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If He Gave You Power He Also Gave You Mercy

Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink. - Numbers 20:8

In the scene from history which includes the aforementioned event Moses and the Israelites had been traveling for days without water. They were thirsty. They were complaining and grumbling about their plight. Moses became the object of their complaining. So, as any good target should ol' Moses sought the Lord for wisdom (you should read that, r-e-l-i-e-f) on how to handle the situation. The Lord instructed him to speak to a particular rock and water would come forth out of said stone, ore or boulder. The seemingly impossible would act as a sign that God was still in control, that Moses was still the leader, and that Jehovah was their provider.

When it came time to speak to the rock, Moses', and his A D D or otherwise inability to focus on the command of God (which we define as Moses' disgust with the people) became so great that instead of speaking to the rock, he angrily addressed the people and then banged on the rock twice. The water came out, in spite of Moses' disobedience. However, this was not a "happy God" moment.

God had set his leader, our friend Moses, up to succeed and establish position, power and provision at a very high level. Moses was moving from the use of "things" to work with (his staff) to the use of his inability(he saw himself as one who did not speak well) in order to work the miracles of God. Moses' stumbling verbiage would have changed the situation. Previously Moses' staff represented two things-his physical work as a shepherd of sheep and his spiritual work as a shepherd of the people. But the very God of Israel was calling Moses to new ground and into a new dimension. Moses was to move from physical action to a position God had previously reserved to Himself, "Speak it! It shall be!"

Like you and I, Moses botched it. He used his instrument with force to accomplish something for God. He took something God wanted to be used in a righteous manner and used it, lashing out, angrily.

Moses used the thing with which he had been gifted against versus for the purposes of God.

He used force to solve the problem.

The result: Moses lost his blessing to see the Promised Land.

How about you? When was the last time you used your power, skill, and ability to force a situation to happen, perhaps even out of anger?

God is calling us to use meditation and prayer to move the face of mountains. The force of our ability is not satisfactory nor is it able. God is calling each of us to a new level of discipleship in Him. I hope you pray with me, daily, to learn the lesson here...the lesson to wait to understand how it is God wishes us to move before we decide improperly how we are to use the things put in our hands. My prayer is that we all move into God's promises together...Moses, my mentor...thank you for this painful lesson...may I not have to repeat it. I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

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Christmas As A Distraction to Your Worship of God

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:4-7.

The Christmas season (lack of weather withstanding) is upon us here in Mesa, AZ. Thanksgiving is past and Christmas looms large. I am into the holiday season only from a seasonal perspective. This is the season and I am present and accounted for. The events of the last few weeks have created in me a sort of writers block I suppose. With the loss of my brother and a few days later the only father I have known for the last 35 years, I am just a bit numb about it all. I am self-absorbed. I keep hearing Jesus say, "Let the dead bury the dead," but I struggle with it.

However, I must admit, every year in November/December, I have creative challenges. It has come earlier this year.

I am distracted from loving the Lord.

On the local scene many have sent Christmas cards and letters in addition to working through the annual Christmas gift buying frenzy, which began with black Friday morning for many at midnight. I stayed at home on Friday but did venture out on Cyber Monday to buy a Christmas gift or two via the Internet. The gift has already arrive and it seems surreal.

There are so many distractions during this time of the year. The echo of, "Jesus is the reason for the season" somehow echoes in a thin and hollow fashion. I am not focused on adoration of my King. We want to spend time with our families, show them gifts and time to express our love and they want to spend time with us. I just talked with my daughter-in-law Elisha. Amongst other things the season brings she reminded me that for many this involves traveling great distances and several days of time.

There is the preparation time for the family time and of course the buying of gifts. Often there is also the necessity of the preparation of food for the holiday meals. Along with all of that, there are the church events from nativity reenactments to Christmas programs. There is also the hectic pace of school activities where there is almost always a Christmas program of some kind and basketball or other sports activities adding to the frantic expedited pace of our busy lives. In honor of my King I have put honoring Him on the shelf for a couple of months...not cool

For those schools that have band programs or vocal programs there will very likely be some special presentations during this time. It all makes for a much busier pace of life for parents many of whom are working their regular schedules and will have an office party or two and other extra events along the way too.

Bless you Lord - I raise you up...

I am sure there are many other things that could have been mentioned that complicate our lives during this time of year. We talk as if life used to be simpler but even Mary and Joseph had a few complications getting ready for the first Christmas. They had to deal with the societal pressure of Mary being pregnant out of wedlock. Then the tough decision to have and keep the Promised Child. Joseph had a tough decision to make but he did make it and made the right one. Then, the teenage couple (at least Mary) were forced to make a difficult trip. As if that wasn't bad enough it came during the very last of Mary’s pregnancy. After they arrived in Bethlehem, they had one more little problem: there was no room in the inn. Jesus had to be born in the stables, which many believe to have been just a crude cave.

Oh, Lord Our God - You are majestic - You are our health and wealth...our very portion...we worship you...

(or do we...?)

I hope that you will not become distracted from the reason for this season my friends and family. The many events of the Christmas season are not the goal. Getting through as many as possible without the need to maim, kill and destroy should not be goals. Remember HIM whom to know is life eternal during this season where we desire to honor HIM>

Include your Father God in your daily lives. Let us rejoice during this time and remember the true meaning of Christmas. There may very well be additional complications and challenges, and yes distractions ahead for you. They may rise up on the left and on the right. They may come at you head on…but remember that the Lord can give you “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” to “guard your hearts and minds.”

Daddy God would have you to rejoice in the midst of the Holiday distractions and in doing so honor Him. As the apostle Paul puts it, and he surely had his share of distractions, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

I remain, joyfully...

InHISgrip,
~J~

A Shortage of Manna (Stores) in the Nation!

Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions" - Exodus 16:4

When God took the nation of Israel through the desert, God really took them through a tough place. It was barren. It was dry. It was lifeless. It was desolate. (I think we're getting the picture aren't we?)

In all of this we could see that there was one thing the people simply could not do without God: They could not provide sustenance for themselves.

They could not plant. They could not cultivate or fertilize. They could not harvest. They could not manufacture. They were on the move. The territory they crossed and time in which they did it created a scenario where nothing but complete dependence on their Father God was the rule.

It was the difference between life and death.

God gave them food, manna, one day at a time. The manna would spoil the very next day after God gave it and so they could never store it.

Bummer! There was no manna store from which we could stock up! They couldn't start a manna business to capitalize on all the free manna. There was no "freeze dried" manna. No "Dream Dinners" manna prep business.

I believe this is a picture of our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father. We need His constant guidance. He is the bread of life. Jesus came to reintroduce us to the source of satisfaction for our souls and only the Heavenly Father's manna satisfies. But that manna is daily. You starve your souls, steal your own peace and joy and provide yourself with a giant case of the stupids when you deny your daily feeding.

Some would tell you that this is merely a picture of times when God takes you through rough places. Hey! I imagine there was some beautiful places in that desert. I live in a desert. I know how it can be amazing. They had good days and they had bad days, Israel did...they were people, just like you and I. So, no. This was not a picture of seasons in your life. This was God attempting to condition His people to trust in Him; confide in Him and allows Him entrance into their lives daily.

And, this is just the way you and I are today. The songwriter wrote, "We need thee Lord we need thee - EVERY HOUR - we need thee." The songwriter was accurate.

Recently I heard a Baptist preacher on the radio letting his listeners off the hook. "God does NOT have a specific will for your life!", he boomed. "I defy anyone to show me anywhere that God provided direct and personal leadership apart from his law!", he said. Well Pastor Bubba...every law of theological assessment screams at you that each and every Old Testament writer and character's life was a picture of how we, today, with the Holy Spirit within and the work of Jesus Christ finished without (outside of our own life) has given us back to our dad...and we can now go directly to Him for leadership and guidance! To be sure that guidance might be soft as a whisper. It may be a word spoken into our hearts but it should be daily and we should get used to it...no...we should anticipate it...without it we are directionless.

