Psalm 16
A Michtam of David.
1 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.
5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Awake?
A whole pot of coffee.
A RedBull.
Chocolate covered espresso beans.
No-Doze pills.
A 40 oz. dose of Mountain Dew.
After that, you should be awake....RIGHT?!?
And yet, for some reason, we are still asleep, apathetic, and unaware of the times.
At least that's how it feels sometimes. What will it take to wake up?!?
Maybe we've heard too many lullaby sermons. Too many feel good words. Too much, "peace, peace, when there is no peace" worship. Gone to too many conferences. I'll be the first to say that I am thankful for the love of God--that the very nature of God is Love--cause I am nothing without it--a chief among sinners who desperately needs the gift Jesus gave to me. I am thankful for soaking times in His presence because I want to love on Him, hear His voice, just be with Him. But is His love soft? Or is it meant to catalyze? I think if we are really receiving His love, we wouldn't be asleep. We would be getting mobilized.
Because lovers speak. They share the most intimate things of their hearts with one another. They strategize together. They make plans for the future. They devise ways to be successful in the world. And their kisses empower one another with confidence and equip each other with weaponry. Pure love is a force to be reckoned with because it energizes you in ways you didn't know were possible. It gives you courage. It helps you tap into reservoirs of potential that you didn't know existed. Creative ideas come that shouldn't even be human because they seem so divine.
So why are we still asleep? Why are we choosing to avoid our lover, finding "better" things to do with our time? Why are we not listening to His voice? Jesus said, "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is....what I say to you, I way to all: Watch!" (mark 13:35-37)
Why did He tell us to watch? Because he understands battle. He knows what is necessary in order to walk victoriously--and that when we obey Him, we will always be led into victory. He knows that when we trust Him, He can gird us up like He did to Elijah--running faster than wind to beat Ahab to the gate. It's time to beat the enemy to the gate.
"So, God, awaken us...awaken me! Forgive us for complacency. Forgive us for feel good sermons that keep us passified in our seats and for idolizing ministers who we've put up on a pedestal. Forgive us for forsaking You and turning to idols of religion and the earthly strategies of man. Forgive us for mixing Your Word with the culture and not asking for the ancient paths. Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to understand, a hunger to really seek. God, we need Your Kingdom to come to earth! Align us with heaven. Invade every thought that we've had of You until we see You as You truly are. Amen."
A RedBull.
Chocolate covered espresso beans.
No-Doze pills.
A 40 oz. dose of Mountain Dew.
After that, you should be awake....RIGHT?!?
And yet, for some reason, we are still asleep, apathetic, and unaware of the times.
At least that's how it feels sometimes. What will it take to wake up?!?
Maybe we've heard too many lullaby sermons. Too many feel good words. Too much, "peace, peace, when there is no peace" worship. Gone to too many conferences. I'll be the first to say that I am thankful for the love of God--that the very nature of God is Love--cause I am nothing without it--a chief among sinners who desperately needs the gift Jesus gave to me. I am thankful for soaking times in His presence because I want to love on Him, hear His voice, just be with Him. But is His love soft? Or is it meant to catalyze? I think if we are really receiving His love, we wouldn't be asleep. We would be getting mobilized.
Because lovers speak. They share the most intimate things of their hearts with one another. They strategize together. They make plans for the future. They devise ways to be successful in the world. And their kisses empower one another with confidence and equip each other with weaponry. Pure love is a force to be reckoned with because it energizes you in ways you didn't know were possible. It gives you courage. It helps you tap into reservoirs of potential that you didn't know existed. Creative ideas come that shouldn't even be human because they seem so divine.
So why are we still asleep? Why are we choosing to avoid our lover, finding "better" things to do with our time? Why are we not listening to His voice? Jesus said, "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is....what I say to you, I way to all: Watch!" (mark 13:35-37)
Why did He tell us to watch? Because he understands battle. He knows what is necessary in order to walk victoriously--and that when we obey Him, we will always be led into victory. He knows that when we trust Him, He can gird us up like He did to Elijah--running faster than wind to beat Ahab to the gate. It's time to beat the enemy to the gate.
