Isaiah

I've been reading through the book of Isaiah, and it has me wondering what a weird guy Isaiah must have been. 

Chapter 20 describes how he walked around naked and barefoot (because it would just be weird if he walked around naked with shoes on) for three years. Here's the guy that we're trusting for our prophecy about everything from the birth of Christ to the end of the world, and he's walking around naked for three years. Granted, God used his nakedness as a picture of what would happen to the Egyptians, but still...

So, here's what I gather from that:

1. People must have thought he was a fruit loop. 

2. He was willing to look like a fool in his obedience to God. 

Sometimes I find it hard to make myself willing to look even a little silly for Him. Are you willing to make a fool of yourself for the cause of Christ? Do you have a boundary in your mind--"I will only stoop this low to obey Him"?

Christmas

So, what does Christmas mean to you...really? And, I don't mean the Sunday School answer. I mean here in the middle of December, what's on your mind when you think of Christmas?

Cool Blog

Check out this story

http://web.mac.com/kevinplaster/iWeb/Russian%20Missions/Blog/F4B01C64-CC7B-4BC9-8C01-C4B895078411.html

Weary of Misery

Judges 10:16 (HCSB)
16 So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, but He became weary of Israel’s misery.

God called His people out of the Wilderness (spiritual immaturity) to the Promised Land (spiritual maturity) for a purpose. They were to conquer the land, throw down strongholds, and move from dependence on God (manna) to faith in the sustaining Word of God (the food of the land). They were successful for a season. They conquered many people. They saw the demise of entire people groups, but they did not complete the job. There is a common phrase found in the history of Israel: “They did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord”.

How many times they fell away from the Lord and came back I do not know. It would take me too long to count. One thing I do know. God gets tired of it. He is longsuffering with His children, but He is not impractical. Judges 10:16 seems to be the first time in the Promised Land that God became fed up.

One thing strikes me. He was not weary of their sin or their sinfulness. I’m sure He was not a proud Father at that moment, but the scriptures show us an insight into God. He was weary with their MISERY.

How many times do we, as believers who have crossed the Jordan into Spiritual maturity, fall away from God and return to Him in sackcloth and ashes. We have made “rededication” a regular part of Sunday. We seem to live in a constant pattern of Spiritual Mountains and Valleys. I can’t help but think in a mature walk with God, those hills and troughs should even about a bit. Our Spiritual life should, at some point, stop looking like a seismograph during an earthquake and start looking like a steady line pulled tighter by an ongoing pursuit of the Blessed Hope, that Glorious Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the potential to do great things for God, but we spend our every waking moment realizing our stupidity, worthlessness, and weakness. We have equated Spiritual Brokenness with Spiritual Maturity. It is important to spend a little time in sackcloth and ashes. It is necessary to understand who we are in relation to God. But, it is for freedom we have been set free. We are not conquerors; nay we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us and gave Himself for us.

This theme is found elsewhere in the Scriptures. Misery is being Lukewarm. If you don’t care about your sin, you are cold. If you are on fire, you are hot. If you care about your sin, do nothing about it, and stay miserable all the time, you are lukewarm. Jesus says in Revelation 4 that people who are lukewarm make Him want to puke. Sounds serious, huh??

God hates our sin. It is antithesis to His holiness. Sin does not compute in the mind of our Holy God (if that makes any sense). But, what makes God weary, what makes Him sad, what causes Him to look at His people and want to try something else, is seeing those whom He has given Victory living in defeat. It is time to understand that we have not traded in our shackles for shame. It is time to grow up and JUST STOP SCREWING UP SO MUCH. Why would anyone want to join a miserable group of people led by a miserable pastor that asks those miserable people to admit how miserable they are every Sunday? God’s greater than that! Know therefore that Yahweh your God is THE GOD, the Faithful God, who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands. Know your God. Know your Victory. Reading this may make you feel miserable. If it does, good. Feel it for a moment and then leave misery for the devil. He’s gonna need it.

