embrace life

Dumb stuff Christians say: part 1

2010-11-28T21:25:00.003-06:00

The idea of blogging about this subject has been on my mind for a while now. I hear things said by professing Christians all the time that causes me to cringe. Ever since God transformed my life I have been insanely optimistic. I guess it is because I used to be so very pessimistic that the 180 degree turn made me a little crazy on seeing the positive side of EVERYTHING! That being said, I have made it a habit not to criticize but I feel the need to correct a mindset that is set up against the knowledge of God.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

NIV

We have all prayed something like this: "God none of me and all of you!" We get this from the prayer of John the Baptist when he said "I must decrease that you may increase." This sounds like a good prayer but it simply isn't legal for a New Covenant believer to pray. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and was simply stating the obvious, that his ministry was to prepare the way for Jesus. He had done that and was "stepping out of the spotlight" so to speak. I like what Bill Johnson says: "God had none of you before He created you. He didn't think it was a good idea. I wouldn't suggest it again. A better prayer would be 'God all of you covering and filling all of me."

This leads me to "Dumb stuff Christians say" line one. I guess it really cannot be nailed down to a single line. It is more of a mindset. I am talking about the idea that God is in control therefore nothing happens unless He wills it or allows it. First of all, God is sovereign, no doubt, but sovereignty means that He is the Ultimate Authority. However, that doesn't mean that everything that happens IS His will. People die and go to hell everyday and the Bible clearly says that He isn't WILLING ANY should perish but ALL come to repentance. So, not everything that happens IS in fact His will.

Let me put it this way:

I am the "ultimate authority" in my home. :-) Even though I may desire for things to be done a certain way or certain time, not EVERYTHING happens the way I want it to. I like for dishes to be taken to the sink when they are finished being used. I like for laundry to be put in the laundry basket. I like for our family cat to leave our Christmas tree ALONE! Alas, not everything is done the way I ask. I know...hard to believe. The reason for this is I don't live alone. I live with my amazing wife Jessica and our two kids, Tyson and Karisty. They have their own decisions to make in life. They have their own list of priorities and their's are not always the same as mine.

Guess what? MANY people have different priorities than God does. When we are not thinking as He does life tends to get all jacked up. People make decisions and get themselves in a mess or they get others in a mess and the best a "good Christian" can come up with is "well, God must have allowed this to happen to me/you so we can learn from it." No, most of the time it is just the spirit of stupid on people and God gets the blame. Of course, He can and does work all things together for the good of those who love Him because He can win at poker with a pair of twos but that doesn't mean that the situation was His idea. We really have to stop assisting the devil with bad ideas about the character and nature of God. God ONLY has good to give. Selah (a pause in order to stop and think about what was just said.)

We often try to relate to God based on our relationships and experiences with the other humans in our lives. The problem with this is that God is not human. He doesn't get disappointed with us. I know this is a shocking statement but disappointment only happens when the humans don't do what we expect them to do. How ridiculous is it to think that God would expect us to do something other than what He, the ALL KNOWING God, already knows we are going to do? We CANNOT let Him down. We CANNOT disappoint Him. Selah.

He also NEVER gives up!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

NIV

Since God IS love we can also read it this way:

God is patient, He is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

God never fails.

SELAH!!!

God is so good that He is better than you think! So change the way you think! That is what repentance means.

Think about it.

-Justin

Full of the Spirit...or something else?

2010-08-01T08:34:00.005-05:00

Ephesians 5:18

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? I feel, for the most part, this concept has been massively misunderstood. Most would hopefully answer that it means that God fills you with His very Spirit to give you power to be witnesses according to Jesus' words in Acts chapter 1. This is the basic understanding. Most of the time, you see evidence from people that the climax of this experience is speaking in tongues. This is sad due to the fact that tongues is only a fringe benefit to the actual purpose of the filling. The primary purpose to be filled is other people.

When you get saved the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside you. This happens before the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Let me just say that you don't have to be filled/baptized to be saved and once you are saved the Holy Spirit lives in you but He is in you for you(2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13). You are filled for others(Acts 1:8).

Let's look at this more closely by asking a few questions.

1. When the Holy Spirit does come to live in you, at conversion, where does He live? In your body, soul, or spirit? Obviously He lives in your spirit(Eph. 1:13, Rom. 8:16, Phil. 2:13).

2. How much of the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you, part or all? All.(John 14:16-20; Luke 17:21-kingdom means Kings domain.)

3. If all of the Holy Spirit comes and lives within your spirit, then when you are filled with the Spirit where does He fill? Good question.

Here is a few Passages to consider:

Philippians 2:12-13

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

His Spirit is inside you, your spirit-the inner man, to work and change the way you think(your will or "want to") and the way you think leads to the way you act. When you are filled with the Spirit of God it is the overflow of what is already contained within you...ALL OF GOD...THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Ephesians 3:19

"...that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Filled to the measure means "completely!" That is awesome to think that He wants to completely fill our lives with Himself. Bill Johnson, Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding California, has said that the Holy Spirit is imprisoned in unbelieving Christians. The whole purpose of the Spirit of God in and filling our lives is that we let God out. I know this is a crazy concept but it is totally Scriptural. Freely received-freely give is talking about giving away God which is life-giving, love-giving, light-giving which all beat the works of the devil, death, hate, and darkness. Let's face it, when you pray with someone to be saved(Greek-SOZO: salvation, healing, deliverance) or filled with the Spirit, what are you giving them? God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Eternal Life, etc. Jesus said that eternal life was knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ He has sent. The verse right before Eph. 3:19 says that Paul prays we "know this love that surpasses knowledge." How do you know something that you can't know? It is by experience. Eternal life knowing God by experiencing Him. How do we, and everyone around us experience God? We must let Him out. How do we let Him out?

Psalm 24:7

"Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in."

When our attention is on Him, He comes in. This is also what I have covered before about worshiping in spirit and in truth. It means to live out in truth(the seen realm) what is in the spirit(unseen realm). Letting Him out! The natural picture of this is when a seed is planted into the ground. The seed remains unseen(spirit) until it sprouts and we know the "truth" that it is there and what kind of seed is revealed. Jesus was the revelation(I am the way, TRUTH, and life) in the seen realm, truth, of the the Father, or unseen realm, which is Spirit. Jesus said that He is the image of the invisible God. If the Holy Spirit is in you and you allow Him to live through you then you are the image of the invisible God. Paul said that he is now dead and that Christ lives through him (Galatians 2:20)

When it says in Ephesians for us to be filled with the Spirit it means continually filled. The way this looks is that we have a constant stream of the Holy Spirit flowing from within us and touching every area of our lives. That is the fullness of God filling us. I heard a pastor say once that when you throw a water hose into a mud puddle the only way to keep the mud out of the hose is to leave the water on, flowing out of the hose. So many Christians think that holiness(to be separate) means that we must stay away from people that don't think or act like them because they can "infect" or "corrupt" them. The truth is that we are to be different and "infect" the world around us. This is why Jesus compared the Kingdom to yeast and said it is to work through the whole batch of dough. Accountability to each other has become reduced to trying to keep each other from "sinning" when it should be to encourage each other to "leak" the Kingdom! Let's face it...Light beats dark, Life beats death, God never loses!

You are the gate, you are the door, and to be filled with the Spirit means that ALL of Him inside you(your spirit) moves out to your soul(a.k.a: your mind, will or want to, and heart or emotions) which is the definition of repentance: to change the way you think. Then the Spirit will be able to move into your body or, in other words, you will start acting like Him...Jesus. That is why Jesus is our example. He had His head lifted up, He only did what He SAW the Father doing.

