A vision of a church…..

"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height, and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

In my search of a home church in which to fellowship with other believers, I have come across many 'models' that dot the landscape of the non-denominational or denominational flavoring of the Body of Christ. I have been to a Methodist, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, Charismatic, Protestant, Covenant, Seeker friendly and a host of other 'name-brand' churches. There have been new ones, old ones, fairly young ones and ones that exists in various 'rental' buildings….mega and small. I have heard postmodern doctrine, name-it-claim-it doctrine, healing doctrine and biblical based teaching. I have been recognized in some, ignored in others and treated indifferently in many. And, deep in my heart, as I grow in my faith…passionate in my calling…and firm in my convictions, I haven't found a church that makes me feel like I am where God is.

Pastor Tom of Thrive Church made me think when he recounted conversations with those looking for a home fellowship coming to a common theme: Life-giving.

I would add a word to that: sustained Life-giving.

Every church that I have belonged to since my coming to Christ in 2004 have been 'life-giving' for a period of time, until you reach a level in your faith or in your beliefs that either expose the corruption of a human-based corporate model that is often the church mode of today's western Christianity or the absence in the messages of the 'other' half of the story. You will either belong to a clique or become excluded and disillusioned with the congregation….and slowly drift away. Or come across a doctrine introduction that goes against your understanding and rather than explore it and find the good in it, you find yourself isolated from discussion…..and leave wounded.

I know Pastors who are passionate about reaching those lost, discipling those who are found and cast a vision of god-like portions that are disconnected from their congregations because of the sheer size. I know congregations and leaderships that ignore the empowered and called among their own people and cast a wide net across oceans to find a 'like-minded' person to become an associate or other labeled pastor. I have come across leadership councils that ignore the person and label the need according to a formula that doesn't fit the situation and end up disassociating the wounded soul because of cookie-cutter mentalities.

I have been in congregations where the pastoral teaching has upset me, has even angered my sensibilities and those where I have been made to feel coddled and coaxed. I have gone away from some upset, only to spend time in the word and admitting it is something that I needed to hear and confront in myself rather than unbiblical teaching..other times to find that the teaching isn't biblically sound and leaves gaping holes in the truth…and therefore are questionable in the teaching.

Is it possible to find such a church in today's postmodern world? Is it possible to find a church where the agendas of individuals are hung at the door and true fellowship is not only taught but lived…..where it is not a 'place to go two or three days a week' but a place where we are welcomed no matter the day or time? Where someone welcomes us with true friendship, delighted to see us and truly happy that we've come seeking God in fellowship?

Where a Pastor only has to worry about preaching the word of God, not whether it will attract people and keep them in the seats? Where nothing matters more than the Truth being told, God being sought and life being lived….abundantly and organically….by each and every person who declares its walls their fellowship home.

Is there or can it be gathered together, a church where….the moment you pull into the parking lot, walk to the entrance and step across the threshold of its physical walls…you feel as if you are walking through the torn veil of the Holies of Holies and coming into the presence of God?

Or have the walls of Jerusalem fallen to the attacks of the enemy and the true face of God has become hidden from a deceptive and sinful people, bent on the building of their own destruction because of the grieving of the Spirit and the dilution of the Truth? Has the bride begun to dress herself in tattered, torn and soiled garments under the illusion of its beauty? Do we play church, pointing to the illusionary happiness that the massive congregation shows on Sunday mornings and the mega-sized buildings we create?

The common thought is that the church exists to preach the gospel to the lost….and that thinking governs the thinking…the programs…and the style of message. The apostle Paul said that 'faith comes from hearing the message'…..and we've contextualized it with our twentieth century definition of the phrase….but Paul meant and the first century audience understood that it was 'to understand' the message, not merely hear it. What if the church has missed its commission…rather than preaching the message to have it heard, it is supposed to preach the message for its understanding?

What kind of church would that be?

A church that disciples its membership rather than keeps them entertained, a church that commits people to the ministry rather than owning the ministry it controls. Jesus said that His Word was life-giving, rather than life-described. The apostle John, Jesus' beloved apostle, used the Greek concept of logos….the ultimate source of rational order and knowledge when he speaks of the Word. A church that preaches the logos of the Word would automatically disciple and equip those who call it home, fellowship and community.

Life-giving…..that is what the psalmist says of the Word of God…."the heavens were made" by its utterance…..it judges, discerns and sustains all things in a life-giving embrace…and in the song of creation its echo is heard, day after day…..

And in the flesh, the Word became the salvation for the whole of mankind…..and commissioned its disciples to boldly proclaim its good news to the world.

And the church was to be the intentional mouthpiece to the rules and authorities in the culture of the world, leading people through the disciples it sends forth to saving grace and holy living through the transformational impact of redeemed image-bearers of Christ through their testimony.

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 3:9-10)

That is what church is supposed to be and many visions are started in the form of a church to make it reality…..but then budgets, legal liability and greed (human constructs) invade the dream, deaden the vision and soon the world flocks to its doors because the church has no longer shaped the culture to God's Word but surrendered to its self-serving interests.

The only way to have a church that is what the bridegroom wants is to be supernatural in its mission, dedicated in its intentionality and wholly surrendered to God….refusing to settle for less than a supernatural life-giving relationship with its Creator and bridegroom…….stepping out into the potential that He has already endowed it with.

Refusing to settle for high congregational numbers, big budget productions and instead surrendering to the individual….in life-giving community. To do otherwise is to settle for a lukewarm Christian walk….and we already know what Christ will do with lukewarm water like that….

So….what would a church who is fulfilling the mission statement of Christ be like?

On fire, reckless and fearless….because God would be at the helm.

Yesterday I stood in the parking lot of a dead-lukewarm church with the thousands of 'members' happily listening to their pastor speak of God….while I tried to deal with a locked car because of "legal liability" that prevented the church from walking alongside me…..two families out of the thousands asked if they could call someone, drive my family somewhere…..one lady walked by and laughingly said, "God really needs to help you now." To which I responded, "God has to because this church won't."

Today I sat in the meeting room of the community center that a new church plant is using and listened to a pastor speak of his vision for a church that was a mosaic of what Christianity is…..

Which one do you think was more life-giving?

 

Seven Threads of Evidence: Regis Nicoll/February 28,2008 reprinted on Breakpoint September 24, 2009

Soul Juice: a ministry of AllAboutGod.com: Carolyn Baker/September 24, 2009

 

upon the ruins of Jerusalem's walls...discouragement is not of God's people

Before I begin my blog today, I just wanted to post a call to prayer from George from Worthy News Ministries that he put on the bottom of his devotional today: In times such as these, we need to focus more and more on Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) and call upon our Father’s mercy and grace in the days ahead………

Friends, this is a warning to all of us -- it is time to PRAY!!!

We have entered into the time period on the Hebraic calendar between Rosh HaShana (Head of the Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which is known as the Days of Awe. It dawned on me this morning that perhaps this year will give new meaning to the term. I'm not sure if you realize it but this week's events have the potential of changing the course of history as we know it. As believers, we need to be united in prayer more than ever before.

Thursday: Obama will become the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council. He is expected to push a UN nonproliferation resolution which is designed to bring all nations into a binding agreement. In the resolution it calls for the right of all states to pursue peaceful nuclear energy -- including Iran. It also calls for all states to sign Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) agreement. This is key because Israel is one of four nations that still has not signed the agreement and understandably so, since the UN is so biased against the Jewish state. (Personal note: it is interesting that Obama would push this stance with the speeches given by Iran’s and Libya’s leaders that accuse the world’s nations of handling them as second-rate nations. Iran still continues to claim a non-military use for the military grade uranium that it is making….)