"So, God, awaken us...awaken me! Forgive us for complacency. Forgive us for feel good sermons that keep us passified in our seats and for idolizing ministers who we've put up on a pedestal. Forgive us for forsaking You and turning to idols of religion and the earthly strategies of man. Forgive us for mixing Your Word with the culture and not asking for the ancient paths. Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to understand, a hunger to really seek. God, we need Your Kingdom to come to earth! Align us with heaven. Invade every thought that we've had of You until we see You as You truly are. Amen."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Shifting Laws and Decrees
"...preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." -Matthew 10:7-8
For the kingdom of heaven to come near in someone's life, that must mean that another kingdom has been in place there. Just like the demoniac with a legion of demons who were set free, there are governments over individuals that can be unrighteous, keeping them in slavery. Maybe that's a weird concept, but I think it is true. Just like whole nations have forms of government, individuals also have their own personal governements. And with that government are laws that govern how they behave and how they perceive the world.
When I visited Russia about six years ago, I was struck by the sharp contrast between the people there and the people in the United States. I loved the people,but they rarely smiled on the streets. Most of the time all I felt was mistrust from them towards everyone they encountered. The city had a cold feel to it. In St. Petersburg, I road a subway system that was made during wartime, deep within the ground. It gave me a glimpse of the ravishes the nation had lived through, along with the despair that came as a result of Communism. The leadership that the people were under affected how they viewed life.
These analogies are giving me a new perspective on deliverance. In a way, deliverance is like shifting laws and decrees over people's lives--over my life. Where there have been unrighteous decrees made, meant to bring destruction and evil, those curses can be reversed by bringing the kingdom of heaven near. That's what healing and deliverance is anyways--it's a changing of government--a changing of rule. Just like America was freed from the governing monarchy of England in the Revolutionary war to become a democratic republic, so can people be freed from the oppression and possession of the enemy.
just some random thoughts.
Unprecedented
UNPRECEDENTED:
Without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled, unique, extraordinary, exceptional.
An Unprecedented walk. A lifestyle that the world has yet to see. Men and women with a faith that has never been witnessed. Creative miracles that are unexampled. Salvations that are extraordinary. Stories that are unparalleled. Courage without previous instance. Love that is exceptional.
Is that prideful—to think such a walk is possible? To want it for myself? I don’t think so. Smith Wigglesworth kicked a baby because God told him to do that. The baby’s limbs grew back. That was unprecedented. Jesus Christ walked on water. That was unprecedented. Paul’s shadow healed a man. That was unprecedented, too.
And if Jesus said that we would do greater works than Him, I’m thinking He meant what He said. “Just believe.”
God is changing the face of the church, which means we need to be open to some unprecedented things. The face of the anointing is not going to look like the stereotypical, suit and tie dressed, four years of seminary trained, certified through some church denomination, kind of pastor. What if the current city drug dealer is about to encounter Jesus? What if he gets so ruined by the love of God that he becomes the biggest soul winner in the neighborhood? That could send our minds reeling. Most likely it will stir up a lot of judgmental and religious spirits—especially when he starts preaching with his tattoos showing and his secular song lyrics still stuck inside his head and the occasional cuss word slipping out because he is still learning how to get his mind renewed.
To be unprecedented is to be misunderstood. Not on purpose. That would just be stupid. But to be misunderstood because you are following the leading of the Holy Spirit seems to be a typical thing throughout church history, especially when things of the Spirit start awakening a culture. Maybe He is going to give you ideas that have not yet been thought of by human minds. The unseen is often misunderstood because it takes imagination and faith to believe that it can come into actual existence.
I guess I’m writing this because I want to be a part of whatever God’s doing—even if it is unprecedented and unfamiliar. I don’t even really know what I’m talking about, but I do know that I’ve been “churched” my whole life. Now, I just want to be real and allow God to “unchurch” me if that’s what it takes. Cliches, regurgitated truths that make people think I’m spiritual, and irrelevant speeches aren’t getting the Kingdom advanced. I want what is alive—the fresh manna that fills me and not moldy bread from yesterday that will just make me sick. I want the Holy Spirit stirrings and the Jesus Christ of Nazareth who died to bring the real thing kind of awakenings.