Do you find yourself in the desert? Then recognize your Heavenly Father, He is forcing you to depend wholly on His provision? If you have ALWAYS felt this way to some degree (good days and bad days but generally without guidance for your life) pray that you will learn the lessons God desires you to learn by beginning to give Him time each day. Pray. Read the Bible. Meditate. Spend time with other believers and share. He will begin to build into you a great freedom that is based on your capability to hear His voice. I know that sounds like an oxymoron. But many of our definitions are, as my granddad would say, "catty wampus." to the eternal ones definition.

Remember that this dry empty place you are going through can be just a season. You do not need to be there forever. And, His manna sustains and is really the best of all meals!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

A Last Note to My Brother & Communication I'll Miss

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul - Psalm 143:8

I lost my brother unexpectedly this week. It has left a lot of questions for those of us closest to Him who know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. At the same time my thoughts this week were about great inventions of our time that keep us connected. Two of the greatest inventions of this time have been the laptop computer and personal and private communication using it. The laptop means I no longer have to stay tethered to an office to be productive in my business life. E-mail, Skype, Webinars and Chat services have allowed me to stay connected to people all around the world with just a few keystrokes.

My greatest frustration is when either of these doesn't work. Sometimes communication services cannot be used because I can't get a connection. Sometimes I cannot use my laptop because I have not properly charged it, and then the charge runs out while I am on an airplane. Both of these situations mean I am unable to tap into the resource that allows me to fulfill my calling in my work to the fullest.

What does this have to do with the death of my oldest brother. Just this, neither of those things prevented me from having a relationship with him. He used neither of them. He didn't care to use them. For Al and I it was a short phone call and long breakfasts, lunches and just hanging out and watching sports together. It was a family picnic, birthday or anniversary.

The best of communication may not mean the best of relationship building. I was grateful to have these last 26 years to do that with my big brother. He and I talked about loving and caring for each other and because of this closeness we had no fear of doing loving things for one another.

The morning time with God is much like these situations. I wake up expecting to meet God when I begin my devotional time. He does not disappoint me. God pours His Word into my human spirit, and I am recharged with a clarity of purpose and vision. He provides me security which allows me to enter my day in peace, and not disheveled by the opening bell on a new day of activity.

This recharging has an important effect on my day. It allows me the greatest opportunity to hear the small voice that directs my steps. If I refuse to "get connected," I risk following my own ways of fulfilling the duties of my day. This usually means I am disquieted, and easily unraveled. I know I can trust self less than I could my Father God. I simply do not have His insight. My time alone with God sets forth the opportunity for Him to speak into my spirit what He desires for me each day. It allows me to focus on God's purposes, not mine or not what I think His purpose might be for me.

The only way to know someone is to spend time with him or her. The only way to discern the voice of another is to hear that person's voice. David, the author of the Psalm at the top of this thought, was a warrior, king, and businessman. He understood this principle of connecting with God in the morning. His morning allowed him to connect with God's love, renew his trust in Him, and hear His directions for his life.

I challenged my folks at the Church on Rogers Street here in Mesa, AZ to begin immediately to start each day with a time of prayer, worship, Bible reading and quiet contemplation/meditation with God each morning. Write down what you believe He has spoken into you. If you are unsure and this is new to you, then check it out with a wise, hearing mentor in the faith...but begin!

I will miss my brother. I was honored to be in and a part of his life. Those weekly times together...just knowing and speaking the Word of Life, of God into his life and allowing him to bless me in so many ways is already missed. I pray to one day see Al and Jesus...until then, "Lord, I am listening." I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

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It's Been Your Experience - Is That Right - Hmmm...

Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord's covenant moved from the camp - Numbers 14:44

The people of Israel were brought out of Egypt to enter a new land-the Promised Land. It is a little simplistic to say that this land was handed over to them freely. The Fact is, if you read the accounts of their travels the "giving" of it required the removing of peoples who were occupying them that had made themselves God's enemies. The removal process would be through land fought battles. The battles required a partnership between God and the Israelites. As long as the people worshipped, listened to and remained faithful to God, they were victorious.

In the above scripture Israel was camped at Kadesh Barnea. This was near the border entrance to the long-awaited Promised Land. All the hardships of their journey from Egypt were now culminating at this important geographic crossing point. However, as the story goes, only two men, Joshua and Caleb proclaimed in faith and belief in the promise of God, that it was possible to take hold of the land. These two men alone, out of 10, were the only ones who believed it feasible to take the land and conquer their enemies.

What of the other scouts? What of these other spies?

The other scouts added the enemies strength without consideration for God's strength and promise; they saw all the dangers and refused to take the risk. Or, to put it another way, they refused to trust their God. The people of the camp of Israel shrank in fear because of the majority report from the other 8 naysayers. The Jews made a choice. They would not enter in.

God was angered at the people for their lack of faith. Moses had to intercede on behalf of his Jewish brothers with God. Eventually the Jews understood their error but by then the season of God's favor had passed. Moses attempted to let them know it was no longer "ok." But they thought their repentance was enough to right their wrong with such a loving, kind, merciful and benevolent God.

The Jews presumed a simple, "sorry" was all that was necessary to make nice-nice with God.

Again, Moses informed them they were deceived in their presumption of God's favor. They went to battle against the Amalekites only to be soundly defeated. Those who returned did not understand why they lost the battle. Hearing God's voice and understanding His wishes for our lives is personal and it is corporate. You and I have a life mission. We need to hear God on that. We are also to be a part of a body of Christ, a church and that church is to have a mission and fulfill it in God's timing and according to His will. We need to know what it is.

My loved ones and friends, it is important for us to know whether we have God's hand upon our endeavors. Presumption leads to failure. God's favor leads to success. Our daily walk, our prayer, worship meditation, study will lead to a life where we become familiar and where we anticipate and receive His guidance. Ask God to confirm His hand on your endeavors and expect it...

Ultimately Israel got to this point...If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here-Exodus 33:15

...and so should be our thoughts and prayers with God as well...I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Ah! You're Just Seeing Things!

And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha - 2 Kings 6:17

Everyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of all things baseball. One of my two favorite all-time baseball movies is the movie Field of Dreams. Kevin Costner plays the part of an Iowa farmer that had a vision to build a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield.

Part of the romance and mystery is this: he did not know why.

What he did know was that he was to do it. Much to the chagrin of his neighbors and extended family, he built the baseball diamond in the farm community. As the story continues, one night some players showed up. The man realized these were no ordinary players, but were actually the great players from the past. When the skeptical family came to view this phenomenon, they were unable to see what the farm owner could see. This made it even worse for him. Now he was really a lunatic in their eyes; having plowed under valuable farm land he needed to pay the bills and feed his family.

This fictitious story has a spiritual application for you and I. First, if God tells us to "build a ball field," we should do it. It is not for us to determine the reason we are instructed to do it. Once we are obedient, God steps us through obedience, one foot at a time in front of the next. Because He is a personal God He will allow us to see what others cannot see. It is His personal vision for each of us who names Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It's also a kind of rite of passage for those willing to risk their reputation for God's purposes. As our walk and trust levels rise in our faith my dear friends and family God increases the spiritual senses to levels we never knew before. If you continue to walk in faith those around you will observe this. You will become a spiritual beacon in ways you had not considered. As in the movie mentioned above, "They will come" to you for wisdom, truth, and a touch from God.

Do you want to see what others cannot see? Let me put it another way: do you wish to see more for what God would do in and through your life? If so, it will require a level of obedience that will go beyond human reason. This last week I read an article that showed the path from agnosticism to faith to world-wide power with God for over a dozen men (Wilberforce, Tolkien, T.S. Eliot, and C. S. Lewis to name a few). These men all claimed they got there because Christianity was the only reasonable explanation for the world, their lives and the future. Each however proclaimed it was a step of faith that caused them to realize just how personal and loving God was.

Your faith and God's personal command to you may require risk and ridicule from others. But you will see what others cannot see and it will be an eternal adventure! I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

The years taught me most of the world's richest people began their journey to wealth with the habit of tithing-Robert Kioysaki

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Being Lead to Fail - What's That All About?

