Oh God…You're Late!

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. - Habakkuk 2:3 God has a storehouse of blessings that He has reserved for you and me. Part of growing in our relationship with our Heavenly Father is for you and I to daily better understand HIS timing for events in our lives. We cannot accept as a gift what we do not know exists. Believe it that God has a specific timetable for us. Without knowing His direction for our lives that timetable can be excruciatingly slow and emotionally painful. If you've been churched all your life you might be familiar with the Old Testament figure Joseph. He was the one that had the coat of many colors. He was also given dreams from God (Which ended up being the blueprint for his life). But much was to happen to Joseph before he would take hold of the wonders of God's promises to him. He remained a slave in Egypt and was then placed in prison after being wrongfully accused. That would seem cruel and uncaring of God. While in his distresses Joseph was given opportunities and saved lives. He did those faithfully. Yet he still didn't receive these huge blessings. Why? Because an early release would have disrupted God's perfect plan. God takes time to develop character before anything else. God could not afford to have a prideful 30-year-old managing the resources of an entire region of the world. But, more than that (and Joseph seemed to understand this) he had not sought God about the timing and didn't receive it. Not so much in his life, but in the lives of other Old Testament patriarchs we find God's blessing delayed because they refused to fellowship with Him. Moses was such a case. We have a saying that is quite biblical. God is good all the time! It's true. It's true even when it doesn't appear to be true. Just know that 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 are awaiting the fulfillment of a vision in your life, you can ask the Lord for His grace to sustain you. But before you do that, close in the gap between you and God. Walk daily in a way that allows you the chance to learn just how deep, wide and bountiful His goodness is to His children; those who "hear His voice." I remain... InHISgrip, ~J~

And The Crown Is Past or Will You Wear It Proudly?

The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors even to David. - 1 Samuel 28:17b

I woke up this morning feeling as though something my heart longed for was missing. I soon realized it was found in my work; I'm simply not being compensated for my work. I'm patted on the back. I'm given oral accolades but no dinero!

It has affected so much of my life. I should say, I've allowed it to affect so much of my life. It has even created perceived affects that make me question my relationships with the people who profess to love me.

I have come to believe our work, the pattern of our life, including relationships, the Body of Christ with whom we worship, the people God puts in our path, they are all a part of our personal calling.Within our calling is the anointing of God on our life. You might feel more comfortable with your life purpose. It is with our calling where we wear our crown.

When God anoints a person, a pattern of trials and circumstances appears to take place at specific times in their life. God often takes each of us through what I identify as four test forms. He does so to determine how (not if) we will walk out His call throughout our life. Our response to these forms of testing provide a sort of set of gates through which we can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom and our relationship with Him. The farther along we get, the deeper the relationship to Him. The more He shines through us and the more we resemble Him.

I am not sure if they are ordered just this way. I can imagine they are not. However, my experience, and my reading on the subject of God's will both biblically and extra-biblically point to these four being present for each one of us who names Jesus Christ as Lord.

Here they are:

Self-Control/God-Control - In the scripture above the one being spoken to is King Saul. He spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never reached a place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him either for the unique relationship he had with God or what God had blessed him with in the natural.

Saul did not live with an abundance mentality.

This might have been because he did not live in a time where this was a popular notion. He embraced the grasping, selfish, "survival of the fittest" attitude. By the way, historically, it has not often been the case in any time where a people felt they were a part of abundance either spiritually or physically. However, Saul was a religious as well as secular controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness - Every major character in the Bible was deeply hurt by others that were close to them. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Perhaps more hurtful was the way his own family and Peter treated Him however. In the case of Judas, despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas' feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we become jaded toward others? Will a severe hurt drive us to a place where love, caring, concern and the ability to love inspire of heartache plague our lives? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass. You will be required, most likely more than once to see yourself beyond your emotional heartache in order to fulfill God's greatest joy and purpose in your life.

Power - Power, and more precisely the lording over through its use, is the opposite of the general call on every Jesus believers life. That call is to servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use this authority, this power, to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the position, influence and a superior advantage(s) that God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more? There is a common phrase in the investment community, "He who has the gold rules." The Kingdom of God, the place where all gold is created and from where it is distributed has a different phrase, "Whomever amongst you that would be first must in fact become servant of all!, With Love & In Truth, Jesus.

He was the ultimate servant leader. Follow that which is contrary to all fundamental leadership training and follow His lead.

Covetousness - Covetousness, greed, is a toughie. The "Big Bucks" naturally has great influence. This influence can be for great good but more often than not with a little comes the pursuit of more and more of it and then its very pursuit erodes a mans moral fiber.

When money is a major or just as often, the primary, focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. It takes the place of relationships. It removes us from spending time in the pursuit of the love and serving of others. When it is a fruit of our labor, it can become a great blessing to both self and others. Many of God's kids started out well - only to be derailed once wealth or frankly any form of affluence (knowledge, social status, things, etc.) became a primary portion of their life. What history has shown us is that there are millions that flourish spiritually in terrible trials; only a few can thrive spiritually with the grasp of wealth.

As the called of God, you and I must be aware when the negative pressure of these four (4) things are present in our life situations. You can be confident that each one of these conditions will present itself as God calls you for His purposes.

Will your love of God and trust in the principles of His kingdom overcome your natural tendencies? Start at the beginning. Ask our Heavenly Father for a double dose of His grace today to walk in light; triumphing over the darkness of things that crave to naturally possess us.

I remain...

InHISgrip,

~J~

Reflecting the Glory of One Whose Glory Should Be Recognized

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

How do you measure your effectiveness in God, or should you even be thinking like this? I know it is quite popular to use a sense of reasoning about our spiritual "walk" like this:

God loves me and is all knowing. Because He is all knowing and nothing about who I am or what I do affects His love for me can I disappoint Him. After all, He knows me. He knows who I am and what I do. He made me! Therefore why should I even worry or even worse, feel guilty for being the person God made me to be


The early Church turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective? Was it their theology? Was it great preaching? Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus? Was it an attitude reflected in the above paragraph? Could we validate that kind of thinking by any historical analysis? The answer to the last 2 questions is a simple no.

This little Bible morsel speaks definitively. It creates prophetic clarity that in a future time, God's people, would espouse a mighty message that created widespread knowledge of God, His glory and kingdom. I suggest this happened and can happen and it is what makes the the Bodies of Christ effective.

