Matthew 2:1-15 Boldly records events that, if they happened today, what would likely be roundly criticized in many Christian circles. In this ages old color commentary of the birth of Christ, Bible knowledge is sharply contrasted with 3 eastern mystical Kings in eager pursuit of a revelation of KINGDOM NOW through visions, dreams and signs. These events beg the question:How long will we substitute reading, hearing and even knowing the scriptures for the precious reality of living in the transcendent supremacy of the KINGDOM NOW?
The Matthew 2 passage is renowned for reading in children’s Christmas plays. The truth is that if these same easterners showed up in some of our church services we’d have ushers, prayer warriors, deliverance team members and a 9 and a 1 dialed to protect our children from them!
“Pastor! Those guys that just came in are saying that they’ve been ‘reading’ the stars and that one star in particular told them to come HERE….from, brace yourself pastor….from IRAQ!” (It is a historic fact that “We 3 Kings” probably came from modern day Iraq)
Furthermore, the Matthew passage tells us that Herod called in his best Bible teachers of the day (Chief priests and Scribes) to learn more about where the Christ was to be born. Astonishingly enough, they read Micah 5 to him and he, in turn uses that information in an attempt to turn the 3 Kings into unwitting snitches who will come back to him and reveal the exact location of Jesus so Herod can have him killed!
Wait a minute….are these Bible teachers and Herod using the Bible for something other than reaching into the Heavens for a revelation of signs that make you wonder? Are they using the scriptures for information instead of transformation? Could it be that they are so cold hearted as to miss the possibility of the KINGDOM NOW even as they take their stand upon chapter and verse? Does any of this sound familiar?
You can read, hear and “know” the scriptures apart from the Holy Spirit and be just as dead as never having opened a Bible. But if you can read, hear or know any Word in the Book, you have an opportunity to reach into to it by the Spirit and make it your own personal sign and wonder. It is the Holy Spirit’s personal assignment to make these stories and Words WONDER-FULL. When once you ever dare to pull a Word into your experience you will find that the same Word will pull you UP into the heavenlies and out of your mere material subsistence.
I know this blog is a bit scattered and maybe even a tad bit disjointed. Perhaps just a reflection of me these days. If you’ve made it this far, I’m sure you can bear with me to the following conclusion. In John 5:37-42 Jesus said to a group of upstanding Bible “knowers” that for all their searching the scriptures, they were not entering the very Life of those same verses. Readers, its time for a new breed of mystics whose faith is deeply rooted in Love for the Bible, not as a portable Museum…but as a Map for amazing discovery through visions, dreams and signs, O MY!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Bondslave of the Impossible
Those who know me well know that I adore the story of mother Mary with a towering honor for her spirit. To me she embodies every quality which ought to typify all of Christianity. While Catholicism worships her as a deity and Protestants run the other way, both extremes are sadly in error. For the Catholic to make this beautiful lady a god is to miss the raw power of her humanity. For the Protestant to lightly pay her “honorable mention” pitifully misses the dare of God’s call to us to become as she was; a bondslave of the Lord and His impossible offer.
Luke 1:37,38 Records the summary of Mary and the angel Gabriel’s conversation, “(Gabriel) For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.’” Does that do to you what it does to me? Let me see if I can unpack this adequately….
Mary is, at most, 16. There is absolutely no precedent for what she is hearing. The closest thing that might have crossed her mind was that of much older, married women of the Old Testament who were given children of promise….along with their husbands!
Mary is on an island in this category. There is no other way to describe this encounter other than astonishing in its reach and stunning in its ramifications. Yet, something in the transcendence of the moment pushes Mary to the conclusion that she must become a bondslave to this impossibility! Hear that again; she happily surrendered herself as a SLAVE of the Lord and His offer of doing the impossible.
My apostolic father, Bill Johnson says it this way, “Our debt to the world is an encounter with God”. To that end, we must become bondslaves of doing the impossible. A people of a covenant to live beyond our means! To do works that transcend my limited abilities to show the world a God of unlimited abilities. If all the church is offering is clean living born out of good doctrine then we have certainly become what Paul warned us about, “…holding a form of godliness although they have denied its power…avoid such men as these.”
We owe our culture a living, visible demonstration of the Kingdom of another world. Jesus told His disciples to heal the sick and define that moment of healing as the Kingdom’s appearance on earth. I’m not batting a thousand on that command, YET….
But all around me are the evidences of the Kingdom’s transcendent supremacy. Just to name a few: A premature baby alive and well. A case of vertigo, gone in an instant. A life time of back pain smashed by Kingdom come. Cancer….GONE. A multiple year stomach ailment removed overnight. Ten new clients in a budding new ministry for the eradication of addictions…delivered by the power of the Kingdom and a Kingdom warrior named Steve. A marriage dragged back from the abyss into abundant living. Mental illnesses erased. An ocean that could not break my son-in-law’s neck. A unbeliever who walks into our gathering and hears the prophetic reading of their heart. Story after story of recent conversions into an irresistible Kingdom that draws humans into an encounter with God not because they were threatened with hell to come but because they tasted Heaven on earth in the Kingdom NOW!
I’m a happy slave of conquering the impossible. I’ve discovered the true nature of Christianity is the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. I’ve heard it said that when we get to heaven “some day” that we’re in for a lot of surprises. While I’m sure that’s true, I’ve decided to take a different path of life that minimizes my surprises tomorrow through discovery TODAY.
Just prior to World War II amphibious landings were deemed impossible due to notable failures in World War I. MacArthur, Eisenhower and other heroes of that day never got their boots wet in basic training for an amphibious assault. A lesser known military officer nicknamed, “Mad (as in mad-man) Smith advised the strategists of his day that the war could not be won without large scale amphibious assaults. “Mad” was told that such an idea was impossible. His answer? “Well, then we are going to do the impossible and we are going to do the impossible WELL.” Mr. Mad was a bondslave to the impossible. World War II was won by heroes who did the impossible.
Mad, Mary, Randy…..any more bondslaves out there?
Luke 1:37,38 Records the summary of Mary and the angel Gabriel’s conversation, “(Gabriel) For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.’” Does that do to you what it does to me? Let me see if I can unpack this adequately….
Mary is, at most, 16. There is absolutely no precedent for what she is hearing. The closest thing that might have crossed her mind was that of much older, married women of the Old Testament who were given children of promise….along with their husbands!
Mary is on an island in this category. There is no other way to describe this encounter other than astonishing in its reach and stunning in its ramifications. Yet, something in the transcendence of the moment pushes Mary to the conclusion that she must become a bondslave to this impossibility! Hear that again; she happily surrendered herself as a SLAVE of the Lord and His offer of doing the impossible.
