The Narrow Door

Have you ever read Luke 12:51 and been struck by the harshness of the Truth.

Even Jesus' disciples were confused at His teachings that day, saying "Are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone".

Preceding this, Jesus talks about ... The Servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.
We are held accountable after hearing God's will and instructions. I don't know what metaphorically or in parable 'many blows' is but that's not something I am interested in. Strong words from our loving Savior. So I am writing this to you to share what God has placed on my heart, so that I might be obedient to Him and be a blessing to you.

Then comes Luke 12:49
I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

In Greek the word fire (Pyr) is Fire but has additional meanings of STRIFE and TRIALS. Jesus said that He has come to bring division and that He wished the strife and trials has already been kindled to bring division.

1 Peter 1:7 says that these trials and grief have come so that the genuineness of your faith will be shown, refined by the fire, and will result in glory and honor in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Why would Jesus want the strife and trials to come against people? Because at that time your faith is resolved. You have a decision. Do you follow the will and instructions of the Master or not. Is Jesus your Lord, or not? Are you hot or cold; you can't be lukewarm? The trial brings the division; it separates mothers from children, husbands from wives, friends and lovers, wheat from the chaff and weeds, and sheep from the goats, Christians from Children of God.

Are you going to hold fast to your faith, all the way through the storm, trials, and strife to see the other side, and produce glory and honor by your testimony in faith of Jesus Christ?

The 'Good News' is for everybody, but many will not put their faith in Jesus and / or pass the tests of fire. Jesus said, "From now on, there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three."

The tragic thing is that many people call themselves Christians but few have made Jesus their Lord and are separated and sanctified unto Him.

Many Christians will try to enter the narrow door and not be able to. They will stand at the door knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' And the Master will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from'. But then you will say, Jesus! It's me! I ate and drank with you and you taught on my street, I prophesied in your name. And in your name, I drove out demons and performed miracles. And He will respond plainly, 'I never knew you; Away from me you evildoer!'

If this isn't sobering, it should be. Look around you the next time you are church; will 3 of 5 enter the narrow door? If the one who is casting out devils and performing miracles in Jesus name can miss the narrow door, where does that leave you?

You don't get through the narrow door by your works, how important you are, how generous you are, how righteous you are, by the title that has been pinned to your chest. You make the narrow door by making Jesus your Lord, and entering and maintaining relationship with Him. It is by the banner He places over your head (which says child of God), in which you enter the narrow door.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Whether you have been a Christian for 60 years or 60 days, I encourage you spend some time with Him and confess a desire to know Him and that He knows you. Desire intimacy with Him and make him Lord, submitting everything to Him. Continuously, working out your salvation with fear and trembling. Ensure that you are right where He wants you to be and that you are doing what He is asking you to do. And, then start working on your friends and family.

It brings terrible grief to my heart to think that there may be family members and friends who know the Master but the Master doesn't know them. Some may hear the Gospel and have made a decision and rejected it. This is horrible, but at least they will understand why they are separated; by their own choice. But how horrible for those "Christians" pounding on the door screaming and pleading "Jesus! Jesus!". Ultimately, everyone is accountable for their own lives, I understand. But, have I done everything the Holy Spirit has requested of me to minister a TRUE saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Have I allowed the Anointing to inhabit my testimony and passion and shared the Words of Life. Or have I failed the Master and the ones I love?

Sobering!

Praying ‪#‎InJesus‬'Name

Ending a prayer "In Jesus' Name" is not to be used like a ‪#‎hashtag‬ where you insert it at the end of a statement to make sure you get the Father's attention. It is not a magic suffix you use to try to get what you want.

The phase 'in the name' refers to stepping into and manifesting the character and reputation of someone. It is like an ambassador to whom has been given the authority and permission to speak and act for someone else, and it will be honored as such.

So when you pray for someone, as a child of God, walk boldly and with authority into the throne room. Isaiah describes the throne room as a seemingly chaotic scene; Angels flying all around shouting Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Walls shaking and floor trembling, smoke filling the air. Isaiah thought for sure he was going to die. I'm sure, it will be a terrifying place to be for the unbeliever. But as a child of God, as you walk up to the throne in the character of Christ and begin to speak, and God commands, 'SILENCE, my Son is speaking' (at least this is how I envision it). Then you raise your voice and make a demand on the power and promises you are entitled to through Jesus Christ. And when you do, God does not react, 'how dare you interrupt this worship set!". John 14:13 says, he is honored and glorified through Christ Jesus, whom you are representing. And what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And what you loose on earth with be loosed in heaven.

HELPS Word Study (biblehub.com), says "Thus 'praying in the name of Christ" means to pray as directed (authorized) by Him, bringing revelation that flows out of being in His presence."