I am also convinced that it is at the core of God's heart. It is quite simple. God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual. When this happens, the world is automatically changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world. The world "sees" God as He is.

I am also convinced we need to better understand words and their Kingdom meanings; vocabulary, if you will, from God's perspective. The Bible uses words like love, obedience, serve, servant, suffer and I am sure we flavor their meaning based on who we are and not what the Scripture clearly states what is truthfully meant; what is their fulness from God's perspective. Here is one we don't get easily: We serve a jealous God. He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone. (Check it out - It says it right there in that Big Black Book) God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them and more than this to illustrate so we can get our tiny minds around his enormity. He does it. It is His doing. We might be arms and legs and a mouth in the process but it is His plan and His power that accomplishes. Why? That we might, in turn, understand just how little we make of Him and how tiny is the full grasp of our understanding about Him. And, more to the point so that through us His glory shines and people are drawn to Him!

Father God has visibly expressed His power and control and strength since the day He created man. His glory is His own. Only He can have it and express it. However, our God and Father desires 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, in their knowing they would embrace their God-given and provided right to be on the inside of His love, affection, glory, grace, mercy and all of the other overly abundant joys His own should experience.

The apostle Paul understood this principle: 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" ( - I Corinthians 2:4-5.

If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why. Of course, you also might want to study the concept of God's Glory so you would recognize it should it be expressed in your life. It might not be precisely what you are thinking at this moment. Just know this, He has promised to use you and me to mirror who He is if we will walk in obedience to His commands.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6

That is an If/Then statement. There is in fact an our part and His part. You embrace it or you don't. Which will it be?

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! - Luke 11:9-13

As challenging as it is for you and I to understand, there is a truth here that says God does gives us a part in our relationship with Him. We get to learn, grow and become more today than we were yesterday. We are no longer under a shadow of guilt. It is not our lot to constantly wring our hands and wonder if God is pleased with us however. To do that we make His sufficiency, His power in us, His saving and redemptive skills weak. No, we just need to know we get to partner in growth so that who we are in Him shows clearly to the world naturally and draws all men to Him.

It was on my heart today...I hope it blesses yours...I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

It's Just My Nature - Ya, No Kidding...WE KNOW!

When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, "Joseph’s brothers have come," it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.' And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way." So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
- Genesis 45:16-28

So what is the scene we have here? Joseph's brothers are on a journey back home. They had come seeking food in a time of great famine. They had gotten much more than that. However, I want to focus on a smaller point here so I won't go into the whole reunion with Joseph thing. They not only had been given plenty to eat on the way back to their homeland, but had also been given new threads as well. In short, they had all that they needed---and they once again had it in abundance!

Returning to a land that was in the depths of depression and poverty they must have really looked like something. In the midst of a land drying up under the feet of it's inhabitants they would have looked like kings!

Notice, however, the one directive Joseph gave them: "Don't get into an argument on the journey!" It had been years, yea, decades since Joseph had been with his brothers. Yet, through knowledge and wisdom, he knew those men, didn't he?

I just crack up in these historical biblical stories when little tidbits like that are inserted. Centuries may come and go, but human nature stays pretty much the same. As much as we wish it would go away, it's impossible to erase depravity. I know. It would be kinder to call it "human nature." But the fact of the matter is that it's the human nature, the sin nature, that Joseph was bringing to their remembrance.

There is an old Chinese proverb: "Not very many men can carry a full cup without its disturbing their equilibrium." Sudden wealth or promotion can be a tottering experience, both for the recipient and those surrounding him or her. But it's not just when good things happen to us that we are thrown off of our spiritual game.

Is it?

Superiority, inferiority, arrogance, and jealousy can easily to create out of you and I something ungodly and unlovely; certainly not something that God would be honored to call His own. We know this is true. All we have to do (on the positive side...or is it?) is to check on those who win the lottery. Very few can handle the financial windfall.

To top it all off, in our little story here, Joseph had given his younger brother Benjamin more than he had given to the other brothers. He gave them all provisions and gave each of them new garments, but he gave Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver and five new garments. YIKES! Apparently Joseph had not had mommy lessons in counting the sprinkles on the cupcakes to create an "even" or "fair" playing field.

A similar experience had been had in the life of Joseph decades earlier that had caused hatred in the ranks of his brothers toward Joseph. His dad had shown him special favor also. It had cost him years in slavery, prison and humiliation.

It had cost Joseph...

...hadn't it?

No, probably not...not according to God's view; but certainly yes, according to man's view.

No doubt Joseph remembered well what had happened years before when he had been given more than the others, but he had his own reasons for giving Benjamin these items. He didn't want that to result in a fight. "So don't argue about it!" he told his brothers. He wanted to see what they had learned.

A great principle of the Christian faith might be this: Trust one another, but we are never to trust one another's nature. That's one of the reasons parents give their children the warnings that they do. Parents understand their children's natures better than their offspring do. It's not a question of trust; it's a matter of knowing the nature within. The only way that nature changes is when the Spirit of God rules and reigns in a heart. That is a supernatural event and it must happen every day...daily we must die to our natural man. Daily we must realize, "Christ in me is the hope of Glory!" Daily we must come to grips with our eternal nature and invite through our worship, our praise, our affection toward God the Father and our habits God's Spirit to grab hold of us, once again, for that day...and that is why today, I must remain...

InHISgrip,

~J~

All That Is New

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14

Our past can be a hindrance or a help in moving toward God's purposes for each of us. For some, the past has meant pain and heartache, and grace is required so that we do not let that which shaped us dictate our responses and the outcomes of those responses in our future. If we allow our past to make us a victim, then we have not entered into the grace that God has for us. To be sure it is a decision we make. God's grace saves us and changes us or it does not. If we live on memories of past successes and fail to raise our vision for new things, we again are victims of our past. Our past becomes our highlight reel.

That is not God's vision for your life

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland - Isaiah 43:19.

Our past should only be viewed for what we can learn from it. We should understand it so we can trace the finger of God, even when we were in rebellion, in our lives. We must move forward and avoid viewing the negative or the positive for more than what we can learn; for how our Heavenly Father can take that information and build our future from and with it. Are you going to allow your past dictate your future.? God is always about doing new things in our lives. New things means He is doing something unique today and will again do something unique to you and I in our tomorrow's. He gives fresh insight of His purposes in our lives. At the very least these new adventures provide us with new clues to His calling and His election of us into the offices to which only He can call us.
Do not live in the past. Do not hold onto bitterness that may hinder God from doing new and exciting things in your life.