Friday: A G-20 economic summit representing 85% of the world's economy will be led by President Obama in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. Muslims will be gathering for their first ever "prayer meeting" where there are expected to be up to 50,000 to be in attendance.
Please keep these points in prayer this week and don't forget to keep us in your prayers here in Israel as well.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Currently in the Negev Desert, Israel

Last night I had a prompting of the Spirit to go to church….a surprising development given my recent church history and the struggle I am having with risking myself in another fellowship, though I have met and worshipped with a range of styles since moving back to Canton from Holly. From the comfortable to the new……each has its own disappointments and encouragements, style and worship but each has a biblically sound teaching platform.

A friend on Facebook, the pastor of Thrive Church in Texas, mentioned that in conversations with other families in similar stages of searching for a home church that one phrase kept cropping up….and it perfectly describes my heartfelt desire for the next home God leads us to in this season of the journey: Life-giving.

Neither Mosaic A2 (the new church plant in Ann Arbor) or Life Church in Canton had Wednesday night programs when I checked their websites; Life was going to the North Pointe church, my friend Chris Birtles’ church that I will attend on Saturday (I have experience with NP, and the River of Faith was under the campus leadership of one of NP’s brothers), on some ‘ultra-church’ field trip for some of the youth, but there was nothing else.

Only Berean Bible Church, my friend Tim’s church, had Wednesday night programs: Awana for the two fifth graders and a middle school program called Thrive for the other two…..and a bible study for the men.

With the kids settled into their respective programs, I was directed to the men’s bible study group….They were doing a study on a book written by Dr. David Jeremiah on the book of Nehemiah. The topic for last week was fear……this week, it was discouragement.

God, indeed, in His wisdom and provision knew exactly what I needed to be reminded of and how to send me in the direction of where it would be spoken.

Nehemiah is told by Hanani, one of his brothers, who came from Judah that “those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
Nehemiah was distressed about the condition of his people and his capital city…..and fasted praying to God about this burdening sorrow:

“"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king.” Nehemiah 1:5-11 (NIV)

Nehemiah was an employee of King Artaxerxes, and was held in good regard apparently as we can tell by the King’s reaction when Nehemiah sees him after this tragic news; a) that he would notice his servant’s unhappiness and sorrow, b) He would ask why instead of exercising the option to kill him because he was unhappy near the King and c) He would not only give permission but provision and equip Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. As Nehemiah departed, he recognized God’s hand in even a pagan’s heart to affect the work that He had burdened His servant for.

God has shown me time and time again that He will provision in amazing and logic-defying ways His servants for the work He’s enticed them to join with Him in.

Nehemiah organizes and sets forth to undertake the rebuilding of the capital city’s walls……He gives an accounting of who did what in Chapter 3. Such work wasn’t embraced by all of the pagan people in the area….most ridiculed the Jewish people…..Sanballat the Horonite, in front of his associates and the army of Samaria, was incensed and angry saying…”What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?" Tobiah the Ammonite joked even more, “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"

And even as the work progressed, nearing completion, it raised even more dissention among the pagan enemies of Israel…..Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod began plotting against Jerusalem and its people.

God has brought it about as I progress under the teaching and instruction of the Holy Spirit opposition and ridicule from those opposed or not in sync with God’s word or purpose and have come against me as I push against the ‘corporate mentality’ of the postmodern church………..

Dr. Jeremiah points out four temptations that are usually the precursor to the sin of discouragement……

1) Fatigue, mental and/or physical.

2) Frustration.

Nehemiah 4:10-11 The people of Judah…faced with opposition from the pagan nations surrounding them as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem cry out, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall. Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

These first two can usually go hand-in-hand, one on top of the other….as you get frustrated, you get tired or as you get tired, you get frustrated. The builders were facing the ridicule of enemy nations and turned to the pile of rubble before them, lamenting that no apparent progress had been made….and time was running out in their opinion before an enemy would attack them.

3) Failure (fear or attitude of failure)

Also in v10 above, the Israelites show the fear of failure, that they aren’t going to be able to build fast enough to thwart the enemy………

4) Fear

Nehemiah 4:11-12. “Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work." Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."”

They didn’t know when the enemy would attack and knew that when it came, they would be overwhelmed with no protective walls…..

Discouragement is the antithesis of what God built us to be and what the rebirth of salvation delivers into our hearts as we continue the journey towards the gates of the New Jerusalem……and the battle grows more intense, the enemy seems to have superior forces arrayed against the children of God.

We elect politicians who mouth godly intentions while their actions draw us further and further away from God’s plan…..we speak the truth, that Christ is the only way to salvation and are twisted into a corner with the new definition of tolerance…..more and more faithful are falling to false doctrines, couched with enough gospel verses to sway the shallow believer and beset the more mature, we label them good under the banner of ‘love’ and condemn those who are led astray……more and more third world countries are under the battle of fatigue, hungry and persecution with more and more believers imprisoned, tortured and killed for the refusal to turn from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…….future generations will never breath air because of the increased support of the secular world of abortion and the legislative laws bring us to a ‘master race’ mentality of who is allowed to breath air and who must die, be controlled and prevented from giving birth and more discriminatory, punishing legislation being passed to restrict Christianity……the economy is floundering and the governmental answer is to indebt the future generations…..

We are in discouraging times and the division between the pilgrims of this world and its permanent inhabitants grows daily in ways that years ago we would have scoffed at the possibilities……as we look at the rubble of what was once our protection in the secular world…once so bold and strong in the lives of the people…now lying tumbled and burn upon the ground, we are turning more and more away from the God of our faith and depending upon the workings of man and the ‘religious’ leadership that proclaims a stunted gospel….love everyone and we’ll all get to heaven in our own ways, don’t be offensive and above all, don’t speak absolute truth….define what truth is for you and allow that to be your guide.

Is it any wonder why more and more Christians are falling into apostasy? We believe in strength in numbers and gather ourselves into mega-churches we run like businesses…afraid of not making our ‘budgets’ and looking for spectacular and inviting ways to draw more ‘tithe’ givers of financial strength into our pews. We look less and less to healing those who are wounded, discipling those who are looking, and empowering those who have become apostles into commissioning others into the faith.

And we say, “Look, it’s obviously working…..the money is fine and the service is drawing more and more into our doors! We had to add “ADDITIONAL” services!!!!!”

The remnant is becoming disillusioned by the remaining rubble that lies around the modern church and is giving in to discouragement as the enemies of God’s plan threaten persecution and destruction…….there is just too much to do, there’s just too few to do it, and the enemy is making progress despite our best efforts!!

We all need to step into the story of Nehemiah and look to his example of how ‘sold-out-to-God’ people fight against discouragement. As Dr. Jeremiah points out, there are five God-given weapons to combat the enemy’s plan against the plan God has burdened His people with:

1) Cry out to God.
2) Continue to do the work God has called us to do.
3) Concentrate on the ‘big picture.’
4) Claim the encouragement provided in the promises God has given.
5) Carry the burdens of others as they carry your burdens….don’t carry your own.

”Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.” Nehemiah 4:4-5 (NIV). Nehemiah doesn’t complain about the insults against him or the people but against God’s plan….giving it to God to handle in His way.

Even as the enemies grumbled and threatened, Nehemiah and his countrymen continued to follow God’s plan full-heartedly, building 25,000 yards (25 football fields) worth of wall half of its original height. Nehemiah 4:6.

He expected and prepared his people for the attacks against the people, rallying them with the encouragements that God had promised His children and walked as he talked, giving all he had in dedication to the call God had placed upon him….