My apostolic father, Bill Johnson says it this way, “Our debt to the world is an encounter with God”. To that end, we must become bondslaves of doing the impossible. A people of a covenant to live beyond our means! To do works that transcend my limited abilities to show the world a God of unlimited abilities. If all the church is offering is clean living born out of good doctrine then we have certainly become what Paul warned us about, “…holding a form of godliness although they have denied its power…avoid such men as these.”
We owe our culture a living, visible demonstration of the Kingdom of another world. Jesus told His disciples to heal the sick and define that moment of healing as the Kingdom’s appearance on earth. I’m not batting a thousand on that command, YET….
But all around me are the evidences of the Kingdom’s transcendent supremacy. Just to name a few: A premature baby alive and well. A case of vertigo, gone in an instant. A life time of back pain smashed by Kingdom come. Cancer….GONE. A multiple year stomach ailment removed overnight. Ten new clients in a budding new ministry for the eradication of addictions…delivered by the power of the Kingdom and a Kingdom warrior named Steve. A marriage dragged back from the abyss into abundant living. Mental illnesses erased. An ocean that could not break my son-in-law’s neck. A unbeliever who walks into our gathering and hears the prophetic reading of their heart. Story after story of recent conversions into an irresistible Kingdom that draws humans into an encounter with God not because they were threatened with hell to come but because they tasted Heaven on earth in the Kingdom NOW!
I’m a happy slave of conquering the impossible. I’ve discovered the true nature of Christianity is the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. I’ve heard it said that when we get to heaven “some day” that we’re in for a lot of surprises. While I’m sure that’s true, I’ve decided to take a different path of life that minimizes my surprises tomorrow through discovery TODAY.
Just prior to World War II amphibious landings were deemed impossible due to notable failures in World War I. MacArthur, Eisenhower and other heroes of that day never got their boots wet in basic training for an amphibious assault. A lesser known military officer nicknamed, “Mad (as in mad-man) Smith advised the strategists of his day that the war could not be won without large scale amphibious assaults. “Mad” was told that such an idea was impossible. His answer? “Well, then we are going to do the impossible and we are going to do the impossible WELL.” Mr. Mad was a bondslave to the impossible. World War II was won by heroes who did the impossible.
Mad, Mary, Randy…..any more bondslaves out there?
Monday, December 08, 2008
Quick Update on Darren
As some of you may already know, my son-in-law Darren Hose was badly injured in a freak accident in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last Wednesday. He, along with my daughter Libby and our 2 grand-daughters were given a condo for a week and they were having the time of their lives enjoying the sun, the ocean and boogie boarding. Darren had befriended a policeman from Canada and the two of them were hitting some unusual waves that had churned up. Suddenly one of those waves crested and simply dropped in a rogue fashion that literally threw Darren to the ocean floor like a cannon ball….face first.
When he hit the floor his neck must have bent at a 90 degree angle. His doctor here said Friday that the spinal cord was stretched as far as it could be without snapping. Darren told us that he immediately knew that he had no use of his legs and arms. His mouth was jammed full of sand. When he finally floated to the surface he forced the sand out and screamed for help. The Canadian cop sprang into action and saved Darren’s life.
Without going into the frightening hours that followed, suffice it to say that Libby was gathering and wrangling her 3 year old and 8 month old daughters into a nightmare experience at a foreign hospital. She called me and sent out the immediate cry for prayer. The following day, with help from the Red Cross and 2 or 3 maxed credit cards we got Darren on a plane home. (Note to all travelers: never, NEVER, NEVER travel without trip insurance! The Hoses are kicking themselves that they did not take out the $37 per person insurance that would have paid for everything, including a trip home for the girls WITH Darren, instead of the trip they had to make alone on their regular tickets 2 days later).
We praise God that today Darren is walking and at home! He is not out of the woods as to the extreme pain in his arms which is the result of the spinal cord trauma. Darren describes it as having been skinned alive. His doctor says that this is a typical reaction when a patient is recovering from near paralysis.
A benefit account has been established at Anchor Bank PO Box 475 New Richmond, WI 54017-9935 in the name of “Darren Hose Benefit”. Check our church web site at www.lwc1.com for ongoing updates.
When he hit the floor his neck must have bent at a 90 degree angle. His doctor here said Friday that the spinal cord was stretched as far as it could be without snapping. Darren told us that he immediately knew that he had no use of his legs and arms. His mouth was jammed full of sand. When he finally floated to the surface he forced the sand out and screamed for help. The Canadian cop sprang into action and saved Darren’s life.
Without going into the frightening hours that followed, suffice it to say that Libby was gathering and wrangling her 3 year old and 8 month old daughters into a nightmare experience at a foreign hospital. She called me and sent out the immediate cry for prayer. The following day, with help from the Red Cross and 2 or 3 maxed credit cards we got Darren on a plane home. (Note to all travelers: never, NEVER, NEVER travel without trip insurance! The Hoses are kicking themselves that they did not take out the $37 per person insurance that would have paid for everything, including a trip home for the girls WITH Darren, instead of the trip they had to make alone on their regular tickets 2 days later).
We praise God that today Darren is walking and at home! He is not out of the woods as to the extreme pain in his arms which is the result of the spinal cord trauma. Darren describes it as having been skinned alive. His doctor says that this is a typical reaction when a patient is recovering from near paralysis.
A benefit account has been established at Anchor Bank PO Box 475 New Richmond, WI 54017-9935 in the name of “Darren Hose Benefit”. Check our church web site at www.lwc1.com for ongoing updates.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Heavenly Knighthood (Christmas Blog Reissue)
One of the great classic scriptures describing the Christmas story is found in Luke 2:8-20. The problem with such passages is that they take on such a legendary and mythical status that they can cease to be present day truth that can kick our butts out of bed and light fires of destiny. Let’s spend a few moments and challenge that notion…
Angels catch shepherds in the graveyard shift and stun them with a rock opera blast in the heavens. The original language strikes a chord in me on several levels here; “…the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them and they were terribly frightened”. “Frightened” in the “check your shorts” category of screaming, “mommy!!!!” Then the town-crier angel attempts to correct the problem he caused by saying, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people. For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ, the Messiah, the Lord!”
This next account has always been a favorite of mine. It has always brought a passionate and vibrant sense of heaven’s dynamic expectation of what God is about to do on earth. I have such a holy ache for us to be like this heavenly blast of excitement; “And suddenly, there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven- a heavenly knighthood- praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace’”
A HEAVENLY KNIGHTHOOD crashed through the night skies. Imagine with me the closing scene of the movie, “Braveheart” where warrior poets run to the battle field with reckless abandonment. A HEAVENLY KNIGHTHOOD ripped the curtain off the threshold between that world and this and in essence said, “God be PRAISED! LOOK OUT earth, here we come with Heaven’s Messiah King in tow. The final invasion begins NOW and everyone who receives this is about to have their world rocked. The earth is about to be repossessed by its rightful Owner and there is no turning back”.