Our eternal Father turns our wastelands into streams of water to give life, not death. He means for each event and memory to lead to the glory of His name. Your quest, your adventure is to figure out how.

How are we viewing our past? How much time are we giving to it? Are we glorying in it? Has it hindered us to become more of Jesus Christ? Have you relied on past successes to dictate what you will do in the future or stymy you from moving forward toward new goals? Put your memories in their proper place. Allow God to do a new things in your life. Seek His guidance to assist you to see the new things He wants to do in and through you today.

"When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave" [Author unknown]...I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

O' Where O' Where Has My God Gone? (In the mirror or to the heavens?)

God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. - Psalm 53:2

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. – Jeremiah 29:11-14

As a pastor I am a blessed man. I have men in my church that seek after God's heart. As a pastor I am a challenged man. I am challenged not just because of my own shortcomings and inadequacies (the Lord knows) but also because I have men in my church who seek after God and their desire for more of God encourages me on to more of Jesus Christ in my life and less of me.

My men are not my primary motivation for my growth, when I have growth in my Christian walk however. Though these good, godly men keep me on my toes, encourage and exhort one another and bless me with their dissatisfaction with just remaining where they are in their maturity, they are but one tool and not the chief tool God uses to provide my own impetus to be the man God has created me to become.

Late in His three year ministry Jesus explained about an element of His own personal joy and the reason He pressed on through all of life's difficulties. Now, to be sure, Jesus wasn't speaking about a singular joy. Clearly there are kinds of joys that we experience. But each joy is the end-game satisfaction of a more complex series of events and our obedience to God the Father in those events. We see this in John 3:25-28 where John the Baptist, as the forerunner to Jesus, indicates the joy of having been tasked, by God, as the one to announce Jesus' coming. John preached it and saw that it was fulfilled. To that John would say, "Therefore this joy of mine is now complete." John was to receive more eternal joy later.

What I am thinking here is what Jesus expressed in John 15:8-12 when He said, "By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruits and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

To have the love of Christ permeate my body, soul and spirit and to be privileged to express it to others and share it's healing, peace and personally satisfying provision is what must drive you and I on into more of Jesus and less of me. Jesus, with great love and care, had been given instruction from the Father. The instruction looked past the discomfort and disharmony. It looked beyond heartache and the physical abuse that would follow Jesus in the same way that training is embraced by a great athlete so that they may reach to the goal; realizing that both Father and Son loved and had as their center attention mankind. Jesus, with love in his eyes for His Father, accepted the task at hand. Here in John 15 Jesus is passing on the lesson of eternity to us instructed us to do likewise, Abide in my love If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kepty my Father's commandments and abide in His love."

Has God gotten your attention. Have you become one who is a seeker of God? The Lord delights in seeing those children of His who truly understand the meaning of life and why there is only one thing worth seeking and that is God Himself.To follow after Him and pursue living the life you now have in this earthly domain in a way that pleases Him because He instructs it was precisely the message Jesus was attempting to convey to His disciples on that day 2000 years ago.

Life on planet earth has been cruel of late. But that isn't God's main concern. It isn't supposed to be mine as it relates to "me" either. I know when I've not been pursuing my God and Father. The cares of this life, the urgent over the important, and the petty irritations begin to affect me. I become emotional. Guys these are the symptoms of a life that has not been seeking God; praying, reading, meditating, waiting on Him. Can you relate to any of this? Is this sinking in with you? These would be questions, our Savior would pose to us. We need to ask them of ourselves daily.

If we understand that it is only in keeping the only two commandments Jesus gave us, to love God with all of our hearts, mind, body and soul and to love others with that amazing, self-preserving, "give-me-joy at all costs" love we provide to self we will have our wish and desire; pure joy.

If you are toiling and fretting over what will soon be dead and gone where are you getting your spiritual strength? What will you pay to get your joy back? We need to set self-preservation boundaries in our lives. We best preserve and serve self when we seek Him! That means time spent with Him and His tools. This is the great challenge in a world that screams for our attention and threatens us with ruin if we do not oblige them.

Create a schedule of time to be with your God, His Word where you meditate, listen, and hear! Are you committed to developing that intimacy with your Lord that He so desires so that YOUR joy as John 15 says will be complete? If not, ask Him today to help you. This is the longing of His heart. Ask Him to make it the longing of your heart. Then you will demonstrate to Him that you understand, and you will be a seeker of God. I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

 

 

Working On Getting What I May Never Get...

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. - Job 42:3b

I want my bank account bank to normal. I want my bills paid. I want to stop being upset about the way my everyday life is going. I want the progress I seem to be making spiritually to count in the real world where there are responsibilities to handle, expectations to fulfill and creditors to deal with in such a way to keep them off my back (I hear they accept cash!)

And I hate all of that!

But then I have to reflect...(because daily I read the Bible...hmmm...I may have to rethink this Scriptures strategy thing if I am to maintain my high level of dissatisfaction, consternation at my life predicament and quality of grumbling and grousing those who love me have come to expect and appreciate.)

If there was any one man on earth who had reason to question God's love, it was Job. He lost his family, his health, and his wealth-all at the same time.

I've lost a few here in there in the normal course of life but not all at once. Okay Job, you got me there.

His friends came to his side only to question his spirituality and dedication to the one true God. They would poke and prod at his life, probably more because this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience for them. They would never have the "upper hand" on Job again.

But the narrator of the Book of Job already fills us in on the man Job. God had already answered the question of Job's personal integrity. Job was described in the opening verses of the book as "blameless and upright" (see Job 1:1). Perhaps the friends made Job doubt the man he was. Maybe they didn't. But, we, as interlopers in this scene do not need to question it. Job was major God material.

No. Job's worldly calamities were not born from sin. Job acknowledged God's right to do anything in his life until one day he could take it no longer.

He questioned God's motives.

God answered.

God answered this favorite son but not in the way Job wanted to hear. God answered him with a series of questions that represents the most incredible discourse of correction by God to any human being...EVER!

Three chapters later, Job realized that he had questioned the motives of the Author of the universe, the Author of love; the transcendent God. He questioned the one who sits outside of all of this material, spinning, ordered matter and looks in, for, as a master craftsman, God not only formed it, shaped it, designed it, built it and more. He was also the supervisor who approved the building permits for it; indicated who would inhabit it, for how long and what they would accomplish for HIM and what it's value would be into eternity.