Many times we want to approach God in prayer and petition as if we are Israelites held captive by Pharaoh. "Please God, if it is your will, would you please help in this situation". Or, "God, it's not fair; how long have I cried out to you? When will you deliver me?" God heard the cries of the Israelites for years, decades, generations, centuries before he sent a savior. He has already sent you the Deliverer and Jesus has redeemed you and given you All Authority and All Power to bring Glory to the Father by putting your faith in action and speaking God's provision over circumstances as if it were Jesus speaking it Himself.

Consider Acts 3 where Peter healed the lame beggar. Did Peter pray and ask God to have mercy on this poor man? And if it was God's will, would He please heal him?. He didn't. Peter, walks up to the man and speaks with the authority and in the character of Jesus Christ and commands him to walk. ... Nothing appears to happen! Then Peter says, "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I stepped out of my bounds and gave this poor guy false hope and it wasn't Your will! Maybe, because I didn't end it by saying In Jesus' Name." NO, he didn't say that. He then put his faith into action, grabbed the guy by his hand and pulled him up and ONLY THEN, immediately afterwards, the man's feet and ankle bones were healed and received strength.

But you may say, "that was Peter, a disciple and only the twelve disciples where given this authority." But, you would be wrong; Paul wasn't one of the originals. "But OK, he is the apostle Paul!" But what about Stephen, a Spirit-filled man that the disciples chose to be a servant to the church, 'waiting on tables'. He performed many signs and wonders in Acts 6. How about Philip? Ordained with Stephen to be a servant to the church, maybe chief bottle washer and evangelist. He went on to heal the sick, cast out devils, and see many people born again.

How did they do this? By recognizing who they were in Christ Jesus and the authority they had been given to act on His behalf. The same authority that you have if you are born again.
My personal prayer as well and mine for you, is that you will be bold in Christ Jesus.
Be Bold, in entering the Father's throne room.
Be Bold, in commanding God's provision.
Be Bold, in testimony.
Be Bold, in evangelism.
Be Bold, for Jesus, before it is too late, and we have to answer the question from the Father, "what did you do with the power and authority that My Son gave you?" And, we have no reply except, "I made Jesus my Lord and asked you to do a bunch a things in prayer that I never saw happen."

Persecution Shall Come

There have been times in my life where someone has come against me. One time in particular and heart wrenching, was with someone from my church. Someone I trusted and treated like a brother. That person intentionally tried to destroy my reputation, business, and hurt my wife and I deeply. He lied and tried to rally people up against us behind our back, while to our face pretending to be our best friend.

Many people, when they found out what was happening, would have been enraged and confronted the friend and told everyone around what kind of person this guy really was; especially those whom had been told lies about us. Many people would have taken offense in the situation and justifiably so.
But we didn't. I have never spoken to him of it. Matter of a fact, this is the first time I have publicly mentioned it. And I do so, not out of wanting to get revenge, but only because I feel that this testimony may give glory to God and help someone else needing to hear my testimony.
I was hurt and broken hearted but God was able to heal me and replace my grief with compassion and concern for him. I was concerned about the example he setting towards his children. I was concerned about him and his relationship with God and the internal turmoil that must be happening in his worship and relationship with Christ.

So I ask you, does being able to not let this offense stew and boil and rage inside me make me super-human? Why yes it does! 1/3 of who I am in Holy Spirit. I am born again with the Spirit of God living in me. And it has enabled me to overcome many things that, without Him, would be impossible. And if you are born again, you too can do the same.

I have a friend that is going through a hard time with an offense right now. And my heart breaks for her, because she continues to re-live and dwell on the offense. She is born again and has the same ability that I have to put aside her emotions and be healed.

I have tried to share with her about how to be healed from it and she is not receiving it. I will continue to try as long as she lends me her ear, but I am concerned that she may not allow me to share what the Spirit of God is putting in my heart for her any longer. So I will share it with whomever will lend their ear, and maybe it will be a blessing to you.

We all have a choice to make when offense comes our way. I feel a little different than many people do. I feel, that the emotions that we encounter are rooted in the spiritual. (Eph 6:12 - For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.) For the simplest illustration, and the most common and easy to understand, you have a devil on one shoulder and you have and the Holy Spirit on the other shoulder. Each of them will speak to your heart about a situation that may arise and you will come into agreement with one of them. Which one, is your choice.