Be the Change

Well, we set the woods on fire this last Sunday. I shared with the church what God has been teaching me about “doing the will of Him that sent me”. We talked about starving for that sustenance from God. There was a great move. Many came to the front to openly admit that they are hungry for the food of the Promised Land and not just manna.

For some reason, I got extremely down after that service. All that I hoped would happen did, but it was not enough. I told them how that I expected the Word of God to start a revival, and it caused more movement than usual, but it was not right. Instead of asking people to come to the front, I wanted to say, “Who’s with me?” and lead a charge right out the back door. Once again tradition wins out. (Stinkin’ tradition).

I had high hopes that this message that truly was from God would spark an unstoppable fire in the hearts of the people. But now, I am reminded of a book Kevin Higgins told me about. It’s about a young boy that decided if modern-day slavery was going to be stopped, he would have to do it. It’s called “Be the Change”.

Fires are not started by words or desires, fires are started by fires. Doug Patterson, the one-liner king, said this: If you want to make change in your life, make change in your life. If there is going to be a revival unbeknownst to Henderson occur at LDMBC, it’s not going to happen because I want it to. It’s only going to happen because I start it. Only Passion is truly passionate. I can’t want passion from my church until I find passion in myself. Passion and hunger feel a lot alike. It’s like when someone is found in the desert. They need to slowly drink room-temperature water, but instead they gorge themselves on ice cold water to the point of sickness. I’ve been in the desert, and I’m thirsty.

Real thirsty.

The End Is Near?

Things to think about:

The Move of World Power to Babylon- http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2007/04/want_middle_east_stability_mov.html

A One World Financial Organization-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7724298.stm

Even so Come Quickly Lord Jesus

My Spiritual Food

John 4:31-34 (NKJV)
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

So I was walking around in Lowes this morning looking for a part to a toilet for work. I began, as I most often do, perusing the Home décor aisle. It is a common practice of mine to daydream about my future home. You see, I’ve found myself at a place in my life where I want to settle down. I’m ready to own a home, have real furniture, have a TV I can be proud of, etc. My wife and I are committed to living financially according to the scriptures, so it is taking us a little longer. I find myself yearning for these things. A “real home” with a “real family”. It hurts my heart, I want it so bad.

Recently, our small group studied John 4:31-34. This particular verse has spoken to me many times, but it was in Lowes that I understood its true meaning. While dreaming of my front door and my deck, I suddenly became overwhelmed with what felt like shame. I felt as if I had a hole in my chest thinking that my “grown-up life” would never come. Then it hit me: This is what I desire more than anything. I desire a typical American home with all the amenities. I desire something to call my own. I desire a deck, a pool, an enormous grill, a new bedroom suite, a zero-turn lawn mower, and most of all security. I desire a life that is relaxed, filled with consistency and order. The Holy Spirit asked me, “How does this have anything to do with why I called you?”

The truth is that it had nothing to do with it. Somehow my calling had become a calling to preaching once a week, teaching a Sunday school class, and teaching a church to grow. All of these are ok, but they are not the calling of Cory Wayne Page. Any monkey with a church growth book can teach a church to grow. We have had a 15 person increase in Sunday school just by offering breakfast! As of November 10^th, 2008, I lead a very low-impact life. I am ashamed at how much I want worldly security. I am ashamed at the way I’ve turned my back on the God that called to turn the world upside down and settled for a life of comfort. When was the last time I witnessed to someone? When was the last time I wanted to? What am I seeking to fill me? I’m called to be different dangit! I’m called, not because I’m called to preach, to live a life where people look at me and think, “How in the world is he living that way. It doesn’t make sense”. I should live in such a way that I can say, “I have sustenance that you cannot imagine. I am fulfilled by doing the will of Him that sent me. I am called out by the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am called to be as bold as Daniel, and as passionate as Paul.”