In EVERY situation, if you will keep your attention on the Father, the Spirit of God will fill your life. If your attention is on something else...you will be filled with something else. When your attention is on yourself then you get full of yourself. When your attention is on the problem then you get full of problems. When your attention is on what the devil is doing in the world then you get full of what the devil is doing. Get the idea? It isn't worth it to have our eyes on ANYTHING but the Heavenly Father!

The better evidence of someone being genuinely filled with the Spirit, in my opinion, would be unconditional love, joy(which is our strength), the Shalom peace of God, patience, kindness(of God which leads to repentance), goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control being perfected in their life. Tongues is extremely important but we are to receive power to be witnesses for Jesus when we are filled with the Spirit and the list above is what that looks like!

Therefore, I plead with you, LET HIM OUT!

Just a thought...or two.

Justin

In Spirit & In Truth: part 2

2010-07-27T13:51:00.002-05:00

John 4:24

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

NIV

Philippians 2:13

"...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

NIV

Here we find more insight from the Philippian letter that explains the mystery from John's Gospel.

The writer states that God is doing a work inside us, our spirits, that changes the way we think and act. Romans 2:4 tells us that God's kindness leads us toward repentance and repentance means to change the way you think. When we change the way we think then naturally our actions will change.

Many in the church have tried to work from the outside of people inward. Meaning, they try to change the way people act. "You have to stop doing ______ when you get saved and you need to start doing _____." This is just another form of living under a law. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law that we might live under grace. What is grace? It is God with us, in us, to help us become that which was impossible for us to do on our own. His righteousness. Trying to do it any other way is trying to get there on our own righteousness and that is exactly what He came to set us free from. We can't get there on our own. We can't get there from truth to spirit. Only spirit to truth. Inside out. We are to manifest what He is doing in us.

So what is God doing in us? For starters, He has placed His very Spirit within us. His Spirit is His very nature and includes His every attribute. Here are a few: love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control. That is what you have in you. How many of us have asked for any of these since becoming a Christian? I imagine the Father looking at us and wondering why we are asking for something we already have. So how come we don't always act with patience and we think we have to ask for it? Let us look at Philippians again.

Philippians 2:13

"...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

NIV

Oh, that's right! God put it in us to work it out of us. This IS in spirit and in truth.

1. In spirit we have everything we need for life and godliness. For example: patience

2. The problem we face is that we don't know/believe this. When we realize that we do have everything we need, like patience, it begins to change the way we think.

3. When we know/believe we have it, patience, then we live with patience.

We have everything we need. When we believe this then we live it. That is true worship in spirit and in truth. Worship isn't a slow song it is a life devoted to seeing the Kingdom of God, which Jesus said was within us, established here on the earth so that the kingdoms of the world would become the kingdoms of the Living God!

Final thought:

Ephesians 3:19

"...that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

NIV

"filled to the measure" means completely. It means spirit, soul(mind, will, and emotions), and body. Inside out! The challenge is: LET HIM OUT! I guarantee it won't hurt, even though it sounds painful, and you will enjoy the ride.

Acts 2:28

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.'

NIV

So be it!

Justin

In Spirit & In Truth: part 1

2010-05-02T22:00:00.003-05:00

John 4:24

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

NIV

Have you ever wondered what this really means. I have heard a few sermons on this Scripture, but I have always felt there has been more to it than what I have heard.

This morning during Church I had one of those services where I get a "few" sermons. I not only heard what Pastor had to preach but I also got some "downloads" from the Holy Spirit. I thought I would share what He had to say.

Let's begin with defining some of the terms used in this Passage. God is spirit, God is unseen, God is in the unseen realm, the spirit realm is the unseen realm. This is important to understanding what Jesus is saying here. Truth, when it pertains to us is referring to the seen realm. Jesus is the truth. He is the revelation of the unseen Father. He brought the Truth about the Father from the unseen realm to the seen realm. I hope that makes sense.

Now to give some background before we move forward. Under the Old Covenant, God's people were confined to a life in which they were working from the outside-in. What I mean is that they were living from the seen realm leaning toward the unseen realm, from earth to heaven. They worked from the outside of the Tabernacle into the Holy of Holies which was limited to the Chief Priests. They worshiped in truth and in spirit so to speak.

Jesus signed in blood, purchased with His life, and ushered in the New and Better Covenant. This means that now the Holy Spirit lives within all New Covenant believers. We have become the Tabernacle and our spirits are the Holy of Holies! The Scriptures also say we are seated(now) with Him in heavenly places. This doesn't mean that we have a seat way up there in the sky somewhere. It means right now, in the unseen realm, we are seated with Christ.

What does this mean? It means, under the New Covenant, we are now to live from heaven toward earth, from the unseen to the seen, from the inside out! This is also why the Bible says we live by faith and not by sight in 2 Corinthians 5:7. (In fact, we aren't given permission to live by what we see. We are exhorted to live by what we believe.) When we live from the throne it brings every area in our lives into the Kingdom of God and effects every circumstance around us.

O.K. I know that is a lot to think about but let me simplify it by fleshing it out.

David said in the Psalms that there is no place we can go from His presence. Colossians 1:17 says that in Him ALL things are held together. You cannot go anywhere that He is not. If I am in a room with you then all of me is there. Not part of me. Why do we think God can be more present in one place than the other? Why do we ask for more of His presence or glory? He simply is where He is...everywhere all the time. If anything we are becoming more aware of where He and His glory already exists.

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

NIV

How?

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

NIV

When we actually worship in spirit & in truth we fix our attention on Him. We become AWARE of His presence & He is manifested through us in countless ways. He is ALWAYS there we just become AWARE. Then what is in spirit becomes manifested in the truth or natural realm. We cannot go anywhere that He is not. This is what Jesus paid for. That we become the manifestation of the Living God. We are made in His image and His likeness and we have been commissioned by Christ to re-present Him to the world.

Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...

NIV

God is Good...Really!

2010-03-11T21:37:00.003-06:00

I just had a thought about the goodness of God and what that statement means to some people.

I have heard, more than once, a person, leader, or well-intending person say that God just went ahead and took a cancer patient so they wouldn't have to suffer any more. Really?! I mean, let's really think about this for a minute. What you're saying is that God's hands were tied? He was out of options? We were all hoping they would just get better and since that didn't happen God just relieved them of their pain? The best GOD could do was kill them?

Sound extreme? Yeah, it does to me too! I mean first of all the ENEMY is out to steal, KILL, and destroy. Second, that is the best God can do? I don't think so. I think He can handle a little thing like cancer. Besides all this, God didn't kill them the cancer(or whatever the disease may be) did.

Let me just say, I am not trying to be insensitive to anyone who has cancer or anyone who knows and loves someone who does. I am simply using it as an example because all sickness and disease falls into this category. They are all a result of the fall of man. Creation has been twisted and distorted because of sin. The GOOD news is that Jesus is the answer for all of it.

So let us look at the real issue. Cancer, Aids, Diabetes, Heart Disease, etc. are not from God. Jesus is perfect Theology. If you have seen Him you have seen the Father in Heaven. Jesus, when accused of HEALING by the power of the devil, said that He couldn't do that because the kingdom divided can't stand. In other words, satan can't heal because he was the one causing the illness. On the other side of that same coin, God can't cause sickness because He IS the Healer! God doesn't have sickness and disease to give. Period. You can't find it in Heaven, you can't find it in Jesus, so you won't find it in God. Jesus never blessed a storm and He never turned anyone away and told them it wasn't there time to get healed.