The Lord said to Moses, 'When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.' - Exodus 4:21

Recently I took on some work where I became an employee. It didn't last long. In part it was frustrating because I believed I was being hired to do something I had done successfully in previous work only to find my new boss stymie my efforts at every turn. He said I'd be responsible for this but in truth it was not at all that way. Perhaps you've had a similar experience. You believe you know what to do but as you are in the doing of it your superior is thwarting your efforts, making it impossible to succeed.

Moses must have felt this way after God told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the people of Israel. God had told Moses, I am going to give you the power to release the children of Israel by the miracles I will do through you." But that was not the whole story. He also told Moses that Israel would not be released by Pharaoh because God was going to put a hard heart in Pharaoh.

Now, what is THAT all about?

A relationship with Jesus Christ that is growing and maturing also means we become more aware of God's purposes and plans with our personal lives. I have had this experience. As a matter of fact, one way I test my walk with the Lord is to determine if I have a sense of His working with and in me as He had instructed me. I also know that I can expect roadblocks to God's plans for my life.

Rule #1 - It is NOT a straight line - It is NOT from God's mouth to my ears...

It took years of plodding along before the light came on as to why there was such a distance between what God called me to do and the manifestation of that calling. A few weeks ago I talked about David and how he was anointed as a young man (12-16) but it was years before that calling was actualized in his life. For David, this was in part because of God's unfolding plans in the lives of others (It is NOT all about you or all about me) as well as David's own lapses in faithlessness.

Rule #2 - God always has a bigger picture He wishes to unveil


The story of God and His relationship with the Children of Israel must last for thousands of years. That was a purpose Moses would not quite have a vision for and yet God did. God wanted greater glory from the situation. God also wanted to deal with Egypt by sending specific plagues. He wanted a deep and abiding lesson in righteousness and the consequences when it was not present.

Rule #3 - God will always keep His promise but do it in the course of a process.

In this case, for Moses, the process built character in him and tested the old guy to see if he would stay the course.

Guys, there is a time for everything. If God has called you to some endeavor and you are frustrated that it has not manifested or it continues to be beset by setback after problem know that times of preparation and simmering are required before the vision can be achieved. All of the above three things will be in play. Seldom does God call and manifest or deliver the promise simultaneously. You got your preparation and you got your God testing. Most of all is this, you will always have your relationship building between you and God that must take place. Once the Father is satisfied you will see the vision materialize.

So, today with me, let us seek God's face to know who He is so He can reveal to us who we are and the vision for our lives can be made clear to us...so we can get on the road.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

A Sin That Destroys A Life's Purpose

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. - Romans 12:15

There is an Old Testament character whose name was Saul. Saul was the King of Israel prior to the reign of King David. As my little tale unfolds, David was in Saul's army and beginning to build a reputation as a great warrior. One day when David came back from a battle, the women danced and sang: " 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands' " - 1 Sam. 18:7.

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? - 1 Samuel 18:8

This statement caused something to snap in King Saul. Some insecurity that had been a part of Saul's personality met with a realization within Saul that no one could hinder him from acting it out in the most heinous way. After all, Saul was King! Who could defy the King, his wishes, his desires and his obvious accurate view of the present.

From this point on, Saul was never the leader God intended him to be. He allowed insecurity to drive his every decision. What we learn from Saul's life is that one negative aspect of the sin of insecurity is that insecurity often leads to the need to control people and circumstances so that our desire to be seen in the best way possible is always present.

We can't get in contact with reality. For, if we could we would realize we simply can't control everyone and everything around us. The need to control leads to anger once we realize we are unable to control the circumstance.

David became amazingly successful as a general. King Saul could not accept, much less rejoice, over David's success. And, because of this, David's life would never be the same. Saul sought to kill David every chance he had. Saul had a choice; he could have seen David as an up-and-coming general in his army who could have become an important part of his team and made the kingdom of Israel even stronger. Instead, he looked at him as a threat.

When you hear good news about family members succeeding, fellow workers or associates receiving promotions, accolades and monetary increases, do you rejoice with them? If you find yourself comparing your life's circumstances to others and don't feel you measure up, or, if you are feeling that they are receiving benefits that you deserved recognize that this is one of satan's greatest ploys to destroy you. If he can destroy your ability to enjoy others success and recognition he can get the focus of your life off of doing good and caring for others.

Here is a tip: Christ has given you all things for LIFE & GODLINESS (look it up...it's true) in Him. He has a unique plan for you that cannot be compared to another. He will take whatever path He realizes is best for you.

He alone is your security.

Trust in the purposes He has for your life. And remember, My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus - Phil. 4:19.

What I Do & What I Do To Value Me

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it - Genesis 2:15

This subject is bigger than one blog. So today's title is really faux. I'm only going to focus on one aspect of it.

According to the best of our sociologists man was created with seven foundational needs.

1. We have the need to be treated with dignity.

2. We expect authority to operate within our lives and to be authoritative at some level.

3. For what we do we anticipate compensation (blessing?) and provision.

4. We strive to acquire security.

5. We are built and pursue purpose and meaning.

6. Likewise we reach out for a sense of freedom and feel uncomfortable if we find it and have no boundaries (think of them as two sides of the same coin.)

7. We were made to experience intimate love and companionship.

Thus, one of the things we need to get hold of is that, having made us this way, God provides to us the means to receive and experience them. Part of our problem has been that we have redefined them to relate to the world around us and not back to the one who imbued us with these needs and desires!

As we understand the scriptures we know we were created for a certain purpose (or purposes) and God shapes our days in such a way that we can pursue these with His blessing in HIS WAY; recognizing ultimately we need to understand HIS definitions for each of them. When we go outside God's provision to meet these needs, we get into trouble. When we put our own definitions to them we lose communication rights with God the Father. (Think on that one for a moment!)

Every individual has a need to work and gain satisfaction in caring and seeing something come from their efforts. Many of our basic feelings of satisfaction are derived from our task-focused time. As we see by the verse we derive our teaching from today it was one of the first acts God did for man in the Garden of Eden. He gave a man responsibility. That responsibility was to care for his own homeland.

God created us to be productive. My sense is that this is part of God's own character. He needed to gain satisfaction from his time spent.

But there is a danger in this. It occurs when we allow our work to be our complete source of purpose and meaning in life. Unfortunately, we are provided many signals as we develop from children, to teens, to young adults that can burn this skewed message into our brains and hearts. This leads to a performance-based life where something earthly, not godly dictates our value. Generally speaking a performance-based life says, "As long as I perform in my work, I am acceptable to myself and others."

This is a subtle trap for all of us.

The outcomes of this trap (there are many) are being felt today in our nation as over 11% of the adults workforce has lost its job. A general morose has fallen across the land. On the other side of the coin, to those working it can lead us to become workaholics; in part concerned that we do not lose our purpose (i.e. our jobs) or because it is all we are good at, and all we have to evaluate ourselves.

Guys we must be careful. God did not make us to view life this way; as to seek validation through what we do. I hope this piece wakes you up. Because, obviously, sometimes this can be on a subconscious basis.

For believers in Christ our value must be centered in Jesus Christ, not in what we do. If we lose our job or our business, this should not devastate us if we are centered in Him. Lack of employment will certainly create difficulties, but God is the orchestrator of all the events in our lives for His purposes.

Remember?

I wrote that out just a few paragraphs up. In His plan for you even difficult times, empty of career, professional or work have a job to fulfill IN us. Your job in these times, as it is every day in every situation, is to find out what it is that God wants you to embrace. Well? C'mon? What is it? The message is clear. It is a message for you to embrace.

Today, ask the Lord if you have a proper balance in your spirit. Who is the king sitting on the throne. What is going to dictate your satisfaction? Have you recounted your blessings? Sit down and write out all that you are "IN CHRIST", not to forget it is much much more than your goofy job.

With me, today, let's get Jesus Christ back on the throne? If you labor long hours, ask yourself why. I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Duking It Out With God

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor - Isaiah 61:3b

The people in my household are used to hearing this kind of chatter from behind the doors of my office, "God, is this the way You treat someone who is faithful to You?"

I have replicated this kind of "dialogue" with God in many scenarios; in my office, the car and I've yelled it out loud on the top of the mountain pines in Pine, Arizona a place 100 miles north of Phoenix where we have a family cabin built by my father-in-law. (I did this thinking no one but God could hear me.)