“"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!" So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day." Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.” Nehemiah 4:14b-23 (NIV)

When he would be discouraged, when he would be burdened by the task, Nehemiah did not isolate himself and take his portion..wishing for more. He bore the burdens of his people, making their burdened problems and situations his own. He led, again, as he spoke…giving his full focus and effort to the purpose God had set him to. He reinforces the vision with his dedication…inspiring the people through carrying their burdens and affecting change as he was given the authority to do. But he went further, sacrificing his own for the sake of his people:

“Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain." Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine." Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others." When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, "You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!" So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say. So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil." "We will give it back," they said. "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!" At this the whole assembly said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land. Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.” Nehemiah 5:1-18 (NIV)

As Nehemiah progressed in the purpose to which God had set his heart to, he was more and more wary of the attack of the enemy…..Shemaiah tried to make Nehemiah give up because of intimidation….telling Nehemiah “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you----by night they are coming to kill you.” (Nehemiah 6:5 NIV). Shemaiah had been hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to create a bad name for Nehemiah and discredit his words of encouragement…..

How often do we, in the body, do the same thing…..we follow those leaders who whisper that we are being intolerant, unloving, and offensive by speaking the truth….the rhetoric is toned down, hell isn’t mention and the wages of sin…well, let’s just talk about the loving side of God rather than His wrath. We must water down the truth so that we can get the people in the doors…..we must not vote our faith but vote our hopes…..we cannot oppose the government in the democratic way but must accept what they deem is best for us……we run to our 'temple' and close the doors, creating the very reputation we've spoken against in times past and creating the image that our encouragement is not to be heeded......

We need to be like Nehemiah....

Nehemiah saw through the deception and uttered words we should be crying out against the opposition to the Truth, even those in the body who have become fearful and discouraged in the face of the massive rubble of this world:

“"Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!"” Nehemiah 5:11a (NIV).

And in fifty-two days, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt…..

What could God do with a body that is not discouraged despite the pile of rubble that has been created from the once-strong walls of the church, dedicated to rebuilding those walls under the threats, insults and intimidations of the enemy and glorifying God by that work He has purposed us all to do.

We can only do it now as the Israelites did in Nehemiah’s time.......Gather together, fasting and wearing sackcloth….confessing our sins and the wickedness of our forefathers in the body…reading from the Word of God and worshipping His mercy, grace and authority in our lives and the work of the church and recalling the promises and provisions of our God to His people, if we will only follow Him:

“"You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous. You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take. You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them. But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, 'This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,' or when they committed awful blasphemies. Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their fathers to enter and possess. Their sons went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you handed the Canaanites over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness. But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they put your law behind their backs. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies. But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.” Nehemiah 7 (NIV)

Going to Jerusalem

"We are going up to Jerusalem." Luke 18:31 (NIV)

Oswald Chambers reflects on this verse in My Utmost For His Highest devotion for today, entitled "The Missionary's Goal".

"We start with Christ and we end with Him ---"until we all attain to the stature of the manhood of Christ Jesus,"" Chambers reflects. "Not to our idea of what the Christian life should be."

All of Christ's actions reflected a step-by-step journey to the goal of His birth, life and ministry: Jerusalem and the final rejection of mankind of its Messiah. The closer He drew to Jerusalem's gates, the more direct the attacks from the ruling religious class became. Where He was hailed as a King by the people when He approached on a donkey, He would be crucified as a criminal by those same people's decree. In the place where the Spirit of God once resided with the nation of Israel, Jerusalem, returned the Son of Man to finalize the covenant that would bring a 'new living way', a covenant that would 'make all things new.' One of the most powerful moments that I replay in my mind's eye when I am in devotional time with God is that one of Christ in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ where He has fallen under the weight of the cross and His mother, Mary, comes up to Him….beaten, battered and near the limits of His humanity, His only words are, "See! I make all things new!"

In Jerusalem, the culmination of God's plan for the redemption of mankind was set to a quick pace and ended with Christ's declaration…."It is FINISHED!"

We all are on our own journey, Chambers writes, to our own Jerusalem. It is not the hearts won to Christ, nor the posturing of our faith through the witness we garner in the living on this earth or the work to which we toil that is to be our aim…though those things are surely a part of the journeying to the capital city of our homeland…..for we are pilgrims walking through lands that are not our home. Our aim is to do our Father's will.

Some argue with me and the usage of the word 'journey' in context to my development under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, begun that February day in 2004. It is not that I was not given a new heart, a new spirit redeemed and restored by the blood of Christ…for surely it has happened because that is what God's word tells me takes place upon my rebirth. It is the journey of subjecting the corrupt physical and mental aspects of my humanity that I speak of…..for we do not claim our immortal bodies or imperishable minds until our Lord and Savior returns to claim what is His, as Paul tells us in the first Corinthian letter:

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NIV

We journey towards our own Jerusalem, just as our Savior did….He for the sake of sealing the covenant and us for the sake of arriving at the new Jerusalem He will bring upon His return to be judged, crowned and made immortal and imperishable. Just as the old Jerusalem bore the prophetic fulfillment of the Messiah's return, so the new Jerusalem will bear the prophetic triumphant permanence of God's new covenant:

"He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken." Isaiah 25:8 NIV

The long journey we take reaches its goal when we cross the gates of our home city, of translucent gold walls and precious gems as its building materials…..the return of God's children in prophetic restoration…our destiny according to the purposes of God's will. Just as Christ's journey on this earth was in full accord with God's will; He would daily communicate with God before His day would start, it is our aim and our sacred duty to journey in similar fashion: to be in full accord with God's will……

And the journey is hard. Evolution, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, increased sexuality immorality, redefinition of sexuality, the increase of liberalization and socialization as a government movement and the corruption of gender to individual desires; all come against the natural and moral design of God. The more we approach the gates of the new city, the increase of dissenting voices will come over our own as we proclaim the truth….defend its application in our life…and refuse to fall against the postmodern definitions of faith, belief and Christianity. The effects of our journey; the work we do, the assurances we gain nor the trials we face should affect our forward travel….they are each merely preparation of the next season of the path we've taken….not the all-consuming goal.

Our goal is to reach Jerusalem's gates.

"Nothing ever discouraged Our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed." Chambers points out. "Neither gratitude or ingratitude turned Our Lord one hair's breadth away from His purpose to go up to Jerusalem."

Just as the events in the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem, were the manifestation of God's will that began with the virgin birth of Christ, were lived in the youth and young adulthood of our Savior, solidified in His ministry and realized in the sacrifice of Christ for our salvation….so shall the gates of the city hold within its splendor the culmination of the manifestation of God's will for His people.

It is up to us to not be discouraged or distracted from setting our feet upon that path by the continuous and dedicated supplication to our Heavenly Father for the discernment and light to guide our feet…..where He would have us linger for a moment, we linger….where He would have us move quickly through, so we should hasten our pace. If we get caught up in the work, we will find ourselves growing weary of the journey, far before its destination is in sight. We cease to submit our will to His and become the authors of our involvement, rather than the servants of the Most High God.

"There will be the works of God manifested through us, people will get blessed," Chambers writes. "..One or two will show gratitude and the rest will show gross ingratitude…."

If we are consumed by the ministry to which we were enticed to join God in; merging our smaller story in the greater context of His story, we become like the Ishmael of Moby Dick fame….so consumed with the interworking of God's design that we are engulfed in its sustainability rather than its substance, reclaiming the story authorship to our own hands and means, and eventually the rope coil of our own passions, OUR ministries, that is tied to the harpoon of our faith becomes a noose and will wrap itself around our necks and pull us into the void of the dark sea of our own making. Ministries will fail, lives disillusioned and hardened and the effectiveness of the battle becomes the wound that is not allowed healing but is opened to the point of being a mortal one. We will become consumed by the seasonal passage through the villages and towns along our journey and lose focus on the journey's destination, bound by the insane hope of our own abilities, passions and glory, and forget the King to whom we have sworn our allegiance and service to.

Maybe that is why the Psalmist said:

"I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever." Psalm 44:6-8.

We cannot rely upon our own understanding to get us through but must be totally surrendered to God in order to prevent our own corruption, still existing in this mortal and perishable body, to interfere and draw us away from His plan.

