Middle of the Night Drop-Ins

Most of us find it difficult to enjoy having a close friend drop by in the middle of the night just to socialize.  There is, however, One person Who LOVES to have His family and friends drop-in anytime, even in the middle of the night!

Our Heavenly Father loves to be dropped-in upon during the daylight hours; in the post-sunset hours of the night; or during the darkest hours of the night that precede the dawning of the new day that He is in the process of creating.

Jesus showed to us through His frequent all-night prayer times [up on a mountain, or in a garden] that our Heavenly Father graciously welcomes at any hour anyone who desires to fellowship with Him through prayer and through basking in His presence.

So, what do you say?  Shall we schedule a time and a place where you and I can meet and then drop-in for a visit with our Heavenly Father?  Does 3:00am at the church altar sound good?  See you then and there!

Prayer Builds a Temple for God’s Use

Prayer is the atmosphere in which we [more readily] have our own will deconstructed down to its most basic building blocks, then reconstructed into a temple wherein God's Will may reside and from which His Will may operate and achieve its goal "on earth as it is in heaven."

(Last phrase is from the Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Luke 11:2 - NKJV).

How Much of a Negative Person Are You and Your Friends?

Most people DON'T enjoy being around a negative, complaining, and emotionally vindictive person.

The only people that DO enjoy those kind of people are those who themselves are the same way. They feed each other's "need" to be chronically negative.

So, what kind of person are you, and what kind of friends do you attract?

Here is a test: For the next 3 days, commit yourself to NOT saying a single negative thing about ANY person, even if you "feel" like they deserve a negative observation on your part.

This includes NOT entertaining negative thoughts about any person. The negative thoughts may surface in your mind (and that really can't be helped at this point), but the challenge is to NOT dwell on those thoughts, nor to develop those thoughts. Instead, "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ" (2 Co. 10:5)

If you will give yourself (or better yet, if you will give God) the next 3 days and do these things mentioned above, you just might find out some things about yourself AND about your current set of friends!

A Father’s Void & The Father’s Peace

Author's Note:  I am privileged to have been invited by Hannah's Prayer Ministry (website: "Held") to write an article for their 2011 Father's Day feature.  Thank you for dropping by their website and reading "A Father's Void & The Father's Peace."  If you have struggled with infertility too, please consider joining the "Held" website as a frequent reader.  You will be encouraged by their message!

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“Dave, come quickly, by the time you arrive at the hospital, your wife will be in emergency surgery!"

What? Not exactly the opener to a phone conversation with our doctor and family friend, Dr. Chris, that I would ever have expected. He went on to explain briefly about my wife, Teresa’s medical emergency.

My wife and I had barely been married two years by this time, and while we had been hoping to build a family, we had already experienced the heartache of three miscarriages in their first trimesters. The second and the third losses were just as traumatic to our hearts and dreams as the first loss.

Now, my wife was pregnant a fourth time and had seemingly been progressing well...

[To read the full article, please click here to open Hannah's Prayer Ministry website, "Held"]

Inspiration, Interpretation, Scripture, and Pride.

Harold Camping and his Family Radio Ministry (based in California) have made a bold declaration:

On May 21, 2011 the Rapture will take place where the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive will follow in being caught-up into the clouds to finally join Jesus. God's Judgment of those who remain behind will then take place.

Here is the kicker: Harold Camping says regarding May 21, 2011 being the Day of the Rapture, that "The Bible Guarantees it!"

I believe the Bible really IS true, and I believe that Harold Camping really IS wrong.

One of the pillars of the Christian's faith is the belief that the Scriptures are inspired by God, given to us by God through human writers, and that the Scriptures are infallible (true, and without error).

However, no person's interpretation of the Scriptures is considered to be infallible (except for someone like Harold Camping who does not seem to see any difference between God's inspiration of Scripture, and his own interpretation of Scripture.)

God's inspiration of Scripture is infallible, while man's interpretation of Scripture is fallible.
In a case such as this, when Harold Camping (or anyone for that matter) has had to engage in an extraordinary amount of interpretation of a mountain of Scripture passages, it is not prudent to say, "The Bible Guarantees It!".  At best, he should limit the guarantees to, "I guarantee it!"

By saying, "The Bible Guarantees It!," he is [either consciously or subconsciously, and most likely out of pride] equating his own interpretation of Scripture with God's infallible inspiration of Scripture.