"I've waited and waited and now this! I despise and loathe You, God! I have had enough!" I have used those words. I've done it and then simply broke down and cried because I was at my wits end.

It was cleansing at one level. It is the relationship I have formed with my Heavenly Father at quite another level.

And so, as I sat there among the trees, in the middle of this scenic spot, listening to the wind through the trees and deciding what else I could say to God, I found myself in a state in which I was not quite accustomed...I was speechless. I was ticked-off. I was confounded by my life. I wondered if He was ever going to listen to me again (I had proof He had in the past - so I was not in a state of God denial). If my God was listening, I was sensing He really wasn't honoring my commitment to Him. Somehow the honor and worship I bestowed on Him was boring Him and my faith and obedience weren't cutting it.

I sat, walked, stood, shouted, stomped and cajoled God for hours wrestling internally with my sense of "aloneness" and lack of direction in this time of trouble.

Finally, without answers and sensing that God wasn't about to blurt out anything, I turned to head back to the cabin. Part of the time I had been sitting on an old scrub oak tree that was broken at the base and laying horizontal (mostly) to the ground. The tree had an arrow tip at one end that pointed toward the base of another huge busted down pine tree. With hands on hips, as I surveyed the scene I was about to leave a quiet whisper of a voice inside my heart of hearts said, "Today you are like this broken oak. You both stood tall and proud once but not now. But, my son, unlike this oak your brokenness is needed so you may become this large oak tree you will see when you turn around."

Now, the area I was at was filled with trees. Most of them pine. A few trees were scrub oak...not very majestic really. However, as I turned and looked eye level from my current position and straight out, there it was, the most majestic of all the trees in the area, almost out of place and standing alone in the center of my line of site a mighty oak tree.

It has been months and even years and my life has passed with many struggles. But God is true to His word. From from that day He began to replace the pain and disappointment with an inner joy that only His grace could provide. It came as wisdom from His word, the Bible and His words into my heart replaced my grasp on a world view of life that measured success comparatively by what friends, family and colleagues had and were doing.

So my loved ones and friends tell me about your struggles with life and the events surrounding you. Are you wrestling? Do you feel, perhaps in part, that God has deserted you? Let me suggest some things to you.

1. Be honest with God! He is the kind of Father who is willing to have those difficult conversations.

2. Realize that He won't always change things that aren't to your liking but His purposes will be accomplished and peace will come if you trust Him.

3. Trust Him this day with those things that are most difficult in your life. For me, it is providing for my family and ensuring that I live a life that is productive in my community and in and around my family. You better, as I had to, find out if those were his priorities or if they are something else.

God can handle a good shouting at - He can handle a good wrestling match - He simply does not wish to handle no reaction at all.

I remain, more tightly than ever...

InHISgrip,
~J~

God You & The Heavenly UPS Guy

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets - Amos 3:7

A friend of mine, Os Hillman, received a prophecy. Essentially it was this, "You (Os) are called to free workplace believers from the Esau life." When God gave that word He did so through a third party. It was a someone who was not directly involved in Hillman's life. At the time he had been in the midst of trying to understand some catastrophic events that shook his world. As he reflected this story back to me recently, he shared how he was able to see that God gave this person supernatural insight that revealed his Heavenly Fathers personal calling on his life.

Regardless of what you might think. There is zero evidence that God stopped prophecy or stopped using prophecy. Every clear delineation of the changing of His operations, God has spoken directly about the change. There has been nothing but conjecture about God and miracles being suspended. And the prophetic is certainly miraculous. Is has not nor is it being wiped from the earth. I have heard Os' story repeated dozens of times; someone using a prophetic word to call a person into service or encourage them in their work.

God still uses His prophets today to reveal His plans in the lives of His people.

I have seen Amos 3:7 (verse at the top) proved over and over in the lives of God's people. It is as though God sends out His special forces to inform His chosen ones, His kids, His people, what is ahead for them.

Sometimes He does this because He knows the event will require such changes in that person's life and so He wants to assure them of His love. We are not good with change. We really aren't good with dramatic change and God author's dramatic change.

I've also had the role flipped on me. God has used me as a prophet in the lives of others. I must tell you, "Prophet" is not my primary calling. When I think of it, it's not a particularly comfortable role for me. But I prefer to be uncomfortable and obedient than comfortable and dead wrong. In the Church Age, since the Holy Spirit is available to all God's kids, it is likely the Holy Spirit will, at some point, and if you are open and obedient, more than once, use you in this role also.

Let me be clear about something to you. I require God's direction. You see, when you turn a whole life (your life) over to Him you've pretty much given up other forms of guidance. Every other map, compass, directory is flawed. It cannot take me to where my leader wishes me to go. You need to, if you have not been, thinking about this in terms of God and you also.

I wish to warn you now if you are a God-pleaser; He will bring peeps into your life to whom He expects to use you as His mouthpiece. I'm just telling you now. Expect it! Anticipate it! Be ready for it! Are you ready? I mean it!

Friends and family, are your eyes and ears spiritually sensitive so that you will know who are messengers of God and when YOU are the messenger of God? Elisha had a servant who could not see or hear with spiritual eyes and ears until Elisha prayed they would be opened. Then the servant could see the great army of God protecting them (check out 2 Kings 6:17).

Today, with me, pray that we might see and hear with the extraordinary, supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. He may desire to reveal His purposes and plans through another individual or through us. Regardless, it is miraculous to behold and peace to our hearts and direction for our weary feet.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

You Guys Need a Pitcher I AM A PITCHER! - Filling A Need & A Calling

As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family? - 1 Samuel 9:20

Last week I told you about my days as a neighborhood ball player. I talked about being chosen. I also talked about the importance to understand and know our calling. For me, the days of my being picked 3rd or 4th or even 6th ended when I learned to pitch AND field my position superbly as a pitcher. You see, when you are playing 2 or 3 man baseball teams you have to be able to field your position and usually one or two others in order to be a winning team. In two and 3 man baseball the pitcher was also (at least) the first baseman and often the shortstop as well. The day I began working out my pitching skills for sandlot baseball was the day my value went up. I had a calling. I knew what I could do.

What I didn't know was later, how that ability to handle multiple tasks at once would prepare me for my life and my calling in Christ Jesus.

Back to the Bible

The scene is this, Saul and his servant were out seeking his father's lost donkeys. (NOTE: This was not just a story but also symbolic of the waywardness of the nation of Israel at that time). While this was happening the people of Israel had just asked the prophet Samuel to have a king rule over them. This was not God's first plan. If God can be disheartened (hmmm...) that was what happened. God was disappointed in His people for not just allowing Him to rule them directly yet God granted Israel their request.

Ok, back to Saul. Saul and his servant heard of a man of God named Samuel. "Perhaps this man of God can tell us where to find our donkeys," said the servant. Now, here is this huge, major issue occurring that affects all of Israel but check out the servant and his thinking. Isn't that just like us? We seek God to solve the issues related to material life most proximate to us. And, oddly enough, in this case, Saul was about to receive the greatest opportunity of his lifetime. He was about to be crowned as king of Israel! His life would never be the same. Was he aware of this? As my beautiful and amazing daughter would say, "not so much." What was he concerned about? His donkeys. We don't have to be worried about the material things of life if we are about the things He's called us to do.

God called Saul to be the next king. God created purpose. Saul was given purpose; it was in order to free the people from the Philistines. So, into this scenario God sent a messenger, the prophet Samuel, to inform Saul of his new career. Samuel also had to ease Saul's mind about his donkeys.

Now, just so you know, donkeys often represent commerce in the Bible. They were the primary means of transporting goods; therefore, in essence, what was Samuel saying to Saul? He was saying, "You don't need to worry about your business if you respond to the call of God on your life. All the material things will take care of themselves."