One of them says, 'She didn't smile at me when she passed because she thinks she is better than me'. They other one says, 'She didn't smile at you, I hope she is okay. You should pray for her'. The first one is a dark thought (or a fiery dart) that if you receive produces bad fruit (anger, pride, frustration, etc). The second one, if received, produces good fruit (love, peace, patience, compassion, tenderness, goodness, kindness). One fruit is from the devil, the other fruit is from the Holy Spirit. At that moment, check your heart. Are you feeling the presence of and intimacy with the Holy Spirit? If not, then you need to take dominion and captive over that thought and not let it be seeded into your life.
2 Cor 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.
One thing that you will notice is that the Holy Spirit may only tell you once, that you should pray for that person. However, the devil, will sit on your shoulder and tell you over and over again, shooting these darts at you trying to get you receive them. "But remember when she was giggling with her friends, I bet they were making fun of you." "They are all out to get you because they are jealous of you", "I bet she is spreading rumors about you". Once you start receiving these darts, the devil will make connections with more darts and try to develop a strong-hold in your life that's sole purpose is to put you in pride. Pride is where you are thinking about yourself over others.

Once you have built this stronghold of pride, you are walking down a dark road to destruction. A place where God is resisting you and not showering you in grace. James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 says, "God resists the Proud and gives Grace to the humble." This makes things seem even darker and darker and if you don't stop it, will ultimately bring destruction to your life. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction and a prideful spirit before a fall'. And you will feel a desire to share your offense with everyone around you hoping that they will come into agreement with you that you are justified in feeling the way you do. What you don't realize is that you are sharing your offense and shooting your own fiery darts from the devil. If they receive them and take offense with you, they too are developing a stronghold that will take them down the path of destruction with you.

The good news is, that we have a God that is ready, at a moments notice, to heal you, to break the stronghold and restore you. All you have to do is repent and be forgiven of your pride, walk boldly into the throne room, and be healed.

The next step is then the hardest. Every time you sense a fiery dart (one that doesn't produce the Fruit of the Spirit), you cast the devil off your shoulder and take dominion over that thought. Capture that dart and replace it with a Word of God that ministers Good Fruit, and life. Refuse to receive those darts. And if someone starts chatting in your ear about an offense they have received. Minister to them forgiveness and compassion and generosity and love, instead of letting them puke in your ear.
If you have taken offense, do not share your offense with anyone unless it is intended to bring glory to the Father. Take it to God and let God fight your battle for you. He will use your patience and your humbleness to build character and will elevate you in time. If you were wronged, just forgive, ask God to allow you to love and have compassion and take a stripe and stone for Jesus. Stephen and Timothy didn't cry out 'unfair' when they were stoned. Paul and Silas were not in jail trying to raise up a revolt about how they were treated. If you want to be a true Christian, declare Jesus your Lord, and give your life to Him, persecutions will come.

2 Tim 3:10-12 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

 It is how you handle the persecution that sets you apart from others and brings glory to God by your testimony.

Are you born Gay?

I realize that many people may feel that they were born Gay. I don't believe this to be true. I believe you may feel this way, and may feel justified in doing so, not because you were predestined to be that way, but because naturally our flesh (mind / soul) desires carnality (desires of this world). It is natural in a fallen world. You may think that straight people can't understand feeling like you are born to be Gay. Although, that is true, I don't lust after the opposite sex, but every born again believer has a daily fight to reprogram their mind to find their identity in Christ Jesus instead of the world. We may wrestle with feelings of inadequacy, feel we are predisposed to having cancer or heart problems, feel we can't be faithful to our spouse, the list goes on and on and is different for every person. You may think that I can't understand because I don't wrestle with these desires. But I wrestle with a sin that, to me, is bigger than homosexuality, bigger than adultery. Jesus gave us a new commandment, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." God says that I have to love everyone, even those whom I want to despise; to love them as He loves me; UNCONDITIONALLY. That means regardless of whether they say 'I am sorry', or continue to hurt me, or stand for everything I stand against. I must love them, unconditionally. And when I don't, I am sinning and breaking Jesus' commandment. The Christian walk is a daily job of renewing our minds. Daily, we must cast aside every thought that is contrary to the Word of God. Daily, we resist the devil and his fiery darts he whispers in our ears. Daily, we must re-establish ourselves in our identity in Christ and it is a never ending spiritual fight to stay there. Listen, homosexuality is a sin; it is pretty clear in the Bible. But in God's eyes, it is no different than any other sin; adultery, lying, lusting after another, etc... Each and every one of our sins, if we don't turn away from them (repent) and continue to interweave our identities around them, they will destroy our lives and take us further and further away from an intimate relationship with God. Not because He is moving further away from us, but because we perceive we are walking away from Him. Sin, of any kind, is not a big deal for God. God has got it covered (literally). He has already provided a way for sin not to be counted against us. What God cares about is relationship. He created us to have intimacy with Him. He knows you better than you know yourself. He wants, above all, for you to know him. (John 17:3) Jesus said, God sent His son to die on the cross, to pay the price for your sins, so that you may have eternal life. And then defined eternal life ... "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent". You see, sinning, isn't God's biggest concern. God's biggest concern is that you will let your sin take you to a place where you cannot know God and the love He has for you. It may feel like you have walked a million miles away from God, and that it is way too far to come back. But, God is right there with you waiting for you submit yourself to Him and say the words... God, I believe that Jesus died on the cross, and rose from the dead, as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for my sin. I declare you God and Lord of my life. Come into my heart so that I may know You and have intimacy with You. Forgive me for the lifestyle that has separated me from You and help me walk daily in knowledge of who I am in You and Your love for me. If you earnestly pray that prayer, God isn't going to make you suffer a little bit for your past. He is not angry. He is concerned. He is the Heavily Father, who is waiting anxiously for His child to come to Him. His arms are open; waiting to embrace and restore you. He will seal His spirit in you and place a banner over you saying Child of God. Some people may read this and will be ticked off at me. I am sorry that you are upset. But for me, knowing the truth, and not telling you the truth, because I don't want to hurt your feelings, is not loving you unconditionally as Jesus commanded me to do. I understand that, if you feel this is directed at you, you most likely will not have a 'come-to-Jesus' moment at the closing of this letter. But, I pray, that in your quiet time, you will feel the Holy Spirit confirming His Word in your spirit and leading you to truth.