So now we are faced with the question: why don't some people get healed? For starters, let us look at Jesus' standard.

Matthew 10:7-8

7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

NIV

Notice He instructs them to let all know that the Kingdom of heaven is within reach then He tells THEM to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. Wait a minute, He meant for them to pray for them, right? Surely He didn't tell them to do it. After all, we can't heal anyone, right? I don't know about you, but I think He meant what He said. Look at this:

John 20:21

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

NIV

I believe that this verse is self explanatory. I am not saying we can do this in and of ourselves. I am saying that Jesus gave us a commission and we have yet to step up even close to His standard for fear of pride or not looking humble which is pride. It is just that, a co-mission. He doesn't send us alone. He goes with us and we get to do it together. In the verses following this one in John, Jesus breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. Coincidence? I think not.

The facts I know: God has not made a list of requirements to be healed other than to receive it. The Greek word for saved is SOZO(save, heal, deliver):

NT:4982

Sozo (sode'-zo); from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saoz, "safe"); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):

KJV - heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

Jesus came to seek and save(sozo) the lost.

Acts 2:21

21 And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved(sozo).'

NIV

In case there is any question, God wants all to be healed. So why doesn't He just heal everyone who is sick? Well, why doesn't HE just take us all to heaven? I mean if EVERYTHING is done in accordance to His will, as some say, then how do we explain people dying and going to hell when Scripture clearly states that God isn't willing that any should perish(go to hell) but all to come to repentance?

It is because He wants us to be apart of His Kingdom. He gave earth to man to rule as He rules, to take care of as He does. We simply haven't gotten it right yet! He has sent His Spirit to empower us to do as HE does. Kinda what Jesus did. He was the most normal Christian to walk on the earth. We aren't there yet but that is our goal.

I don't claim by any means to have all the answers but that shouldn't slow our pursuit of them or our pursuit of healing. As a great man once said, when someone isn't healed I refuse to blame anyone. We just press on. We just continue to do what we know to do.

Philippians 3:16

Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

NIV

Just some thoughts. What do you think?

2010-03-01T08:56:00.004-06:00

I just had some thoughts in the car today I thought I would share.

The atmosphere around you is so linked it is married to the view you have of Father God and how you perceive His view of you.

When we have a Scripturally accurate view of ourselves through the Father's eyes the next step is to view EVERYONE around us in that same light.

Why do you think the Scriptures tell us to be holy, faithful, and to love? One of the core reasons Jesus came to the earth was to reveal the Father to mankind. Jesus said that just as the Father sent Him so He is sending us. This means one of our responsibilities as sons and daughters of God is to reveal our Father to those around us. How do we reveal the Father? We don't do it by getting on a 'soap box' and preaching our convictions down at someone. We do it by being holy as He is holy. We do it by being faithful because He is faithful. We do it by loving not only those who love us but those who mistreat us as well because He so loved the WORLD that He gave His one and only Son for EVERYONE..."good" and "bad". He is Love and we are made in His image and His likeness...We were made to look like Him!

The picture of unconditional love (love with no strings attached) is found when we give to someone without expecting them to pay us back in any way. Better still, it is seen when we give (forgiveness, money, encouragement, respect, honor, loyalty, etc.) to those who are considered "unworthy" of it. Seem impossible? Great news, what is impossible with men is possible with God!

Just some thoughts. What do you think?

Breath Knocked Out!

2010-02-24T22:38:00.002-06:00

Psalm 139:14 (The Message)

"I thank you, High God — you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration — what a creation!"

When was the last time God took your breath away?

On the way home from church tonight we were listening to Brian Johnson sing "What does it sound like" by Ian McIntosh and it literally took my breath away.

What does it sound like when you sing heaven's song
What does it feel like when heaven comes down
What does it look like when God is all around
Let it come

This is what it sounds like when you sing heavens song
This is what it feels like when heaven comes down
This is what it looks like when God is all around
Let it come

When was the last time you stood in awe of Him? When was the last time He moved you with the thought of His love? When was the last time He took your breath away?

God wants to restore the 'awe' we have for Him. The writer of this psalm is talking about how God is completely aware of him and how there is no place he can go were God is not there. Earlier in the chapter he writes:

Psalm 139:6 (The Message)

This is too much, too wonderful —

I can't take it all in!

I CANT TAKE IT ALL IN! What an amazing statement! I love it!

I remember the first time I went to Roaring Springs to work at camp. During the altar call at one of the evening services I was sitting on the front row just experiencing the moment. I had really never seen an altar call like this before. I was watching some of the young ladies from our church in a circle praying together for each other. The passion they leaked for God and the love they had for one another was breathtaking! It was as if God had not only shown up but He had actually stood on my chest. I was overwhelmed by this...I was overwhelmed by HIM! In that moment I was feeling this verse. I actually had to get up and walk around outside the tabernacle for a while because I was so messed up by what I was experiencing.

When was the last time you were messed up?

When was the last time you were overwhelmed?

When was the last time He took your breath away?

When it happens again, remember these words:

This is what it sounds like when you sing heavens song
This is what it feels like when heaven comes down
This is what it looks like when God is all around
Let it come

LET IT COME!!!

Believe: part 1

2010-02-18T16:12:00.005-06:00

Mark 9:23

"Everything is possible for him who believes."

NIV

What an amazing statement! A father poses an interesting statement to Jesus: "If you can." Jesus seems astonished at this and replies: "If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes."

Yesterday I was sitting in line at a fast food place listening to a podcast from Heidi Baker and something she said just grabbed a deep part of me. It almost reminded me of times when, as a kid, I was about to dart out into the street without paying much attention to the traffic. I would be startled at first when my mother would grab me suddenly to keep me from running out in front of a car. Then relief would sweep over me as I realized not only what could have happened but that her love for me had actually forbid me from experiencing it. In this moment, as I sit there listening(not only to the podcast), I heard the Holy Spirit say to me "I only need someone to believe Me." Instantly images flashed through my imagination of any and every thing I could think of that would fall into the category of impossible. Not that it necessarily effected me physically, but it took by breath away...if that makes sense.

Believe...what a word. I mean, it is more than just believing God exists or even in Jesus being the Son of God. Believing that He is who He says He is...that just has a power to it. He told Moses "I AM that I AM". I think of it as "I AM ______, you fill in the blank!" He is all, in all, created all, holds all of it together, has all, and will always be all. The question is: Do we believe Him? Do we?

About now you are saying "Yes!" and "Amen!" but let's think about it. The Bible says God is good, His plans for us are good, everything good comes from Him, and it also says the "thief" (the devil) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Now many think that sickness and disease is either from God or at least allowed by Him. This school of thought is backed by the idea that these things somehow make us better Christians and more like Jesus. One problem is Jesus was and now is NEVER sick! Hold on to that fact, we will revisit it later. Another thought is that we are being punished for something we have done wrong. Problem because Jesus took our punishment. Well enough of that...I'm getting on a 'soap box'.