On a closing note, just as one recovering alcoholic can spot another active alcoholic, I as a recovering "pride-oholic" can spot an active "pride-oholic" from across the room. Harold Camping is full of pride, and as Proverbs DOES guarantee, "pride comes before a fall," and I am afraid that he is about to have the biggest crash of his life.

I do not rejoice or relish the idea of this proud man having his pride crushed when Sunday comes and we are all still here. When I fell and had my own pride crushed, it was one of the most painful and humiliating experiences of my life.

But, God crushes our pride so that we can be rebuilt and refashioned by Him into His own image, having had our own image lost to the dust in the wind.

Brother Camping, when Sunday comes and we are all still here, turn to the Lord and humble what little pride might still remain. God has some wonderful re-fashioning of your life to accomplish... and it will then become your most deeply appreciated and treasured phase of your journey with Christ in this lifetime.

You receive no judgement from me. I am excited for what God has planned to accomplish in you through this crushing process that will begin for you on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Praying with you, and for you. See you at God's altar of alteration... His altar of humiliation... His altar of humility. I'll see you there because I am a recovering "pride-oholic".  And I love God for what He is doing in me!  He wants to do the same in you!

What I Want To Do To That Police Murderer!

"... God our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
~ 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Yep, Christ [still] desires that the man who murdered Rainier's Police Chief [in cold blood, back on Jan. 5, 2011] will "be saved" and come to "the knowledge of the truth."

If that is the desire of Christ, then it shall become my desire too... as I surrender my earthly [vengeful] desires upon the altar and accept the transformation of my heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Will you join me in a process of transformation, so that we will both have our desires for this man conformed to the image and the desire of Christ?

See you at the altar, my friend, where we pray not only for the transformation of our own desires, but where we begin the transformation process by praying for his glorious salvation through Christ!

[ OregonLive.com's news article about this incident ]

The Chronic Grace of God

I have found the scriptures to be absolutely true when the Lord told the Apostle Paul [who was being tormented by a "thorn in the flesh"] that God's grace would be sufficient for his journey of suffering and pain.

While I suffer with chronic pain (and sometimes outright agony), I am at the same time blessed by God's chronic grace (if I may phrase it that way) which is more real to me than even the pain.

In a sense, the pain is almost surreal, but God's grace is so real, and is provided through His tangible Presence!  His grace does not take my pain away. His grace does however equip me physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to endure the pain, and to do so with a heart that is filled with joy and is established in peace... His peace!

If you suffer with a chronic pain condition of some kind, first pray for healing, and then pray for the "chronic" grace of God to sustain you until His healing arrives in your life.

See you at the altar, my friend, where we together will approach our gracious Heavenly Father Who will provide all that we need!!

Speaking with Heaven’s Accent

Having been born in America, I then lived my formative years in numerous countries, immersed in their schools, cultures, and languages.

A few years ago I sat next to a university professor on a flight on my way to Portugal.  She had a Ph.D in identifying a person’s country of origin (or the country in which they primarily lived) based upon the content and the accent of their conversation.  An intriguing subject, for sure.

After carrying on a conversation for about an hour, she admitted that she was flustered by our conversation.  Though we had hit on a variety of subjects, I was wondering if our academic conversation regarding the philosophy and the psychology of love may have offended her in some way.  After all, we had talked about the gospel of Christ and His view of love, especially His unconditional love.

When I asked her about the cause of her being flustered, she said that I was one of just a handful of people whom she could not readily identify [using her professional skills and experience honed by years of research and travel] the country where I had grown up or in which I currently lived.

She began to list the topics and nuances of our conversation that we had shared.  She pointed out aspects of my accent and how I enunciated certain words and phrases in certain ways.  Her conclusion was that I did not have a country that I called “home” and that it was going to be near impossible to establish [based upon our conversation and my accent] who I was, where I was from, and when I had lived here or there.

While it flustered her not being able to pinpoint my life’s journeys and destinations [in spite of her expert skills in being able to do that with most people after a short conversation], I later discovered something that was a real encouragement to me.  Though the content of my conversation and the accent of my speech did not reveal where I was from, or where I was going, it DID reveal to her something very important.

• The content of my conversation revealed to her the Kingdom to which I belong, the Kingdom of God.
• The accent of my speech revealed to her the language of God’s Kingdom, the language of love… unconditional love.

As a Missionary’s Kid (MK) from almost day-one of my life, moving around from country to country, and from culture to culture, and from language to language, was considered normal.  There is a joke among MK’s that goes something like this:

You know you are an MK if… someone asks you where home is, and you pause while you search your mind and heart for an answer… and you finally answer with something like, “Wherever Mom and Dad are!”