Where is the provision?

Why is it that sometimes we hold so tightly onto what is ours, or what we have earned, or what we have? As if we are trying to protect it, use it for ourselves, save it for a rainy day? We work and spend and try to save, but mostly work and spend in a vicious cycle that continues to entrap us; to enslave us to a life of subsistence and just getting by. Seemingly allowing us to put extra aside until the next expenditure comes. And we look up out of this pit of debt and obligations and see the progress that we need to once again make and wonder, where is the provision that I need? Where is the provision that I am promised by the Word of God? Why do I spend so much time looking up from this pit and never make it to looking down from the mountain-top? I know I read somewhere, Jesus said don't worry about what you should eat and what you should wear and if God takes care of the sparrows He is going to take care of me? What in the world is the mystery that causes some children of God to crawl thirsty through sparse deserts and others to abound and stumble over abundance? I have two questions ... Are you seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness? Where is your heart toward and are you actively Giving to the Kingdom? When I say Kingdom of God, I am not referring to just Heaven. I am not referring to the church. I am not referring to Jesus. I am referring to it all. But specifically, I am referring to the Gospel. The good news. The God living in you. The new creation He has made in you. The power he has given you. The anointing He has released on you. The call He has placed on you. The authority He has given you. The gifts He has released to you. The mission in which He depends on you. It is the body of believers. It is the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is the supernatural; reality beyond our ability to see and understand and sense. It is faith beyond reason and rational. It is the Word of God, living and defeating and revealing and changing lives until every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess and praise God. The Kingdom is all of it, and it's impacted by everything you do or don't do and every word you speak as well as those idle words that we may think are insignificant. Serve the Kingdom with all your heart, with all you do, and with all you have and give. I am sure you have heard a preacher condemn you saying, you are cursed with a curse if you are not tithing; you are robbing God. Well it is true, that this verse is Old Covenant and we are under the New Covenant, and we are no longer under the curse, but if you are a child of God, you are under the blessing. And what does the blessing say in this verse: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." For starters, if you want to have abundance, put God to the test with being faithful in your tithes. Secondly, start to look at your giving. The giving of your time, your resources, your hands and feet, your service. Did you know that Apostle Paul wrote two chapters to the Corinthians about giving in 2 Corinthians 8&9. Paul was addressing an issue in chapter 8 when he spoke about a Grace of Giving. He said "many, the previous year were very generous in their giving and promises to give; they had fantastic intentions, but have not followed up with actually giving." He said, "Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means." Many people fall into this category. Our heart wants to give, we want to help, we want to contribute, we want to play a meaningful roll in the Kingdom, but we never step out to do something and give. We never trust God's promises enough, with child-like faith, to step into what the world calls foolishness and where the flesh screams it may perish, and depend solely upon His promises to provide the way. Trust in God and give as selflessly as He has given to you. Give with a cheerful heart. Paul said, in 2Cor9:6 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows blessings (eulogiais) will reap blessings. (This is true, look it up in the Greek). Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for a cheerful giver loves God. (This isn't a mistype either, look it up in the Greek). This is translated sometimes to say God loves a cheerful giver, but it is actually translated as a Cheerful Giver loves God. If you love God, you should be a cheerful giver. He says, He (God) who supplies seed to the sower (you who are seeding blessings with a cheerful heart) and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed (blessings) and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. If you want to see the promise of abundance fulfilled in all aspects of your life, if you want blessings to over flow so much so that you can't contain, if you want so much that you will always have more than enough to help people, you need to get a revelation in your heart of giving and then you need to finish the work, so that your eager willingness to give may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. And the more you do this and are faithful with what God has given you, he will expand your means to give and to bless and to serve and to love. Learn to find joy in seeking the Kingdom and giving of the seed God has given you. Give, even when you're hungry. Serve, even when you have no time. Love, even when you feel empty. Sow Blessings.