Jesus said the same thing to the disciples years later. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well - Mt. 6:33

When God calls us, it often involves making major adjustments in our lives. Saul went from one kind of business to another. He went from working for his father to being a king. What changes is God calling you to make today in order to join Him in His work and how will he use the subtlety of your past calling(s) to fill your current position? He will you know...just listen and expect your Heavenly Father to tell your spirit what to do and where to go next.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Becoming A Draft Day Favorite

...Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel... - Zechariah 4:10

When I was a boy growing up in Calumet City, IL it may take a bit of work but we could nearly always put together a game of pick-up baseball (3 player teams and even two player teams worked.) basketball and even football. On the "big teams" days when we could get 3 or more per team, two captains would alternate making the best choices among the neighborhood gang to make up the two teams. In baseball I was a lock for one of the top two first picks. It took awhile for me to be selected in the top 5 in basketball though (and the loss of about 20 lbs.)

What I do remember was how good it felt to be valued by others for what they perceived I could contribute. Conversely, it was a feet-shuffling, uncomfortable feeling when I was "down the line" and not chosen in one of those prime spots. For some of the neighborhood kids, on really big days it was possible to not be chosen at all.

Such was the case for Zerubbabel. He was a man chosen by God to rebuild the temple. God saw something in Zerubbabel that He could use for His purposes. The people also recognized that Zerubbabel was a man in whom they could place their faith. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people - Haggai 1:14a.

If you are part of the remnant of those on this earth who name the name of Jesus Christ, God is calling you out. Believe it or not, right where you stand, right now, YOU are being selected. You are first! It isn't tomorrow. It isn't when you get it all together. He wants you now. You have a place in His work. You are a valuable, eternal asset immediately. I want to make a couple of points about this calling to you.

1. Do not let the business of your current work sidetrack you from the importance of God's agenda for you. I hope you can recall the day Jesus Christ and your life in Him became apparent to you. If you have to think about it I suggest you write it down so that the next time it isn't so hard. Remember, from that day on God's call on your life and the eternal work of the Kingdom of God and your place in it took preeminence. If this is the first time you have gotten that memo then think of it as you just got it in the mail, in your locker, to your E-Mail account and delivered in person by the King of the Universe personally!

2. Remember that your leadership in your home is an important part of that calling. Your personal selection to God's team means you must take your position and have yourself equipped to do the work. You will put on love, grace, peace, mercy, godly knowledge and a desire to ensure that everyone who comes into your territory, every ball shagged in your part of the field is done so cleanly and every opportunity to shoot or hit is done so to make sure you optimize the opportunity. Be prepared.

3. Preparation means you do things to make sure you are ready for the game. You have already been chosen. Make sure you can perform. For the Kingdom of God team it means you pray enough (which is constantly be in a state of prayer - I Thessalonians 5:17), read God's word so you know the plays (2 Timothy 2:15), talk team strategy with the rest of the players on your side regularly (Hebrews 10:25), wear the team uniform which is the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17).

Hear me my friends and family, Satan's strategy is to keep us distracted with the urgency of the moment versus the importance of eternity. He wants us to stand out in right field and gaze at the ant hill instead of keep our head in the game!

Ask God what your priorities should be today. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Make His priorities your priorities. Serve your head coach, Jesus Christ, with fervor, fire, determination and power. It is the calling of your team to take the championship but we have got to be prepared!

I remain...

InHISGrip,
~J~

This Is An OUT OF MY HEAD! - House Bill 3200 YIKES!!!

Well, I have done it! I didn’t want to. I didn’t think it was necessary actually. But I can tell you that I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009.

I studied it with particular emphasis from my specific area of interest Historical Constitutional Law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected. And, from my perspective, informed citizen, I was right. Much of it is written so that our constitutional rights will be remanded.

First, you need to know that much of what has been purported negatively about the new law (and please, make no mistake they are not mandating legislation but new rules of LAW) and its implications is in fact true, despite what many Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free and on demand abortion services, and most likely forced participation in abortion procedures by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business (or fully restructure every organization and corporation that operates in the field at costs that have not even begun to be understood or studied) and put everyone into a government run system that will develop whole new agencies. Federal bureaucrats will ultimately make all decisions about personal health care and most of them will not be health care professionals but rather political appointees. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.

However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Did you see that? Health care is not the purpose of this law! Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

First thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate most of those areas to begin with and by that I mean currently or historically. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care, associated business or the direct management of business in the United States.

This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this “access” can easily be abused and becomes a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about your right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed "acceptable" to the "Health Choices Administrator" appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. You will be penalized for being entrepreneurial and a freethinking, free acting citizen! It is called a "tax" instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property (real property holders) without the "due process" of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that those who seeks to control hate so much out of the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though. The 9th Amendment that provides: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;" The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

There is a ton more but you get the gist don’t you? (Please just nod your head here.) This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation" to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source.

Here is a link to the Constitution:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html_

And another to the Bill of Rights:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us. I know, it’s hard work being a free American. That is why we find ourselves even having to go through the ordeal of this situation. “Lazy” does not seem to be in our mantra as a nation but it has become a cloak we wear to cover up an otherwise very busy life. Let’s resist the taking from us what has cost us so dearly to acquire, the ability as freethinking men and women to do right until the stars fall!

In all of this my hope and my focus is my faith in a God who controls the destinies of men. He also provides for creativity and will and purpose. I personally have purposed not to just flop over and let an ill intentioned regime take away the rights of millions with the brush of a pen.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

When It's Time to Move On - Expect Greater Things!

In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. - Genesis 30:43

The Old Testament Patriarch (prior to becoming old or a patriarch) Jacob left his homeland after suffering a broken relationship with his brother Esau. Jacob, at the biding of his mother and whether right or wrong robbed Esau of the family blessing.

We next find Jacob working for his uncle Laban. This was no short-timer gig. Jacob stayed for 20 plus years.

But now it's time for him to leave Laban's hire. But (and this should give us a sense of both Jacob and ourselves - Note to self: if I have done something for 20 years and have NOTHING to show for it, I might have a problem!) he had no physical assets to show for those years under Laban.

Laban had taken advantage of his nephew in every way. As you become more familiar with the story you realize in some ways, Jacob was reaping the seed he had sown his entire life as a manipulator and controller starting with the whole stealing the blessing debacle from his brother Esau.

And in the next instance we personally find hope. For, as bad as Jacob had been, as rotten as he may have treated his brother and as lousy a conniving cheater he might have been, God's hand was on Jacob, and He had plans to prosper him.

That blows me away. Say it with me, "God is good to me when I do not deserve His goodness."

But, still, Jacob had one problem - he had no resources of his own. For Jacob to launch out on his own, he would need finances or something of value. In those days, resources often meant large flocks of animals. This was not as convenient as a bank account but still quite effective for the time. Well, as it was with Him, God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy for creating wealth by multiplying his sheep. Even though Laban sought to prevents Jacob's efforts, God overcame the evil in Laban to allow Jacob to prosper.

There are a bunch of lessons for us in this story. First, when God decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call. Find hope in this.

God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to build wealth. It was totally from God's hand. It was creative and new. Expect God to work in your mind and your mind.

Then, God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness in 25 plus years of serving his uncle. Jacob learned to live under authority and served the man faithfully, even though Jacob knew he was being taken advantage of. Your loyalty in life will inure to your benefit eventually - count on it.

What God did in Jacobs life He will do the same for you and me. However, a word of caution: Be sure the strategy operating in your heart and mind is born from above, and not from self-effort. This is where our being personally sensitive to God's voice needs exercise. It comes from listening daily and expecting to hear from Him.

The difficulty for most Christians is to learn the difference between the strategies born of God versus the strategy of self-effort. It is like anything in life we wish to master; the more time we spend with our Heavenly Father...in His word...in worship...in prayer and in meditation and listening the easier it is for His leading to be heard in our heart of hearts and understood by you and I.

Stand with me today...but...shhhh...service...learn loyalty...be a man/woman of honor...expect God to move in you and through you.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

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I Got Nothin' Left...(of my own)

The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength - 1 Samuel 2:4

There is an oxymoron throughout the Bible. It says that brokenness is strength. Virtually every great name or significant life eschewed in the scriptures was an individual who was first beaten down. The lessons of leadership often were not learning how to lead in small things and then bigger and bigger things. The lessons of leadership were often, prison, beatings, running, poverty, servanthood, slavery and mocking.

How can this be? The Strength of Brokenness. How can brokenness be strength? This week in my life would be a lousy one to ask me the question so I write this in faith.