The Christmas story tells me that I will never understand or even begin to appreciate the Second Coming of Christ if I have not become a full partner in and an active participant with the First Coming of Christ. A Heavenly Knighthood preceded His First Coming and they are still here to this day to pick a fight for peace on earth with any interloper or intruder who opposes Christ’s rightful claim to the planet for which He died.
His Second Coming will not be announced by the whimper of a Church clutching to our memories of Christmas Past when we could say, “Merry Christmas” without signing petitions. His Glorious Return will be attended by the same Knighthood of Heaven who will be savoring the Marriage of the Messiah King to a Glorious Bride whose brilliance will be comparable to His own. “On earth, peace!” is not just a song to be sung but a war to be won!
Angels catch shepherds in the graveyard shift and stun them with a rock opera blast in the heavens. The original language strikes a chord in me on several levels here; “…the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them and they were terribly frightened”. “Frightened” in the “check your shorts” category of screaming, “mommy!!!!” Then the town-crier angel attempts to correct the problem he caused by saying, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people. For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ, the Messiah, the Lord!”
This next account has always been a favorite of mine. It has always brought a passionate and vibrant sense of heaven’s dynamic expectation of what God is about to do on earth. I have such a holy ache for us to be like this heavenly blast of excitement; “And suddenly, there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven- a heavenly knighthood- praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace’”
A HEAVENLY KNIGHTHOOD crashed through the night skies. Imagine with me the closing scene of the movie, “Braveheart” where warrior poets run to the battle field with reckless abandonment. A HEAVENLY KNIGHTHOOD ripped the curtain off the threshold between that world and this and in essence said, “God be PRAISED! LOOK OUT earth, here we come with Heaven’s Messiah King in tow. The final invasion begins NOW and everyone who receives this is about to have their world rocked. The earth is about to be repossessed by its rightful Owner and there is no turning back”.
The Christmas story tells me that I will never understand or even begin to appreciate the Second Coming of Christ if I have not become a full partner in and an active participant with the First Coming of Christ. A Heavenly Knighthood preceded His First Coming and they are still here to this day to pick a fight for peace on earth with any interloper or intruder who opposes Christ’s rightful claim to the planet for which He died.
His Second Coming will not be announced by the whimper of a Church clutching to our memories of Christmas Past when we could say, “Merry Christmas” without signing petitions. His Glorious Return will be attended by the same Knighthood of Heaven who will be savoring the Marriage of the Messiah King to a Glorious Bride whose brilliance will be comparable to His own. “On earth, peace!” is not just a song to be sung but a war to be won!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
God is in a Good Mood
I was visiting with a local radio and newspaper reporter this morning and he and I were reflecting on the “mood” of people. Our conclusion (and it’s always nice to find somebody who agrees with me implicitly) was this: the information age has created a monster! Four major news networks pump the airwaves full of every infinitesimal detail of every possible story on the planet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The old adage used to be, “stay tuned for film at 10pm.” FORGET THAT! Now, film can be instantly viewed by satellite, youtube, cable and even on our cell phones (!) at the very instant the event is happening. The result is that if there is something to scare you, worry you, intimidate you, give you pause, terrify you and generally make you want to run to your basement, bomb shelter or local law enforcement officer, a billion people (give or take a million here or there) know about it and are spreading the word before one scintilla of fact can be confirmed.
As if that isn’t enough, then a few voices of the church join the fray. I stumbled onto a late night TV “evangelist” the other day as he gleefully quoted scriptures faster than a speeding bullet and sprayed the background with news clips full of misery. The only thing missing was the Twilight Zone theme music. His program ended with an invitation to, “come to Jesus”. Am I missing something here? If God is somehow at the root of all the crazy bad stuff, how am I supposed to want to come to Jesus?
This year, Christmas can’t come a minute too soon, as far as I’m concerned. Luke’s gospel heralds, “…there were shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. (I know the feeling!) and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them….and said, ‘I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all people’…” Paraphrased it means, “Hey, everybody on earth; God is in a really good mood! He would really like for you to join Him.”
This isn’t to say that we should pretend that bad stuff isn’t happening. It IS to say that the only productive way THROUGH bad stuff is to wrap your arms around a God who is in a good mood. He’s not angry. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God (Isaiah 53:11). He’s not the cause of our calamity, He isn’t in need of anger management counseling, He’s not running out of patience and He is most certainly NOT looking for new and creative ways to roast His creation! Nice and slow, read the Luke passage again, “GOOD news….GREAT joy…. for ALL people…”. God IS in a good mood; join Him.
Turn off the bad news and go do some holy rockin’ around the Christmas tree. That’s where you’ll find me and my house this year.
As if that isn’t enough, then a few voices of the church join the fray. I stumbled onto a late night TV “evangelist” the other day as he gleefully quoted scriptures faster than a speeding bullet and sprayed the background with news clips full of misery. The only thing missing was the Twilight Zone theme music. His program ended with an invitation to, “come to Jesus”. Am I missing something here? If God is somehow at the root of all the crazy bad stuff, how am I supposed to want to come to Jesus?
This year, Christmas can’t come a minute too soon, as far as I’m concerned. Luke’s gospel heralds, “…there were shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. (I know the feeling!) and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them….and said, ‘I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all people’…” Paraphrased it means, “Hey, everybody on earth; God is in a really good mood! He would really like for you to join Him.”
This isn’t to say that we should pretend that bad stuff isn’t happening. It IS to say that the only productive way THROUGH bad stuff is to wrap your arms around a God who is in a good mood. He’s not angry. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God (Isaiah 53:11). He’s not the cause of our calamity, He isn’t in need of anger management counseling, He’s not running out of patience and He is most certainly NOT looking for new and creative ways to roast His creation! Nice and slow, read the Luke passage again, “GOOD news….GREAT joy…. for ALL people…”. God IS in a good mood; join Him.
Turn off the bad news and go do some holy rockin’ around the Christmas tree. That’s where you’ll find me and my house this year.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Kingdom NOW!
(The following is a transcript of my teaching at Living Word Chapel, Wednesday November 19, 2008)
Our goal, our command, our mission is nothing less than the Kingdom of Heaven explosively expressed, demonstrated, witnessed and enjoyed on the earth. We are not here to provide the church as a hiding place from the world. It is a sin to seek refuge from a storm over which we have been given authority. We are here to equip and ignite the church as platoons of infiltration, saturation and permeation throughout all of society for nothing less than the eventual healing of the nations through the triumphant resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. My passion is to ignite you in each and every service with the flames of another world so that you leave here smoldering to overcome the lesser realities of the world you will walk through all week long.
It has been said that America’s last and best hope is revival. While I am sympathetic to the notion, and on many levels cooperative with the concept, it is my personal belief that Jesus proclaimed an even greater and more superior transcendence through His delivery of the very real and raw power appearance of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Upon launching His ministry He unapologetically proclaimed that everything from Him forward had the intrinsic potential of being transformed into outrageously good news.