You shouldn't Judge!!! ???

I am getting ready to step on some toes and some sacred bovine too, so prepare yourself, as I am for the backlash ... I get so tired of hearing people say, you shouldn't judge people; the Bible says so. Or you shouldn't discriminate; you're a horrible person if you do. How nuts is that? Of course you should judge and discriminate. From a biblical perspective you should judge and from a secular perspective you should discriminate. The issue is how are you judging and how are you acting upon what you have judged. Is it wrong, when shopping, to desire the red/ripe apple over the brown/slimy apple. Of course not. Is it wrong, when dating someone, to judge whether they have the characteristics that would make a good spouse and parent? Of course not. God has given human the ability to rationalize and reason to make the best choices. Moreover, God has given to those born again into Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit to discern and to help lead our path. So yes, use what God has given you, but do it in love. But Jesus said in Matthew 7:1 'Do Not Judge'. Yes, but to clarify He said, "Do not Judge or you too will be judged." With the same measure you judge others, it will be measured to you. But he also said in the same teaching to judge yourself before you judge others, and to judge people by their fruit, and to judge what is sacred. We're told to judge spirits, to judge teachings, and to judge believers. Romans 16:17 says that we should discern those whom cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching we have learned. Then there is 1 Corinthians 2:15, James 5:19, Matthew 18:15, ..., ..., ..., and far too many verses to quote and still maintain your attention. They tell us to discern and to judge people, their behavior, their motives, intentions, their actions, ... etc. So, when it is okay to judge and when it is not okay to judge? Well, a lot has to do with what you are judging, how you are judging, the state of your heart when judging, and what actions you taking as the result of your judging. So is it okay, when you see a brother in Christ is wandering from Truth or walking in sin, to talk to him about it? Absolutely. In fact, you are instructed to do it by Jesus. Matthew 18:15, James 5:19 Is it okay to gossip about him or share things to try to hurt him, absolutely not! Judge yourself first, discern your own heart. Are you looking at your brother out of envy, bitterness, resentment, spitefulness, rejection, unforgiveness, etc. Chances are, if you are not judging out of the fruits of the spirit, you are judging in sin. And with the same measure you judge it will be measured back to you. What are your motives for judging someone? Is it to protect your heart, to help your brother or is it to inflict harm? If someone comes to you and says, Brother I am concerned for you because I have noticed, you're not coming to church, you're hanging out with a rough crowd, you're shacking up with someone, you're getting drunk, ... FILL IN THE BLANK. Please don't respond with Jesus said you should not judge, so there! Please evaluate and "JUDGE" the heart of the person talking to you. Is it out of love? Or is it out of sin? If it is out of righteous love, meditate on it and consider the direction; it may be God using someone to reach you. If it was out of Sin, hear them out and forgive them, for it will be measured back to them. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

The unmerited favor of God

The unmerited favor of God is all over my life. I say this not to brag on myself; I am overwhelmingly humbled at my unworthiness and His graciousness. It seems, all throughout my life, I have never got what should be coming to me nor what I fear will fall upon me, but am always elevated and protected and blessed far above that which my personal abilities and wisdom could ever obtain. And, I don’t say it enough but TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY! He’s the source of all that I am and will ever be. He is my strength, my provision and my protection. It utterly humbles me to consider how the Creator of the universe cares so much for me.