Just some thoughts for today……

 

http://www.Biblica.com

Chambers, Oswald; His Utmost For His Highest

A prince in pauper clothing….

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."Hebrews 10:19-39 (NIV)

I have become timid in my pursuit of God, strangely so for there is nothing in the last five years since He's called me back into His arms that would create a tendency for timidity. As my pursuit has brought me into realms of faith that I never anticipated or conceived, the solidification of my belief has become more and more assured. No, I am not some super saint, unbroken and endowed with an alien strength to defy the intoxication of this world. Far from it, I have come to realize that the strongholds that I've erected to protect myself have been broken upon the walls of Christ's righteousness, scattering the brick and mortar underfoot, to allow me to come before my King in supplication and entreat not for His favor, for what more favor do I need than the assurance that I am redeemed and restored, but that He draw me, entice me and gather me closer to Him so that what I call 'my' will mirrors His so closely that there is no difference.

Many in today's world consider me 'offensive' because I dare to speak the absolute truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to achieve Heaven's gates….to find yourself walking the streets of gold and translucent splendor freed from the bondage of sin's commission. Some call me harsh, because I will not settle for the Church being a ghost of what it was meant to be, what it was commissioned to be and bending to the world's standards for the sake of perceived furtherance of the Gospel. Some just consider my wounds as improperly dressed and therefore rulers of my thoughts, my actions and my faith as I stumble along this path.

I am considered a pauper by the standards of the world, but underneath my pauper clothes lie the body and heart of royalty. Because of Christ, my Savior and my King.

We have the ability and the 'instructional manual' on how to 'maintain' our faith in times such as these…when we recall that we are given 'a new and living way' through not only the sacrifice but the whole breathe and width of Christ's earthly ministry…and the gifting of the Counselor who will lead us into paths unknown and unseen in this journey home. The funny thing is, this journey is not a 'wait-for-it' type where we must struggle through without to gain it all in the end….it is the releasing of the temporary things to experience as we walk through this land that is not our home for the sustaining things like peace, joy, happiness, love, compassion and service. We may grow weary in our earthly walk, but as we journey along with the Mighty Counselor we can recount and reread the past encounters with God, both from the elders of the Church and our own life, and use them as a motivation to resurrect the endurance we need to run this race.

We walk, desiring to be in step with God through the expressed sincerity of a faith that is developed through the experiences and trials to be so confident that when we face the fall of night, we can walk on assured that we follow the path set before us…..guided by the light of our Father's love. Because we know that God is gracious and merciful, but He is still God and His promises of the new covenant defy even our best reliability. We know that we walk with God with the protective blood of Jesus Christ and are drawn through this show of mercy to His purpose, His will and His way. In faith, we know that the temporal things of this world are nothing compared to the possessions we have in Heaven.

I have walked around lately with the attitude of the pauper, scraping together the meager hope that this is my lot, this is my fate and God has so purposed it to be for the sake of what He has called me to do. This has caused those in more comfortable surroundings to question my faith at times, my beliefs at times and my calling most of the time.

Yesterday I went home listening to the song by The David Crowder Band, "How He Loves Us", and the feeling of being so much more than the pauper clothes I wear hasn't left me….even in my devotional time this morning, with these verses in Hebrews, it has been reinforced…I may wear pauper clothes, but I am a prince…beloved son of the Father and warrior of the King.

I can walk with a pauper's posture or radiate my reborn's heritage as a prince. I can allow the trappings of this world to define me or I can secure in my heart the knowledge of my true value, my true purpose and the calling that God has given me. It is a choice, that God continues to allow us to make……

A brother sent me a link to a song that he listened to in the morning that made him think of me….it is as powerful as the Crowder song in a different way……and seems to tie in all the recent posts of how we should live…..David Phelps's Live Like A King.

My thirst for the things of this earth isn't quenched by diamonds or pearls. One Man lived the life that I want, He's the One they said ruled the world. Though He only wore a crown of thorns and He never owned a thing……

I want to live like a King. I want to live like a King. And my decree it will ring, "Love will rule everything" I want to live like a King

This King did the strangest of things, He befriended the sick and the poor. There was no one too wrong, too right, too black, too white for Him to love…He built no walls, left no unopened doors. Well, now I could croon a million other tunes…There is just one I want to sing

I want to live like a King. I want to live like a King. And my decree it will ring, "Love will rule everything" I want to live like a King

I want to be stronger, I want to be wiser…..I just want to make every move be the one He'd want to see from me. There's just such power, such healing power, in every word that He said, in every deed that He did…..

I want to live like a King. I want to live like a King. And my decree it will ring, "Love will rule everything" I want to live like a King

If I walk on this journey, not with the prideful arrogance of perceived importance, but with the humility of a reborn prince of the Most High God….I can do so much more than I could have ever done with the wealth of this world….I may wear pauper clothes, but I am a prince.

And much like Christ laid down His crown and authority to come to this world as a babe in swaddling clothes, in a manger and born to a family of the 'working poor'….I can lay my crown before the King's throne and live a life that is free from a materialistic agenda to care for my own self….if I am a prince, reborn in the family of the King, I know my wants and needs will be taken care of….not in comfortable things, for I no longer walk the castle hallways, but in the way my King cares for all of His subjects…with love, compassion, mercy and desire……I am assured that even I, a prince dressed as a pauper, will have the needs my King gives care over because of that.

I have the assurance of my faith because of His promise, I have the dignity of my heritage because of Christ's sacrifice and I have the desire to be my King's eyes and ears, hands and feet, in the kingdom He is coming to reclaim.

It is time I walk as a prince in pauper clothing rather than a pauper afraid of being a prince. God has called me to serve Him as a pastor….has equipped and challenged me in the things that I still grasped in this world, calling me to release them for His sake and trust for His provisioning. He didn't tell me to make a way into the pastoral ministry but to let Him develop me for it. And He will make the way for it to come to pass.

It has been a long and hard five years….and I am better equipped to be God's servant now than before, yet to be the totality of what He is making me, but ready when He makes His path known to head in the direction He would take me.

It is not the exegesis style, the topical style or the theological style that will mark my preaching…though I am sure I will come across in the use of all of them….nor will it be a charismatic personality, vibrant voice or strident cadence that will mark my call….but rather something that Ron Walters, Vice-president of Church Relations for the Salem Communications group, said in a blog he wrote…….

"[Jesus] was more concerned with the heart of preaching than with the art of preaching………….. Jesus wanted to connect. His words were never reduced to rhetorical fluff." Ron Walters, Vice President of Church Relations for the Salem Communications, writes. "They were theological yet practical, simple but rich.......He must have heard the same questions a million times. But even though He got tired in the work, He never got tired of the work. Someone has said, "Christ preached as a dying man to dying men.""

I want to preach as a pauper under the authority of the King…..more concerned with the heart of God being spoken through my words than being artful in its expression….connecting with those I have the honor to come with God's message before because He calls me to, not because I feel I have the right to……I would leave my crown behind and dress in the pauper's clothes so that they might experience the wonders of my Father's house as princes and princesses…..

Walters sums up his blog about preaching with a quote from Charles Spurgeon. Considered one of the greatest evangelicals of 'modern' times, he has summed up for me the ambition of answering God's call…….

"I have known what it is to use up all my ammunition. Then I have, as it were, rammed myself into the great Gospel gun and I have fired myself at my hearers - - all my consciousness of sin, and all my sense of the power of the gospel. There are some people upon whom that kind of preaching tells when nothing else does, for they see that then you are communicating to them not only the gospel, but yourself also."

Living with the authority of a prince of the heavenly realm with the life of a pauper so that others may come to know the wealth of my Father's house.

There is no God like our God….

