The Strength of The Gospel is it's own witness and not in mediocrity.

     “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Footnotes:

    “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

   The revelation of Jesus is that he will always show us our sin and reveal to us just what it is that we lack. It is the work now of the Holy Spirit within us to convict and point the way to God.  When Jesus was questioned by the Pharisee's about just who he was regarding his father, he bluntly told them there is one who witnesses of me and that is my Father of whom you say he is our God.  He always had the strength of witness on his side.  Not only for his works but for the faith he always tried to impart to those who would listen.  

    For those who revile the Gospel and fight it to in part cast doubt on it they are indeed missing the power itself that would set them free.  Everything that Jesus did was for us to set us free from a mindset of doubt and disbelief.  We are the ones responsible to either believe or reject what he has to say.  If we reject like the Pharisee's s then we remain in our sin because we say we see.   

   On the other side of the same coin there then is the lukewarmness that has crept in to our present day Church, a condition that will ultimately get us rejected by Jesus himself.  Re-read what he has pronounced on the Church of Laodicea.  It is a frightful place to be in.  The terrible brokenness  Jesus suffered on the cross was not for mediocrity.  It was in a mighty show of power over all of the forces of evil, every authority named came under subjection of Jesus Christ on the cross.  It was not weak.  So the next time we la di da our way through Church think of the great sacrifice the Son of God endured.  Otherwise we will end up on the ground spewed out of his mouth!  

Where Shall I Go? You Are Already There!

     Oh Lord I set my heart always on your ways, there isn't anywhere

where you are not, like David said " If I go down into the depths you are there

If I ascend on high you are already there also.

 So I will set my heart always on your ways ,they lead me and guide me daily.

 If I descend down then I know in due time you will raise me up,

 If I ascend too high then I know you will humble me.

So in my being I will ask for balance in all that I do.

So that you will find pleasure within my heart.


       

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid: of The Son of God!

                                   
                                           
                                              He will crush[b] your head,
                                                         and you will strike his heel



     There is a point in Mel Gibson's movie where the Devil circles Jesus carefully sizing him up not getting too close to him and not being very far from him. It is a masterful piece of cinematography.  At that point he releases a snake that slithers close to Jesus as he stands up just after seeking his fathers, mercy pleading with him to take the cup of suffering from him he is about to suffer. Not yielding to the temptation he forcefully crushes the serpent's head with his heel  
     That's the victory we need to remember each and every day as we Christians mightily struggle to keep our footing from slipping.
     The particular scripture in Genesis referenced above is the very first prophecy of the victory over our struggles moreover the victory Christ won for all of us.
   
      It is the definite intent of the Devil to wage an all out war against anything and everything that belongs to Christ. Us.  If you are suffering losses that seemingly come from out of nowhere then be assured that you are in a fight.  I used to never believe that. but the longer I am a Christian and study and feel his Spirit move within I know without a doubt this is the case.  If we tie into the doctrines of "easy peasy" life is easy as a Christian and go with those thoughts that we will never suffer then we do not know our God or his word.  It is the intent on the Devils part to deceive for he is the "Father of Lies."  A thief and a murderer.
  
      Why do I come on so strong? it is because in the last dozen years I have been tempered in a furnace much like Shadrach Meshach and Abendego who were thrown into  furnace to kill them and stop them from worshiping their God.
   
      That pure and simple is what the Devil wants to do to us stop us from worship. And he will use anything from torment, suffering, natural disasters and yes world events to cause anxiety to us. Splitting us from Jesus cuts of the power of God to intercede on our behalf and guide us through those times.  If Jesus lost even one battle to the Devil then we would not have a Messiah.  Think about that.
   
      Not to dis those people in the Churches that find their home in a place of comfort of flowing words of grace and lectures of unending bliss but that is a gross distortion of the truth.  It up to the shepherds to speak the truth in love and build up the body of Christ rightly dividing the word of truth. Spiritual warfare is just that...warfare, people die.  
     But in Christ we have the ultimate victory, "Oh death where is thy sting" that is the victory, we have a forerunner who went before us and tasted death for us and rose to victory because of suffering.  
     The message is bold, scary and one that is not easily taken on by us but necessary.  The Holy Spirit was not given in timidity but in power.
     It is we who must search out those churches and bodies of people that have maybe been like a pendulum and swung from extremes in order to find the balance.  I know I did.  From Charismania to safe and back to sensible never leaving the Spirit behind for that would be suicide as a Christian.
     This is probably the strongest blog to date because I can see trouble all around the world increasing and increasing trouble in fighting those things that affect us daily.  I'm talking worries, debt, sickness and just about anything we suffer in this body that we cannot explain that happens quickly.  
    Just  in the last week I suffered freak losses and though they were not major they were there just enough to cause trouble and doubt.   I suffered a rapid onset hearing loss and lost a good truck as well.  I do not consider these major suffering but a question hovers in my mind who's afoot?  
                   

                If I can see that clearly enough then I can pray effectively!
     

Knock, Knock: Who's There?