I want eyes that desire to see God. I want a heart that desires to know God. I want a stomach that longs to be filled with God. I want hands and feet that long to touch God. I want to be hungry for that food that only comes from Him that sent me. I want to taste that spiritual manna that is as sweet as honey on my tongue. I want, I want, I want, I want, I want……..I guess that was the problem in the first place.

I Need.

---

Is God Enough?

We sing songs about how God is more than enough for our every need. We read stories of how God's children trust Him for everything. When it comes down to it, is God really enough?

I've been reading through Job this week...poor guy. If everyone your family suddenly died and all your possessions were taken, would you still trust God to supply for your needs? 

If your dreams were shattered, would God fulfill your yearning? If your spouse stopped loving you, would His love be enough? If the world looked down on you, would esteem in His eyes be enough? 

I'm not sure I have made it to the point in my life where God is truly enough for all of me. I think I still have a "God and..." attitude.

Posted by Jessica Page

A follow up to yesterday's post

I totally agree with the quote I posted yesterday. Our prayers should be gritty and personal and specific. My question, as usual, has to do with the employment of this practice in our everyday lives. 

I can pray with pinpoint precision about my needs because I know them. But, how am I to pray for my brothers and sisters if I don't spend time talking with them about the personal and the gritty? I have to know the gritty needs of others before I can pray specifically for them. 

And that leads to this question: How do you get down to the gritty and personal with a people who are uncomfortable with personal? Everyone I know has "trust issues." 

What can we do to become a church that shares the personal and gritty (what I think a church was intended to be)? 

Praying with Purpose

Check out this quote from Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers by Will Davis: 

• Have you ever listened to how we pray? It’s like Christians have developed their own prayer language, and I don’t mean the ecstatic kind. Lord, please bless Bill.What exactly do we mean by that? Do we want God to make Bill more holy or more disciplined? Are we hoping that his business will prosper or that he’ll be a better husband? And why do we ask for blessing when Ephesians 1:3 says that we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing that God can give? God, please be with Joan. God’s already with Joan. His Spirit lives in her, and he promised to never leave for forsake her. What do we really want God to do for Joan? Father, we pray that you give Jack a special anointing. As if there is such a thing as an ordinary anointing. Special anointing is redundant. And, God, we ask that you give Sue and extra helping of your grace. What is that? Does God dole out grace in measured proportions? That prayer makes God seem as if he has a big serving spoon - that he can be either generous or stingy with the helpings of grace he dispenses.
• God wants us to be strategic and focused about what we’re asking him to do. We need to pray for things - very specific things, gritty things, personal things, important things, kingdom things - with the pinpoint precision that Jesus modeled in the Lord’s Prayer.

What should we be specifically praying for this week? 

Posted by Jessica Page

Conflict: Satan's Warning Signal

"Change is the seedbed for conflict"
These are wise words that we should remember. Conflict is not always a bad thing. It causes us to either change for the better or become reassured in what we are doing. Many times change occurs because someone's territory is being threatened. We can all say that we understand that Satan has had territory in our church. It has rocked along for a while with very little growth causing us to become very introverted. The Great Commission is extroverted.
Let us be encouraged that conflict has begun. Without it we could wonder hopelessly at whether or not we are finally taking back God's territory. We know for sure now. We are as the Israelites slowly taking the Promised Land. They fought people after people and even fought amongst themselves. You cannot take territory with a passion that is God ordained without conflict.
Praise God for the proof.
Conflict is Satan's warning signal. He is telling us, "You'd better stay back. You're on my land and I've got a gun". Forget him. He stinks!

IF THIS BE OF GOD

In Acts 5:33-42, the Jews were trying to stop the growth of the New Testament Church. A wise man from the enemies side said this, "Other men have risen up and started revolutions and failed. Leave these men alone, because if what they are doing is of GOD, you cannot overthrow it anyway."