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)

Pastor Shannon Nielson started a thirst for the knowledge of Jesus' style of relationship when I attended Mosaic A2 a few Sundays ago. George Barna, in a recent editorial, used such examination to answer the question, "How Jesus would handle the Health Care issue?"

"In fact," Barna points out. "Luke's narrative contains 26 different passages describing how Jesus responded to people's physical and medical needs."

More interesting than Barna's focus on the Health Care Debate is the fact that we can look at the editorial points he makes to a broader context in how we, as Christians and the Church, should deal with people; health, financial and spiritually. As I am sure Pastor Nielson would concur, Jesus leaves us with a wealth of how to respond to the world and our brethren in the context of Christ-following.

Christ was consistent in how He handled people of various cultures, ethnicities and state of grace. We've already looked at Nielson's thoughts concerning the adulterous woman. That concept, as well as others, can bring a larger picture of the characteristics and motivations that should govern our behavior.

Jesus brought into context that life, even living in this broken world, was a precious gift from God and was meant, even in the harshness of this creational nightmare, to be lived with enjoyment and celebration and given only in sacrifice for another…not for their comfort or their desires but for their eternal life. Though Barna focuses on the health issue, we can extend it to those who face financial stresses, mental stresses and physical needs from childcare to transportation. These people, usually when we come across them in the context of our lives, have a hope that is fading because of the trials of their lives. Christ affected change in the lives of these people and sent them on their way…..no paperwork to fill out, committee meetings to wait for or hoops to jump through. He took all who came to Him and focused on restoration of their hope so that they could hear of the gift of Salvation.

Christ was driven by His love and compassion for His people, that "overflowed" (Luke 7:13) for the hopeless, hurting and downtrodden. His motivation wasn't to prove His authority or even develop a following that performed for His good graces, but because He knew the pain and desolation that many felt. He demonstrated God's loving grace was the reason He had come to earth, so that hope could be restored in the hearts of a fallen people God still was desirous of. Christ didn't remotely affect the lives He came across, but showed them as valuable people by becoming invested in their lives. He didn't sit on a committee, didn't look to the storehouses and look at a budget on how much He could invest, He invested all He had in people who He knew one day would crucify Him.

He didn't look to their income, their status or the state of their sins. He didn't ask them to proclaim a statement of faith in Him before the blessings would flow. He was so invested in the lives of the hurting and broken that He helped everyone because He could. Whether it was a kind word or raising people from the dead, He moved into the lives of those around Him and never once refused anyone His help. He identified their needs, that need that was beyond the obvious and addressed the real need, the one that would bring them back the hope they had lost so that they could live a abundant life…..not one of riches or wealthy blessings but a fruitful life lived in the freedom of His redemptive grace.

He got caught up in the principle of servant-hood, spending His time invested in meeting people's needs whether it required Him to travel far or wait for them to come to Him. He didn't require a certain level of education or piety or even wealth to be able to approach….or required them to wait until 'business hours' to come to Him. People left and right disrupted His day, interfered with His schedule and demanded His time constantly. His only time of separation was to communicate with His Father, so that He was assured to be consistently in sync with God's plan. His love, that agape love, drove Him to be available and caused Him to live in the chaos of their lives with a grace and mercy that never failed. Nothing was too small for His touch or too great for His strength.

He realized that the pain and suffering that was at the foremost of their lives needed to be address before they could feel His limitless love.

Not only did He heal, but part of the limited commission that He gave to the 12 included the topic of healing….He empowered and commanded the disciples to heal in His name, with His grace and through His mercy…..the disciples were to enter into the lives of those they brought the good news to and only depart either when they had finished their ministry there or the message was rejected. This was also included in the outreach of the 72 that were sent later, never was it only to speak God's word but to bring the lost to the point where it could be heard.

"You can describe Jesus' health care strategy in four words:" Barna says. "Whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever." This holds true for every aspect of Christ's ministry.

There was no remoteness to Christ. He was deliberately involved wherever He was. He didn't expect others to do what He Himself wouldn't do and didn't leave us some vague model to follow. He graphically lived the life that He expected His followers, starting with the 12 on down through the brethren today. He didn't use the opportunity to be involved in restoration of hope just to heal and move on, but always coupled the foundational principles of His Church. One didn't exist without the other.

We are called to be personally involved in other people's lives, both of the family and those who live in the darkness. We are to judge as we ourselves have been judged and would want to be judged. There are none who are truthful with themselves who don't want, need or hope for forgiveness; unconditionally and repeated in its application. He tells us that familiar phrase, "Do unto others that you would have them do unto you" (Luke 7:31). And, it wasn't to be by committee discussion, by church board or a assembly of the faithful but individually……we are called to action, like Christ exampled, with the only agenda being to 'bear fruit' of our Salvational blessing in service to others in the manner it was received by us; without cost, limitation or expectation.

Like His disciples, of which we are grafted into the same vine, we are to find solutions and implement them…rather than sit back and lament the high cost of such service or wait to collect funding after the new sanctuary or acreage is developed.

At the cost of our homes, our professions, our comforts and even our lives….whatever it took to show God's love through compassionate service or provisioning for the hopeless, the downtrodden and the lost. Christ showed us by example that it is far better to give than receive in the pursuit of restoring the hope to those who have been unloved by the broken world of this creation. It was the desire of Christ, far beyond the fragile desires of His humanity, to do 'the will of the One who sent Me' rather than His own, to follow the Father's leading in His heart with the assurance of living in His plan. His desires matched God's because God's will triumphed His own…He was totally surrendered to His Father's work….far beyond the comfort of a home, food and material things that surely He was entitled to far more than we are.

What would the Church look like today if that was how the Lead Pastors, the council of Elders, the board of Deacons and the 'mover-n-shakers' of the body politic lived in such a fashion? If it wasn't a question of "How" but a dedication to 'whatever, whomever, however, and wherever" that was the "D" of our desire to serve our God?

Far beyond the mega-church building that is beautifully appointed with the stained wooden cross, the high-quality speaker system and technological grandness of the worship….

the holy land films produced by our leadership for the enjoyment of our eyes and the comfort of our ears…..

the massive acreage of the 'visionary' dream of inside outreach….

or the popularity of the message, designed never to offend, never to challenge……..

Just a simplistic desire to being in relationship with someone in need, to shine the light of God's love to them for however long, how many times and what cost.

 

Christ didn't once hesitate when faced with the lifelong knowledge of how it would all end, the human portion of His life, but pushed forward because of it….the joy that would be His because of the living of that unconditional love that set the course of His life; the restoration of God's people in relationship with Him. He lived unhindered by those things that could not be turned in service for others; there is no historical home protected by society of where He ministered out of, no monuments He placed that recall His glory and nothing that He left us that physically stands for His life.

We've created out of the historicity of our need those things, not Christ. He spent all He had in the pursuit of a people separated from God, for simple joy of restoring them to the original design: living in relationship with Him.

He spent all He had before He uttered one word of the new covenant, healed one sick person or raised the dead.

One at a time, one dollar at a time and with the agenda taught to us by Christ; to exhibit in an undeniable, powerful and impactful way the love, the jealous love of our Heavenly Father, who sent His Only Begotten Son to this world so that the punishment for sin was forever paid for…..without cost, without expectation but only a heartfelt request for its blessed restoration. So that the work He had started in us far before we were even born on this earth would progress and be completed in the plan of His story.

The David Crowder Band sings of this expressive and restorative love in their latest hit, "How He Loves Us…"

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so, oh how He loves us, How He loves us all…He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
us
He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so, oh how He loves us, How He loves us all…He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don't have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way…

He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves….Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves."

A God who loves His people so much that He forgives them for its willful disobedience and turns His righteous anger away despite its justified existence for the costs it demanded so that we could experience the restoration He can affect in each of us because of the sacrifice of His Son…..Only God can remove our sins from our lives, trampling them under the foot of His mercy and dress us in His righteousness.

