If I Had Known I'd Be Alive! - That Ol' Bible

The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. - 1 Chronicles 13:10

I have always been a reader. I truly enjoyed it as a child. Today, as an adult I can't imagine electing not to read.

The world changes quickly. Innovation and the joining of technologies happens daily. Yet I often hear from business associates how much they dislike reading. I also hear it and even more often from Christians and even those who are in positions of leadership.

True pillars of the faith exist who do not have a habit, a discipline, of reading the Bible. You might be one of those. One such Christian friend and business associate told me that he found it a difficult discipline to master. My response was, "Jim, if you do not get into the Bible; if you do not read from it and yes, do it daily, you cannot know how it is that God will speak into and provide guidance to your life specifically."

My worldview, no, LIFEview on the subject of the Holy Bible has less to do with issues like infallibility and inerrancy and much more on the premise that its constant and continual message is this, God's written Word, as provided in the Bible, is life to our souls. It provides knowledge that leads to life."

The prophet Hosea tells us, My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as My priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. - Hosea 4:6. God has given us His Word that has specific foundational principles. You can't know them unless you read about them. Understanding God's heart, His desire for mankind, the fulness of the message of Jesus Christ must be understood if we expect our Heavenly Father's personal, intimate blessing.

King David forgot to follow what we perceive as a law. But something more than God saying, "I said so!" was at work when God instructed David to allow no one to touch the Ark of the Covenant. "...But they must not touch the holy things or they will die..." - Numbers 4:15.

You might recall the story. When they were transporting the ark, one of the men, Uzzah, seemingly in an innocent manner reached to steady the ark but was immediately stricken dead when his hands touched the ark of God.

This has led to speculation. Did David know this law or did he simply forget? Well, the answer was that David knew it because God had told David directly. Had David failed to instruct Uzzah about this command and thus not take care of one who was put under Davids' care? If Uzzah was aware did he really believe it was a specific instruction from God?

Regardless of the implications we know that David thought it was okay to carry the ark the way Uzzah did. And, because of David's lack of truly "hearing" God a man lost his life for his presumption.

Too many of us take the Bible lightly.

We believe we can violate His Word without consequence. Or, perhaps that its directive instruction is not true or relevant to us or to the time in which we live. But the Bible itself says that the Lord stands by (He is at the ready) to uphold His Word.

The Bible can be life, or it can bring death. When God provides instructions, we need to follow them. The Word of God leads to the personal instruction and direction of God for each of us. Knowing this about God brings reverence for our Heavenly Father. David was afraid of God that day and asked, 'How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?' - 1 Chronicles 13:12

We must all have a fearful respect when, like David, God speaks to us to speak through us. For truly, it is life or death.

Do you take God's Word seriously? Is it life or death for you? Does it even register in your heart to devour it daily and discover how the Holy Spirit will use it to revolutionize your life? Do you feed upon His Word daily so that you might know Him and know His instruction and intimate communication to you?

It is my prayer that you understand God's written word as given in the Bible and that it does what it says it will do…give you abundant life in your daily walk…

 I remain...
 InHISgrip,
    ~J~

Built To Be A Blesser

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. - Proverbs 11:24-25

God doesn't need your money. If you have lived in and around church enough of your life you have heard this. But if something, so near and dear to our lives and that takes up so much of our thinking and effort isn't consecrated to Him then what have we learned about how much God cares about us?

Like everything else in the Kingdom of God and associated with this earth, the purpose of money is not as straight forward as we might think. We are provided means to live, to trade, to earn and save as a way of serving others.

In our society God purposed that money should be a means to bless and be blessed by others. It is a way to show love, empathy and caring inside the Body of Christ and to the world. But, it is easy to be insensitive in this area. When we are in a season of lack we withhold money that God has designated for someone else.

Why? We argue that we can't give. Of course, then we have the story of the widows' mite (penny) and yet we reason it away.

No, God wants to bless through us, but His desire cannot be accomplished through us if we are disobedient. Or, to put another way, we can shut off His blessing by a lack of hearing His instructions to us.