Many allow themselves to become naysayers in the face of growth AND EXCITEMENT. Let them talk to themselves. If this be of God, they have no power over it. If God be for us who can be against us?

I Can Smell It

“God is changing the church, and that, in turn, will change the world. Millions of Christians around the world are aware of an imminent reformation of global proportions. They are saying in effect: ‘Church as we know it is preventing church as God wants it.’ Amazingly, many are hearing God say the same thing to them.” --Wolfgang Simson (Houses That Change the World).

Something at this church is about to explode. I can smell it. And, I am excited about it! Church, as we know it, is about to change.

Maybe Not Asia

Paul was on a roll. He was leading people to Christ and starting churches left and right. It only made sense to keep going a certain direction and go into Asia. On his way, the angel of the Lord withstood him. He did not allow him to go the way he wanted or the way that made the most sense. Instead, God needed him to go to Macedonia.

Sometimes, common sense is not God sense. What are some times in your life when you had to choose between Common Sense and God Sense?

New Mercies

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning." -Lamentations 3:22-23

How have His mercies been new to you today or this week?

Clarity

I stole this from John Piper's blog post at desiringgod.org. My question follows his post.

C. S. Lewis’ advice to children on writing is good advice to pastors on preaching, or anybody on talking.

• Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else.
• Always prefer the clean direct word to the long, vague one. Don't implement promises, but keep them.
• Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean "More people died" don't say "Mortality rose."
• In writing, don't use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is "terrible," describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers "Please, will you do my job for me."
• Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

(Originally published in Letters to Children, letter from June 26, 1956. Quoted in Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root in The Quotable Lewis, p. 623.)

My question: Would more people want to know our Jesus if we focused on simple clarity when talking about Him?

Post by Jessica Page.

Kid's Kamp

Well, we had a good week of camp. There were 15 professions of faith, and many other decisions. I had the opportunity to pray with a few children. There was little movement with our group, and there should have been. The devil used many distractions that are obvious to you and me, but new to these kids. Pray for our children that they might be saved. They ALL are so close. Thanks for your prayers.
Cory---out

A Word of Prophecy

The book of Zechariah tells of a woman (symbol of sin) weighted down by an ephah of silver (symbol of financial power) and held in a large grain basket (symbol of economic power)being carried to the land of Shinar (a.k.a. Babylon). Many believe this shows that the center of political power will be shifted to the Middle East. While in Iraq, my brother was stationed in Babylon and saw the new temple Saddam was building. He believed himself to be a descendant from the great Nebucchadnezzar. Check out this website and see what you think. We may fund the whole thing.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2007/04/want_middle_east_stability_mov.html

Would any part of the Bible seem wrong to you if you didn't already know it was Biblical?

A fellow blogger posed this question and I wanted to hear from you.

If Bible passages had been blog posts, are there any that you’d have suggested the author sleep on before he hit publish?

Progressive yet Unchanging

While the Christian walk is progressive, it is also unchanging. This seems to contradict itself. I was reading in Matthew and saw the time John the Baptist was in prison. He was about to lose his head for taking a strong moral stand. He had heard of the miracles Jesus was doing and wanted some of his disciples to make sure Jesus really was the Christ. John, who had seen the miracles firsthand, who had seen the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove, and who himself claimed Jesus to be the "Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world", now questioned Jesus. Jesus did not scold him or degrade him. He simply said this to John's disciples, "Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: the blind recieve their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them". Many times, we make the Christian walk so "progressive" that we create guilt in those who try and don't see progress. Jesus encourages us here to remember that which we already know. Worship again in that which caused you to worship in the good times. He could tell us to kill ourselves seeking newer and greater things, but instead He just says, "relax and remember". Praise God

Lessons from Vomitting and Diarrahea (ooo gross)

Some events in the past week have caused me to remember a verse in Jeremiah. It says,

"If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot."