So that we can show Him to the world still lost in the darkness of the hopelessness of the Fall through the example we live as a people purchased.

What a God! Empowering one person working with the might of Heaven's King….working the gifts He's given with others to become the Body of Christ…..…

for the sake of all.

 

Jesus' Health Care Plan, An editorial by George Barna, September 2009: http://www.barna.org/component/wordpress/archives/70

 

 

 

The Principle of the Path

""I thought that you would reassure me. You are like God's Messenger, who is able to distinguish right from wrong. May the LORD your God be with you!"" 2 Samuel 14:17(GWT)

It amazes me sometimes that there are those within the body that say that they cannot find a fellowship in which to worship, in which to find succor in the midst of this journey. I have been to three churches in the last three weeks, churches that are uniquely their own personalities and styles….each preaching a biblical message in the formats which paint a beautiful and sometimes challenging picture of God's word.

Berean Bible Church in Livonia, Mosaic A2 in Ann Arbor and Life Church in Canton were the churches I have either been invited to or have found on my own. One is in transition from one pastor to another, one is a new church plant in Maize and Blue country and the other a relatively young church of 800 or so. The messages I have heard in the last few weeks have spanned the breathe of the Gospel; from the end times to the destinations we travel.

Today I went to Life Church just up the road from where I am staying.

Where Berean was a generational church, seemingly consisting of families who have called its halls their home for generation upon generation. Then Mosaic A2, a church born of a pastor's passion to plant a church in a college community that would be home for those in the college environment and span the generational gaps between the 'age' groups.

Life Church was born in the backyard of the Lead Pastor and developed into the current location through many cycles of growth. My first impression of it was that it is a comfortable church, one that will engage you wherever you are at….according to what effort you put in….and never take more than you are willing to give. You can exist in a comfortable level in the chairs of its auditorium.

I wasn't born to live in comfortable surroundings.

I have been in a wealth of 'character' churches, each weaving a brand of religion that they feel meets the needs and expectations of the congregation and I have found disillusionment and heartache in each of them to varying levels. Many would point to the growth of their congregations as proof that they are doing something right; expanding a 50+ acre site, following a 'name-it-claim-it' healing doctrine, expounding upon the word of God rather than topical sermonizing and preaching a 'love' postmodern gospel of varying biblical truth. None of which I have found that passion, that drive, that brings me into discipleship.

Few have whispered to me, this is where you belong. Those that have, like fruit, I have found corruption at their core the deeper I have traveled with them. None have accepted anything other than the type of gospel they preach. Some have given the promise of challenge, only to falter upon the shores of realization once I've accepted the challenge. Few have given me the feeling of home.

A Church of discipleship; a church that lives to prepare you to leave.

"Great expectations are great engagements, especially to persons of honour," Matthew Henry states, "to do their utmost not to disappoint those that depend upon them."

Life lived up to its declaration, "Just come in, relax and participate as you feel comfortable." It was a comfortable worship time, no fog machine like at Mosaic and hymnals like at Berean, just an easy flowing melody of music to raise your voice to. We went to the information kiosk to find out the programs for the kids, and after waiting for a few moments, were directed over to the LifeKids area….without any real information for what they had for my son, but the assurance there was something for my daughter. We weren't engaged around the donuts and coffee, weren't approached in any way as to what and where the service would be. When we went into the auditorium, we were guided to seats for the service, assured that we would have to sit together because 'we'll be packed today.'

Their stated vision of planting 20 churches and 20 ministries by 2020 didn't seem to thrum in the heartbeat of this congregation, move among the people with a insistence that pushed the edge of the envelope or flavor the engagement of the congregation to those new to its fellowship. The vision statement seem to fall flat, "As a church that began in the summer of 2002, we have a vision for creating a place where real people can connect with God and experience real life. We desire to be a place where lost people can be found and hurting people helped. This can only happen through the body of Christ being fully engaged and fully empowered. Through obedience to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment our vision is to make a difference for Jesus Christ...in our lives...in our families...in our community...and in our world."

I didn't feel engaged or empowered. I just felt alienated.

I know my church wound colors my perceptions and I know that I hold a view of what a church should be that defies human logic, possibility and possible realistic expectations, but God has enticed me with illogical, impossible and improbable purpose. My expectations of what a church should be is only possible in the realm of God-involved pursuit and free of human limitations. Not exactly what churches today are built to be in today's world.

But Life has proved one thing; that the promise God makes that His word will not go out to return void has been proven time and time again as I search for that place He would have me fellowship for this season.

Pastor Alex Rahill, the Lead Pastor, gave the first of a six-part message entitled "Destinations", based in part on Pastor Andy Stanley's book The Principle of the Path. Today's sermon was entitled, "Not Where You Want To Be?" based on Proverbs 7:6-27….the warnings of immoral women…..

The question asked was simple, "Is the path I am on going to lead to the destination I want to be at?"

Nobody gets lost on purpose and the realization of being lost is one that comes after a lot of distance is covered being in such a state. The principle of the path remains true in this statement; the road you travel on is going to always lead to the same destination. Right or wrong. It is the disconnection of the world's message that we usually get bound up in, not all paths will lead to the same destination…..

This applies far beyond the typical application we use; the road on a map will take us where it goes and conversely so will the path we travel in regards to finances, dating, marriage, profession and health. Spiritual as well as physical.

We start travelling usually because of emotional enticements; this seems right, this seems 'destined' and so on. And prayer doesn't affect our desires or intention when we set out upon the path (we can pray for travel mercies and still head in the wrong direction), the direction we take is the only guarantee we have in arriving at the destination we seek.

Kinda like the saying, "Illogic is doing the same thing and expecting different results."

Maybe God is telling me that it is time to stop following the established line and reach out into the unfamiliar path…..maybe it is time to stop going to churches that are part of the norm and find or create a church that the norm is the un-normal pursuit of a God that defies human conventions and ideas.

A God of the illogical, impossible and improbable salvation of all of us.

 

 

 

 

Burdened by the race…..

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

"Temptation is a suggested short cut to the realization of the highest at which I am --- not towards what I understand as evil, but towards what I understand as good." Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost For His Highest. "Temptation is something that completely baffles me for a while; I do not know whether the thing is right or wrong. Temptation yielded to is lust deified, and is a proof that it was timidity that prevented the sin before. Temptation is not something we may escape, it is essential to the full-orbed life of a man…….God does not save us from temptations; He succours us in the midst of them."

One might wonder why the race Paul speaks of in Hebrews and the explanation of Temptation by Chambers would be put together in today's blog that I write. I would wonder to, if I was still amazed how God draws my attention to various things to get a point across that I've yet to grasp.

George, of Worthy News Ministry in Israel, sent the devo for the Hebrews verse today. "I bet you're tired today. You are done…..overworked, overstressed, overwhelmed." He concludes his devo. "But be encouraged! Just when you think you can't run any further, you can! C'mon! Press through and press on for the great prize! God is with us, strengthening our feeble knees and moving us in the right direction!!"

I have become so tired of the stresses that living in this world surely bears upon each one of us, and the additional stresses that come from being a single parent, and the additional stresses of being a parent of a special needs child. It is amazing to me how dimly even the church family views a single parent, especially of the male persuasion, and the unique position they find themselves in, either by design, by life or the surrendering of another to the temptations of sin. There isn't a ministry in the whole body of the church that has addresses the single parent father. And, if they do not have 'everything organized', they are overlooked and isolated from the body. Often they are the silent ones who glide through the church experience in silence…..never letting anyone know of their situation because of the stigma attached to single fatherhood. Add to that a special needs child and the simplified expectation of fellowship becomes a complicated dance….

The burden got heavier last night as I sat outside…my son came up to me and asked, "Dad, can I talk to you?"