Without so much as a hint of marginalization He shouted, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15) Allow me to pastorally paraphrase; “The wait is over. God has drawn a dark line in eternal sand. God’s total dominion expressed through human beings is presently fully available and simply at the disposal of your own hand. God is far better, bigger, presently available and massively potent than you think so change the way you think. Everything from here forward can be shockingly and fundamentally radicalized into good news.”
And then, as if to offer a sample of the raw power and simplicity of His “revival” Jesus journeys to the Sea of Galilee, sees Simon and his brother Andrew doing their work, steps into their space and seizes control of the atmosphere around them. Without a word of explanation other than the plain announcement, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.” (Mark 1:16-18)
Herein, Jesus straight away demonstrates the ascendancy of His domain. Again, please allow me the indulgence of a paraphrase; “Hello fishermen. You are clearly familiar with the tactile pleasure of fish weighing in against your nets as an immediate reward for your craft and knowledge of placing those nets in strategic places and proportions so that the fish don’t know they’ve been caught until it is too late. Their instincts are no match for your clever ability to make a living at the expense of their self-indulgent swimming freedom. Hey; here’s a thought. Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of humans. Upon hearing these Words somewhere more deeply than they had ever heard a word in their lives, their hands obeyed a signal from a different source than merely the brain and they dropped their nets in order to make room to grab the insuperable domain, which, quite honestly had already grabbed them.”
To further underline these remarkable (pun intended….re-Mark-able) events Jesus takes His new human catch to the Synagogue and teaches. As He speaks, authoritative dominion power (with real effect being put into the atmosphere) is being released in His Words. (Mark 1:-22) Suddenly, a man with an unclean spirit cries out THE REALITY OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE SPIRIT REALM! (Mark 1:24) But Jesus would rather speak for Himself, thank you very much, and so He did and cleaned “house” in front of the entire synagogue.
If you continue to follow Mark’s account you read with utter amazement at the sheer power of the raw appearance of the Kingdom of God in, around and through Jesus. Two different homes are physically over-run by the crowds. One of those homes has its roof torn open in order to lower a lame man. In one place Mark says, “the whole city had gathered at the door”. In another place Jesus’ new “catch of the day” disciples searched everywhere to find Him (because He was out banking into Himself more of the Presence of God and the Kingdom) and when they found Him they excitedly kept telling him that, “everyone is looking for You.” (Mark 1:37)
So what’s my point? Our goal, our command, our mission is nothing less than the Kingdom of Heaven explosively expressed, demonstrated, witnessed and enjoyed on the earth. We are not here to provide the church as a hiding place from the world. It is a sin to seek refuge from a storm over which we have been given authority. We are here to equip and ignite the church as platoons of infiltration, saturation and permeation throughout all of society for nothing less than the eventual healing of the nations through the triumphant resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. My passion is to ignite you in each and every service with the flames of another world so that you leave here smoldering to overcome the lesser realities of the world you will walk through all week long.
KINGDOM, COME, NOW!
Our goal, our command, our mission is nothing less than the Kingdom of Heaven explosively expressed, demonstrated, witnessed and enjoyed on the earth. We are not here to provide the church as a hiding place from the world. It is a sin to seek refuge from a storm over which we have been given authority. We are here to equip and ignite the church as platoons of infiltration, saturation and permeation throughout all of society for nothing less than the eventual healing of the nations through the triumphant resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. My passion is to ignite you in each and every service with the flames of another world so that you leave here smoldering to overcome the lesser realities of the world you will walk through all week long.
It has been said that America’s last and best hope is revival. While I am sympathetic to the notion, and on many levels cooperative with the concept, it is my personal belief that Jesus proclaimed an even greater and more superior transcendence through His delivery of the very real and raw power appearance of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Upon launching His ministry He unapologetically proclaimed that everything from Him forward had the intrinsic potential of being transformed into outrageously good news.
Without so much as a hint of marginalization He shouted, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15) Allow me to pastorally paraphrase; “The wait is over. God has drawn a dark line in eternal sand. God’s total dominion expressed through human beings is presently fully available and simply at the disposal of your own hand. God is far better, bigger, presently available and massively potent than you think so change the way you think. Everything from here forward can be shockingly and fundamentally radicalized into good news.”
And then, as if to offer a sample of the raw power and simplicity of His “revival” Jesus journeys to the Sea of Galilee, sees Simon and his brother Andrew doing their work, steps into their space and seizes control of the atmosphere around them. Without a word of explanation other than the plain announcement, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.” (Mark 1:16-18)
Herein, Jesus straight away demonstrates the ascendancy of His domain. Again, please allow me the indulgence of a paraphrase; “Hello fishermen. You are clearly familiar with the tactile pleasure of fish weighing in against your nets as an immediate reward for your craft and knowledge of placing those nets in strategic places and proportions so that the fish don’t know they’ve been caught until it is too late. Their instincts are no match for your clever ability to make a living at the expense of their self-indulgent swimming freedom. Hey; here’s a thought. Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of humans. Upon hearing these Words somewhere more deeply than they had ever heard a word in their lives, their hands obeyed a signal from a different source than merely the brain and they dropped their nets in order to make room to grab the insuperable domain, which, quite honestly had already grabbed them.”
To further underline these remarkable (pun intended….re-Mark-able) events Jesus takes His new human catch to the Synagogue and teaches. As He speaks, authoritative dominion power (with real effect being put into the atmosphere) is being released in His Words. (Mark 1:-22) Suddenly, a man with an unclean spirit cries out THE REALITY OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE SPIRIT REALM! (Mark 1:24) But Jesus would rather speak for Himself, thank you very much, and so He did and cleaned “house” in front of the entire synagogue.
If you continue to follow Mark’s account you read with utter amazement at the sheer power of the raw appearance of the Kingdom of God in, around and through Jesus. Two different homes are physically over-run by the crowds. One of those homes has its roof torn open in order to lower a lame man. In one place Mark says, “the whole city had gathered at the door”. In another place Jesus’ new “catch of the day” disciples searched everywhere to find Him (because He was out banking into Himself more of the Presence of God and the Kingdom) and when they found Him they excitedly kept telling him that, “everyone is looking for You.” (Mark 1:37)
So what’s my point? Our goal, our command, our mission is nothing less than the Kingdom of Heaven explosively expressed, demonstrated, witnessed and enjoyed on the earth. We are not here to provide the church as a hiding place from the world. It is a sin to seek refuge from a storm over which we have been given authority. We are here to equip and ignite the church as platoons of infiltration, saturation and permeation throughout all of society for nothing less than the eventual healing of the nations through the triumphant resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. My passion is to ignite you in each and every service with the flames of another world so that you leave here smoldering to overcome the lesser realities of the world you will walk through all week long.
KINGDOM, COME, NOW!