Between Wednesday and Sunday about 90% of our church "shared" a stomach bug. Many had something inside them and had no choice about holding it in or not. They just shared it. Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, became fed up with giving a gospel to a people who would not take it. He constantly tried to tell them to change their ways, but they would not. He finally decided to quit, and something inside of him caused him to say those words.
O, that God would give us the fire so we would not have a choice. No. O, that we would not hinder the fire in us from burning to the point that it would remove our choice. How might we be "quenching the Spirit?", and what might we do about it?

The Pursuit of God

"The soul’s paradox of love is to have found God and still pursue Him" A.W. Tozer

I love my wife. I have apprehended my wife. I still desire to continue to pursue my wife as a new lover.(or I should)

I can be exhausted after a day's work outside in the heat and drink enough water to feel physical pain, yet still desire more water.

I can eat my favorite food until I am too full to breathe, yet I want more.

We have come to the belief as a people that salvation is the pinnacle of our Christian walk. We have attained God. Just as in an unhealthy marraige, we do no longer pursue Him as a "lover of our youth". How many sitcoms poke fun at the ignorant man who does not seek his wife? It is our version of comedy, yet it speaks volumes of our overall idea of what a relationship with God should be like. We say that a person needs to accept salvation (a term which is not used in the Bible), and it leaves the idea that they will have accepted wholly the God who saves them. I understood that when I was married, I would have a lifetime of new discovery. I did not understand that it would be the same with God.
Paul explains this idea in Philippians 3-
12 Not that I have already reached [the goal] or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly [b] call in Christ Jesus.

We have not grabbed God, He has grabbed us. Our life is then to be spent seeking to put both arms around God and hug Him with a love grounded in worship for the awesome gift of salvation. Do we pursue God?

I Need Answers

What do you think is the largest physical hinderance to our church's growth?

Spiritual hinderance?

In The World You will have Tribulation

This is a phrase that is often questioned. Why should we have tribulation? Where will we find tribulation? In our world today, what does tribulation look like? In order to understand why and what, we must understand a few things.

1. Look at God. He is a holy and righteous God. It is His desire for us to be Holy (Be ye holy as I am holy). The only way to burn away the chaff is with struggle. There is a couple in our church who are dealing with an unforseen situation with their son. One person asked me, why should this happen to such great people? I think that they are so wonderful at their christian walk that they are truly ready for the next level. Paul said it this way, "Therefore I delight in my infirmities, in my weakness... for when I am weak, He is made strong". Tribulation is a cleansing process.

2. Look at us. We are a dual-natured creature. Inside each child of God is a new regenarated man that cannot sin and a fleshly nature that is not subject to the laws of God, neither indeed can be. Tribulation, at times is the natural struggle between these two entities. Why am I in such a bad mood? Because I am allowing my soul to be vexed by my soul.

3. Look at Satan. He walks around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is always on the prowl, seeking those children of GOd who desire to serve Him. At times, tribulation is the struggle against evil spiritual forces in our lives. In our culture, the idea of spiritual forces is over looked, and I think this works to Satan's advantage. Be aware. Walk circumspectly.

What's the deal with tribulation for God's children? It is absolutly necessary. The real wuestion is: Am I experiencing tribulation?

A Quick Note

Just a few quick things:

1. I love doing this blog. When School is out and I am able to find more time with internet access, I plan to make it weekly for sure. Pray that it will become a sounding board for thinking in our church.

2. Pray for Bruce. The constant grind of being bi-vocational is wearing on a man. Many do not understand the amount of work that goes into even one of the greatest churches.

3. Pray for our church and missions. I have been burdened to see a few changes made, but changes are always slow going. It is not enough to change a process if minds aren't changed with it, so pray for our church.

Zerubbabel???