My point is sickness and disease ONLY steals, kills, and destroys! That is the ultimate end of every disease and sickness. It steals time and money. That sounds like the thief to me. It don't sound GOOD to me. Any child could tell you that...hmmm I heard Jesus say some stuff about being like a child. Don't get me wrong, God can use sick and diseased people to touch people. People can get saved by witnessing the faith in a cancer patient. A person can ultimately turn to God due to an illness. Just don't be confused and think God was forced to make someone sick to get into their lives. He can win a poker game with a pair of twos. No matter how much we and the devil may try to derail Him He always wins. God also has no sickness or disease to give and as a matter of fact, about my statement that Jesus in not sick now, the Bible has this to say:

1 John 4:17

...as(like) He is(NOW not was), so are we in this world.

NKJV *emphasis mine

Enough said.

Everything is possible. EVERYTHING is possible. Say that a few times and let it sink in. Better yet, let it sink out. All of this is already in our spirit we just need to let it out! I have a lot more to say about this but I am going to stop here for now. If I were to be totally honest I am blogging this more for me than anyone else. Not that I have a problem understanding that God is good but I am attempting to grasp the understanding that everything is possible for him who believes. Will you join me on this journey? Do you dare? Do I dare? We shall see.

Justin

God is right here

2010-02-10T22:20:00.005-06:00

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

KJV

I have been thinking about this scripture a lot lately. It's a passage that's quoted often and fairly simple to understand. The first part makes me think of times when I was a small child and I would run to my dad and climb into his lap any time I was afraid of something. He was not just a place to hid in but he was a strong place to hid. Once I got there I knew that nothing could harm me. There was complete peace and safety in me when I was near him. When I apply that experience to Father God I am overwhelmed with peace. After all, He is the Prince of Peace and lets face it, there is no one stronger!

I remember when dad died and I was standing alone in his shop just after we found out. The only thing I was thinking about at that time is how much my dad had been there for me. I couldn't help but think of the time Jessica and I had come home late and I jumped onto our water bed and the mattress burst at the seam. I jumped off and held the tear up above the water level to keep it from leaking. The only thing I knew to do was call dad and ask him to come over and 'give me a hand' since I couldn't move without water going everywhere. Oh, did I mention it was 12 o'clock in the morning? He came right over and literally 'bailed me out'. With this memory fresh in my mind I asked myself: "Who is going to be my dad now?" Who was going to be the one I could always count on? Who was going to be the one who would never let me down? Then I hear the Holy Spirit answer: "Who do you think I AM and where do you think I have been all the time?" ...WOW! I have always known but in that moment I REALLY knew.

The best part about this scripture for me are the words "very present". You see, when we are in trouble, it isn't like we call out and God has to come running to our aid. He IS right there the whole time. When I first repented and turned around He was right there behind me. When I've messed up and veered off His path (no matter how far), as soon as I turn to head back down that road I find Him there right where I am. I don't have to travel back to where I stepped off. "Where can I flee from your presence?" Psalms 139:7-10

I suppose I have been thinking about this because I have had a tough time adjusting to where we are. At times, I have felt like we are in the 'wilderness'. I feel like Moses when he spent 40 years basically baby sitting a bunch of people waiting for them to die so their kids could go into the Promise Land. It is hard not to feel like a baby sitter at times. I was missing being a pastor or at least a carpenter. These things I felt like I was good at, well... at times I did. I started to feel like I had failed at both of those and that I didn't have much to show for all we had done over the last 10 years. Then..."very present help" happened. A ton of bad ideas can be wiped away with one encouraging word, a slap on the back, or an invitation to shine. God saw where I was at because He was where I was at!

What was this one thing? I got asked to speak at chapel. For whatever reason, that was it. He knew it and He was there for me. I don't really know how to explain it but everything about it energized me! It was as if my Father was wrapping His amazingly strong and loving arms around me to whisper in my ear: "I AM right here and I haven't gone anywhere."

I am right where I'm supposed to be,

in the center of His plan for me.

This isn't something I can always see,

but I know it will be good for me.

I find it hard to be THIS transparent but hope that it helps someone. He is truly amazing and I hope you know Him like that.

Blessings,
Justin

Dream a "LITTLE" Dream

2009-08-09T15:04:00.003-05:00

I spoke this morning at church about dreaming and I thought it was worth blogging about.

2 Chronicles 7:11 NIV

11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace.

What would it be like to be at the end of our lives, look back and have accomplished every dream we have ever had?

If you read all through Proverbs you will find the comparison between evil and righteousness.

Evil desires lead to destruction…period. Righteous desires lead to life.

Proverbs gives us a list of the people that God will grant their desires:

Those who fear Him, Those who love Him

Those who are diligent, the good man, the blameless, the kind

Those who sow righteousness, The house that is right with God

Those who seek God

Proverbs 10:24 NIV

...what the righteous desire will be granted.

Psalm 37:4 NIV

Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

(Delight in Hebrew means soft & pliable)

The will of God in our life is to have righteous desires.

Prov 11:23 NIV

The desire of the righteous ends only in good

Acts 2:17 NIV

In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

(Old men in both the Hebrew and the Greek means mature…elders…fathers)

Sons and daughters first learn to speak!

Young men see visions (God ideas) that teach them to dream or have righteous desires.

There is a difference between fulfilling a vision and living a dream! Vision is good because it is God showing us His dreams. We live out His dreams through the visions he gives us...young men/women. However this is not the end. He is showing us His dreams so we may learn to dream like Him. This is maturity...this is what "old men"/elders/fathers do.

You see, God spoke everything into existence and when He had made Adam He included him in the creation process. He told Adam to name all the animals! God didn't tell Adam what to name them...He gave him the responsibility. God is leading each and every one of his children to maturity. In maturity we learn to dream dreams. Our dreams are the creativity of God in us to bring His Kingdom to earth.

Many Christians think every thing they do must be out of obedience to the directions God gives them for life. This is not necessarily bad but God wants us to step out and dream our own dreams. He wants us to dream like He does. We are safe to dream when we accept the truth that Jesus became sin so we may be the righteousness of God. "What the righteous desire will be granted." -Prov. 10:24. What would happen if we began to dream? What would happen if we knew our dreams (righteous desires that only end in good) were backed by Heaven?

"People determine the size of your God by the size of your dreams"

Dream a "LITTLE" dream!

First Times

2009-06-29T23:27:00.002-05:00

"The first time that I saw your face
The first time that you spoke my name
The first time that I heard you say
There's a first time with me everyday
The first time that I felt your touch
The first time I couldn't get enough"

This is the chorus from the song "First Time" by Family Force 5

The song messes me up every time I hear or think about the words. I know there are songs out there like this that raise the question "Is he talking about a girl or God?" but when I hear it my heart leaps in me at the thought of a first time with God every day!

When I think about it I remember many "first times" in my life. I remember the first time my Mom rented a movie. It was "Pete's Dragon" when we didn't own a VCR and she rented one from Albertson's...hilarious when you think about it now! I remember when Jessica and I went on our first date, our first kiss, our first day of marriage, and so on. I remember when I was first saved. I remember when I was first filled with the Holy Spirit. That day my life was flipped up-side-down and backwards. It was absolutely amazing and the thought that there are first times like that with God every day is overwhelming to me.

Isaiah 6:1-4

'1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.'

When the writers in the Bible wanted to emphasise something they didn't have exclamation points to show it, they would simply repeat the word. There are only a few times a word is found to be repeated three times. Here in Isaiah, he is describing what he sees at the throne of God. There are angels there flying around the throne. They are not simply repeating "holy, holy, holy" but they are SCREAMING "HHOOLLYYY"! They are in fact screaming it so loud that the doorposts of the temple are shaking!