Monday, November 17, 2008
An Open Letter
Note the date posted just below. I have held this letter since that time as one among many writings I have filed through the years. Most are still filed, a few I have mailed, emailed or blogged. This is one of the few I am putting to my blog. I struggled with the contrast in content in view of my later blog, “A Culture of Honor” but I have decided to post this as well. I am still thoroughly committed to the content of “A Culture of Honor” as I view this newest post as a plea to the “handlers” and offered with no disrespect to our current new slate of leaders.
Feel free to send this along to any political party leaders you know, local or otherwise. I am committed to the idea of putting this in as many hands as I can.
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October 28, 2008
To the Winners and the Losers of the Political Parties,
Congratulations and condolences. Both wishes are offered equally and without obvious application. The winners have lost more than what seems obvious and the losers might still win if the slogans of both sides of the campaigns can be changed from a cheer leading promise to living truth: CHANGE!
I am writing this letter exactly one week before the November general election. It is based on a wide variety of ponderings as a rural pastor/shepherd keeping watch over his flock by night. I’d like to say that a host of angels burst out in the dark sky announcing the arrival of peace, good will for all. It is quite the contrary. While I am elated that such an event is already etched in history and perfectly confident that its transcendent supremacy can not be reversed, I am also deeply troubled by the dreadful darkness that your campaign trails have plowed through the soul of this nation.
At a time of grave and real anxiety both major political parties gleefully seized the moment with barrels of salt to discharge into the nation’s wounds. At the risk of dragging the minutia of yet another poll into this mix, I do want to refer to the general conclusions of one poll (Associated Press-Yahoo News Poll conducted by Knowledge Networks conducted in early October) that reflected that the majority of Americans of all political stripes are “worried, unhappy, fatigued and frightened”. Yet both party’s political aspirations fueled an emotional feeding frenzy at the scent of our blood in the waters of your grabbing and grasping for political power. This is nothing less than shameful behavior easily comparable to a raging alcoholic parent threatening a family with further harm if they don’t unconditionally cede control.
One candidate for a national office completely fit the profile of this picture saying, “Once this campaign is over, the nation must be healed! We’ve been through a terrible time.” Hmmm….I’ve counseled a few people down through the years who have related how a rage-oholic adult would ravage a home and then sit down with the family later in tears to talk about how much they care and only desire to heal the bruises. It’s like a hospital posting snipers on the roof and simultaneously advertising discounted deals on treatments for gunshot wounds.
The following paragraph is now being written almost 2 weeks after the election.
Please end this vicious cycle. Please spend the next gap in time between campaigns in a search for the high road. Please read the other postings of this blog, “A Culture of Honor” and “Is it November 5th Yet?” Please fire the political gun slingers and hire some spiritual advisors. Please tell us what your core values truly are instead of spending millions to vomit in our living rooms. The mess is real, the stench is overwhelming and Republicans, Democrats and Independents are responsible. Please STOP IT!
I told my congregation this week to rise above the rancor and learn to be better and bigger people. I said this, “There will be those who feel that their cause is so just, so right that it grants them the right to be disrespectful and dishonoring. I say we should ennoble our cause by honoring those in authority who represent the contrary. Shine the light of honor on all your opinions, political or otherwise, so that those on the contrary side might better see what truth lies within.”
Peace,
Pastor Randy Dean
Feel free to send this along to any political party leaders you know, local or otherwise. I am committed to the idea of putting this in as many hands as I can.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 28, 2008
To the Winners and the Losers of the Political Parties,
Congratulations and condolences. Both wishes are offered equally and without obvious application. The winners have lost more than what seems obvious and the losers might still win if the slogans of both sides of the campaigns can be changed from a cheer leading promise to living truth: CHANGE!
I am writing this letter exactly one week before the November general election. It is based on a wide variety of ponderings as a rural pastor/shepherd keeping watch over his flock by night. I’d like to say that a host of angels burst out in the dark sky announcing the arrival of peace, good will for all. It is quite the contrary. While I am elated that such an event is already etched in history and perfectly confident that its transcendent supremacy can not be reversed, I am also deeply troubled by the dreadful darkness that your campaign trails have plowed through the soul of this nation.
At a time of grave and real anxiety both major political parties gleefully seized the moment with barrels of salt to discharge into the nation’s wounds. At the risk of dragging the minutia of yet another poll into this mix, I do want to refer to the general conclusions of one poll (Associated Press-Yahoo News Poll conducted by Knowledge Networks conducted in early October) that reflected that the majority of Americans of all political stripes are “worried, unhappy, fatigued and frightened”. Yet both party’s political aspirations fueled an emotional feeding frenzy at the scent of our blood in the waters of your grabbing and grasping for political power. This is nothing less than shameful behavior easily comparable to a raging alcoholic parent threatening a family with further harm if they don’t unconditionally cede control.
One candidate for a national office completely fit the profile of this picture saying, “Once this campaign is over, the nation must be healed! We’ve been through a terrible time.” Hmmm….I’ve counseled a few people down through the years who have related how a rage-oholic adult would ravage a home and then sit down with the family later in tears to talk about how much they care and only desire to heal the bruises. It’s like a hospital posting snipers on the roof and simultaneously advertising discounted deals on treatments for gunshot wounds.
The following paragraph is now being written almost 2 weeks after the election.
Please end this vicious cycle. Please spend the next gap in time between campaigns in a search for the high road. Please read the other postings of this blog, “A Culture of Honor” and “Is it November 5th Yet?” Please fire the political gun slingers and hire some spiritual advisors. Please tell us what your core values truly are instead of spending millions to vomit in our living rooms. The mess is real, the stench is overwhelming and Republicans, Democrats and Independents are responsible. Please STOP IT!
I told my congregation this week to rise above the rancor and learn to be better and bigger people. I said this, “There will be those who feel that their cause is so just, so right that it grants them the right to be disrespectful and dishonoring. I say we should ennoble our cause by honoring those in authority who represent the contrary. Shine the light of honor on all your opinions, political or otherwise, so that those on the contrary side might better see what truth lies within.”
Peace,
Pastor Randy Dean
Thursday, November 06, 2008
A Culture of Honor
(The bulk of the following has been brewing in my spirit for many days leading up to the national general election of 2008. As you can tell, the first paragraph is specific to the very day of the election, but beyond that, these are words that the Holy Spirit has been perfecting within me).
I am writing this on the morning of November 4, 2008. There are no election returns in yet but I am thrilled to see lines all over the country as voter turn out is literally off the charts. Some of the pundits say that this bodes well for one party over the other but I say, regardless, this bodes well for our nation! I have longed to see this kind of involvement since the day I cast my first vote in 1972.
Whoever the new president is, I honor him now. I am personally committed to making a break with the past extreme partisan nastiness that has soiled the American soul for at least the past 16 years. I’m starting my own campaign, beginning now, for a national healing renewal that begins and ends in the Church (which, by the way, should have always been in the Church) as it relates to our relationship to governing authorities and beyond.