Job fell flat before his Creator and realized his total depravity. "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." This was no mere statement of fact. Job was speaking out of a realization of that old and familiar verse we who have been around church so long can quote so easily,

My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the LORD. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. - Isaiah 55:8 NLT

This was a man who, having lost it all from an earthly perspective had also attempted to squander the one and truly only valuable thing he had ever possessed, his personal relationship with the Great God of All! Despair, anger, confusion, hurt, and constant disappointment, if we choose, can lead us to do devastating things with eternal consequences. Fortunately for you and I, for Job, for his friends and remaining family, he repented.

Have you ever questioned God's activity in your life? Have you questioned His love for you based on circumstances that came your way? The cross at Calvary answers the love question. That He sent His own Son in replacement for your miserable self. If you were the only person on earth, He would have done the same. His ways cannot always be understood or reconciled in our finite minds. That must be left for a future time when all will be understood. For now, entrust your life to Him completely. Embrace Him in the hard times and the good.

You learn trust when you learn that God won’t be formed or fashioned after your image. The outcomes of your life were meant to show you that the value of His relationship to you was to be intimate not just personal, (As in Jesus is my personal Savior).  The stuff of your earthly years is a metaphor for your eternity. You have missed it all if you have just prayed a pray and then begun a life of goodly (note: NOT godly) duty. His work in you, His desire for you to belong to others to stand with you, His word as a guideline to understand as He speaks to you personally (and, I might add emphatically) is all about the moment. And in this moment you need to learn He is waiting until the entire world and all it holds is of no value other than to be the currency of your life as you commune, communicate and walk by His voice and not by our plans.

I remain…

InHISgrip,

~J~

Yes, You Have a Calling on Your Life!

But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it.... - Joshua 19:47

 

This, I believe, is one of the greatest struggles every maturing Christian has in this life and that is the challenge of realizing what God has presented, promised and purposed for us in our lives; to take their inheritance in the land. The gifting, skill-set, and godly passions of your life are first realized and then must be taken hold of. It is the one thing that God abundantly uses that the enemy grapples with us about. It is also the thing that most easily sways us from a path of rightly dividing the word of God (the Bible) and God's voice.

 

What is the spiritual inheritance God has reserved for you? When God told the Israelites they were going to be given the Promised Land, it was not a walk in the park. They would encounter 39 battles in taking the land God promised to them. The devil and the natural enemies of godliness arrayed themselves against God's people. Obtaining the land, the blessing, the gifts of God, took a joint effort between God and the Israelites to engage and battle the enemy that maintained control of the land. The gifts, the creativity, the ingenuity, the crafting, the power of God for and in them were all used to conquer the enemy so they could occupy the land.

 

God has given you and me a spiritual inheritance that must be won in the heavenlies. We fight it in our spirits and our minds. A dear friend and mentor once counseled me after watching my life over a period by saying, "The Lord has given you a spiritual inheritance. That inheritance lies in your ability to speak into the lives of people. You are called to caring and close relationships. YIKES! And, if you know me you know why I say, yikes. However, I have found they were right. And, because my purpose, the land God wishes me to occupy lies in relationships, that is the place the enemy attacks most. The devil would use my past against me. He would use my personality to keep me from fulfilling the purposes of God for me. He would take my emotional proclivities and place them at the forefront of my decision-making processes when it came to people in my life. The enemy always attacks us in the area where we are to receive our inheritance or with the things God truly wishes for us to give up to Him for His glory. Invariably these are the places in our lives where we will find our greatest joys in God once they have been given over and back to Him that we might gain great joy in our service to Him through their use and that includes our emotions, gifts, skills, and all the other objects our God has placed in our life to conquer the land we've been promised.

 

Guys, you and I must walk in faithfulness and obedience to His righteousness in how you deal with the things that God has equipped you with to fulfill His specific call on your life. That call, in large part, is your inheritance in Christ Jesus!

 

I hope these words speak to you as the wisdom of God. The Lord has proven these words to be true in my life I can tell you.

 

What is the spiritual inheritance He has reserved for you? What is God purposing for you, first, today? I can tell you it was for you to start this day and proclaim His Lordship in your life and over everything that you do. It was also to give you a sense of duty, presence in the land and purpose for your life and for you to take steps, every day, to take more and more of the land He has promised to you. In your case that land is more and more of the life, the ministry and the purposes that you and you alone were given by God to occupy!

 

What areas of your inheritance must you take possession of today? What is it your God wishes for you to take back, in His name and for the Kingdom of God? The enemy of your soul does not want you to take possession. If you are frustrated in life then look up! Be glad! You are engaged in the battle. Put on your armor and begin walking in obedience into the areas God has called you to possess. Let's keep one another in prayer about this and together conquer in the mighty name of Jesus! I remain...

 

InHISgrip,
~J~

When the Minutiae Does Count - Life Virtually Always!

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

Over the last several  weeks I have been working on developing a new tract of thinking as it relates to Life Purpose Coaching, my own franchise consulting work and the purpose for the individuals who are God's people; heck, even the individuals who currently are not God's people.

The reason I make that second statement is that none of us get's to any of our favorite words without our getting to the place where we understand we were made to enjoy a life-long and intimate relationship with God. We do not get there by doing "good work." We can take care of our families and our responsibilities and excel in education and vocation and we will not get to happy, joyful, fulfilled, complete, satisfied or any other superlative that is associated with those if we do not start with the premise that I was made to worship and adore God and take my greatest joy in Him forever. So, it's quite a thing isn't it if you do not even recognize Him at all.

All of this has me reading particular books and authors and points of view. Many of these I have read more than once. And I am now in the process of "splitting hairs" at a very finite degree. I have had to show discipline and in a life that is ordered like mine where my time is often mine to order indiscriminately it isn't always easy.

Life is filled with daily routines and many of them we are not big fans of; I am sure you are the same way. We do things we don't necessarily enjoy but we do them because they need to get done. In my current project that is precisely where I am at.

To cap this thought quickly for you the landscape against which I am thinking has to do with great expectations for God. Attempt great things for God - expect great things from God. But apparently the Holy Spirit is in the details. The great things are, at this moment in my life, a whole bunch of little things.