If you read the Bible at all you realize a methodology that is in action. God takes our sin and our weakness and turns it into strength. If Satan and his minions (the demons) are attempting to destroy our lives God will often let the destruction go and go and go.

There does however seem to be a dividing line past which they can't act and, if we are His people; a man or woman who has committed our life to Jesus Christ beyond which our brokenness is received.

In order to use men and women to their fullest extent, the Lord has to break His servants so that they might have a new kind of strength that is not human in origin. It is strength in spirit that is born only through brokenness. This is the place where we discover our birthright DNA and His rulership in our life is not just available (after all it was always there) but it is a point at which we most readily receive it.

Saul was a self righteous Pharisee heading off on a mission to beat down Christians when he was broken on the Damascus road. Peter was broken after Jesus was taken prisoner just before He would also go to the cross. The Old Testament Jewish saint Jacob was broken at a place called Peniel. King David was broken many times. One of the last of which (apparently most of us are more stubborn over our sinful desires than we care to admit) after his many sins relating to nothing more than simple lust over a woman named Bathsheba. (This begs the question when you can have anything, how far will you go to have what you shouldn't have? Ask Adam and Eve when you get to heaven.)

The list could go on of those the Lord had to break in different ways before they could be used in the Kingdom. And before he could pour out abundance to or through them. It also apparently includes me; over and over again.

What should become obvious to us through this constant snapping and cracking and popping of our spiritual framework? Here's one...when we are broken, we should see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength. I've experienced this part. What follows, as memory serves, is that new supernatural/eternal strength emerges that God uses mightily.

Oh ya...there is that whole thing about God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

As type this I am broken once again. Here is what I am telling myself right now, "Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a new kind of strength and experience not known before."

Pray for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless. Pray that you get the lesson quickly.

I remain...(it's all I have left)

InHISgrip,
~J~

Flopping Over - Hands Lifted - Lord, I Give Up! (Again)

But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold - Job 23:10

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call - Tommy Walker

I was recently sitting with a business leader as he described a question he poses to Christians that work with him and partner with his business. "What if there were two doors to choose from; behind one door was the complete will of God for your life and behind the other door was how life could be according to your own preference. Which door would you choose?" My response to him made him pause. I don't like the choices. I want one door. The one He instructs me to go through is the one I desire to go through. I want that day to come. I want it sooner than later.

Most of us struggle with the idea of being led by God completely. Most of us cannot even conceive of such a thing. We are so far from God's leading our lives that it only makes sense within the hallowed walls of the building where we meet to hear someone encourage us to allow it to happen. It's a lot like reincarnation, a lot of people talking about it but we don't see anyone doing it. (Er...no, I do NOT believe in reincarnation.)

If we think deeply for a moment about it yes, most of us desire to follow God, but few of us will do it at any cost. We do not really believe that God loves us to the degree or that He provides that level of direction for us individually.

But there might be a great reason for this. How about this one; that we are willing to give Him complete permission to do as He wills in us.

If we desire to fully walk with our God, there is a cost. We may give intellectual assent and go along with His principles and do fine; however, if we are fully given over to Him and His will for our life, it will be a life that will have adversity and none of us are looking for more of that!

I'm not going to sugar coat this. The Bible is clear that humans do not achieve true, forever, God is please with me, the world take note of it, greatness without having their sinful will broken. Sinful will is me wanting what I want, when and how I want it. (Imagine stomping of feet, holding of breath and a red face here)

The process of giving our lives over to Jesus Christ is also known as the breaking of our wills. It is designed to create a nature change in each of us, not just a habit change. The Bible used circumcision to exemplify this. Circumcision is painful, bloody, and personal. I am not a personal fan of any of those things.

But if God has plans to greatly use you, and He does, in the lives of others, you can expect your trials to be even greater than those of others. Why? Because, like Joseph who went through greater trials than most patriarchs, your calling may have such responsibility that God cannot afford to entrust it to you without ensuring your complete faithfulness to the call.

By my recent experience God really loves me. And, apparently I have asked for a major measure of opportunity. (Although I am not recalling this...hmmm) He has much invested in you and I and it is in fact on behalf of others. He anticipates the day He can speak through your life to a greater degree than through another. The events of your life would become the framework for the message He wants to deliver using us as the amplifier.

Look guys, we need to stop fearing a bunch of stuff. We need to quit fearing His path for us. We need to stop fearing that the whole Christian, walk-with-God/Led-by-God experience is a fable. Enough! Geez! C'mon already! Embrace it. God is prepping us for eternity. We have plenty of time to walk in total abundance and bliss and what will be akin to perfection for then. Get with the program, the training is now and the need is in this world we are in and that need is NOW!

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all - 2 Cor. 4:17

Let's believe God! Pray a prayer of surrender today...I will be on my end...and I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

You Are One of the Twelve What?

And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again - 2 Corinthians 5:15

One of the Apostles, one of the 12 who are named in the New Testament was named Didymus (meaning twin) or to you and I Thomas (Which is actually a derivative of the word twin) .

Thomas appears in just a few passages in the Gospel of John. In John 11:16, when Lazarus has just died, the disciples are resisting Jesus' decision to return to Judea, where the Jews had previously tried to stone Jesus. Jesus is determined, and Thomas says bravely: "Let us also go, that we might die with him" .

He also speaks at The Last Supper in John 14:5. Jesus assures his disciples that they know where He is going, but Thomas protests that they don't know at all. Jesus replies to this and to Philip's requests with a detailed exposition of his relationship to God the Father.

In Thomas' best known appearance in the New Testament, John 20:24-29, he doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus' wounds before being convinced. This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. After seeing Jesus alive (the Bible never states whether Thomas actually touched Christ's wounds), Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!"; on this account he is also called Thomas the Believer.

Not much beyond this, other than some church tradition is known about Thomas. But Thomas was one of the twelve.

It is believed that there were about 5,000 and perhaps as many as 8,000 believers during the time Jesus padded the lanes of the Holy Land. Among those believers, it was thought there were three types. The largest number of believers were those who came to Jesus for salvation. They served Him very little beyond coming to Him to receive salvation.

A much smaller number, probably no more than 500, actually followed Him and served Him and ministered. There lives can be described as connected to Jesus but not consumed by His message nor His mission.

Then, there were the disciples. These were those who identified with Jesus. They lived the life that Jesus lived. Each of these ultimately died in difficult circumstances. They experienced the hardships, the miracles, and the fellowship with God in human form. They truly were a band of brothers.

If you had to say which group best represented your life, which one would you fall into - the 5,000 who simply believed, the 500 who followed and sought to implement what they were learning from the Savior, or the 12 who identified fully with the life and mission of the Savior?

Jesus has called each of us to identify with Him completely. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did - 1 Jn. 2:5b-6.

I am praying this morning for a breakthrough for myself. The breakthrough is that I begin to believe the verse that I just typed above. I need to pray that whatever dispossesses me from making this commitment to grab his hand and hold on tight is loosed from within me and tossed on some proverbial refuse heap. You see, we don't know much about Thomas. He gets a few lines in one Gospel book and that's it. But Thomas was one of the twelve and he lived the words of his confession, "My Lord and my God!".

Pray that God will allow both you and I to walk as Jesus did. Experience His power and love in your life today so that others will see the hope that lies in you. You don't have to be a famous group of the twelve...you just want to be up in there close and tight to get the really good stuff!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

May I Lean A Bit While Standing?

That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies... - Joshua 7:12

Fifty six years of living have taught me a couple of things about my work life and ministry. First, it doesn't matter if you are the most talented or the most skilled. Secondly, your plans and procedures can be flawless as well.

It will all fail if you have a break in your ranks.

This is what God was attempting to convey to General Joshua when he attempted to confront a smaller and less capable regimen at an area called Ai. This was Israelis' second battle in the land called "The Promised Land. (Funny...God "gave it to them" here they are battling for it...hmmm - God apparently defines give differently than we normally do. NOTE TO SELF: LEARN GOD'S DEFINITIONS!)

So, have you ever had a post event quarterbacking meeting? Isn't it odd? We try to figure out why we are not successful in an endeavor. We seemingly review all aspects of our performance, the coordination and organization of the components and the personnel used to see what in the world happened!?!