If you have ever been educated about earthquakes you know that a doorway is the safest place to be because it is the strongest place in the framing of a wall. Here in the temple of God...in HEAVEN...the most perfect doorpost in existence is shaking because the angels are screaming so loud.

The point here is that every time the angels see a different attribute of the glory of God they are so amazed that they cannot help but be overcome with His holiness and respond the only way they can. That is what it means to have a first time with God every day.
If that doesn't move something in you then it is obvious it has been too long since you had a first time with the Lover of your soul. Pursue the next first time with God, it is impossible to
be disappointed with Him...He's AWESOME!

Bless you,
Justin

First Times

2009-06-29T22:31:00.012-05:00

"The first time that I saw your face

The first time that you spoke my name

The first time that I heard you say

There's a first time with me everyday

The first time that I felt your touch

The first time I couldn't get enough"

This is the chorus from the song "First Time" by Family Force 5

The song messes me up every time I hear or think about the words. I know there are songs out there like this that raise the question "Is he talking about a girl or God?" but when I hear it my heart leaps in me at the thought of a first time with God every day!

When I think about it I remember many "first times" in my life. I remember the first time my Mom rented a movie. It was "Pete's Dragon" when we didn't own a VCR and she rented one from Albertson's...hilarious when you think about it now! I remember when Jessica and I went on our first date, our first kiss, our first day of marriage, and so on. I remember when I was first saved. I remember when I was first filled with the Holy Spirit. That day my life was flipped up-side-down and backwards. It was absolutely amazing and the thought that there are first times like that with God every day is overwhelming to me.

Isaiah 6:1-4

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

If you have ever been educated about earthquakes you know that a doorway is the safest place to be because it is the strongest place in the framing of a wall. Here in the temple of God...in HEAVEN...the most perfect doorpost in existence is shaking because the angels are screaming so loud.

The point here is that every time the angels see a different attribute of the glory of God they are so amazed that they cannot help but be overcome with His holiness and respond the only way they can. That is what it means to have a first time with God every day.

If that doesn't move something in you then it is obvious it has been too long since you had a first time with the Lover of your soul. Pursue the next first time with God, it is impossible to be disappointed with Him...He's AWESOME!

Bless you,

Justin

Divine Appointments

2009-05-18T22:29:00.003-05:00

On one occasion I was driving to Lubbock. It was early in the morning and I turned off the radio and spent some time communing with God. In the course of the conversation the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says "You have learned to look for Divine appointments" and I said "yes Lord." Then He says "You have learned that everyone is a Divine appointment" and again I said "yes Lord." Then He asks me "do realize I made you to create Divine appointments?" I had to think about that one for a second. He began to show me how each and every relationship and encounter with people we have to be aware of the importance of our influence in their lives.

I thought about this and a few Scriptures come to mind.

Ps 24:7

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

NIV

Matt 16:19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

NIV

Acts 3:6-7

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

NIV

I pictured myself sitting on the throne as a prince in the Kingdom and the King sitting next to me on His throne. I understood it was for me to distribute the Kingdom to others as they came to me. Then I asked Him "What if I make a discision that isn't what you want?" and He responded "I'll let you know."

Bill Johnson often has said that the Holy Spirit is imprisoned inside unbelieving believers. Sounds like an oximoron but what he is saying is that many who call Jesus "Lord" are living powerless lives because they don't believe they are the righteousness of God and they don't believe they have what it takes to live a supernatural lifestyle. The Holy Spirit inside each believer is more than enough to see all impossible situations bow to the name of Jesus.

We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are walking Divine appointments. We are to imitate our older Brother Jesus. He is the perfect picture of the normal Christian. We are the gates and He wants out!

I challenge you to take risks. You may not have all the answers to all their questions and that is o.k. you don't have to. However, you know and have inside you the One who has all the answers and for that matter He IS all the answers. You have to trust God in you to speak to and through you into the lives of the world around you. We have to start answering the questions they are asking and stop answering the ones they are not.

Take risks. Pray for the sick. Love the unloveable. Speak the Word of God with boldness. Above all remember that the only thing that counts, according to Paul, is faith expressing it'self through love.

Justin

Relationships: part 2

2009-04-11T22:49:00.006-05:00

Recently, I have been hooking up with old friends on Facebook. I am not calling any of you old, I am simply stating that we haven't seen each other in a long time. I have to say that I have had some amazing relationships over the course of my life. I am thankful for every person in my life, past or present.

I would like to start by saying that we cannot dwell on or in the past, but we can and MUST learn from it. The question is: what can I learn from my past? What can I glean from those decisions that I have made that can be helpful today?

The fact that I have a son who is about to turn 12 years old in a month or so is contributing the most to this time of reflection. I want him to know the truth about the changes a middle school boy goes through...the physical, mental, and emotional changes. Boy, oh boy!

Girls, girls, girls! I think that is all that was on my mind at that age...yeah, relationships, that is a big subject. It is a big SCARY subject seeing how I don't know much more about girls now than I did back then. Seriously, I made some poor decisions as a teenager when it came to girls. In fact, I would like to apologize to those women I may have hurt or disrespected...whew!

I am by no means a perfect husband but I AM trying. One of my greatest desires is to see my son make better decisions than I did and become a better man than I have become. It is my responsibility as his father to reflect the character and nature of our Father in Heaven. I have made it my conviction to be the greatest influence in his adolescent years second only to God.

My dad NEVER talked to me about girls. I remember on one occasion when we were visiting relatives in Tennessee. We were driving somewhere with my Great-Aunt Thelma and we passed a house where a girl was out mowing the grass. Dad looks over and tells me "there you go." I honestly had no idea what he was talking about! My aunt said he was talking about the girl but he never did that before and never did it again. I hope I can be a little less awkward about it than that...no offense to my dad.

I want Tyson to know how God and I expect him to pray for, find, and treat his future wife. I am thankful for the relationships I have had. They have made me who I am today but I am not proud of some of the things I did in those relationships. I pray Tyson will look back on this time and be proud of the fact that God was in his life and he made good decisions. I want to make that kind of impact on him...pray for me.

Justin
P.S. I also have a daughter...please pray for me a lot!

Where do I draw the line?

2009-03-16T22:53:00.005-05:00

John 12:47-50

47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." -NIV

I was reading over this Passage the other day and just had to stop to let it soak in. Jesus says here that the person who hears my words but doesn't keep them are free from His judgement...WHAT?! You're trying to tell me when someone hears and doesn't obey that the King of kings and the Lord of lords doesn't zap them? He doesn't JUDGE them? Isn't God supposed to be punishing us when we do wrong?

I am kidding of course. I just want to point out something here. If we are followers of Jesus, then we should be in the process of becoming more like Him. If He doesn't judge then neither should we. I understand the motives behind so many in the church coming down hard on people who live in sin but the problem is it isn't Scriptural.

I have found recently that I get in more trouble for talking about the Love of God and this portion of Scripture that we are looking at here. The issue is people use guilt, shame, and fear to manipulate others to act the way they think they should. Oh, don't get me wrong, they are doing so with the best intentions. The only problem is...God doesn't do things that way.

God is sooo much better than we think most of the time. It is time the church truly repents. True repentance is simply changing the way we think. We need to start with changing the way we think about how we think God thinks about us. Wow, what a mouth full. This is the place we need to start...and I will stop here for now ending with this thought. If I am to moderate the actions of the people in my church then where do I draw the line of grace? How long do we put up with people's mistakes and bad decisions? When do I put my foot down? When did Jesus put His foot down? Spend some time on this thought. If you have something on your mind please share.