Dancing like a puppy

I wanted to share something personal between Lee and I that has been on going in our lives and climaxed this last weekend. This is a long message with a bit of information up front before you get to what I want you to read. Please don't start reading without getting to the end. Many people don't know but we have a couple young dogs (3.5 years) which have been unhealthy for a while. Our female, Beauty, seemed to be getting weaker and weaker about 5 months ago. We thought she may have had a tooth problem and scheduled her to be put out for x-rays and a tooth cleaning/pulling. It turned out that her teeth were good but the doctor recommended that we run blood work, a tick fever test, and a valley fever test. The blood work came back saying that she had tick fever (which is strange because we have never seen a tick on her before), a few days later the valley fever came back also positive. Her titers were 1:128, which is almost as bad and is gets and most likely disseminated in different parts of her body. After the first 3 months of expensive medication, the tick fever was gone but the valley fever hadn't changed. On Saturday night (5/2/15), both Lee and I were (individually and privately) thinking that she was not going to make it through the night. Saturday night, before I went to bed, I laid hands on her and cursed her sickness. I commanded her body to function the way God created her. I commanded health in her muscles, brain, eyes, blood, lungs, organs, etc. And, went to bed trying to believe that she would be alive in the morning. I woke up Sunday morning a little bit early thinking that I may have to bury Beauty before we go to church. But she was still alive. And I fought with myself on why I didn't have faith to believe that what I prayed for would certainly manifest. I was believing that God gave me the ability to lay hands on the sick and they will recover and that if God cares for the nasty sparrows then he certainly doesn't want to see Beauty suffer. But that lingering doubt keeps popping up in your head saying, what makes this time any different than when you prayed before and nothing happened. Saying, what makes your prayers any more effective then Lee's prayers, which have been non-stop since her sickness began. When I was showering before church and getting some God-time in, I was asking God to give me a gift of faith to believe and not doubt. And asking him why our prayers were not being manifest, I heard God tell me in my spirit, "If two of you agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them". And I realized that Lee and I were fighting this battle by ourselves and needed to come together in prayer and command the healing to manifest in her body. When I told Lee about what God said she shared with me that it has been so discouraging in her soul to be in constant prayer for the last 5 months and only see Beauty slip further and further away from us. We agreed to pray together for her healing and did so and then left for church. During the 2nd service worship, I took time away from ushering and went forward praising God. I reminded God of His Word saying "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me anything in my name and I will do it." I was praising God for His promise believing that Beauty will be alive when I get home. And just started praising Him for who He is and what he as done, and giving him glory. Now this is where it is all coming to ... God gave me a vision of Beauty prancing around like a puppy. I felt in my spirit that she will be a 'testimony to God's Glory' and she will be 'dancing like a puppy'. I would see her dancing but then a second later I would come home from church and see her dead, and see her dancing, and see her dead, and I pleaded for God to give me faith to believe in His Word only and forget the 'what if'. Then without me knowing what happened, and I cannot even begin to understand nor describe what happened to me, it was like I was completely washed in this overwhelming peace and joy. I found myself whaling and crying and laughing at the same time. I wasn't whaling out of remorse, I was just unable to contain and control the joy that was placed in my heart. So here I am standing in front of the church, at the alter worshiping God, whaling like I lost my son, but laughing hysterically at the same time. People probably thought I was crazy and some may have even said, I'm not going back to that church anymore. But I didn't care. God was doing something in my spirit that I had never experienced before. I was caught in a special moment with my God and didn't want to leave it. And as I was experiencing this, every doubt that kept going through my mind and all the what-ifs where completely washed away. I knew for a fact that Beauty will 'dance like a puppy' again and she will be a 'testimony to God's Glory'. The best I can describe it as, a gift of joy, peace and faith, to wash away my weariness. I share this with you for several reasons; First, a testimony isn't a testimony unless you make it public and share it. Else, it is just something you keep to yourself incase things don't work out the way you hoped they would. Second, I want to remember this experience and have something to read and remind me of this special time with God, so the devil can't steal it. Third, I am hoping it might be encouraging to someone.

Contend to Forgive

Many of us have been hurt and abused and left torn and scarred by people we love. Where I cannot begin to relate to the tragedies some people experience, I too was hurt and broken from someone that I only wanted to love me. And the end result can be the same. That offense will destroy your life if you let it. It will bring anger, bitterness, distrust, depression, rebellion, self loathing, etc. Where our abusers may have done horrible things to us, it is nothing compared to the weight of the baggage we then carry around with us and let destroy our lives and futures. It will destroy our health and prevent us from achieving our full potential and experiencing true joy. The most liberating thing I ever did, which allowed my to shed my baggage, was to forgive this person. Don't get me wrong, I will likely never forget, but I was able to release him from the offense I had been carrying around for so long. In doing so, I was able to shed all that baggage off my back allowing me to have a healthy life and love and look at myself as not a broken mess, but a person with unlimited potential and not bound by the things from my past. I was not able to do this on my own. Within myself, I only felt disgust and anger for this person and I only wanted for someday for him to get what was coming to him. What changed in my life and allowed me to break free was evaluating my life. I looked at myself and saw that I had parts of me that were ugly and selfish, and careless, and self absorbed. I saw myself as flawed and dirty and unlovely. I then got the revelation that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me beyond comprehension. All He wants is to have fellowship with me. So much so, that He gave His own son to be sacrificed for me so that we could have intimacy. He loved me so much, despite how sinful and unlovely I can be at times, that He allowed His son to be beaten, and tortured, and humiliated, and put to death, so that He might defeat death, rise again and forever pay the price for everyone's ugliness; including this person. Realizing how much God loves me and has forgiven me has allowed me to forgive this person and release him from the hurt he caused me. This allowed me to see that I have a choice, I can take offense and I can release offense. I can hold resentment or I can love others like God loves me. Where this person may be responsible for doing some terrible things and hurting me and people around me, I am 100% responsible for how I let the weight of those instances effect my life. I can choose to return the love God has for me and forgive. I tell you this because I want you to know that you don't have to live with the weight of that baggage on your shoulders. You don't have to let the effects of somebody else's ugliness destroy your life and potential. You have it in you to overcome, to be free, to not be a slave to your circumstances, and to have joy unspeakable. And it all starts by realizing that you can't do it on your own and need relationship with The One who would never hurt you, leave you, and forsake you. Receive the forgiveness given by our Heavenly Father and use that to forgive those who hurt you.