Zerubbabel is not the most famous of Israel's leaders. He led the forst group back from Babylon to begin rebuilding the temple. He did a great job at first, but then the opposition came. A certain group of men tricked the new king into issuing a decree halting building on the temple. A certain verse of Scripture spoke to my heart. "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Sheltial and Jeshua the son of Jozedak and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them" Ezra 5:1-2
What would our world be like if we allowed ourselves to so clearly hear the Word of God. We hear it in every sermon, every time we read our Scriptures, and every time we stop and pray. What are we doing with it?
Two verses come to mind: "To him that knoweth what is right and doeth it not, to him it is sin" and "For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was".
Let's be doers, no, extreme lovers of the Word of God. Let's allow our hearts and attitudes to be moved as quickly as Zerubbabel.

Just a Little Something to Argue About (He He)

The sermon last night on Revelation 5 led to some interseting conversation about the rapture of the saints. The idea that we will taken out before the tribulation is the most prevalent view. There are reasons for that that I will not discuss. I personally feel that scripture shows us that we will be here to see it. These are just things for you to consider, I'm am not bothered if you think differently. A healthy discussion is the best way to gain knowledge.
1. God, at every other point in history, saw fit to allow His people to go through great tibulation and persecution.
2. Revelation aside, II Thessalonians 2 is written by Paul because they had been told that the end had already come and they missed it. It teaches that it will not occur except a. a great falling away occurs b. The antichrist be revealed c. The antichrist is seen in the Temple setting himself up as God.
3. In Matthew 24, known as the Olivet Discourse, Jesus tells us that the generation that sees the beginning of the end will see it all.
I know that there are other verses that can be used for the other argument, but in the light of this passage, they may have to be rethought. Just something to think about.
What do you think?

Being Filled With the Holy Spirit 2

You guys seem to have a firm grasp on this concept. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is being Spirit led. This requires submission to His will, the desire to have knowledge of His will (i.e. the Bible), and the attempt not to quench the Spirit. But, you said that already. Let's be Spirit filled!!!

Being Filled With the Holy Spirit

Just a question: What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? I know I have the Holy Spirit because I am saved, and yet in New Testament we see people being filled with the Holy Spirit. Before I comment on this, I would like to know what you think.

I read a wonderful story today in the book of Revelation. It is usually shrouded in mystery, so I was surprised when I saw such a tender story. In the first chapter, John stands in the presence of Jesus Christ. His beauty is too much to tell and His voice was like a trumpet. Not in reverence, but in complete fear he fell before Jesus and would not lift his head. It says then that Jesus placed His right hand on John and said, "Fear not, for I am the first and the last, Amen, and have the keys of death and hell."
I can remember a few occasions that I fell before God. Sometimes it was physically on my knees and sometimes it was in my heart in a crowded room, but I was beneath Him all the same. Sometimes it was in worship at His greatness and sometimes it was in fear because of the wickedness in my life. No matter the reason, He has always kept His promise and has never left me comfortless. It amazes me that a Great and Almighty God, who is the First and the Last, who holds the keys of death and Hell, in whom all things are made and consist, who is the express image of the Father in heaven, in whom all the fullness of God saw fit to inhabit, who was in the beginning and who was the beginning would reach out His hand to someone the likes of me, a sinner by nature and by choice, and place it on my shoulder each and every time I need it as if to say , "I love you and will always sustain you, no matter the situation. Fear not MY CHILD."
Praise You God!!!

Frustrating the Farmer

I heard an intersting analogy today. "You can take a plant and give it water and light, and it will grow. What you can't do is smack the plant around and tell it to grow." It seems that my focus has become to see our church grow, and rightly so. There is nothing wrong with growing, in fact, we must grow to carry on the work of God. The problem arises when church growth is th goal. We, namely I, must worry less about trying to convince the plant to grow and worry more about feeding and watering the plant. If we focus on that, the plant will naturally grow. All that will come of a man telling a plant to grow is frustration. Pray for our church, that our goals will be God's goals, and our growth will be growth given by God. "One plants, one waters, but God give the increase!"