A good friend of mine quoted a famous rapper who once said, “Talk is cheap.” Sometimes God has a way of gently correcting us through small sayings like that. He did that to me tonight as I was thinking about the unprecedented things that He might start doing on the earth. “Just do it.” That’s what He told me—to stop talking about all of the things I want to do, while at the same time including all of my excuses, always saying that tomorrow will be the day that I take a risk and try something new. Mountains were made to be climbed...and they are ready to be climbed today. There is only so much planning that you can do. Eventually, you just have to get up and go on the expedition. If you wait too long, your chance may be lost—or if you get afraid, you may get passed by, just like a majority of the children of Israel who were afraid to go into Canaan because they didn’t know if they would be victorious. There are some mountains that have been designed specifically for me to claim—to put a flag on as a symbol of the Kingdom—to take as an inheritance. I guess in the past I would apologize for even the thought of wanting that mountain. It seemed prideful or arrogant to talk in such a way. But I don’t feel that way anymore. God is brilliant. He deserves to be glorified through His people. He is coming back for a bride who is glorious and shining forth His majesty. So if He isn’t apologizing for that desire, why should we ever apologize for wanting to possess the mountains and for wanting to walk in the unprecedented? We shouldn’t.
Let’s just do it….this unprecedented thing…whatever it looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, feels like…as long as God’s smiling, we’re okay.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wise Foolishness....
“Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. In the wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe…we preach Christ crucified.”
(1 cor. 1:20-23)
Wow.
God points to the cross and says, “THIS IS WISDOM! THIS IS THE WISEST THING YOU WILL EVER SEE! This is the most brilliant and powerful act ever displayed." The world looks at a man dying on a cross, claiming to be a King who will somehow come out of the grave alive in order to save a sinful world…and says, “A man, lying on a tree, naked, humiliated and shamed? How foolish to think this is wisdom! how ridiculous to believe it could actually bring salvation. We are not even in need of a rescue.” Yet, God says, “This is wisdom. This is how I think. What the world calls wise, I call foolish. I'm not going to roll according to your box or according to the way you think about Me.”
God, I want to learn to think like You think…just like people have prayed throughout generations, please, pour out a spirit of wisdom and revelation……help me to learn just like Jesus:
"when You move, I move....just like that."
(1 cor. 1:20-23)
Wow.
God points to the cross and says, “THIS IS WISDOM! THIS IS THE WISEST THING YOU WILL EVER SEE! This is the most brilliant and powerful act ever displayed." The world looks at a man dying on a cross, claiming to be a King who will somehow come out of the grave alive in order to save a sinful world…and says, “A man, lying on a tree, naked, humiliated and shamed? How foolish to think this is wisdom! how ridiculous to believe it could actually bring salvation. We are not even in need of a rescue.” Yet, God says, “This is wisdom. This is how I think. What the world calls wise, I call foolish. I'm not going to roll according to your box or according to the way you think about Me.”
God, I want to learn to think like You think…just like people have prayed throughout generations, please, pour out a spirit of wisdom and revelation……help me to learn just like Jesus:
"when You move, I move....just like that."
Monday, April 7, 2008
I Don't Have a Title....
April 8, 2008. 2:00 a.m., Eastern Time
Freedom time
That’s what we say
Wired for Revolution—
What does that mean anyway?
Taking old clichés,
Making the words relevant for today
Passionate on Sunday
Knowing when to stand
When to clap
When to spew out the words
That I’ve been trained to say.
All those nice songs,
The ones that make me feel nice inside.
But as soon as I have a chance,
When no one is looking or listening,
That’s when compromise sets in…
But grace is there, right?
Or have I just cheapened the beauty and power of this gift
with my justifications in the dark of the night?
It’s so easy to say, “peace peace”
Especially when there is no such thing.
It’s hard to be real
To just admit it….I fall short….
What is really burning in our hearts? In mine?
Deception can come in like a smokescreen.
Where are the prophets of today—
With words that cut like fire
And eyes that burn like a sword
(I know that’s backward, but who likes normal anymore?)
The ones who have actually walked with Jesus—
Not just pretending to know His heart.
Searching for the answers to these questions
Deep ones that seem to be as voidless
As the darkness God spoke into
When will the meaning come?
When will direction penetrate this darkness?
I want to learn how to walk like Enoch.
I’m tired of misrepresentation
Fearing that people are saying things without really even know what they are saying.
Fearing that I’m doing that, too.
Big words. Little action.
And the games. That’s what I’m tired of the most.
The business deals that take place in the pulpit.
The behind the scenes exchanges that keep voices silent.
The way church seems more about title and position and someone’s own kingdom
Than a place of deliverance, freedom, resoration.