     A few short months ago I awoke from a sleep remembering if hazily a dream from the night.  A strange dream for me in that it was very specific for location and specific for information only the information was limited. Here's how it was:
      I remember standing in front of a building of Spanish design. Looking straight at it, the color was of dusty beige (walls) surrounded by large and dark oaken beams that formed the support structure and  the front doors.  Peering inside I could not see clearly but it was a darkened  room that looked like it was burnt out and I and others as I remember quite foggily were clearing what was left of the inside furniture, mostly chairs and tables and taking them outside and setting them on a sidewalk.  This place was sort of like a "strip mall in nature as there were other buildings connected to the one I was interested in.  The impression I felt was to begin to rebuild something.
       
     Now for the "kicker."  Here is where things get even stranger.  I awoke with the name of the place firmly implanted in my mind and as I sat up I told my wife, "Guess what? I just had a dream of a place called San Jacinto!"  So wondering where this was I "googled" it and it was in California. On the satellite pics I could see the area where it was located and then I saw forty miles to the west "Corona" the place of my birth.  As I continued to scan I recognized names from my childhood, names that my parents used to talk about all the time, but long forgotten to me.  I did not spend much time in California so consequently the meanings were at the time meaningless to me.
     As a Christian I have read stories of how others have had dreams (Daniel comes to mind) but I did not think much of today's dream until.....

     It kept recurring as a theme for the last several months as I tried to push it aside.  Example: My son at a local football game comes home and tells me that one student as he came through the line was from guess where?   Right San Jacinto!  A package that was I was to deliver to a lady in our building  several weeks later was guess what?  near San Jacinto!  Again I tried to make this go away and not let my imagination get the best of me.  But......again and again it just popped up anonymously in various ways.  I prayed just to cover the bases and make sure I was not getting deceived by you know who. And for exactly one month is has been quiet. But.....
      We have friends here in Manitou that needed help yesterday and so I spent the few hours of my night along with my wife and helped clear the store out and make room for a new tenant and at the end of the night over walks my wife with a pink post-it-note and hands it to me.   Guess what.....!
    Now someone has my attention!  On the note was an old address handwritten in faded ink addressed to a person called  Lynn on  Main Street San Jacinto, California along with the zip code.....now what am I supposed to think now?  I'm not superstitious and not prone to think along those lines but.....here again was this theme presenting itself oh so clearly and in such a way as to stop me in my tracks and so I prayed to find out if God is Knocking at my door!  This note has been buried for the last decade I'm sure in a pile of magazines long forgotten about and lost until the night I went over and helped out these friends of ours.  (Oh and a man that just moved in our assisted living building was revealed during our conversation was from Hemet, California  5 miles south of San Jacinto and he knew the area well!)
     So this begs the question?  What to do?  I'm settled and have a nice job, kids have a great school and I'm not ready to move.....So I'm wondering at this point if and when?  Is this to be?  And can I accomplish something a thousand miles away from here?  Somewhere in my future?
    Another story comes to mind, Paul in his "Macedonian call."  He was summoned I guess you could say in Prayer to respond to a calling to help someone in Macedonia he did not even know!  But he went  but not right away.
     So I guess I have to shelve it and see if it comes around again and look at this from a practical side as well since I do not have the means to fulfill this dream at this point!  But I will answer the knock if it comes around again in some unexpected way again! And I'm sure it will.......somehow.
     

Zigzagging

          Have you ever felt that you zig-zag through life? When you were young did you feel rudderless as you tried to find out just what it was you wanted out of life?  I did.  I did a lit of zigging until God put a better rudder within me.  It took many years to do this and along the way my path was strewn with a lot of boulders that got in the way.  The path was never straight as I thought it would be. I was naive at best.  Paraphrasing: " A man sets his ways but it is the Lord who orders it." Something to that effect.  The old soldier who zigged when he should have zagged got shot. Or so it goes.  I still find that it is easy to go my own way and I sometimes find a lot of tugging at my heart when things get out of hand and I want to chuck it all and go on into the woods!  Find solitude and peace from all the requirements that are here and now.  But I am a a family man and I am a Christian so I cannot do that and be irresponsible and do that. I have commitments and they do not just go away.  So when this feeling happens I continue to find out just what it takes to stay the course that God has apprehended me for.
   When he grabbed me he also grabbed my heart and changed it.  So my ways are no longer just that my ....ways. They are now his.  And so like the disciples who were dramatically changed after Pentecost so am I.  And I have found others who say the same thing, others who confirm that I have not gone crazy, fanatical, fundamental, right-wing, cloistered, or what ever we as Christians have been labeled over the centuries we have been around.   lt's just that now we find ourselves trusting one who created everything...and I mean everything we see and that which we don't.  I am one who subscribes to mystery who can't quite figure all things out but along the way small pieces of the puzzle slowly begin to fit together.  Sanity in a world with out sanity. Peace in a world where every day a little more of it is torn down.  Revolutions that happen that stir up thousands upon thousands to discontent and violence because of unjustness.  These things are prevalent in the world.  But the counter to that is the world that Christ preached.  And we do not yet have it.  But we try. Love one another we try, forgive  our enemies it is hard. Love your wife, your children when you have just fought them over something petty. Look the other way at an offense that derails a friendship....hard.  But it is in the very thing that Christ did daily that was to change the world little by little, Us.....though it will never be 100%.  He died violently at the hands of men he then forgave on the cross. 