My apostolic father, Bill Johnson, when pondering the formation of a network of churches and ministries, wondered aloud several months ago, “How far could we go in a culture of honor?” He voiced this as others around him were pressing for a more formalized and legislated mechanism of relationship. That simple revelation of honor is now becoming a thriving spiritual family spreading the revival dynamics of the Kingdom of God internationally.
I Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King.” The first mention in that verse of honor is the greek word “tee-may-o” which means to prize, fix a valuation on and value with reverence. The second word is “tim-may” which actually ratchets up the stakes of the word to mean pay a price for value, to have esteem and dignity and to view as precious. Have you discovered that people will generally live up (or down, as the case may be) to the value you genuinely place in them? In our society’s full court press to teach “self-esteem” to our children, have we inadvertently omitted the possibility that esteem for self may be best built and expressed in a healthy and holy esteem for others?
Our current political climate has pretty much created a national sport of blasting the esteem out of others in a naked attempt to achieve our ambitions. Then when the elections are over we reap what we’ve sown as we go after the folks at the top until we can successfully blast them out of any esteem or value and this cycle goes on and on, and worse and worse.
My goal today is to be one person in my place of influence to put an end to that cycle. We can no longer wait for someone else to do this. We can no longer wait for “our” person to win an office before we decide to do the honor thing. In fact, the purest honor, the most tested and reliable honor is honor placed somewhere and in someone where it has cost you something to give it! I would go so far as to suggest that honor isn’t honor UNTIL it costs you something.
I admire the skills of a good comedian. Dennis Miller is a good comedian, not my favorite comedian, but a very skilled one. Recently, on a late night show he was in rare form lampooning Senator Obama. Suddenly, he reined in his monologue and took a serious turn. In a rare move for any comedian he apologized for a part of his verbal run that made fun of the Obama family. And then he said, “Listen, whoever wins this election…could we all agree now to avoid making the new president yet another anti-Christ?” The crowd cheered. This resonates with what I’m sharing here.
What would it look like if people of faith bestowed an outrageous spirit of blessing and honor, even on those we might deem had nothing intrinsically deserving of the same? What would it look like for us to be genuinely and profoundly thankful as we prayed for those in authority? (I Timothy 2:1-3) What would it look like for a body of believers to be an army unarmed by human resources yet heavily armed by Kingdom Resources who determine ALWAYS and in ALL THINGS to overcome evil (real or perceived) WITH GOOD? (Romans 12)
In Isaiah 44 and 45 the prophet speaks a Kingdom declaration on the pagan king of Persia and calls him “My Shepherd” (44:28) and “anointed” (45:1) Ezra 1 says that the expenses for Judah’s return to her land and the restoration of the temple came “by the hand” of that pagan government. If God can call Cyrus anointed, who am I to think that God could not do the same with someone elected to such an influencial position as the presidency?
Did you know that in his run for the presidency Abraham Lincoln promised to uphold State’s Rights in slavery and yet he is best known now for the Emancipation Proclamation (which overturned the State's rights with federal power)? What’s the greater miracle? That a pro-life president get elected? Or that a pro-choice president might have a change of heart?
What deeply concerns me in today's Christian "world-view" is that far too much of it is fear based and enslaved to the narrow view that our highest and best exercise of "power" is political. What political power did Jesus wield? How often did Jesus preach political activism against the raging vicious power of Rome? Never! And yet, where is the center of the world's largest Christian denomination today? ROME! How was Rome defeated? By the subtle servant King who healed the sick and made broken hearts whole again.
I am certainly not suggesting that we should take some lazy approach of political nuetrality....a snoozy "whatever" approach. On the contrary, I believe that the passage I referenced above (I Peter 2) demands of us in verse 12 "good works". Works so incredibly excellent and self-less that the world observing us sees them and shouts, "GLORY TO GOD!" It's one thing for us to sing "glory to God" in the comfort of our worship services....it is quite another thing to do something so God glorifying that a watching world can not hold back their praise to God because of what they see in us!
I am writing this on the morning of November 4, 2008. There are no election returns in yet but I am thrilled to see lines all over the country as voter turn out is literally off the charts. Some of the pundits say that this bodes well for one party over the other but I say, regardless, this bodes well for our nation! I have longed to see this kind of involvement since the day I cast my first vote in 1972.
Whoever the new president is, I honor him now. I am personally committed to making a break with the past extreme partisan nastiness that has soiled the American soul for at least the past 16 years. I’m starting my own campaign, beginning now, for a national healing renewal that begins and ends in the Church (which, by the way, should have always been in the Church) as it relates to our relationship to governing authorities and beyond.
My apostolic father, Bill Johnson, when pondering the formation of a network of churches and ministries, wondered aloud several months ago, “How far could we go in a culture of honor?” He voiced this as others around him were pressing for a more formalized and legislated mechanism of relationship. That simple revelation of honor is now becoming a thriving spiritual family spreading the revival dynamics of the Kingdom of God internationally.
I Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King.” The first mention in that verse of honor is the greek word “tee-may-o” which means to prize, fix a valuation on and value with reverence. The second word is “tim-may” which actually ratchets up the stakes of the word to mean pay a price for value, to have esteem and dignity and to view as precious. Have you discovered that people will generally live up (or down, as the case may be) to the value you genuinely place in them? In our society’s full court press to teach “self-esteem” to our children, have we inadvertently omitted the possibility that esteem for self may be best built and expressed in a healthy and holy esteem for others?
Our current political climate has pretty much created a national sport of blasting the esteem out of others in a naked attempt to achieve our ambitions. Then when the elections are over we reap what we’ve sown as we go after the folks at the top until we can successfully blast them out of any esteem or value and this cycle goes on and on, and worse and worse.
My goal today is to be one person in my place of influence to put an end to that cycle. We can no longer wait for someone else to do this. We can no longer wait for “our” person to win an office before we decide to do the honor thing. In fact, the purest honor, the most tested and reliable honor is honor placed somewhere and in someone where it has cost you something to give it! I would go so far as to suggest that honor isn’t honor UNTIL it costs you something.
I admire the skills of a good comedian. Dennis Miller is a good comedian, not my favorite comedian, but a very skilled one. Recently, on a late night show he was in rare form lampooning Senator Obama. Suddenly, he reined in his monologue and took a serious turn. In a rare move for any comedian he apologized for a part of his verbal run that made fun of the Obama family. And then he said, “Listen, whoever wins this election…could we all agree now to avoid making the new president yet another anti-Christ?” The crowd cheered. This resonates with what I’m sharing here.