Justin

Whatcha lookin' at?

2009-03-14T15:36:00.003-05:00

Often in our lives we are affected by people and circumstances that surround us. This happens to the best of us even though we are warned about the dangers of it by Scripture.

Isaiah 60:1-2

1. "Arise, shine, for your light has come,and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Darkness covers the earth...that tells me that the earth is not the place I want to fix my gaze!

The point is that if we are looking at the world that is covered in darkness (disasters, famines, economic collapse...) then we are promised to be discouraged, depressed, and disheartened by it.

When we live in that state we tend to only be hopeful for the next God encounter. We come to church and other meetings to get a "boost" so to speak. We have to have these encounters to lift us up. Sounds good and sounds like we are "fighting the good fight" and "enduring till the end." This is "survival" christianity. Jesus didn't come and die for mankind so we could get by. He made us more than overcomers!

This is why we are commanded by our God in Isaiah 60 to ARISE AND SHINE!!! You see, our Light has come, the Glory of God is upon us. Jesus is the Light of the world. He tells us to let OUR light shine before men. We need to come to each gathering with our heads already lifted because the Bible says He IS the lifter of our heads! We need to come to each meeting not as though we need a "pick me up" but to get to the next level. We are supposed to go on from Glory to Glory. Not Glory to empty back to Glory. Each encounter is designed by God to take us to a new height and a new level in Him. We won't get to a new level if we keep going down after each encounter.

Don't allow the darkness around you to bring you down. You may be saying: "that is easy for you to say..." I would like to point out that the Bible says that we are to live by faith and not by sight. We are never given permission to live by what we can see. More times than not we are living by what we cannot explain much less see! We have only one choice...look up!

Justin

time gone by....

2009-02-19T22:25:00.002-06:00

Well, it has been a heck a long time since I have blogged. Same ole excuse, been soooo busy, but it is true none the less.

I have been reflecting today on my life experiences, mostly the hard ones. I was thinking about the really difficult times when, you know, it feels like the end of the world at the time.

I remember when my dad committed suicide. It was out of nowhere. He wasn't the kind to do something like that so it took us completely by suprise. Thank God that I had an encounter with Him about 6 months before that and all my weight fell on Him.

Weight...an interesting word. You might not think so unless you are thinking about your's, weight I mean. Consider this:

Proverbs 3:5 - KJV

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Trust is a simple word that we often take for granted the meaning. Dictionaries define trust as confidence in, dependance upon, faith in, or belief in. Well that sounds simple enough but let me illustrate trust in a way that might help. Perhaps you are sitting in a chair as you read this. You are placing your "trust" in that chair. You have placed your full weight in the chair and you are fully confident and believe it will support your weight. That is trust. More for some than others.

Now apply that concept to what the writer of Proverbs is saying. Trust - put all your weight - in the Lord and lean not - put no weight - in your own understanding. When we trust God we are literally placing all of our weight in Him. We are completely confident that He is able to hold us up. We are completely dependant on Him. We have faith in Him. We believe Him!

That is what it means to Trust Him!

Just a simple thought but powerful and I hope it encourages someone.

Justin

2008-07-18T14:34:00.002-05:00

Psalm 24:7-10 (NIV)

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty — He is the King of glory.

This passage speaks volumes to the responsibility we have in God’s Kingdom. Jacob witnessed something that confounded him. He saw a stairway leading from Earth to Heaven and witnessed angels ascending and descending on it. I believe Jacob missed it. He declared that place to be the place that Heaven came to Earth. I think God was trying to show him that he was the place where Heaven touched Earth.
This verse calls us to lift up our heads. We are called to keep our focus on God. Jesus said that if we have seen Him then we have seen the Father. He is the image of the invisible God. He did only what He saw the Father do. His focus was on God all the time.
We are called gates. What do gates do? They let things in and they keep things out. According to this passage we are to let the King of glory in. I can go on for days on what all this entails but simply put; we were created to release the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Kingdom means the King’s domain. He has chosen to invade Earth through His children. Jesus was the perfect example of this. He was about His Father’s business. We are to be about our Father’s business.
You may ask why there is so much tragedy in the world and why God would allow such things. The facts are that we live in a fallen world that longs for redemption and God has created us to release His environment to change the environment around us. God wants everything that is in Heaven to be on Earth and He wants everything that is not in Heaven not to be on Earth. We are the gates that are responsible for that. If we would rise to the responsibility, shift all of our focus to the Lord, and do the things we see Jesus do then we would see the world around us transform into His world.

Pastor Justin

God is kind but not soft

2008-02-15T14:02:00.006-06:00

Romans 2:4 - THE MESSAGE

Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

I recently came across this scripture in the "Message" (a transliteration of Scripture in modern speech) and thought it would make an awesome topic to blog. God is kind but not soft.

What do you see when you close your eyes and picture God? What characteristics do you think of when you hear someone say "God"? "God is good!" followed by a response of "all the time!" is a familiar cheer among believers. What does "good" mean? Does it mean he gives you everything you think you need or want? Is He a "good Dad" who, because of His goodness, tends to spoil His children because we remind Him that He is supposed to give us the desires of our hearts.

May this Scripture remind us that He has our best interests at heart. A great example of this is when a rebellious two year old child is fighting to get away from mom as they walk through a busy parking lot. It would take the Jaws of Life to remove her hand from clasping his. Is this because she is just trying to exercise her authority over him? Any one with good sense knows it is for the child’s own good; however, consider the thoughts of the child. He is fighting her with all his might in order to go his own way. Sound familiar? He is fighting because he doesn’t think he is a baby and just needs his independence.

We would be wise to hold on tight to the hand of God because the “traffic” we are in is dangerous and only He knows the safe way through it to the destination.

I will leave you with this thought I love from this Passage.

Better think this one through from the beginning.

Just a thought,
Pastor Justin

Humility

2008-01-24T12:22:00.000-06:00

I realize it has been several months since my last post. Needless to say, it has been a little crazy around here over the Holidays. Here are some thoughts that have been rattling around my head lately.

When we examine the heart of Christians in America we find a false sense of what true Biblical humility is. I have met so many believers who have such a small view of themselves that they fall short of the call on their lives.

The majority of the Church has attempted to shy away from pride by thinking they are worthless. By doing so, they have entered into a lie that has brought them to the very thing they are trying to avoid. That lie, that we are worthlessness, only accomplishes to turn our focus inward. When we do this we are no longer focused on God. We then begin to feel that we are not worthy of an intimate relationship with Him. This mentality separates us from fellowship with God and only puts more focus on our own existence apart from Him. We see only our abilities and more so our inabilities. Pride is simply a self-image that is apart from God.

This is extremely important in the Kingdom of God because God resists the proud. Proverbs 16:18 also teaches us that pride comes before destruction.

So what is true humility? It is not what you think!

Numbers 12:3

(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
NIV

Who wrote the book of Numbers? MOSES DID! Moses wrote, about himself, “I am the most humble man on the face of the planet.” That is amazing! If someone told you that they were the most humble person in town you would laugh at them and call them arrogant.

Look at David. When he came to the battle with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 he was upset because no one had put this giant in his place. His oldest brother Eliab got upset with David and called him arrogant and conceited. Eliab had been rejected by God to be the King of Israel in the previous chapter. God only rejects people for the pride in their hearts. Eliab was rejected for the very thing he accused David of. David reported to King Saul that God had given him the ability to kill a lion and a bear. David let the King know that the giant would suffer the same fate. Humility is an honest assessment of who we are in Christ.
The Bible does say that our righteousness is like dirty rags and that apart from Jesus we can’t do anything but we are not apart from Him if He is the Lord of our lives.