Well, for the people of Israel, it was not easily observed. The outcome was whacked (they lost miserably) However, everything seemed just as it should be from the General's perspective. And, in what seems to be the case, as an afterthought, when his army was handed their lunch (er, soundly beat up), he cried out to God, It was deep. It was spiritual. It had all the markings of a man of faith and power...NOT!

Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? - Josh. 7:7a

That's my boy Joshua! Truly a man of faith and power! No, how about, Joshua, human being who had gotten full of himself and assumed his relationship and that of Israel after just one victorious battle. How about Joshua, he who had forgotten what was important to God, (promises made) and assumed on God what he should not have assumed at all.

Israel got a punch in the gut because God could not bless them. You see, one dude out of the many had violated the covenant with God. God said, do not take any possessions from the first battle, but one person failed to live up to this, and the whole army suffered.

Israel broke ranks spiritually. And kids, God works through groups of people and not just individuals. You are not just responsible for you - no, you are or supposed to be part of a body of believers all marching to God's tune.

Sin makes our armor vulnerable to attack from satan and the world system. Evil then gains an opening to attack us in the area where we have failed to uphold righteousness.

In this instance, believe it or not, Israel broke down in an area of moral purity, their commitment to a promise to God. At that break sin establishes a stronghold. To use another example, should we give place to bitterness and unforgiveness, we will break fellowship with God and others (Are there limits to loving relationship in the Kingdom of God? Is their feuding in God's Kingdom?) If we become possessions or greed/money-focused, we will fall into a "power of positive thinking" deception (There is more to this but not the space here to get into it).

We must find the break in our ranks, confess and heal the relationship with God thus shattering a vicious cycle.

Today, with me, let's examine our armor. Look first to self and then to your body of Christ. Job One must be to ensure we are not susceptible to attack and defeat. Begin from a solid spiritual foundation and your chances of success will be infinitely greater. I remain...

InHISgrip,

~J~

Mixing Your Work & Your Calling

'Your servant has nothing there at all,' she said, 'except a little oil.'" - 2 Kings 4:2b

The Old Testament scene we are looking down upon here is this, a woman had her husband die. There was no way to fulfill her debts. Her creditors decided to take her two sons as slaves for payment of the obligations that still remained. She pleaded for assistance with the only man of God she knew.

"Is there anything in your house?" Elisha asked.

"Nothing at all," she said, "except a little oil."

Elisha then instructed her to go and collect all the empty jars that her neighbors might possess. "Ask for as many as you can," he instructed.

When the jars were collected, he instructed her to pour what little oil she had into the jars. The oil was more than enough to fill the jars. In fact, there was more oil than jars to fill. Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left - 2 Kings 4:7b

We work too hard at keeping the different areas of our life separate from one another. Division and balance are neither exclusive or mutual and God often mixes faith with the tangible. The widow believed she had no resources to meet her need. God said she had more than enough resources. She did not see the one jar of oil as a resource. It did not become a resource until it was mixed with faith. Her need was met when her faith was mixed with the practical step of looking at her personal resources as a source of commerce; to sell what she had in order to receive her needed income. Her obedience to God and her step of faith provided more than she anticipated. She was able to pay her debts and live on the money derived from the sale of all the oil.

We should expect our God to work through and in our work and through commerce to provide for our needs. It is wrong to place total trust in a job or a career without faith in God. More than that God often requires simple obedience to an act that seems ridiculous to the logical mind. It is this faith mixed with the practical that God honors.

Right now I have a problem that is perplexing to me. Are you in the same boat? Do you see no way of meeting your need?

My friends and loved ones let me suggest that God may have already given you the skills and talents as well as the natural resources to meet your need. However, He may be waiting on you. What is He waiting for? Your quieted spirit listening to His direction so He can provide guidance to you to mix believing in your relationship with Him, with faith to create a good result.

Ask God to show you the steps necessary to solve your problem. It is what I am doing today. Let's be willing to take the next step...together!

I remain...

in

HIS

grip!

~J~

God's Bus Appears Late Yet...

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! - Isaiah 30:18

If you have been a Christian for any period of time at all you have had to notice this. How could you not? I mean, has it ever occurred to you that God is not in a hurry?

Check it out. In the Old Testament it took 40 years for poor old Moses to receive his commission, his marching order if you will, to lead the people out of Egypt. God gave Moses a job and then the guy waited 40 long years to see it come to pass!

In the very same Old Testament it took 17 years of preparation before Joseph was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. God promised Joseph really good stuff one day and, well, seventeen years later....

It took 20 years before Jacob was released from his father-in-law Laban's control.

The great patriarch of faith Abraham and his wife Sarah were geezers when they finally received the baby, the son of promise, Isaac.

So why isn't God in a hurry?

God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task for and on behalf His Kingdom. Yet God was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment. So just what is His deal anyway? Let's look at the facts and hopefully gain our Lord's perspective on the issue of timing.

First, our Heavenly Father accomplished what He wanted in them. The journey matter. What they did along the way was the true focal for God.

We are often more focused on outcome than the process that He is accomplishing in our lives each day. The principles of the Kingdom of God; the things that make up its atmosphere and how it operates define outcomes as merely the fruit of the tree. How the tree of our life grows, what it does in each season will determine the outcome. So, one thing we realize is that God's promises are fulfilled in our lives as we live a life that is in harmony with God's eternal principles of right living.

Secondly, fulfillments are not always giant events.

When we experience His presence daily, (by living a life where our spirit, the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father are all aligned) one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives! However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us.

Did you get that? The end result is no longer what drives us on in our Christian walk. Instead, what excites us is knowing Him. Through the arduous task of living life, we become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens, we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome is a result of our walk with Him. The trusting...the feeling of His moment by moment presence in our life through all sorts of situations, annoyances and hassles become sweet and precious and we truly become familiar with HIS ways. The goal of our daily walk is simply walking that honors Him and shows loving service to others.

Hence, when Jacob's son of faith and power, Joseph, the one who was sold by his brothers and betrayed by a woman simply to be tossed in prison finally came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn't have cared less. He had come to a place of complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow or his circumstances. He simply desired, in whatever state of mind or geographic place he found himself to honor and please God.

He had gotten down to the essence of life. Our New Testament host, teacher and pastor the Apostle Paul put it this way, Not that I speak in terms of "needs" for I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content - Philippians 4:11

This is the lesson for us. We must wait for God's timing and embrace wherever we are in the process. It is a good place to be and God can get us to anywhere He desires right from where we are no matter how grim it may seem.

When we find contentment in that place, we begin to experience God in ways we never thought possible. Let's embrace the journey together!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Reflections: What God Sees in the Mirror of Your Heart

They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom - Psalm 145:11-12

I have just spent 10 days at conferences with some of the brightest business minds. Two things came to mind as we went through sessions on systems, marketing, influence, and financial success. Those two things were:

1. We must all be accountable in order to stay the course

2. Test & Measure Your Efforts

So, it came back to me, how do you measure our effectiveness in God, or should we even be thinking like this?

The early Church, Peter, Paul, the other apostles, their converts, those guys n' gals, they turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective in their compelling dissemination of the Gospel message?

Was it their theology?

Was it eloquent preaching?

Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus?

The Scriptures are clear as to what made the early Church effective. It is at the core of God's heart, and it is quite simple. Ya wanna know what it was?

God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual.

And kids, let me tell you, when this happens, the world is dynamically impacted and eternally changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world.

We serve a God is is determined for the success of the race of humanity He created. It includes a plan that makes the central elements of success also the cornerstone of that success. What does this mean to you and I? It means He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone because no one else's glory creates and sustains vibrant life!

God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them. He hedges His bets! But, if you have the winning hand why would you fold in favor of something less?

He has overseen the affairs of man since the day He created man and, well, actually even before then. His desire is to reflect His glory through you and me, so that all men may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of His Kingdom and be drawn back into a child/Father relationship with Him.

The apostle Paul was all over this foundational concept. Paul said, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power - 1 Cor. 2:4-5.

You wish to understand a clear cut method to know if you are pleasing God? Here is how you can know. If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why.