Another Time and Another Place

Very rarely am I moved to tears anymore. I was sitting in the office doing homework (Hebrew/boo, hiss) with the radio on in the background. An older song came on by Sandi Patti, so I decided to continue ignoring it. Then came the chorus:
So, I'm waiting for another time and another placeWhere all my hopes and dreams will be capturedWith one look at Jesus' faceOh, my heart's been burnin'My soul keeps yearnin'Sometimes I can't hardly waitFor that sweet, sweet somedayWhen I'll be swept awayTo another time and another place
These words drove me to my knees. Suddenly i couldn't contain the tears. Praise God that one day there won't be this body with its sinful desires to deal with anymore! Praise God that every relationship in Heaven will be perfect, not because it is Heaven but because we will be in the overpowering presence of the Almighty God! Praise God that through His grace, He qualified us to be shareholders in the inheritance of the the saints of light. To begin to understand what our reward will be is to begin down a path of complete misunderstanding, but I'm going to try, because it feels so good. Thank You God!

Full Knowledge

So I was reading Colossians the other day and I found something interesting. Paul prayed, in 1:9, that they would be "filled with the knowledge of His will". The word in the Greek means the "full knowledge" or "complete understanding". We can know fully what God has for us in His will each day!!! He wanted them to know fully the will of God so that they could "increase in the knowledge of God". This literally means in the Greek to "grow in the FULL KNOWLEDGE (same word, you guessed it) of God". This tells me that we have not yet come to a place where we can know God fully. In Romans, it says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". That glory is when we meet Christ and see Him as He is because we will be like Him!!!

So often, we treat knowing the will of God the same as knowing God. So many people in the church of today do very little because they "don't know enough" or "aren't spiritual enough". We cannot be expected to know God enough, but we can know His will and His will is for each member of His Body to be doing something for Him. Seek the will of God and you will find it.

Worship

I think a lot about worship, having spent many hours leading "worship" services. Until I began to study, I believed I had a clue about what it really is. Worship, in the Scriptures, always tells of falling down before thing, be it God or something else. The Old Testament word tells of depressing yourself down to the ground, and the New Testament word tells of falling prostrate. It was interesting to me that nearly every time someone worshiped God in the Old Testament, it was a direct cause to something God had just done. God would give a victory in battle, cause a revival, or show His goodness in some way. One particular time in the scripture, a certain man did not worship in response to God's actions. In fact, he worshiped at a time of very little action on God's part.
Job was a good man that suddenly lost everything: his cattle, servants, and children. In the trying moments after this devastating loss Job "rent his mantle, shaved his head, fell down on the ground, and worshiped the LORD." He understood a certain truth about God. We like to make our worship conditional, choosing to worship when God blesses us or shows us His glory. Job truly understood God's sovereignty. "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Let us pray this week that God would prove His sovereignty to us in such a way that we will worship His holy name with or without a "pie in the sky" life.

A Crack in the Armor

Bruce made a comment the other day that has had me thinking quite a bit on Satan. From the vantage point of a pastor, we can see many different issues going on in the church. It is obvious that Satan is running rampant since we showed our new vision for the church. At first, it caused both of us great grief; but after some thought, we realized this should be no surprise. Satan is always at work, walking around as a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour. On August 1st, the I 35w bridge collapsed in Minnesota, killing 13 people. It was caused by a defect in the structure. This defect was seen in 1990 but the warnings went unheeded. Over time, crew continued to add weight to the bridge, concrete on concrete. The weak area was pushed to its limit, and down came the bridge.
While Satan is not all-knowing, he makes it his business to search out our weak points. He will find what is vulnerable and exploit it. The lion does not seek the gazelle in the middle of the herd. He seeks the one on the outside, alone. There is power in numbers; this is what Christians call accountability. No matter how strong you are, we are moving into the next phase of our church's history. Satan will seek out your weak points, your secret sins. Find someone that can be trusted to know these sins and can hold you accountable. Remember, that great bridge would still be standing if only they would have put one more piece of steel on top of the one that failed.