Every now and then, God takes us to the mountaintop to experience His presence in a dramatic way. This is not the norm. It was not the norm for those in the Bible either. 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. For Paul, after that change he then spent years and years apart from the church and people so Jesus, through the Holy Spirit could speak to Him in an ordered way and provide you and I the great church teachings we depend on for our structures as New Testament Christians. In the case of Jacob he  spent 20 years working with his hands for his once and future father-in-law Laban all for the love of a girl; but, more than this all for the cause of a people.

God uses the tiny details of our lives to develop character qualities that He plans to use at the appropriate time. Often the small things and yes, the things we despise are the very tools for immortality. In the small things we develop trustworthiness in our relationship to Father God. He learns He can depend on us. We learn we can handle them in patience and endurance.

Here's the key: The day-in and day-out grind of working life molds us and makes us into what God desires. God is preparing you for something far greater. That isn't a question. It is a fact. For now, however, you are learning the daily lessons of small things. I'll make you a deal. You pray that I remain faith and I will pray that you will be faithful by those little things as well. Let's not look for the devil in the detail. May we find the Spirit of the Living God in every instance of our life.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

And Your Reason Is? - This is More of a Rant

Recently a relative of mine called words I had directed toward her in reflection on something she had written a "sounding gong and chiming cymbal." Actually I believe she was calling me those things as she quoted from I Corinthians 13:1. Perhaps she merely was expressing that to her it sounded like I was correcting her without love. It was a response to something she had posted on Facebook about a video that can be found here: http://vimeo.com/11501569. You should cut and paste and take a look at it. It's pretty slick and insightful. Go ahead, open another browser window; I'll wait here.

Nice job fellows at North Point Media (a ministry of the multi-campused mega-church North Point Community Church in the Atlanta, GA area.)

But I think this very cool video is not what some might interpret it to be. You see, the same guys who gave us this http://vimeo.com/8637774 gave us this http://vimeo.com/11501569 - perhaps they were simply providing themselves and the other 220 mega churches throughout the USA and the other 1200 around the world with a little wake up call.It certainly is a funny parady to them.

The rest of the churches who would want to emulate this kind of production couldn't if they tried and can't afford it as it is.

Still all in all the message in the video saddened me but it doesn't surprise me (Though given who they are really did sort of confuse me). That my sweet and loving relative would call me or think I was unloving toward her a noisy gong or clanging cymbal likewise saddened me.

The video as an inside joke is funny. If, its primary intent be to shoot holes in 21st century church, well then guys I would tell you that this is old news about contemporary ills of the Church. This particular piece is wrapped in the very technology that it criticizes; using the same "vices". That's weird.

Perhaps it is "the heart" of the church, the minister or the worship leader that the video, "Sunday's Coming". But who is it? It never says. It just seems to criticize some church (or ministry), somewhere, at some time. But it is just so totally random.

We will never know about whom this specifically was aiming at. We will have to call the character who plays the guy who knows it all, Pastor Guru since whomever this charismatic charmer is in the clip has no name. It just doesn't say.

I guess, since the message is posted for the world to see on YouTube, then the whole message appears should just be taken as a think piece much like you might have gotten from the Wittenberg Door guys back in the 70's and 80's (Shades of Mike Yacconelli). That job, policing and sarcastically criticizing has now been replicated in 10,000 blogs. The difference is that this one is great media. It's well produced. A few magazines of the Christian ilk have attempted to be a helpful policing agent for all things Christian in the past but it was hard to take them seriously across from a full page ad by Zondervan by the latest greatest book by the latest greatest writer, teacher, pastor, expositor, celebrity.

But I have a problem with the video "Sunday's Coming". It has no target. It's an old, worn out misdirected method of trying to cure an ill (or ill's) in the church. The strategy becomes this:

"We, the concerned, will talk about things in a general way that will be validated by the many who view themselves as "not this." I can't say for sure but "not this" offends me and therefore anything that I define as "not this" will be struck from my professional, objective, and classically trained spiritual eye as to be brushed aside. After all "not this" has no place in the 'Kingdom of God.'"

Now, before I get too far you may ask, "John what do you mean by, 'not this?'"

Well I'll give you some examples. Let's say I go to a small church of 45-65 which "preaches the pure word." "Not This" then becomes highly polished, well orchestrated ministry. Perhaps my church has no electrical instruments nor electronics of any kind to wow the masses.  "Not this" is then the fancy electronica, sound and lighting affects of the world being used in less than spiritual churches. And certainly our pastor isn't that slick, cool, knowledgeable, Steve Jobs-esque fellow depicted in the video "Not this" becomes any pastor who has charisma, delivery and uses current terminology. Further, no one walks up front with a logo'd t-shirt, sneakers and cool glasses in my church because we honor God by our Sunday best! "Not this" becomes multi-media used to present the announcements or anyone who acts as the Master of Ceremonies of a spiritual service. (Really? Those were cool glasses?) Or, and I am "not this" might say/believe I am not in a big church. I am not in a modern church. I am a Christian but I am not in church at all. These examples could all be a part, in this instance, of the "not this."

And, since you are "not this" don't you just feel better knowing it?

It gives you great comfort in knowing that you are far off the hell bent path of "not this" and therefore much you are much closer to "what it is!" What it is, in my verbiage, is your idea of the right thinking and correct path to follow Jesus.

The problem brothers and sisters is this; In this us and them strategic ideological division you would say to yourself, "I understand 'what it is' because 'not this' makes me convulse to think about it!" I spend time with my fellow believers (or disbelievers) and we all shake our heads in disapproval at "not this," grateful that we have a clearer if not crystalline, objective and abiding understanding of "what it is." I thank my God I live under His protection in "what it is."

So I watched "Sunday's Coming." And in it I recognized the "anti-spiritual" players and realized in 46 years of church attendance I have only seen all of them on the same team, at the same time and place, espousing a similar format and mission twice. I had seen all of those things that Sunday's Coming espoused separately but not all in one place and to think it was the mission and vision of those ministries to succor people on slick stylings would be the subjective rant of an infidel attempting to justify their disbelief in Jesus Christ. ("I don't believe because Christians are hypocrites." Somehow, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher..." is lost in that line of thought for me...I'm just sayin'.)

Jesus was contemporary for His time. He did things that woke people up. He changed up the way to ask questions and to speak to people...even WHO He would speak with changed. Using the language of the day, the tools and technologies of the day to reach the churched better to disciple and the unchurched to deliver them into God's kingdom, though must come with God's anointing and direction (as would anything) certainly isn't patently anti-god or anti-church.