What would it look like if people of faith bestowed an outrageous spirit of blessing and honor, even on those we might deem had nothing intrinsically deserving of the same? What would it look like for us to be genuinely and profoundly thankful as we prayed for those in authority? (I Timothy 2:1-3) What would it look like for a body of believers to be an army unarmed by human resources yet heavily armed by Kingdom Resources who determine ALWAYS and in ALL THINGS to overcome evil (real or perceived) WITH GOOD? (Romans 12)
In Isaiah 44 and 45 the prophet speaks a Kingdom declaration on the pagan king of Persia and calls him “My Shepherd” (44:28) and “anointed” (45:1) Ezra 1 says that the expenses for Judah’s return to her land and the restoration of the temple came “by the hand” of that pagan government. If God can call Cyrus anointed, who am I to think that God could not do the same with someone elected to such an influencial position as the presidency?
Did you know that in his run for the presidency Abraham Lincoln promised to uphold State’s Rights in slavery and yet he is best known now for the Emancipation Proclamation (which overturned the State's rights with federal power)? What’s the greater miracle? That a pro-life president get elected? Or that a pro-choice president might have a change of heart?
What deeply concerns me in today's Christian "world-view" is that far too much of it is fear based and enslaved to the narrow view that our highest and best exercise of "power" is political. What political power did Jesus wield? How often did Jesus preach political activism against the raging vicious power of Rome? Never! And yet, where is the center of the world's largest Christian denomination today? ROME! How was Rome defeated? By the subtle servant King who healed the sick and made broken hearts whole again.
I am certainly not suggesting that we should take some lazy approach of political nuetrality....a snoozy "whatever" approach. On the contrary, I believe that the passage I referenced above (I Peter 2) demands of us in verse 12 "good works". Works so incredibly excellent and self-less that the world observing us sees them and shouts, "GLORY TO GOD!" It's one thing for us to sing "glory to God" in the comfort of our worship services....it is quite another thing to do something so God glorifying that a watching world can not hold back their praise to God because of what they see in us!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Is It November 5th YET?
"Are we almost there? I'm sick of the backseat! How much longer? I have to pee! Johnny's on my side of the seat! Am not! Barack is touching me! Am not! I don't want your germs! Your friends are weird! Oh yea? Well, you're stupid best friend, George is an idiot! Oh yea? Well, I saw you hanging out with that mean guy, Billy... he blew up something! Oh yea? Well, take this...George, George, George, George!!! Shows what you know...I don't even like George anymore! Oh, riiiiight...I saw you and George KISSING! HA...and that girl-friend of yours? EWWWWWW...she is sooooo not cool! Everybody LIKES me! Everybody HATES you! Oh yea? Well, well, well....I'm going to give lots of money to all my friends...a million trillion dollars! Oh yea? Well, I am going to give even MORE money to all MY friends, a trillion BILLION dollars!Oh yea? Well, you're a baby killer! Oh yea? Well, you're a baby polar bear killer! Oh yea? Well, you ARE a baby! Oh yea? Well, you just do dumb things...dumb, dumb, dumb!"
ARGHHHHHH!!!!! Are we there yet? I'm REALLY REALLY getting sick!
ARGHHHHHH!!!!! Are we there yet? I'm REALLY REALLY getting sick!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sheer Joy Demands Companionship
One quick thought to you today; "God is sheer joy, and sheer joy demands companionship". (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
Hear this command that echoes off the canyon walls of the mighty Revelation of Jesus Christ, "Come up here..." (Revelation 4:1). The Father's outrageous pleasure is demanding company. Our earth-bound fears, anxieties, ponderings, pettinesses and pitynesses are a waste of our time! Sheer joy is waiting the pleasure of your company...."COME UP HERE!"
I'm already in lift-off....would you like to join me? The dance floor has room for a few more this morning.....
Hear this command that echoes off the canyon walls of the mighty Revelation of Jesus Christ, "Come up here..." (Revelation 4:1). The Father's outrageous pleasure is demanding company. Our earth-bound fears, anxieties, ponderings, pettinesses and pitynesses are a waste of our time! Sheer joy is waiting the pleasure of your company...."COME UP HERE!"
I'm already in lift-off....would you like to join me? The dance floor has room for a few more this morning.....
Monday, October 06, 2008
Elitism in America
Today I feel compelled to speak to something I see happening in the nation I love. What I say here may bear but a small influence but I believe that even one tiny ray of light shined on any darkness can begin a much larger enlightenment.
I have gone on record many weeks ago that while I admire and respect Senator Barack Obama, I do not believe he is experientially qualified to be the next president of the United States. If I were on a hiring committee interviewing candidates for such a position it would be a simple no-brainer. “You’ve got a great start here, young man. Keep up the good work and get back to us after you’ve finished your first term as Senator.” I know from my own experience of hiring public school teachers for the past 15 years that when I look at a resume and I see short term stays, especially just prior to the current hire I’m responsible for, those raise major concerns.
I have also been very plain spoken about my lack of enthusiasm for Senator John McCain. Until recently, I have yearned to hear something from his campaign that had the authentic ring of inspiration that could adorn the “bully pulpit” of his potential presidency. That is, until he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Now, here is where I want to sail into the theme of this writing. For me, Governor Palin has had a positive polarizing effect on this historic presidential race. At first, I could not quite put my finger on what it was that she brought to the table. Of course, some of it was obvious. You get the feeling that when she is speaking to any crowd that she’s using the same voice and words you would hear if she was sitting in your living room having a cup of coffee and shooting the breeze.
But it wasn’t until the now infamous interviews she held with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric that I’ve been able to put my thoughts in a coherent discussion. Governor Palin has, I think most likely without knowing it, brought a sharp exposure to a growing infection in American culture. The best label I can give it would be, “elitism”. It’s intellectual, political and philosophic elitism. Some have called it the “main-stream media” but I think that’s too easy to throw stones at because, frankly, the “main-stream media” could not exist in our free market system without the support of some base of readership and viewing audience. This is an elitism that has a profound influence on the minds and sensibilities of our population.
I see it almost everyday as a pastor. There is an elitist mindset that views faith, worship, church and spirituality with immediate and sharp cynicism. On this matter alone I could write a book, but that isn’t my purpose here.
Let’s go back to the Alaskan governor. Here’s a short list of the criticisms that came out of the aforementioned interviews;
1. She could not articulate Supreme Court decisions that she had specific problems with.
2. She could not immediately name the newspapers and magazines she reads
3. She did not know the “Bush Doctrine”
4. She fumbled through her answer about the $700 billion bail out package
5. She stumbled around for an answer about foreign policy
There’s more but I want to hurry on to my point. If you listen carefully to the interviews you can understand better the background with which Governor Palin was being contrasted. She was me or you sitting in a room with the elitist mind set all around her. Politically correct pontiffs were trolling the Alaskan waters for the catch of the day. She has since refreshingly laughed at herself and (brace yourself) APOLOGIZED for allowing the tenor of the questions to get under her skin! She said she thought the questions would be something more akin to what would matter to average Americans. And it is precisely on that point that I think the light comes on for those of us, the unwashed masses, on the outside of the elite looking in.