My son has transferred into the Plymouth-Canton School district and is going to school with his cousin at Central. Not even a week later, last night, my son sat down and cried his hurting heart out because of the bullies who have classified him as different and begun to verbally abuse him. Even the 'friend' he had made rejected him and doesn't talk to him anymore. My son, the most compassionate and caring person in the world, is isolated because of his disability. He wants to quit, he doesn't want to go to school anymore and doesn't want to face the bullies who have hurt him so much. And I couldn't help him…..couldn't protect him from this, even though I know the pain he feels and the hurt confusion as to why there are those who reject that which could be the best thing they've experienced – a compassionate friend.

All I could tell him is something that, at the time, seems so inadequate for his pain. "You are MY son. I love you. It doesn't matter what others say or do, you are my BELOVED son, with whom I am very proud." I told him I won't let him give up on himself by tucking his tail between his legs and whimpering out of the room. I told him, "You are MY son and are strong. You will walk out of that room (we are in the process of transferring him to a better suited environment for his learning, ironically) with your head held high and smile at your tormentors when you leave."

We prayed, that God would show my son the strength and love he has been given, that God would move in the bully's life and show him compassion and that the transfer we will be investigating today will happen quickly. And comfort returned, for the time, to my son's face and his heart. I had taken it upon my own.

Later, as I finished the email to his teachers, vice-principal and principal, I sat there weary. It will only get worse, I know, as the compulsion of the world to categorize and despise my son because of his cognitive impairment, to keep that compassionate and loving heart open…..wounded at it is prone to be….and his eyes on the prize to which he surrendered himself willingly to so many easters ago. With everything else that has happened; having to move to Canton, stay with family, and the burdens of financial problems that seem to never end….this.

I wish that I could find the parents of this bully, sit them down and slap some sense into them. As much as I can't take credit for my son's loving nature, he has learn some of the compassion and caring from me, just like the bully has learned to treat others that are different from him as a verbal punching bag from his. They are always watching, always drawing their clues on behavior accepted and unaccepted. Possibly, the parents would be surprised to hear their little boy is being cruel and would find reason to doubt that it is learned behavior…..as they shun a wheel chaired quad, shunt slanted eyes away from the Down's child or ridicule the handicapped grandmother. It doesn't make it any easier that physically, there is no sign of my son's situation….only when he speaks and other small behavioral things; the way he runs, his memory….

Added to that is the fact he is a Christian; not some run-of-the-mill, momentary attempt, but a living breathing and loving member of the body of Christ. Persecution is coming, even within the body, because of what he has been taught, what he believes.

Sometimes this race seems to stretch so long, so far and the rockiness of the path twists ankles, stubs toes and wounds the feet. Surely, under all this, it is okay to stop running, stop striving for that elusive prize (at those times so it seems) that lies forever over that last hilltop, that last mountain rise…surely the temptation to walk is understandable and acceptable. Surely it was never meant to be so hard.

As I was driving to work this morning, a memory bubbled up from my mind…..Father Ronald Corl. I met the Father when we lived in Detroit, on Hazelton that butts up to the entrance at the St. Paul Monastery where he had just become the Rector. The fence that surrounds the property now was put there in large part to us kids of the neighborhood who would play on the grounds, much to Brother Pat (the head groundskeeper)'s dismay and it was one day while we were playing that we crossed the path of Father Ron, who was just moving in to assume his new duties.

He taught me a love for reading, the walls of his room where covered with books and books…..He taught me acceptance and even was teaching me to be a catholic. I helped him with baptisms, weddings, and other Roman Catholic traditions. But, it was one day as we were running in Hines Park (another thing he taught me, and my older brother Larry) and it came to the point where Larry and I usually stopped, walking to cool down, and where Father Ron kept on running. That day, I didn't stop and kept on running….every muscle in my body wanted to stop, every fiber of my being cried out with the unaccustomed pain….but I refused to stop, I was mad that day…either at my brother or at Father Ron….I don't remember now….and I fed that anger into the pain…pushing my body harder….

It was years later that I would realize what Father Ron saw that day as he ran beside me……a determination to not quit…..that he said he prayed my faith would one day realize. I was told this as I was going into my senior year at Leesburg High. Father Ron and I lost touch when we moved from Hazelton and stayed in contact infrequently until I moved to Florida…..he had been transferred to Orlando some year prior. We met and that was when he told me that; it had stayed with him so many years that impression. He would die from cancer well before that prayer could be realized.

But it wasn't the impression that hit me today, it was that moment in time; as my body was screaming stop and my mind refused to listen….that plateau….where my body surrendered itself to the control of the mind and I pushed past that limit….one I thought I couldn't pass.

And God spoke as that memory arose….."Jim, my dear child….you are MY son…why do you want to give up, tuck your tail between your legs and whimper out of the church? You are so much more than the perception they have of you, you are MY son and beloved….if you go, you will go as My child, your head held high and a compassionate smile on your face for those who persecute you….those who reject you….those who refuse to believe that I have empowered you to speak My word."

The heart God has given me is prone to be hurt, leaving it out on my sleeve as I do fully exposed to the elements of the human condition of self-(whatever). There will be those who are intimidated by my heart…who are scared, jealous or spiteful because I chose to live in the assurance of the finish line. The temptation is and always will be to reach that limit, and to stop running, stop trying and stop hurting. If I surrender to it…if I don't refuse to allow its control, I will, as Chambers says "deify the lust" the temptation holds for the sake of self-protection, only to find that I have become exposed to the sin of selfishness. The road that leads down is self-fulfilling and deadly, for it will choke off the life that I seek to save.

As George relates in his devo, the Athenians in 490 B.C. defeated the Persians under King Darius 1 on the plains near Marathon. The runner, carrying the victorious news to the Greek people ran 26 miles full out, holding nothing back, and when he had delivered the good news, he died. There was times, as any marathon runner since can attest to, when the strength of your training, the preparation of your body and the level of your skill will be reached…..they will plateau. It is those who push through, who look at that plateau and press on, enduring through that limit to reach for the victory prize, that achieve new levels of strength, preparation and skill. We don't compete as the physical athletes do for a prize of trophies or medals, endorsement deals and wealth. We reach for the uncorruptible crown.

It is in that moment of plateauing, where we can't simply go on….the darkness is too deep, the pain to hard to endure and then end not in sight…..that God shows us the joy we have awaiting for us, the strength He's given us to endure and the peace to go the distance, any distance, full out with nothing reserved.

As George is fond of ending his devos with, "There is much work to be done!"

As my son struggles in this situation at school, with those who would bully and persecute him for his special needs, I can run along side him…..pushing him to overcome that plateau where he would give up and endure to reach the end of the race we both run. I can only do it, though, if I run with him….giving him my experience and love to push past it, to endure it and to be totally surrendered to the end.

As my Father in Heaven has taught me so well this past year……..whispering encouragement and love, demanding my best as He shows me I can reach beyond my imposed limits to reach new levels of faith, belief, love, understanding and compassion. He doesn't carry me, He runs alongside me……"I've run this race before, Jim, and I finished…..You are of My blood, you are of My spirit and you are My creation…..keep on…keep on"

As with my son, those who watch this drama with the bully take place will witness his strength, his compassion and his resolve to stand….maybe they will stand in their time too, maybe they will think twice about being a bully. Either way, he will stand.

As with me, my life stands as a testimony to God's grace, mercy and strength….His provision, His love and His desire for me. Maybe they will realize His love and be saved, maybe they will listen to the next Christian who comes to speak with them…..but they will hear.

As for me and my house, we will run the race fully until it is done with the news of the victory that Christ secured for us over our rightful punishment of sin.

Until we achieve the crown.

Scarred and still standing….

"You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called 'today.' If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn." Hebrews 3:13 (CEV)

 

"There are none," Matthew Henry remarks. "even the strongest of the flock, who do not need help of other Christians. Neither are there any so low and despised, but the care of their standing in the faith, and of their safety, belongs to all."