The video is funny. I hope every minister who watches it gets that he/she better not become "not this." But to my loving relative and anyone else who validates feelings, experiences and media as well as sentiment to discredit "the church," it isn't that easy. I cannot get past the true, obvious, "smack-you-in-the-face" plain teaching of scripture about why some people would embrace it to validate a particular point. It doesn't make any of us right to acknowledge we know worship leaders who just want to sell CD's (usually to shore up some paltry salary they try to subsist on) or some pastor who has learned the delivery of a teaching or sermon with professionalism and competency.

The video does not say that churches, bodies of Christ are whack; stay away! It does NOT say that. The Bible is plain...

• It says Jesus died for His body - the church (and though we are members of that body...the body is still recognized with ALL it's members working together) - Colossians 2:19; I Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 5:23

• Oddly enough something we hold very personal, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, is for the Church. You have spiritual gifts. And since you do they are to be used in a corporate body of Christ setting. Check it out - Acts 10:44,45 & 11:15-17

• It says we are to be those who organize as the parts of the body to better attack the gates of Hell (the gates don't attack back) and that Jesus is the churches (not the individuals) leaders - Ephesians 1:22,23 & I Corinthians 12:27

• 47% of those who profess Jesus as Savior in America don't go to church or involve themselves regularly with a body of Christ and I suppose since God allowed, slavery, polygamy, divorce, a taxed society He doesn't kick anyone out of eternity for not attending church but they certainly can't call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ either

• 37% of that group indicate they do not go to church because of deep wounds caused by past associations and that includes being guilted into service and other personally viewed harms.

• The Church body is a unique place where God's glory is illuminated - Ephesians 3:21

I do not know what your "not this" is or if it relates to the church of Jesus Christ at all. But, let me suggest that nothing in life reflects on those who are able-bodied and capable or taking their place as a member of a local body of Christ and do not do it as the kinds of hypocrites that the world finds unbelievable. Secondly, God has few people that He expects to act as a sort of internal KGB to police His own army. He doesn't use believers to ambush His own. It's time we all were part of the solution instead of spy's in the land sent to throw rocks indiscriminately and make self feel better for both agreeing that error lives in the church as a sort of general statement (duh!) and pointing out the errors of our brothers and sisters...where is the love in that? More to the point how loving, in grace, is it and where is the lack of hypocrisy you hope to avoid?

I remain...

InHISgrip, ~J~

Knowing That You Know That You Know That You, For Sure Can Know!

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. - Isaiah 28:16

Our Christian walk can be organized, dissected, implemented, executed and defined in oh so very many ways can't it? The many great teachers and preachers, writers and speakers who have changed my perspective is now reaching small population center size.

This morning I was feeling less than uninspired so I took a short walk at which time God gave me a lil sumpin' sumpin' and I think it was more for me than you but I hope you find it useful. IF you are one of those people who loves notes, organization, order, etc. it just might ring true for you

One way that I realized I view my walk with the Lord has been "life stages." Mine seems to have been made up of four distinct and progressive parts. I get this from some language I had been reading as the Church on Rogers has been going through the Life of Christ in a series of messages I titled, "Hello! My Name is Jesus".

Jesus, in explaining the life of true faith compared our growth and development to building a house. First, we must prepare to build by laying a solid and sure foundation. That foundation is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Any foundation other than Christ will not stand. (I Corinthians 3:11)

Second, as we begin our walk of faith with the one true God, we realize the trials, testings, miracles, and challenges in life are designed to provide "faith experiences" that demonstrate tangible evidences of His work in and with us; Moses' burning-bush experience, Peter's walk on the water, Joshua's parting of the Jordan River, John's son Chuck being run over by a car at 16 months, Cindy's mysterious illness, etc. These experiences built faith. The depth and width of our calling is directly proportional to the faith experiences He allows in each of our lives. But, and more than that, they grow and develop our spiritual character as we allows the Holy Spirit control during those troubled and oft heart-wrenching times. So, the message we embrace, the lessons learned and the love, grace, mercy and compassion received from the throne of God create in us "God capacity". We become more in Christ. As my friend Os Hillman would say, "If God plans an international ministry with you, chances are you will experience a higher degree of faith experiences compared to another." Why? It is likely you will need to look on these to ensure your calling and provide testimony to His work in your life.

The third stage deals with motivations. "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord" (Prov. 16:2). What is the motive behind my actions? Is it only financial accumulation? Is it to gain control? Is it to create independence? The primary motive must be to glorify God. His leading in you brings honor and glory and power to His name amongst the nations (and your sphere of influence) forever! So, to take such action requires a growing desire to please Him. It takes obedience to Him.

Finally, the actions we take are ever and increasingly God lead. We find that more of what we do, we turn over to Him. We wish a life that in all aspects is less separated into spiritual and carnal or into church and real life. We realize everything we do, in every breath we take is an offering of love and gratitude to the one who gave me life!

Here we must ask, "Do we have the skill, quality, and ability to enter into new and ever-increasingly bold activity?" So often we have not trained ourselves adequately to be successful in our endeavor. You would never want someone working on your teeth who had not been trained and certified as a dentist. Before you begin your next project, ask yourself these four questions:

1. What is the foundation this project is based on? There is only one - Jesus!

2. What experiences has God demonstrated in my life that indicate His involvement?

3. What is my motive for entering this activity? Am I doing this or can I do this to My Heavenly Father's Glory?

4. Do I have the skill, quality, and ability to accomplish the task? Am I prepared mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually?

Answering these questions will tell you whether God will bless your daily activity. I hope this gives you some good stuff as you go through your week.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

A Freedom All Can Confidently Choose

I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Deuteronomy 30:19,20 (The Message)

I was thinking this morning on an early mentor to my Christian life. His name was James Singleton. He was a man of character, and an unwavering single-minded focus on his faith and button-downed in terms of what he believed. One thing he believed was that the concept of sin was being swept away by the psycho-elements of Christianity. Personal responsibility for how we acted and displeased God was being lost under a barrage of pseudo-scientific explanations where each of us was now fully NOT responsible for the way we acted.

The concept of sin was being lost to the church. This was back in 1976. The "modern" world had no place for the archaic concept of sin.

Ya, right.

