righteous!”

Me:  “The other side talks about the _______.”

Kids:  “Wicked!”

Me:  “And what word flips it?”

Kids:  “But!” Their favorite part.  Then I flip my hand over making a spank sound to emphasize it.

For example:

15:29 “The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”.

The LORD’s proximity toward the wicked means the same thing as His toward the righteous.  For one side to go up, like a teeter-totter, the other has to come down.  If God is near one then that means He is far from the other.  He isn’t near them both in regards to His favor.

Another type of Proverb is “This and more”.  Basically, this type of Proverb adds to its point by increasing it, not contrasting it like the “coin”; hence the different conjunctions “but” vs. “and”.

For this one we say:

Me:  “Other proverbs are a ‘This and ____.”

Kids:  “More!”

For example:

14:26 “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.”

The “this” is “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress”.   A quick explanation of this is that we who fear the LORD obey Him, and we who obey Him receive strength and power to accomplish what He is calling us to do.  Side note:  This reminds me of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:24-27.  The “and more” is the second half of the proverb furthering the original point to providing for the children.  So basically our “fear” of God is not just for us, but it’s for those under our care, namely, our kids.  My children liked hearing the good things that are coming their way, especially when I explain refuge means a huge castle.

I try to make the names for the proverbs easy so we can grasp the form which lends itself to opening the door to explore the meaning.  So that’s why she swallowed the fly.  🙂

-Brian