We use the yardstick of 'difficulties' as the measure of one's faith, the strength of their walk and the power of their belief. If you have few difficulties, few sins to confess, participate but not utilize corporate help and are constantly 'upbeat' and 'happy'…well, you should be an elder, a deacon or heck, a ______ pastor (outreach, small group, teaching, lead, etc.) You are a powerful warrior in the kingdom, set up in your suit and tie in the corporate board room of the church. You are the example that we all want and should want to follow.

Wars aren't won by armchair quarterbacks firmly encased in the most technologically advanced war-rooms safely back at home and inexperienced politicians aren't the best generals in which to decide battle plans.

Oh, we spend some time 'trying' to help those in difficulties; whether the addiction of chemically-created drugs, the wounds of the past or even the financial burdens of such times as these. But, after a deliberate time of 'involvement' (i.e. a financial workshop, recovery programs or counseling), if there is no 'results' then we decide that this person has to be cut loose and is 'unredeemable.' The streets of this world are littered with the rejected refuge of the church politic.

Granted, there are those who will take advantage of compassion, mercy and grace. Can you judge the limits that should be imposed? I can't.

A friend of mine was talking how excited she was that she had embarked upon a exercise regiment to bring herself into the vision of what she wants to look like for health, personal and physical reasons. She was happy for herself, for doing something for herself after years and years of doing for her family, her husband and friends. Some would call that selfish, unless they knew her and the reasons behind both the past and the new reasons. She asked me when I had done something for myself.

I told her I wasn't built to do that, and wouldn't know what to do with 'self-time'. As my children dread, I am always talking and speaking to someone if only to give them peace in these troubling times.

I was reading a post on one of the social groups that I belong to where the person asked how the community felt about the opinion put out by a majority of organizations of an 'elite group' of believers that are going to be raised up to whip the church into shape and bring the battle renewed upon the enemy and his minions. They are organizing, enticing leaders to join this 'elite' so that a revival of the church that Christ left His disciples and the ones who followed after can be implemented.

All others, who aren't part of this 'elite' will be cannon fodder to be used by their will. For the glory of Christ, of course.

We, after all, being part of the body of Christ are entitled to this….to be lead by the brightest, most eloquent and passionate of us who are walking foot-in-step with what we envision God to be. We are entitled to be the victors because we are of the victorious. Even though the greatest among us was considered ugly by the people of His culture, divisive by His rhetoric and hounded by trials during the most active time of His life on this world.

We are entitled to comfy seats, grand productions, friendly fellowship and healing. We are entitled to prosperity and peace, success and triumph and the blessings by which God shows His love for His people. The Good News has become a billboard advertisement for an exclusive, all-inclusive resort of great delight……..and if you aren't a sales agent for its enlargement, you aren't part of the membership.

After all, it is the membership papers that supply the cars, homes, knickknacks and other things that make our lives so comfortable. We want, the feeling within this community, only because we haven't asked. We struggle only because we have unconfessed sins or burdens. We have needs only because our lives are not in alignment with God's purpose.

God would never make His people struggle for no other reason than to be corrected…..never make them feel defeat only to bring them back to their knees. The battle-scarred among His people are lunkheads, not learning the lessons God would have them learn time and time again.

Like guided missiles, such things are knocking out the 'elite' among us; those humbled, broken and beaten servants of the Most High God. Surgical strikes designed to bring the enemy forces to the point where they are combat-ineffective for the battle ahead. Sapping the vitality and life from the faithful who once walked the halls of grace, bled mercy and fought the good fight with their bare hands when weapons were not on hand.

For, without the encouragement from the brethren…..spoken over and over again….as long as there is a moment in time to be labeled "today", even the strongest of us in the midst of the economic, personal, spiritual and selfish brutality of this world find ourselves losing our passions, our hope-fed peace and our battle-effectiveness. The landscape of Christianity is littered with its victims. Eventually, the stress is too much for us to remember what led us on this narrow path to begin with and the hollowness of "I'll pray for you" or "Be strong" and "We have nothing to fear" become simply a clunking, grinding and destructive 'separation' from the body.

And then sin doesn't seem so harsh and defined…..we seek comfort in uncomfortable times and fight among ourselves to keep it. We push away those in constant need, constant correction and constant support…..they simply aren't worth the effort at the cost of our own continuing efforts to keep going. And, as Henry points out, "The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins."

"When we long for a life with no difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds, and diamonds are made under pressure." -Peter Marshall

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you have noticed a common theme of my last year or two….financial prayer, requests and defeat. I have been broken, despite the movement of God in some powerful ways, to the point where I am living with family as a 'last ditched effort' to overcome these trials. And I'm stumbling along, as usual, with success and failure, success and failure.

Of course, the taunting of this 'entitlement' culture to which I am a part doesn't help. The house next story to my sister being up for sale, the need (want, desire) for a newer car that isn't in a state of constant need of repair, a job that will fit the bill ratio and so on. I find myself on the ropes and exhausted of the friends that could help, would help or can help…..the constant need has become a burden to most, nagging to others and a sign of continued sinfulness by the majority.

"Everyone who asks receives"

We pray like respectful children, with pious blather of convenient rout quickly and tack on the 'your will' bit at the end and call it 'all good.' We pray for those things which will bring us comfort, peace and our own perception of blessings and ignore what lies beneath our feet, over our heads and upon our bodies. We decide, in the sanctimonious piousness of our humanity, what denotes God's direction in other people's lives and ignore the calling in our own. Our subjected will, that which was given to God, isn't in the praying and when God doesn't answer, we say He's decided…..but we haven't asked for anything.

As Oswald Chambers wrote, ""Ye shall ask what ye will," Jesus said. Asking means our will is in it. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He put it with the grand simplicity of a child: we bring in our critical temper and say---Yes, but....Jesus said "Ask.""

Asking, with our subjected will, doesn't mean we will find the comfort of living, the freedom from difficulties and the mercy of provisions. We will receive an answer, even if it is one that we, in our sinful self-serving humanity, might want but it is there given by the God that was revealed by Christ Jesus.

I have been guilty, probably more so than not, of this respectful and pious praying without the will of my subjection in its utterance. And each time, God has answered….either fulfilling the need or not, bringing visionary sight or not and drawing me closer and closer to the realization that I am not my own and a life of comfort, free from worry and fear that is the staple of this world and never to have a peace that is subjected to mumbled statements of positivity or assured selfishness.

The scars are plenty upon this war-weary body, the wounds deep and open and the sufferance that comes from their existence breaks me daily upon the battlements of this field of war. But, each day I strap on the dented, rusted and worn armor and pick up a sword with chipped and dull edge with the shield sullied and peppered with the arrows of the enemy and I walk back out on the battlefield.

I may not be a pretty sight standing in the grandiose finery of the church but I fit right in on the bloody, dirty and dark battlefields where the battle is truly fought.

While there is a breath in me, I will always go forth to battle because of the love that Christ has for me, to hang upon a cross of wood and face the horrible death of such agony because He lived this life for me, He came for me.

You may come up with all sorts of excuses as to why I struggle, why I suffer defeats and why I am not of a 'caliber' to be one of the elite in the family of God. You may even be able to justify it in the eyes of yourself and the others that gather with you on Sundays. I may not grace the stage of the congregational style church because I'm not clean-cut, wearing polished armor or eloquent in the style of words.

But you will never be able to give any other reason why I continue to get up from the falls, struggle against the defeats and why I continue to press to follow the undeserved call to ministry by God amid continued rejection……why I can confidently declare that this life may kill me but I will go down swinging…….other than this:

I am one of God's chosen people……purposed, equipped and loved.

That is all the entitlement, provisioning and reason I need.

Is it enough for you?