We are the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) He paid a very high price for us to be “seated with Christ in Heavenly places.” (Ephesians 2:6) The Bible reveals to the world that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Many have understood this to mean that Jesus has this title just because He is Supreme. In part this is true; however, the greater truth is that we are all called to be kings and lords. God told Adam to rule over the earth. We have the same responsibility to rule. When we have that kind of mentality and step up to the purpose for which we were created, then Jesus truly becomes King of kings and Lord of lords.

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." -Kris Vallotton

Pastor Justin

More on Relationships

2007-11-01T17:14:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday I went out to the prison to lead a bible study. I had a very interesting time. There has been some dissension among the inmates that have been coming and it boils down to a clash of personalities. I remained in control of the situation but set back to let them discuss with each other the issues they had. Once everyone had shared I addressed the group. I pointed out to them that each one had been offended at one point or another during the discussion. I also told them that they cannot leave the meeting with the offense. Satan would like nothing more than this group of men be at odds with each other.

We are all apart of the family of God and it is just that- a family. A family isn't a place where there are no disagreements. On the contrary, disagreements are where we learn to communicate. This takes place in family because it is a safe environment where we have room to fail and learn from our mistakes. The Church needs to realize this responsibility. We don't always agree with each other; however, we must work through our disagreements and allow healing. I understand that we cannot please everyone. Jesus said that it is impossible for there to be no offenses. There are always going to be disagreements but we are instructed to do everything possible to keep the peace. Leaving a church as a result of an offense is never a healthy thing and it gives Satan power to bring destruction.

I used the example of siblings to get this point across. I grew up with a younger brother. We spent most of our childhood fighting and arguing. It seemed like we couldn't stand each other. However, if a bully came along to mess with my little brother then there was war. No one was allowed to pick on him but me and I wouldn't stand for someone else doing it because he is MY brother.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. It is normal for us to butt heads but we must not allow it to destroy our relationships because there is a bully out there trying to destroy the family of God. Our adversary the devil is out there to bully our brothers and sisters and we have a responsibility to our family to encourage them and build them up.

Once I finished sharing and encouraging the group we prayed together and forgiveness reigned in that place. This is how we mature together by overcoming these trials. We are just beginning this process but I know God is doing great things here in Littlefield.

God bless and keep you!

Knowing the Banana: part 4

2007-10-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

Phil 3:12-16
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
NIV
Finally, we have reached the end of the banana. Not that I haven't enjoyed every minute of it, but now we can see the peak of this mountain. Paul makes it clear that even he hasn't got it all yet but that isn't going to slow him down. His intention is to apprehend what Jesus called him to apprehend. He is coming back to the first point he made that I pointed to in part 1. He is going to forget everything behind and go after the goal.
First of all he isn't just forgetting what God has done for him but he is leaving the "burning bush" and he is running toward the "Mount Sinai." (If Moses hadn't left the bush he would have never experienced the mountain). He isn't just walking toward it either; this is his total consuming focus in life. He is "straining toward" and "pressing on" to know Christ.
What is the goal? What is the prize? It is the knowledge of Christ and the becoming like Him. Look at what Jesus said:
John 17:3-4
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
NIV
We would be wise to follow Paul's example to strive to know God this way; every way. God's desire is to reveal Himself to us in every way. Eternal life begins with the knowledge of God. Our perfection comes when we, like Christ, only do what we see our Father in heaven doing. Jesus paid to make this impossibility possible. The key here is that Paul says it takes maturity to see this and he even goes as far as to say that is the way the mature should view life.
Ultimately it is God that brings us to this understanding only through a relationship and time spent with Him. Paul makes a dramatic statement that derails all religious regulations when he says "only let us live up to what we have already attained." In other words, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What God, through a relationship with Him, has revealed to us and the convictions He has established in our lives is the law written on our hearts and we are required to live up to that which we have attained. Take note of this scripture:
Gal 5:16
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
NIV
I believe the whole Book and when it says here that I will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature when I walk with God, led by His Spirit, I believe it. And that is a whole other book so I will end with this. If you focus on sin or not sinning you will sin. If you focus on God you won't.
Rom 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
NIV
Just enjoy the banana and God will handle the rest!
God bless!

Knowing the Banana: part 3

2007-10-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

Phil 3:10-11
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV

Paul here says he wants to know the "power of his resurrection". We know the Bible says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. Paul says he wants to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. Many Christians think this means we are to suffer like Jesus suffered so we can have fellowship with Him. That's dumb. Jesus went through all of that suffering so we wouldn't have to. He paid for us because we couldn't pay for us ourselves. Who thinks that they could actually gain something by their own suffering; our righteousness is as filthy rags. God isn't in the business of suffering because He can't give what He doesn't have. Suffering is the devils business and Jesus came so we can be free from suffering. Read Isaiah 61.

What Paul is saying here is that he wants to join in the benefits that come from Jesus' suffering. He wants to live in the blessings of what Jesus paid for. Jesus' death wasn't just enough to get us into heaven. His life was worth WAY more than that wasn't it? He paid for our freedom from sin, death, torment from the devil, and for man's fellowship with God to be restored so we may rule the Earth as He had intended Adam to. This is what Paul was talking about. Jesus paid through His suffering what needed to be paid so we can have a real relationship with Him and our Father in Heaven. Paul wants to know Him.

"...becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

I want to point out something in John 7 that I think can explain this better.

John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as c the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
NIV

First of all, we are to take a drink of the Spirit and that drink will become "streams of living water." In other words, we are to get life from God (drink) and our life will become empowered (streams of life) to give life to everyone around us that comes for a drink. That is amazing! What a massive responsibility we have. I'll dig into that another time.

Notice that verse 39 says that the Spirit had not been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. That's interesting. Why the need to wait until Jesus was glorified? Well, what is the primary job of the Holy Spirit? His main purpose is to make us more like Jesus. His job is to perfect us. I know, what a tough job, huh? Think about it this way, if the Spirit had come prior to Jesus being glorified then He would be making the disciples more like Jesus before the cross. He came after Jesus was glorified because we are to be like the glorified Christ. We are being transformed into the likeness of the Jesus who sets at the right hand of the Father, not the Jesus who walked this Earth. Many Christians are still weeping at the cross and God wants us to know the life after the resurrection. The power Jesus displayed on Earth as a man walking in right relationship with God was awesome but He wants us to know the greater power of the resurrection. God considers the raising of Jesus from the dead the greatest thing that has ever been done. It is greater than all of creation. That is what He wants us to know. That is what Paul wanted to know.

God bless you.

Knowing the Banana: part 2

2007-10-07T08:32:00.000-05:00

Phil 3:8-11
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV

I want to pick up where I left off last time. We talked about how Paul considered everything a loss compared to knowing Christ. Here he is considering all those former things junk in order that he might gain Christ and be found in Him. John writes in his Gospel account: "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30. When we loose who we are we gain who He is. That is awesome because it is far greater a thing for Christ to live through me. Then all things are possible!