You will know why. If you ask sincerely the Holy Spirit will reveal precisely where He desires to lift you up and create victory within you that God's amazing and awesome glory can be reflected through you!

Join me today, a moment of thoughtful silence, asking the Father what do I give over to you Lord that will give you more space in my heart of hearts...together, arm-in-arm, let us march through the Gates of Hell, into the glorious presence of our Daddy in victory!

I remain...

InHISgrip (but slightly more broken)

~J~

I Do More Than Wish for You...May I Pray?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God - Philippians 4:6

I sat in a conference hall two days ago and listen to the most extraordinary young man. His name is Nick Vujicic (Vooey-check). Nick has no arms, no legs though he is quite proud of a two toed singular foot. Nick spoke in front of a group of businessmen and women and shared a vision for a life. Nick knows WHY he was put on this earth. Nick has a big WHY. His WHY covers the globe and touches millions.

Nick inspired us all by the simplicity and the power of his desire to live and make a difference. Then Nick told a whole room he has this great big reason for living, this vision for life this goal of touching millions because of Jesus Christ. Nick has a "Why I am here?" because Nick is a Christian.

But at the end Nick let a young woman hold him and he prayed for her...right there...unashamedly...Nick prayed and he changed a life by the power of Jesus Christ...

It was what happened just moments before that is my story...

"May I pray for you? I feel I should," said Nick to the woman.

"Oh, I don't want to take up your time or God's time with something as small as my trivia. I'd rather not waste it on me. You should pray for someone much less fortunate than me. My mother always taught us to pray at the dinner table for those less fortunate than us," she replied.

Nick prayed...a life was touched and changed for the Kingdom of God.

Two weeks ago my friend David Marlowe had a bizarre experience while up north at a river bank in Arizona. David prayed for a very angry man in obvious "soul pain." More on that one for another day.

But isn't it interesting what happens when we offer to pray for someone? Offering to pray for someone can be the most genuine and loving thing you can do for another person. It can be the one means of getting a conversation on a spiritual plane that cuts across religious stigmas, barriers and penetrates to the root of the true issues of life and opens the other person to their true needs, pain and hurt. Simultaneously, the hurting one learns your values and sets the stage for future encounters they can have with you or others who know and love Jesus. God engineers these moments and provides the boldness to step through the door of need right into the opportunity as it presents itself.

Expect God to move in just this way.

So I ask you this, is there anything too small to pray about? Do we, in fact, bother God when we make any request that is not dealing with only the poor in Calcutta or the dying children of Somalia? Paul convey in our passage above that prayer is conversation with daddy God. It's having such a relationship with Him that we can bring anything to His attention.

We've all done the parking lot prayer for a closer parking spot or other such seemingly trivial prayer requests, but are they trivial to God? If God is our closest and most intimate friend, then it will become natural to talk to Him as you would a friend who might be sitting next to you in the car. That is why Jesus came. Our God desires to have such close communion with you and me that we can pray about anything - even a parking spot or a green light.

I'm convinced, today, on my birthday, in 2009 that you are reading this (or a day or two or two years later) you are doing so because God wishes you to engage someone in prayer. Surprise yourself. Change a life. You can do it with arms and legs. Expect your world vision to change as you begin to do this as well. Let God change YOU through action. It's been His plan all along!
I remain...
InHISgrip,
~J~
P.S. Expect to be surprised at what doors will open as a result.

A Midget, A Dwarf or Just a y'Ittle Thing?

Who despises the day of small things? - Zechariah 4:10

Most of our earthly existence is a series of small events that can amount to something enormous!

Take God for instance and His invasion of earth.

Have you ever considered why the God of the universe came to earth and spent 33 years identifying with mankind through work?

Jesus grew up as a carpenter's son and, there is little doubt that he learned carpentry by assisting good old dad. It is likely that from his teen years until age 29 or 30 He worked. And, most likely it was in his father's profession.

When it was time for Him to begin to fulfill His purpose for mankind, He told countless stories of people and their work. He told stories of landowners, farmers, fishermen, tax collectors, potters, clergy and more. He related to the everyday man because He participated and was one of them. This is why it was important for Him to have some personal work experience.

Friends and family we all know that our existence here on the blue marble (er...planet earth) is filled with daily routines. It is true that every now and then, God takes us to the mountaintop to experience His presence or His power in an unbelievable, amazing and stunning display. But let me ask you, is this where we live? Do we live for the next "big thing" from God? Is that your faith?

Well, believe it or not those during Jesus' earthly life, or those at the times of the apostles after Him didn't live daily in a mountaintop. Going back before Jesus but certainly to a time we know God moved mountains (or seas) Moses spent 40 years in preparation. Paul spent a great deal of his life working toward the wrong purpose until a dramatic event changed his life. Jacob spent 20 years working for his future father-in-law (who, while still working, was his father-in-law and still a shyster) Laban.

God uses our daily routines to develop stick-to-it-ness, persistence, focus and character qualities that He plans to use at the appropriate time for His glory and honor.

My experience is that it is in the small things we develop trustworthiness with God. The day-in and day-out grind of huimdrumlife molds you and I and makes us into what the desires of God's heart! How about them apples?

Now, I don't know but that God may still be preparing you for something far greater. For now, however, you are learning the daily lessons of small things. Pray that you will be faithful in a little because the promise of it is pretty amazingly awesome n' cool!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Whom God Chooses

So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink" - Judges 7:5

Growing up on the south side of Chicago (albeit in the better side of town) fights were a daily occurrence. Gangs were a little less common but visible. I knew a couple of classmates who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, completely outnumbered. They weren't aware of the danger (or they were just goofy) and they were not prepared for what was about to ensue.

In a firefight a small group, that has the right strategic position and with the right weaponry can surgically dismember a larger contingency. The key is the preparation of the body, the mind and the heart in order to pull it off. But what lunatic wants to put themselves in that kind of a position, with those odds and that level of "downside."

How about this would you ever take on an army of 100,000 with, oh, say, 300 men? From a self-serving and survival kind of sense it sounds like you would have to be part of the lunatic fringe doesn't it ?

You will get no argument from this guy I gotta tell ya.

Gideon though had precisely this situation. He started wit the odds stacked against him at 10:1 (10,000 for Gideon vs. 100,000 for the bad guys). That didn't suit God though. He would command him to pare it down. Otherwise, especially at 10:1 Gideon and his men would be tempted to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. would not allow Gideon to fight with this many soldiers, because the temptation would still remain to believe that it was the strength of his army that won the victory. God told Gideon to pare down his army to a mere 300. This would ensure that God would receive total credit for the victory. This is a law in the Kingdom of God. All glory must go to Him. Announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained - Judges. 7:3

Now there are 10,000 men left but that was still too many. God gave Gideon an interesting selection method for the 300 as he took the men down to the water. There the Lord told General Gideon, Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink - Judges 7:5b

What was the significance of this? What do you think?

Those soldiers who lapped water like a dog were soldiers who were more aware of the enemy around them compared to those who kneeled to drink. The "lappers" were men who were on constant guard to the danger around them, keeping their eyes up, their ears perked and clearly having their wits and senses in full, on-guard mode. The others, in God's wisdom, not so much.

I desire to be part of God's elite army. Where my feet tread I desire that God's enemies tremble.I pray that it is your desire as well. If this is to be true of us then we must be battle ready. We must be sensitive to the spiritual dangers around us and fully armed to take them on. In Ephesians 6:10-13 Paul's expectations for his spiritual children is that they are strong in God, in His might, wearing the armor that God Himself provided.

We must be conscious of the world around us, be in this world but realize that our training and sensitivity needs to be toward our homeland, the Kingdom of God. We need to have our hearts set on God's strategies and tactics and plans so that when the order is given, or the situation presents itself, we know how to respond. We are to stand and deliver love to a dying world and death blows to Satan and his minions. Be sober-minded and vigilant. Your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour - 1 Pet. 5:8

Beware of the spiritual dangers around you. But more than this, listen to the command post. There is a battle to be fought today and I want to hear that your kill rate exceeds 10:1. God's standard is 3000:1 - surely we are that good! I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~