But my friends and family it is now 34 years later since I had those discussions with this man of faith and power. Sin, the ability for a person to, independently and willfully displease God, is very much alive. No number of books, symposiums, classes, advanced courses or experts opinions to the contrary can change the simple, oft-repeated experience billions of times a day where humans separate themselves in deed, thought and attitude from the God who provides them life. The Greek word, in our New Testament that is translated sin is roughly the word hamartia (ham arr tee ah) and in Greek means to miss the mark. God the Father has a target in mind, His Son actually, and we fall short or miss that ideal in the way we act and/or think daily.

It is a source of heartache, feelings of guilt, aggravation and personal disappointment for most who call themselves Christians.

I wish I could guarantee all of us full freedom from sin 365 days a year, but that is not possible. As long as we roam the earth we will fight a battle, a personal battle with personal sin. I have given great study and thought to the idea of perpetual sinlessness (theologians call it "sinless perfection"). It will not be ours to enjoy until we are given glorified bodies and we are at home in heaven.

But their is good news. The relationship that Jesus re-established for us with His life, suffering, death and resurrection has provided us the leadership we need; the continual presence of our God in our lives and His direction as we both speak with and listen to Him. We don't have to sin on a constant, day-after-day basis. The actions of the Savior has freed us to accept counsel and get direction from a personal relationship with God.


But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. - Romans 6:17--18

Wonderful, wonderful truth! Choosing righteousness, we enjoy a lifestyle marked by God's blessings, stability, and strength. God's goodness, His Grace frees us to choose, yes more than choose, make ourselves slaves to eternal life concepts, principles and actions. We can decide to walk with God and draw strength from Him to face whatever life throws at us. However, we can decide to walk away from God and face the inescapable consequences of sin.

The next time you are tempted to yield to your old master, Master Sin, remember this: Grace invites you to return and find forgiveness, but it doesn't automatically erase the scars that accompany missing the mark of the high-calling of being God's child; some scars could stay with you for life.

In spite of the terrible consequences sins may bring, grace also means we allow others the freedom to choose, regardless. To do otherwise abuses as much as those who use their freedom as a license to sin. I am a firm believer in mutual accountability, but grace means I will not force or manipulate or judge or attempt to control you, nor should you do those things to me. It means we will keep on helping others to freedom by providing moments of hope. In naval speak we might call it providing "breathing holes." It means we deliberately let go so each of us can grow and learn on our own; otherwise, we shall never enjoy the liberty of an open sea.

So, this little snippet goes out to parents, brothers and sisters and great friends: For most of us, letting others go is neither natural nor easy. Because we care, it is more our tendency to give people hints or advice. The thought of letting them fail or fall is extremely painful to us, but God treats us like that virtually every day of our lives. We tend to clutch, not release . . . to put people in our frame and not allow them any breathing holes unless and until they accept the shape of our molds.

Let us be carriers of love, patience, grace and space. God is still on the throne and is still the greatest weapon in a battle against missing His very best...

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Of Brooks & Battles

And David came to the two hundred men who were left behind, that they should not follow after David, and he had caused them to remain by the brook of Besor. And they came forth to meet David, and to meet his people with him. And David drew near to the people, and they asked him how he did it. Then every ill-disposed and bad man of the soldiers who had gone with David, answered and said, Because they did not pursue together with us, we will not give them of the spoils which we have recovered, only let each one lead away with him his wife and his children, and let them return. And David said, You shall not do so, after the Lord has delivered the enemy to us, and guarded us, and the Lord has delivered into our hands the troop that came against you.
And who will hearken to these your words? For they are not inferior to us; for according to the portion of him that went down to the battle, so shall be the portion of him that abides with the baggage; they shall share alike. And it came to pass from that day forward, that it became an ordinance and a custom in Israel until this day.- I Samuel 30:21-26


Today, as I came down for coffee, I was greeted with a reading from Max Lucado's Book, "Facing Your Giants." It's been laying around and I've skimmed it previously a bit. It is essentially a study of life-lessons from the life of David.

I recommend you get to know David. His life, love, passions, and weaknesses will give you hope. The way God deals with Him will encourage your Christian faith.

I was reminded that somehow, in all my years, yea decades of Bible reading I had missed this story or the point of it.

As the story goes, David and his men had just returned from battle, only to find that their village had been destroyed, and their families had been taken captive by an enemy army. David's troops were devastated, worn out, and angry. After no little bit of anger and finger-pointing at David they set off to rescue their families and recapture their belongings.

In their pursuit of the enemy band, David and his army came to a brook, called Besor. They rested a while, got some water, and then David gave the command to get back on the trail, but 200 of the soldiers decided this was as far as they'd go. They could go no further. A none too happy army moved on and left them behind.

The author asks, “How tired does a person have to be to abandon the hunt for his own family?”

Later in the chapter Lucado goes on, “The church has its quorum of such folks. Good people. Godly people. Only hours or years ago they marched with deep resolve. But now fatigue consumes them. They’re exhausted. So beat-up and worn down that they can’t summon the strength to save their own flesh and blood. Old age has sucked their oxygen. Or maybe it was a deflating string of defeat. Divorce can leave you at the brook. Addiction can as well. Whatever the reason, the church has its share of people who just sit and rest.” And yes, some have always rested...

I remember the last time I was at Brook Besor. I can still taste the water. I was overwhelmed by Satan’s attacks on every area of my life. I couldn’t fight anymore. I was at the end of my rope. I remember yelling at God, “You promised me that you would never give me more than I can handle, but you did! I can’t take it! I can’t go on like this! If you want me to keep going, you are going to have to do something about it, because I can’t fight anymore!”

He did. He knew...

While I was waiting at the brook, too tired to fight, God did what David and his men did in this story: He fought the battle for me! Within weeks, things had changed. Through little effort of my own, some of the problems simply worked themselves out. Others became more manageable, and I was able to gain perspective on how to better handle each situation. I'm regaining my strength and "mostly" back on my feet, and life is good once again. Well, it's better. And yes, my brook experience is proximate...it's recent.

Just as David and his army continued on in their pursuit, rescuing their families and recapturing their belongings (and making sure that those resting at the brook got their share, even when the the more "fair" and/or greedy of the army wanted to exclude them), Jesus fights our battles, and wins the victory for us! He does more than that though. He gives us more than we deserve.

Two thoughts struck me as I read I Samuel's 29 and 30 (Yes, go on, read the two chapters...it will help God give you a personal perspective on this and you do need it...)