Considering Habakkuk 3:19

Even when my fig trees are without flowers and the vines have not a grape, the olive crop has failed, the fields lie empty and barren, and even when the sheep and cattle die in the field and the barns are empty... Still I will rejoice in the Lord God my provision. I will be joyful in my God my salvation. The Lord God is the source of my strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; equipping me to tread on my mountains.

Brood of Vipers

I have often disregarded John the Baptist a little and not personalized his teachings because he was talking to a different people under a different covenant and chastising the ‘evil’ deserving Pharisees and Sadducees. When he cried out to ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near’, was he talking about the next three years that would rock the world, or was he talking about the second coming of the Messiah? Literally he was addressing the people in front of him, but prophetically, he may be addressing today’s Christian church and the second coming of the Lord. He says, in Matthew 3, to the leaders in the local denominations, ‘Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.’ Whoa! Don’t just say that you’re safe because you’re associating yourselves with those who have come before you and were righteous. For, the axe of God’s judgment is ready to cut you off at those roots and toss you in the fire if you don’t produce your own fruit. He says, when Jesus comes again, He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat and will gather up the wheat into his barn and cast the chaff into never-ending fire. Are we, today’s Christian church, like these Pharisees and Sadducees, living off the fruit of and associating ourselves with those whom were righteous before and around us (like pastor Jerry Pruitt )? Or do we have our own deep roots, seeded by the Word, producing fruit in abundance and living righteously as an ambassador for Christ? Should we be taking up John’s message to all that will hear crying out “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”. And if we do call out “Repent of your sins”, will they just yell back, “brood of vipers!” – Hypocrites, because of how we live our lives? What have we become, as a church who says, you don’t have to repent (change your mind; particularly with reference to the will of God) of sin, God loves you just the way you are? What a twisted lie from the Devil. Yes, God does love you regardless; He loves you enough to give you free will to either repent from sin and receive Him as your Lord, or to burn with the chaff and fruitless trees in unquenchable fire.

One of Five Virgins

If we are waiting until it is convenient to go all-in for Christ, submitting ourselves as servants to the Lord, anxiously awaiting His return, we may find ourselves like one of the 5 virgins whom weren’t prepared to meet the bridegroom. And, even though they met the qualifications of a bride, they were not ready and were left behind, crying Lord, Lord open the door for us!. The four most terrifying words we won't want to hear on that day are ... “I don’t know you”. It's time to evaluate our hearts, to submit before the Creator and give him our lives and identity in return for the precious gift of Salvation and a new identity in Him. Matthew 25: 1-13 … “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Will we be “accounted worthy”?

Have we become complacent in watching the skies for the coming of our savior? Have we allowed the “anxieties of life” to take our focus away from the imminent expectation of His return? On that glorious day, will we be “accounted worthy” to stand before the Son of Man? Or are we like the Church in Laodicea, neither cold nor hot? And because we are lukewarm, we're snared in Satan’s trap, likely to be spit out of the Lord’s mouth? Or are we Hot and Victorious and will be found worthy to sit with Jesus on the throne? Let’s make Jesus Lord of All and foul the trap that has been set for our souls! Luke 21:34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.“ “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Revelations 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