This was the case for a business owner who tells of the time when God told him to forego a company bonus one year. God directed him to share his year-end bonus with an employee to show his appreciation for him. He wrestled with God for three full days before obeying the Lord on the matter. When he finally met with the employee to give him his check, the man said he had been praying about a financial need he had three days earlier. He had decided to borrow the money to meet his need. The amount of money he borrowed was the exact amount the business owner gave him. Our Heavenly Father, HIS Heavenly Father had already planned to provide for that man through his boss, the owner. The owner's hesitantly nearly cost him a divine opportunity to be an instrument of God's blessing in the employee's life.

My point? Hearing from God and obeying, is a daily event.

How many people do we let down because we feel the "harvest" God provides is all ours? Or, is it possible that there is a lack in the Body of Christ because we are insensitive to the instruction of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said that we needed the Holy Spirit to come and that in His coming we would be provided Comfort…Can you see how the leading of God's Spirit provides for you and I and provides entry into God's purpose for, not just our intellectual and spiritual life but for our daily living?

And, just a quick thought on Spiritual Succession. Are we teaching the generations to come to be givers? If not, can we truly say we are following the commission given to us to raise up disciples? Heck, for no other reason than someday you will be old and feeble…TEACH YOUR CHILDREN GENEROSITY!

In the USA the pressure is always to get more; to have more. Jesus warned us about this. If our focus is on accumulation, we will not look for opportunities to be God's vessels of financial blessing to others; we will be insensitive to His spiritual leading.

We need open hearts, minds and an adventurers expectation when it comes to just how God will work in your life. We should expect big and unusual experiences. They should be the kind that seem impossible. "But God!" should be the bywords of our daily lives.

Our hands as well as our hearts and minds should be open; open to give and receive. Ask the Lord if you have an open hand when it comes to finances.

I remain…

InHISgrip, ~J~

The Case for a Personal Leading from God

Or, God as Pilot (Note: There is no CO-) By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them.... - Exodus 13:21
  A few days ago, on FaceBook, I posted a sign I had seen in my Internet travels. Essentially it said when we ask God for answers He gives us one of three choices. Those Choices are, A) Yes B) No or C) I have something better in mind.

I've been thinking about that. I am thinking I believe it is true. I also came away with a verum prior, a prior truth. For most Protestant theologians of the 15th through the 19th century truth is built on truth. There is always something that preceded what we now believe to be true. Ultimately, this truth would find its way back to the source of all truth, God Himself.

 In this case, though I am sure those are the three end results of our queries of our Heavenly Father, what I believe to be a prior truth or, perhaps condition would be a better word, is that most of us are not prepared at all for Him to provide us, directly, with answers. Therefore, we substitute a more practical methodology.

At one level our ability to hear from God is tied directly to this question, "How are you at waiting on God?" And then, how do you determine if God is giving you the green light to move forward?

Most believers make the mistake of employing the double column list method where, by adding up all the pluses and deducting the minuses they conclude that God has given them the green light as affirmation outweighs the negatives. If they are sophisticated in this methodology they even conclude under what terms they should move forward.

The actionable reality of this method is this, several factors go into making a decision from the Lord but all of those factors are based on present reality (historical evidence as we interpret it) and not based on the Principles of the Kingdom of God and God's Rule.

I'll make this brief where it deserves much more information; but, here goes…

When we bring a matter before God it's important to do at least three things.

1. First, you should gather facts. Even the great Master Himself (er…Jesus) said a man counts the cost before He moves forward in a life decision. Fact gathering allows you to determine all the realities of a given situation. However, this does not ultimately drive a godly decision, but it can put a stop to it. For instance, if you were planning to build a major roadway and you knew the only way to move forward was to build it through a native people's homeland your decision may be made in advance. (Principle: care and concern for others and their interests should be the greater interest…providing there was no greater or appealing solution they would value.) But the principle is solid; God would not lead you to enter into unrighteous ventures that are harmful to others.

2. Is the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decision? If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm - Psalm 37:23. George Mueller cites that the steps are also "by the Lord." As a connected aside, God puts hedges around us, but many times we bull our way through the hedges under the guise of tenacity and perseverance. This too is unrighteousness. One wise brother in Christ stated that the greatest success we can have is to know when it is time to pull the plug rather than keep forcing a situation. Not all of life's circumstances are eternal. The problem is, because of a lack of time we have had with God, we are not familiar when He personally speaks into our heart. We lack His vision and an eternal perspective on the matter at hand. Practice the presence of God! And, that means actual extended periods of time on your knees, walking alone, looking skyward. It means learning from those who do practice His presence and stay in it themselves.