1. Thank you Lord for being my Warrior - for coming to my defense against all of my enemies

2. Thank you for helping me understand that as a leader I need to recognize and show grace and mercy to all your saints both those who enjoin the battle and those who are now at the Brook.

We need a living soul to show us grace and love when we just aren't feeling it inside...ya know?

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Takin' It Easy - Not So Biblical After All

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!- Psalm 90:12-17

This last week, at my favorite coffee house, as I prepared my lesson for Sunday, a group of 4 walked in, ordered their drinks and sat right across from me and my Mac. One gentleman of the group just started shaking hands with all the patrons. He must've shook hands with a half-dozen folks he’d never met before. Then he looked at me, and with a grin and a twinkle in his eye, walked over, bent slightly at my table and whipped out his hand in my direction. I grabbed hold, smiled and realized that this was a working mans hand! It was a hand you could strike a match on, toughened by decades of rugged toil.

"And a great day to you sir," I said. "You look like a man who enjoys life. What do you do for a living?" I inquired of my brand new friend.

"Me? Well, I'm a farmer from back in the Midwest. It is what I do and I guess I have gotten to be pretty fair at it."

"Really? I guess I'm not surprised, since you've got hands like sandpaper! Those are some tough hands!" "Ya, well son, yours aren't so much but you look like you pluck on that gizmo there pretty good. What do you do?" After sharing with him my work and passions he patted me on the back and said, "I like it!"

He then laughed . . . asked me a couple of insightful questions, then told me about his plans for traveling with his new girlfriend (and he winked). "She's the young one over there at the table."

"What did you do last week?" I asked.

His answer stunned me. "Last week I finished harvesting 90,000 bushels of corn," he said with a smile.

I then blurted out, "Ninety thousand! How old are you, my friend?"

He didn't seem at all hesitant or embarrassed by my question. "I'm just a couple months shy o' 90." He laughed again as I shook my head. Wow!

the man in front of me had lived through four or five wars, the Great Depression, seventeen presidents, ninety Midwest winters, who knows how many personal hardships, and he was still taking life by the throat. I had to ask him the secret of his long and productive life. "Hard work and integrity" was his quick reply. "Be honest, do what you say and do more than they think you can. That's all."

As we parted company, he looked back over his shoulder and added, "Don't take it easy, young feller. Stay at it!" This wisdom from a ninety year old to a fifty pluser...truly.

The Bible is filled with folks who refused to take it easy. In the Old Testament is the story of a man named Caleb, who, at age 85, attacked the powerful Anakim in the hill country and successfully drove them out (Josh. 14)? Or Abraham, the Father of our Faith, who had a baby (well, actually Sarah did) when he was "in his old age" . . . he was 100, she was 90 (Gen. 21)? Or Noah or Moses or Samuel or Anna, the 84-year-old prophetess . . . significant people, all.

Age means zilch. Wrinkles, gray hair, and spots on your hands, less than zilch. If God chooses to leave you on this earth, great. If He makes it possible for you to step aside from your work and move on to new vistas with fresh challenges, that's also great. Be sensitive to the spirit to expect to be doing more in your future, not less...

And whatever else you do, don't take it easy!

"No disease is more lethal than the boredom that follows retirement" (Norman Cousins).

As I typed this I wasn't sure of the deep spiritual truths other than I just was inspired by it and felt for someone out there who's butt might have grown a size or two in the past year or so, take heed! Death waits at the door, spiritually and physically of those who quit on life and godliness!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Permission Is A Good Thing

You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs." Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead."

In my devotions recently I was struck by the whole of the few verses you read there.

The size, breadth and depth of the two conversations are staggering in the gap of their proportion. God first speaks to Moses and God gives Moses instruction. God gives Moses marching orders and it is God who explains to Moses the outcomes and what will be Moses' future mission.

Then Moses, and for most of us this would be a peculiar thing goes back to his father-in-law and asks permission if he might go and change the future for all humanity for all of time.

Doesn't that strike you as amazing? Let me tell you folks if God is giving me instructions I am not sure at what level of humility I am asking another human, even a dad-in-law (and mine was a great man) if I can do it!

Moses, approached his father-in-law Jethro and asked permission to return to Egypt.

Now I am sure that Moses didn't tell Jethro everything at that point, but he let the man know there was something stirring in his heart. After years and years of virtual silence about his life and background back in Egypt, Moses said to Jethro, "It's time for me to go back. There's some unfinished business that needs attention. Is it okay with you?"

When you have heard the voice of God calling you in a new direction - confirming that direction through His personal leadership and directive actions to you; perhaps even through events, and through the wisdom of godly counselors - the result of that thought process needs to be communicated with the important people in your life, family, mentor's, your pastor.

I believe that this is especially true if you are young. Why? Because your family has not had the benefit of your personal sign and wonder; the voice of God in your ear or heart, the burning bush. You've heard God's voice; that's not true for them. They may not know or understand what God has said to you. They still feel like you should be going in a previously agreed upon direction. You need to give them a heads up. More than this you need to encourage their lives with your revelation! Without this it will seem to them you have lost direction and that you are talking about a whole new set of plans apart from the life they envision for you.

These kinds of major course changes can seem upsetting, or even frightening, to those who care about you, especially parents. You need to be gracious enough to give them some helpful information on how God has changed your direction. They need to understand your conviction and, if they are godly, be allowed time to let the Holy Spirit work in them as well.

This exchange between these two men leads me to two principles worth your thoughtful consideration. First of all, when God crystallizes a plan for your life, perhaps nudging you in a new direction, be extremely sensitive how you communicate that to others. Don't assume they know all you know about the process. Don't expect them to greet the idea with immediate acceptance and open arms. Give them the courtesy of time and space to think things through. Communicate your thoughts with tenderness, care, and understanding.

The second thing to notice is that this plan flowed. When you are in the center of God's will, my friend, it flows. It doesn't have to be forced. Moses said, "Jethro, may I go?" And Jethro replied, "Go in peace." Moses could move into what would prove to be a difficult ministry knowing things back home were just fine. But, for Moses, he was now a "sent one." His mind and perspective were sharp and clear. "What to do next" would flow from his marching orders.

It is a very humbling experience to be moving in the direct current of God's will. Why humbling? Because at all times you realize just how much bigger the task is than you are. But it can also bring fresh assurance. It is the assurance that you were raised up, had come through the blood of Jesus Christ, ordained, and sent for such a time as this!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

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~

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~

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~