I surrender All

I have have been getting sentimental lately and remembering hymns from my childhood; It's amazing how they stick with you. They were words of hope and faith and submission. Two hymns stick in my memory strong and bring back a feeling of warmth and security with my Creator. "Just as I am" and most significantly "I Surrender All"; Both used very frequently as alter calls. I Surrender All was written 118 years ago and eloquently describes the salvation experience that leads to mature discipleship. I often ponder what it means to declare Jesus my Lord and fear that many people may repeat a sinners prayer, giving Jesus regard for 30 minutes and then live like hell. Some say that salvation is free but discipleship will cost you everything. So true, but we should look in our hearts and evaluate what we gave of ourselves declaring Jesus our Lord and Master, and if it didn't cost anything did we really make him Lord. These are the words to the Hymn "I surrender All" describing the salvation experience; reading the words and remembering the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit calling my heart, makes me want to walk down the isles again, drop to my knees, and declare His Lordship over and over. (like I said, sentimental lately!) All to Jesus, I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. Refrain I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. Refrain All to Jesus, I surrender; Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. Refrain All to Jesus, I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me. Refrain All to Jesus I surrender; Now I feel the sacred flame. O the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name! Refrain

Tithing and the Law

Are we supposed to tithe and give offerings now that Jesus has fulfilled the law? I hear that all the time. In fact, there was a time in my life that I repeated the same thing. But every time I hear it now, I just cringe and my heart fills with sorrow for the person who just doesn’t get it. I don’t tithe and make offerings because I have to, I tithe and make offerings because I get to. I got a revelation of tithing about 10 years ago and it has changed my life. Of many, a few reasons I tithe: • To show God that money is not my Lord, He is. • To show God that I can be trusted with more and more blessings. • To participate in building the Kingdom of God. • To participate in the vision God has given my pastor. • To sow into my future and the futures of my children and grand children, and theirs, and … There is such a freedom in letting go of the stresses of finances and trusting God for your provision. His provision is all I need. At some times, it may be riches and abundance, and at other times it may be bread and flesh from the ravens. But one thing, I am certain of, is that He will never fail me. He will never abandon me. He will never leave my lacking. Am I not more important than the birds of the air, and He provides for them. He is my provision because, I have declared him Lord of all; Lord of my heart, Lord of my life, Lord of all I have. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” Why did the widow woman give all she had and why didn’t Jesus use this opportunity to say, “woman keep you coins, it is enough that you love the Lord”? She gave all she had because she had a revelation that the coins were not her provision. Jehovah-Jireh is her provision. Jehovah-Jireh blesses her for making Him Lord of all; pressed down, shaken together and running over. Her last two coins may not have even bought a meal, but the result of trusting the Lord with all she had and all she is, is a sweet fragrance of worship to the Lord and her faith was rewarded.

Meat and Bread

A month ago or so, in my prayer and worship time, I was confessing and reminding God of His promises to me about His promised provision. I told him that I have been faithful in giving and need a breakthrough or I didn't know what I was going to do. I heard Him say to me in my heart, "But haven't I been sending the ravens to provide you with meat and bread". I paused and then almost rebuked Him, crying out, "Yes, but God I need more than meat and bread to pay my bills, I need some breakthroughs in finances. Your promises say …" Then I fell silent, as did He, and I felt alone and unworthy. I felt something in my spirit say, "His provision isn't always abundance, sometimes it's just meat and bread." Had I become like an Israelite wandering through the wilderness; manna outside my tent every day, living in God's abundance but not even realizing it, nor giving him praise for it? Had I grown tired and weary in eating the daily bread, while continuously scanning the fields for the harvest, that I had lost gratefulness in the miracle of the daily provision? At that moment, I felt ashamed and repented for taking for granted all the wonderful little ways I walk in His favor and provision each day. And since, I have not ceased praising God for the “Bread and Flesh from the ravens”. While it is easy to shout God’s praises from the mountain tops, it is difficult to praise him in Death Valley, where the food is meager, your lips are dry, and the hope of better days seems more and more desolate with not a cloud in the sky. But stay faithful in your praise of the blessings you walk in. Identify them and give glory for them all; if only the clothes on your back or the breath on your lips. For, He is faithful and will provide for you as you need and will, in season, reward your faithfulness with an abundant harvest. Stop focusing so much on “how many days until the harvest?” and start focusing on and giving God glory for the provision you are already walking in. And soon, without you even noticing, you will have crossed the Jordan and stumbled into the promise.

2 Corinthians 9

How would you like to have Favor of every kind abound and overflow towards you so that in every way, always, and in having complete sufficiency, you overcome in every good work? Learn to give blessings generously; not because you have to, but because you want to, out of your Love for God. More so, the Lord God, who is the source of your provision, while you are giving, will not only abundantly re-supply and multiply unto you, that which you are so generously giving, but He will cause in you to increase in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. Which in turn makes it easier to give generously, and receive, and give, and receive, and ... This Sunday, give an offering to God out of your adoration towards Him and allow Him to bless you beyond your ability receive. He is faithful to His Word. 2 Corinthians 9