3. Has the action you believe God wishes you to take been confirmed? God has placed others around us to be used as holy sounding boards to our lives and to our actions; to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own seeming self interests. Paul, in speaking forcefully to the Corinthians once said these words, By the mouth or two or three witnesses shall every word be established - 2 Corinthians 13:1b. This is God's way of keeping us within the hedge of His protection and within earshot of His guiding voice.

I once read these words: "Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser." - anonymous

To this day I remember them nearly daily simply because I am so poor at listening to God. In my haste I go on before Him. In my pride I believe I can figure it out without Him. May you and I both today both slow down, calm down but most all all bend down and listen more often all the time to His guiding voice. It is why you will have the Holy Spirit forever within you; so you may walk with Him and hear His voice. (Yes, forever…check out your New Testament…)

I remain...

InHISgrip,
  ~J~

What Is the Breadth and Width Of Your Life's Calling?

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. - 2 Corinthians 1:6

"God must love you a lot! He doesn't allow someone to go through the kinds of adversity you have experienced unless He has a special calling on your life." Those words were said to me by two different pastors at two different times when I had gone through a place that was a desert place in my life. If you have walked in the Christian life and have had struggles with work, relationships, family, friends or perhaps what it is God wants to do with you I bet you have heard them or some form of them also. Later I would learn another related truth from a respected man of God - a man who lives in another country, a man whom God uses throughout the globe. This man would say, "The depth and width of your faith experiences are directly proportional to your calling." What were these men of God saying? What were they getting at?

They were describing a process of preparation that God takes each of His leaders through when He plans to use them in significant ways. In Full Gospel circles a "faith experience" is an event or "spiritual marker" in your life about which you can say, "That is where I saw God personally moving in my life." It was usually preceded by a place in your life where you either thought or said, "God! Why is it that I cannot figure out what you want to do with me or why you are putting me through this?"

The time I speak of though is an unmistakable event in which God reveals Himself personally and in a very intimate manner to you. It was the burning bush for Moses; the crossing of the Red Sea or the Jordan River for the nation of Israel; Jacob's encounter with the angel with whom he wrestled and sustained a life changing injury. You get the drift. It was the feeding of the 5,000 for the disciples. It was Thomas putting his hands in the wounds of Jesus Christ and it was Paul blinded on a dusty road in the Roman Empire. It was the time when you saw God, and His reality for you might as well have been face to face.

If God has plans of using you in the lives of many others, and you need to know if you are reading this I can nearly guarantee it, you can expect that He is going to allow certain faith experiences to come into your life in order to build a foundation that will be solid. That foundation is what you will be able to look back on to keep you faithful to Him in the times of testing. You will hold on when Satan attacks viciously. Each of us must have personal faith experiences in which we experience God personally so that we can move in faith to whatever He may call us either into to to do to further the Kingdom of God and rightly honor and worship Him. Do you need a personal faith experience right now in your life? Be careful what you ask for but pray that God will reveal Himself to you. He may not do it in some manner you might otherwise think conventional but He delights in doing just that.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Allowing Me Into Your Life

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel - Philippians 1:12-13

Have you ever heard these statements: "Money talks." Or how about this: This is the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules." Both of these statements have a hint of truth in them.

When Jesus was crucified there was a question as to where Jesus would be buried. Those that hurried Him to the cross, designed that He should make His grave with the wicked; that he would be buried with others who had been accused of crimes and that had also been crucified. God designed He should make it with the rich and prophetically had announced this in the Old Testament in Isaiah 53:9 - Though they prepared his grave with the wicked he entered in death with the rich though he had done no violence nor was there found any lie within him.

And so a rich man also named Joseph (like Jesus' earthly father) ensured he had a proper burial. In order for Jesus to be buried with honor, this man of influence was permitted to take the body of Jesus. It seems this man had a personal relationship with Pilate. Thus, we can call this Joseph a man of influence. Ultimately he retrieved the body of our Lord and placed it in a burial plot he owned in a cave that was reserved for the rich.

Joseph of Arimathea was called an honorable counselor, a person of character and distinction, and in an office of public trust; some think it would be comparable to our State Department. That would allow him to be privy to and associated with Pontus Pilate. This post also seems to have been in the Jewish faith and that he was one of the great Sanhedrim of the Jews, or one of the high priest's council.