Paul then makes the statement that the righteousness that comes from God is through faith in Christ. He is telling us that our righteousness should come from God. That righteousness, that comes from God, comes only by faith; faith in Jesus Christ. Consider this, we are saved by grace through faith. Grace comes from God, righteousness comes from God and they both can only come through faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. James tells us that faith without action is dead and it can't save you. Therefore, when we believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ and declare Him to be the Lord(Ruler) of our lives then He supplies the power, equipment, weapons, armor, wisdom, strength, resources, and everything else we need to live holy and all we have to do is believe and act on our beliefs. We cannot sit idle in a pew (or chair) and expect God to do the work. That is like going to work and sitting at your desk expecting your boss to do the job he hired you to do. You would get fired! Well God has a job for us and He has given us everything we need in order to perform our job. I am not talking about a life of works getting you into heaven, it is an issue of the heart. The fruit of someone trying to earn heaven and someone who is living by faith from heaven(we are seated in heavenly places- Ephesians 2:6) looks the same but it comes from a different place, one comes from pride and the other comes from God.

We need to stop walking around like whipped dogs and stand up straight as David did and begin knocking down a few giants and cutting off their heads. We are here to destroy the works of the devil and bring heaven to earth.

Well, I thought that this series of entries would be coming to a close soon but I guess I thought wrong. This "banana" is bigger than I thought and it is going to take more bites to get it all down. I pray today that you see God somewhere you have never seen Him before, that He would reveal Himself to you in a whole new way. I pray that everything that is done by you today would prosper and you would accomplish, with much satisfaction, everything you set out to do. God bless!

Knowing a Banana: part 1

2007-09-26T23:05:00.000-05:00

The Apostle Paul. What comes to mind when you hear that name? Some think of prison, some think of a 180 degree conversion, and some think of martyrdom. I think of a man who's life changed so drastically that he changed the world. I want to leave a legacy like that!

Paul wrote most of the New Testament in the form of letters to the Churches he felt responsible for. I often wonder if the recipients of those letters fully understood what he was trying to tell them. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they read them. Philippians 3 is one such letter.

Phil 3:4-21

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

I am amazed by this passage. Paul was not bashing his previous lifestyle before conversion as many believe. He was one of the greatest and most faithful Jews of his time. He tells us that he had "more" reason to put confidence in the flesh. He was a full blooded Hebrew, descendant of Pharisees, he memorized the Law, he Biblically opposed anyone who he felt was a threat to his beliefs, and he was righteous because of his adherence to the Old Covenant. He was the man! This is why his conversion to Christ was so HUGE!

So he goes on to say that all of this he considers a "loss" for the sake of Christ. The word loss here means damage or a detrament. He is saying that all he lived for prior to his encounter with Christ was completely scriptural but in comparison with Christ it is destructive. Why? Because he understands that to know Christ is far greater a reward than a self-centered, law based, do this and don't do that system of righteousness. That we can all relate to but he gets even deeper.

He says that more than that he considers "everything" a loss compared to the "surpassing greatness" (beyond our carnal understanding) of knowing Jesus Christ. That is HUGE! He isn't talking about sin here; he is talking about everything prior to right now is a detriment to knowing Christ, right now. Let me say it this way, to know Christ is to "be knowing" Him. It is a constant state of discovery of who Jesus is. Paul considers everything in the past less than zero; in a scale of 1 to 10 it is like -10. He isn't just talking about failure he is talking about successes as well. Consider Moses, he meets with God at a burning bush. I have to think at that time in Moses' life that experience had to be, to him, a mountain top experience. Many Christians have experiences like that and spend the rest of their lives wishing they were still living in that experience never moving on like that is the best God can do. You know what I mean: "I remember when Church used to..." What would have happened if Moses hadn't left the bush? He would have never delivered his people. He would have never parted the Red Sea. He would have never climbed a mountain to meet with God. He would have never met face to face with God in such a way that his face would glow from God's glory. Paul is saying here that in order to know (be knowing) Christ he must forget the bush to get to the deliverance. He must forget the bush to get to the parting of the waters. He must forget the bush to get to the meeting with God again and again. I am not implying that testimonies of what God has done in the past should be forgotten but we must be continually heading forward in our relationship with God. Look at what he says next in this passage; he considers it all rubbish which means dung. Basically he is saying everything else is crap in comparison to the immeasurable greatness of getting to know Jesus in every way.

I want to share more on this portion of scripture (hence the part 1 in the title) but I want to leave you with this thought. How do you know a banana? You can know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, and what it tastes like. You can talk to someone else and both of you have different takes on the banana. Some people like the taste and some don't. You can know the science of the make-up of the banana or the nourishment you get from it. Think about this; on a cellular level you can "know" the banana in ways that you cannot comprehend with you mind. When you body assimilates the nutrients of the banana the banana becomes a part of you. Do you get what I am saying? There are countless ways we can know something but Paul wants to know Christ in all of those ways and in ways that he can't even comprehend with his human understanding. That is so HUGE I wonder if the Philippian Church got it. I wonder if we get it.

I want to explore this some more but until then, you be blessed and I ask Christ to reveal Himself to you today in a way you have never seen Him before!

Relationships

2007-09-24T11:07:00.000-05:00

Heaven's government is modeled after family. God is our Father, Jesus is His Son, and everything that Jesus did here on Earth was for us to see what a son of God is to do. Jesus said that He only did what He saw the Father do. He told us not to believe Him if He didn't do the works of the Father. He modeled for us what our lives should be like. We are to seek God and what it is that He is doing and that is what we are to do. God is in the business of setting people free. That should be our business.

The business of freedom is why Jesus came. He said that is for freedom that He has made us free. He wants us to be free from everything that satan wants us bound to. When we see people bound it is our duty as part of the family of God to do what we can by the Grace of God to set them free. I know what you are thinking, what if they don't get free. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 and said that He came to proclaim liberty to the captives. This is saying that you can go into a prison and open the cell and tell the inmate that he is free but the inmate has to walk out.

One of our jobs as sons and daughters of God the Father is to share the truth with others. The Bible tells us that the truth shall make us free but we have to accept the truth. I have to accept Jesus sacrifice for me and when I do, by that truth, my sins are forgiven. When I accept the truth then He comes into my life. When I accept the truth that He is Lord over all, then He become the Lord over my life. We must accept truth to the point that it is superior to everything else we know. Sharing truth with others in love for them pleases our Father in heaven. That form of relationship and impartation is God's purpose for us. The Spirit of Truth has come to guide us into all truth. If that is why He came then that is what He desires to do. This is what He desires for us to do.

We need to examine our relationships and align them with God and His Kingdom.
God bless you with a wonderful day and wonderful relationships!

New Blog

2007-09-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well I guess this is my new blog. I suppose I have given into the peer pressure of starting a blog. If I had anything important to say that had any significance I would have to say that I am so very excited about the move of God we are seeing in Littlefield.

The Bible tells us that our Father in heaven calls things that are not as though they are. This means that He is proclaiming things that do not exist. He is speaking about things in such a way and all the evidence is to the contrary. That is His nature and if we are led by the Holy Spirit then it is our nature. This is written in our DNA to call things that are not as though they are. How does this work?

We are the distributors of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is distributed through relationships. We receive of this realm through our relationship with God. We are transformed into His likeness from glory to glory. The more we spend time in this glory, in His presence, the more we become like Him. Good company corrupts bad character. The point is that from that relationship we receive of the Kingdom of heaven. We receive from the Kingdom to give it away through relationships with others. Therefore, if I am going to call things that are not as though they are I need to see people that way. This means that I tip a bad waitress as I would a good waitress. This means I am to love those who don't deserve it. That is the nature of our Father in heaven and He is writing this into our DNA.
God bless you and cause His face to shine upon you! Psalm 67:1,2,7