That day on the airplane the professor could not identify a geographically defined country as being my home, nor could she identify which of the world’s languages I lived among by the accent of my English.

Instead, God showed me (and her) that day that the Kingdom that I am a part of is not of this world, and the language that I speak is not the world’s language, but Heaven’s.  The Kingdom of God is not defined by geography, but is found within the parameters of the human heart that has been surrendered to Christ.  The language of Heaven is spoken with an accent that is unlike anything in the world.  It is spoken with the accent of love… unconditional love.

So, does the content of your conversation and the accent with which you communicate a dead-giveaway to the citizens of this world as to the Kingdom of which you are a citizen, and the language with which your King speaks?

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Have You Embraced YOUR Cross?

"... and anyone who does not take his own cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me."

~ Jesus, Matthew 10:38 ~

Have you identified your cross as YOUR CROSS?  Jesus had His cross, and He KNEW it was His to bear, endure, and overcome.  I have my cross, I have identified it, and I am doing my BEST to bear, endure, and overcome the journey.  Other Christians have done, and do, the same!

What about you?  Have you identified your cross and called it YOUR CROSS?  Every cross-bearing has its end, but what are you doing between today and the unknown end-date of your cross-bearing?

Let's examine what Jesus did NOT say in the above passage:

• He didn't say, "Rebuke your cross!"
• He didn't say, "Blame and curse the people who placed the cross before you!"
• He didn't say, "Find your own way with your own cross!"

He DID say, "Take up [YOUR CROSS] and follow ME..."

Its YOUR cross, so pick it up, set it squarely on your shoulders, follow the footsteps of Jesus that have been pre-printed in the dirt by His Own faithful journey!

 

If I may be so bold, let me say this: Fall in love with YOUR CROSS!  Not because it is loveable, but because of the incredible outcome at the END of your journey... your journey of carrying YOUR cross in HIS footsteps!  For, without the bearing of YOUR CROSS (whatever that might be), there is a reward of earthly and heavenly benefits that will never be realized, for those rewards and outcomes are awaiting the person who arrives with their OWN CROSS having been successfully carried in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

I'll see you on the path of Jesus.  I'll be one of the others on the trail carrying a uniquely-me cross... like you!  Let's do this, friend!!!

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Perfector of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

~ Hebrews 12:2-3 ~

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Post-Script explanation of the photo used in this article:

When I was looking for a piece of artwork to insert into this article for illustrative purposes, I originally was combing through simple drawings of crosses.  But then…

My eye was caught by the picture depicting Christ mid-journey with His Own cross.  It is gruesome, bloody, agonizing, nightmarish…

Cross-bearing is not a comfortable nor a pretty looking journey.  I used this GRAPHIC graphic to remind us that cross-bearing is serious business with eternal rewards, or eternal consequences for failure to carry OUR CROSS in the footsteps of Jesus.

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Are You Snorkeling in the Sand, or Deep Sea Diving?

Wow, the Scriptures have such incredible depth! I feel like I could "deep sea dive" into the Word, and never arrive at the bottom or the end.

I have found that if I am reading the Word, and I am being bored, the fault is not the Scriptures'. The problem is my own. I am not "deep sea diving," I am just snorkeling... in the sand of the beach!

Our primary teacher of God's Word is... God! Specifically, the Holy Spirit is our teacher. When I am not making progress in my reading of The Word in my devotional life, my first step is to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help me with understanding the revelation of the Scriptures.

When I take the step to pray and ask, this is tantamount to moving from snorkeling on the beach to skin diving in the water. The Holy Spirit is our "dive partner," and our instructor. He enjoys teaching us and mentoring us, all in accordance with the Scriptures.

In the Book of Acts, the Christians in Berea are highlighted and pointed to as good examples because they diligently studied the Scriptures as part of their personal discipleship practice.

It is imperative that the Holy Spirit be our teacher and mentor in the Scriptures. Yes, God has given to us, "Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers, to train [us] the people" (Ephesians 4:11-12), but just as the Holy Spirit is to be THEIR primary teacher, so the Spirit is to be OUR primary teacher, followed by (in a secondary role) these others who have been called and anointed-for-ministry.

Thank you for reading, my friend. I pray that the Holy Spirit will answer your prayer... the prayer where you ask Him to join you as your instructor in "deep sea diving" into the limitless depths of the Scriptures, the Word of God.

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