The Bible says that God desires His people to be the head, not the tail. He prepares us, when we accept and embrace God's instruction through the Holy Spirit to be sensitive to God's leading and to be instructors, teacher's, leaders.

Guys, if we are to influence the our time, our place, the culture that surrounds us, we must be men and women of influence in whom God uses to impact the culture. If you are a successful person, consider the words of Paul when he said, "...what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." Although Paul was referencing adversity in this statement, it can be equally said that each of us needs to ask if our prosperity has served to advance the gospel or our training or our advancement in any area of our life. We need to look to heaven and ask God to reveal to us where our personal leverage and leadership exists. We also need to ask where we have not sharpened the saw of our life or maximized our potential to change lives by allowing God to fully develop our tools, talents, passions and gifts.

Are you using your influence to impact your workplace, city, Body of Christ or even nation for the sake of the gospel? Is there something or some things you have neglected that would change your ability to stand in a place of honor, or, as in Paul's case, apparent dishonor (this to be developed more thoroughly in a future teaching) so that God is glorified and the borders of the Kingdom of God are spread by your efforts and position? What else should you be doing? What two things, right now, do you know for certain you could do that would extend your ability to touch and perhaps bring salvation to lives around you? THINK! :-) - I bet you dollars to donuts that if you spend just 15 minutes in consideration, meditation and prayer over this that the Holy Spirit of God will show you what those two things are...

This is a season of warmth, love, consideration, serving and fellowship. Nothing about giving is more valuable then your compassion spread in a way that would fall naturally within your gifting and position. God's richest blessings to you and may your borders and tents be spread and Jesus arise in you and through you to others like the Daystar of the morning. 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~

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~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expect God to move in just this way.

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

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

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

Walking in the Ointment!

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.... - 1 Samuel 16:13

I recall hearing these words of a country pastor at a David Wilkerson rally as a teenager (Anyone remember The Cross and the Switchblade?), "God desires that you always walk in the ointment!" I recall thinking to myself, "Ewwww!!! God!!! C'mon! - not that!" Well I have since learned there are differences between the ointment that my grandma used to put on everything that ached (and that made me wish I had no olfactory senses) and God's unique and unusual calling in the life of one of his kids.

The anointment or anointing is to be desired by Christians. God does have a plan for your life. It is that you lose it in His and that you do it when He touches you, gives you not only direction but power!

So the question is, how has the Holy Spirit of the Lord rested on your life? And a follow-up, can you recall when God's Spirit began demonstrating His power through you? When was it? Where was it? How did it express itself?

David knew the day the Spirit of the Lord began a special work in him. God's Spirit is different from most leaders. Instead of seeking power and control, He led, provided inner guidance, wisdom and direction in response to a felt and physical need. Instead of being a perfect person, the spirit revealed to David and David learned from mistakes and acknowledged them among those to the nation of Israel.

DAvid caught on. Do not place confidence in your own abilities. And he sought wisdom from the only real wise one and sage, the Lord God Almighty.

Because of his learned sensitivity to the leading of God on his life, this anointing, David never lost a battle. It was true that he failed God by sinning with Bathsheba and by numbering the troops after God told him not to specifically, but King David learned from each misstep. He took his medicine. Sin cost him dearly. But, the Spirit of the Lord never left David. The Holy Ghost never left because David was always tender, sensitive and had his heart and ear bent toward God. David's pride was never greater, in his human mind, than God's call.

So, as Vizzini says in the Princess Bride, "So, now it comes down to you and now it comes down to me." You, if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you have a calling on your life. How are you responding? Tender? Sensitive to God's Spirit? You need to know God will not allow that Spirit to rest on us if we are prideful. If we seek to control outcomes and manipulate out of our need for power or yes, even our of our insecurity. Servant leaders are aware they're only a clay pot in the Master Potters hands. They serve a purpose. They are pliable. They don't value themselves more than they ought but realize that they do have eternal value as long as they stay in HIS grip.

King David's heart, though he was imperfect, belonged totally to His God. Today, with me, let's once more give God our all and commit to having a hearing spirit so the Great Holy Spirit of God may begin His job of leading us into all truth and the adventure of an eternal lifetime!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~