Is This As Good As It Gets?

     7:00 am
   
      I awoke early and went to the store as I usually do for my morning coffee and donuts.  As I entered the store I arrived at the freshly stocked case filled with just baked donuts with the aroma hitting my nose just before I opened the doors.  I put 2 in a bag and then turned and walked out through the aisles and towards the front of the store. As I walked I looked at all the food, and "stuff" perfectly aligned and in never ending rows.  Item upon item perfectly arrayed in an offering that seemed to go on forever and gave the sense of awe.  I remembered having grown up during the cold war, pictures of Russians standing for sometimes hours and perhaps days just to get bread.
     Suddenly my spirit and understanding caught up with me....What if this is as good as it gets?  And what if there will come a time when this no longer exists?  I confess I am a creature of habit and I enjoy my morning ritual. What if it suddenly goes pffft! and is no more?  We had the banking crisis go global and rock all markets so what if it goes a step further and we cannot get out the next time?  And...   we suffer calamity such as we have not been used too.  With that notion rattling around in my brain, I walked a little more soberly towards the checkout and paid for my donuts.  Half thinking what a strange thing that just happened to me!  Several years ago I suffered a time of joblessness and homlessness and somehow with ooodles of God's grace came out of it.  I came to know during that time what if felt like to have absolutely no purchasing power at all .....zilch#&^%!  So now when I see a person in need I have to stop myself from ignoring and dooooo something!
    Scripture says somewhere in the NT that if you see a brother in need and instead of helping with physical stuff like food and clothes but say " be well" then we are doing essentially nothing for that person. Just like if we do a drive by and leave that person without help.
    I know we cannot solve all that comes to us on a daily basis,  but little by little we can make a difference to someone, an individual, a person with feelings.  Even if it's small.
                                                   
                                                    I really like my coffee &  donuts!>>>>>>>
     

A Crushing Weight: need not crush

     What is it that crushes the spirit out of a man? (woman).  It is the load and weight of our lives lived perhaps without the knowledge of God?  Daily in our world we wrestle with the issues of lives lived sometimes in turmoil from day to day wishing we could go to that Margaritaville of Jimmy Buffet if only to relieve the pressure for a while. Why do we see that some people seem to go through life with all the possibilities at their finger tips and others scratch with those same fingers daily just to survive?        Proverbs is a book filled with the musings of a King one called Solomon who searched out just these same things thousands of years before us.  We are able to survive many types of situations day after day, read stories of death and destruction as long as it doesn't  touch us and keep on going like the energizer bunny until that is it finally reaches the point of breach like a dam and we are flooded with emotions out of control and only then do we seek some one or perhaps God himself to relieve us of these burdens we feel that are unbearable.
   These weights may " seem weightless" only until gravity takes hold like a spaceman returning to Earth, then reality takes hold.  Legs are weak from lack of muscle use and we are prone to falling easier.  Likewise so are we when each of us in our lifetime comes to the realization that we were meant to be supported by our faith in our Creator.  Over and again in the scriptures he woos  us to "taste and see that the Lord is good."  And again "take on my yoke' for it is easy....and lighter than our own.
     Whatever it is that you are dealing with, bills, death, sickness, depression or addictions he our God has remedy for us.  And it is not fiction.  The Holy Spirit himself given at Pentecost still fills everyone who seeks and calls on the name of the Lord. It is that wellspring of water Jesus promised from the Father given unto us to enrich our lives and make it entirely possible to live,love and be free of those bondages we are so easily prone to.  Those weights don't just go away but become like the gas Helium and are so much lighter than before because of the power infused into us as a new creation.  Though we will never be entirely free from the pressures and or circumstances we have thrown at us we can however be safe in the knowledge that he "cares for us so much more than a sparrow." and will come to us with blessings that would surprise you and in ways you would not expect him to.  The growth inwardly will increase exponentially as time goes on as you walk out your faith in him and his ways.
     Those Christians of the underground church in China deal with such heavy matters we cannot comprehend in this country. They i'm sure pray ceaselessly for intervention from God to help them through their lives.  And he does help them.
  Perhaps in the short and intense life of one called Jesus you can look deeper into that particular life and see just what it was about him that was magnetic to some and repulsive enough to others to change the world. Not only for those alive at the time but for every last man woman and child ever born.  It says somewhere that he first descended (into hell) before he ascended and preached a message of hope to those who would listen and led the captivity captive and set them free.  Those in our future will also have available to them the timeless message of the gospel that would set them free if and when they come to the realization that Jesus was the light of men sent into our world  and is not a myth.
                             
                         So today...." If you hear his voice.....harden not your heart, but instead take on his yoke for he says his burden is light.............