An undefiled and pure gospel replaced with comfort words—
Just like comfort foods that make us fat and sedated.
I used to think I knew what those words meant—
The ones that said something about “seek first”
Now I don’t know if I ever did
Cause it’s only now that I’m beginning to see
The price that comes with such a journey
My life for….for what?
Do I even care anymore?
Cause I sure don’t act like it’s worth the cost.
The value of a pearl has been lost to me as I’ve searched for counterfeit loves.
Yet.
Even in complacency.
I can’t help but remember
The smell
The sound
The taste
The feel
The images
Of that land
The one I used to believe in so deeply
It was worth my life.
The one that I was wrecked for once…
When I saw that its center was Love Divine.
Maybe the questions seem to be reaching into a voidless space.
But God is the Master of speaking into the void,
the total darkness,
And those words create the miracle of light.
Light penetrates darkness
Truth comes into the midst of lies
What can be shaken will be
What is crooked will be made straight.
That Kingdom is still beckoning for me to come,
To pick up my treasure hunting bag once again
To brush off the dust from the map
To shake off my frustrations and my disappointments
To get healed and spin myself out of this wrapping of offenses,
To believe that there really are others who want something that is pure and uncompromised...free from the materialism of the culture
To follow His lead and start seeking once again….
to start journeying after what is real…what is pure….what is lovely….what is truly free...
The smell.
The sound.
The taste.
The feel.
The images.
God, take me with You into a deeper revelation of these things.
Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."
Freedom time
That’s what we say
Wired for Revolution—
What does that mean anyway?
Taking old clichés,
Making the words relevant for today
Passionate on Sunday
Knowing when to stand
When to clap
When to spew out the words
That I’ve been trained to say.
All those nice songs,
The ones that make me feel nice inside.
But as soon as I have a chance,
When no one is looking or listening,
That’s when compromise sets in…
But grace is there, right?
Or have I just cheapened the beauty and power of this gift
with my justifications in the dark of the night?
It’s so easy to say, “peace peace”
Especially when there is no such thing.
It’s hard to be real
To just admit it….I fall short….
What is really burning in our hearts? In mine?
Deception can come in like a smokescreen.
Where are the prophets of today—
With words that cut like fire
And eyes that burn like a sword
(I know that’s backward, but who likes normal anymore?)
The ones who have actually walked with Jesus—
Not just pretending to know His heart.
Searching for the answers to these questions
Deep ones that seem to be as voidless
As the darkness God spoke into
When will the meaning come?
When will direction penetrate this darkness?
I want to learn how to walk like Enoch.
I’m tired of misrepresentation
Fearing that people are saying things without really even know what they are saying.
Fearing that I’m doing that, too.
Big words. Little action.
And the games. That’s what I’m tired of the most.
The business deals that take place in the pulpit.
The behind the scenes exchanges that keep voices silent.
The way church seems more about title and position and someone’s own kingdom
Than a place of deliverance, freedom, resoration.
An undefiled and pure gospel replaced with comfort words—
Just like comfort foods that make us fat and sedated.
I used to think I knew what those words meant—
The ones that said something about “seek first”
Now I don’t know if I ever did
Cause it’s only now that I’m beginning to see
The price that comes with such a journey
My life for….for what?
Do I even care anymore?
Cause I sure don’t act like it’s worth the cost.
The value of a pearl has been lost to me as I’ve searched for counterfeit loves.
Yet.
Even in complacency.
I can’t help but remember
The smell
The sound
The taste
The feel
The images
Of that land
The one I used to believe in so deeply
It was worth my life.
The one that I was wrecked for once…
When I saw that its center was Love Divine.
Maybe the questions seem to be reaching into a voidless space.
But God is the Master of speaking into the void,
the total darkness,
And those words create the miracle of light.
Light penetrates darkness
Truth comes into the midst of lies
What can be shaken will be
What is crooked will be made straight.
That Kingdom is still beckoning for me to come,
To pick up my treasure hunting bag once again
To brush off the dust from the map
To shake off my frustrations and my disappointments
To get healed and spin myself out of this wrapping of offenses,
To believe that there really are others who want something that is pure and uncompromised...free from the materialism of the culture
To follow His lead and start seeking once again….
to start journeying after what is real…what is pure….what is lovely….what is truly free...
The smell.
The sound.
The taste.
The feel.
The images.
God, take me with You into a deeper revelation of these things.
Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."
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