Saturday Night Live, a parade of actors, comedians, musicians, singers and high profile “thinkers” are having a field day with this….this nasty commoner posing on the political stage as a serious player. “That’s our stage, little girl! Run along now, missy. Go on back to the igloo out of which you obviously crawled and leave the important matters to us and our giant brains”. These are people who have been largely isolated from the peasantry of American life. Their fame, wealth and provincial intellectualism has produced a parochial world view not unlike the picture of the puberty stricken kid who is routinely embarrassed when he or she has to acknowledge the presence of their parents in front of their friends. “Mom! Shut up! You’re so stupid! Gall!"
This mismatch is providing us with a teachable moment. It seems to me that an incredible number of real Americans love “Sarah” because she is so “gall-darned” REAL! When she can’t immediately think of a recent Supreme Court case that she disagrees with, there are some of us who think, “maybe its time to put some confidence in someone who isn’t living by the ‘script’”. When she can’t immediately spit out the number newspapers and magazines she reads, I know I’m thinking, “I’m sick of most the ones I AM reading!” When she fumbles on a foreign policy question I can imagine an enormous number of regular folks looking back at the TV saying, “Gee, I don’t feel so dumb after all”…and the $700 billion bail out? Who IS giving us a readily understandable explanation of that mammoth? What are we to conclude about all this?
There are millions upon millions of Americans who are more and more convinced that any one of us could do at least as well in Washington D.C. as the professionals are doing now! Have you seen the commercial (selling what? I don’t have a clue…) where firefighters in their firefighting outfits are conducting the business of Congress? They rapidly “Yay” and “Nay” through some decisions and conclude their session with the captain saying, “That’s the easiest job I’ve ever had”. I am personally convinced that Sarah Palin, win lose or draw, has become a defining persona in a landmark election simply because she IS Sarah Palin.
So let the intelligentsia have their way; they are more and more clearly isolated and self defined for future dismissal. And, I pray, Sarah just keeps on being SARAH, for her own sake, for our sake and for heaven’s sake.
God save the anti-queen.
I have gone on record many weeks ago that while I admire and respect Senator Barack Obama, I do not believe he is experientially qualified to be the next president of the United States. If I were on a hiring committee interviewing candidates for such a position it would be a simple no-brainer. “You’ve got a great start here, young man. Keep up the good work and get back to us after you’ve finished your first term as Senator.” I know from my own experience of hiring public school teachers for the past 15 years that when I look at a resume and I see short term stays, especially just prior to the current hire I’m responsible for, those raise major concerns.
I have also been very plain spoken about my lack of enthusiasm for Senator John McCain. Until recently, I have yearned to hear something from his campaign that had the authentic ring of inspiration that could adorn the “bully pulpit” of his potential presidency. That is, until he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Now, here is where I want to sail into the theme of this writing. For me, Governor Palin has had a positive polarizing effect on this historic presidential race. At first, I could not quite put my finger on what it was that she brought to the table. Of course, some of it was obvious. You get the feeling that when she is speaking to any crowd that she’s using the same voice and words you would hear if she was sitting in your living room having a cup of coffee and shooting the breeze.
But it wasn’t until the now infamous interviews she held with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric that I’ve been able to put my thoughts in a coherent discussion. Governor Palin has, I think most likely without knowing it, brought a sharp exposure to a growing infection in American culture. The best label I can give it would be, “elitism”. It’s intellectual, political and philosophic elitism. Some have called it the “main-stream media” but I think that’s too easy to throw stones at because, frankly, the “main-stream media” could not exist in our free market system without the support of some base of readership and viewing audience. This is an elitism that has a profound influence on the minds and sensibilities of our population.
I see it almost everyday as a pastor. There is an elitist mindset that views faith, worship, church and spirituality with immediate and sharp cynicism. On this matter alone I could write a book, but that isn’t my purpose here.
Let’s go back to the Alaskan governor. Here’s a short list of the criticisms that came out of the aforementioned interviews;
1. She could not articulate Supreme Court decisions that she had specific problems with.
2. She could not immediately name the newspapers and magazines she reads
3. She did not know the “Bush Doctrine”
4. She fumbled through her answer about the $700 billion bail out package
5. She stumbled around for an answer about foreign policy
There’s more but I want to hurry on to my point. If you listen carefully to the interviews you can understand better the background with which Governor Palin was being contrasted. She was me or you sitting in a room with the elitist mind set all around her. Politically correct pontiffs were trolling the Alaskan waters for the catch of the day. She has since refreshingly laughed at herself and (brace yourself) APOLOGIZED for allowing the tenor of the questions to get under her skin! She said she thought the questions would be something more akin to what would matter to average Americans. And it is precisely on that point that I think the light comes on for those of us, the unwashed masses, on the outside of the elite looking in.
Saturday Night Live, a parade of actors, comedians, musicians, singers and high profile “thinkers” are having a field day with this….this nasty commoner posing on the political stage as a serious player. “That’s our stage, little girl! Run along now, missy. Go on back to the igloo out of which you obviously crawled and leave the important matters to us and our giant brains”. These are people who have been largely isolated from the peasantry of American life. Their fame, wealth and provincial intellectualism has produced a parochial world view not unlike the picture of the puberty stricken kid who is routinely embarrassed when he or she has to acknowledge the presence of their parents in front of their friends. “Mom! Shut up! You’re so stupid! Gall!"
This mismatch is providing us with a teachable moment. It seems to me that an incredible number of real Americans love “Sarah” because she is so “gall-darned” REAL! When she can’t immediately think of a recent Supreme Court case that she disagrees with, there are some of us who think, “maybe its time to put some confidence in someone who isn’t living by the ‘script’”. When she can’t immediately spit out the number newspapers and magazines she reads, I know I’m thinking, “I’m sick of most the ones I AM reading!” When she fumbles on a foreign policy question I can imagine an enormous number of regular folks looking back at the TV saying, “Gee, I don’t feel so dumb after all”…and the $700 billion bail out? Who IS giving us a readily understandable explanation of that mammoth? What are we to conclude about all this?
There are millions upon millions of Americans who are more and more convinced that any one of us could do at least as well in Washington D.C. as the professionals are doing now! Have you seen the commercial (selling what? I don’t have a clue…) where firefighters in their firefighting outfits are conducting the business of Congress? They rapidly “Yay” and “Nay” through some decisions and conclude their session with the captain saying, “That’s the easiest job I’ve ever had”. I am personally convinced that Sarah Palin, win lose or draw, has become a defining persona in a landmark election simply because she IS Sarah Palin.
So let the intelligentsia have their way; they are more and more clearly isolated and self defined for future dismissal. And, I pray, Sarah just keeps on being SARAH, for her own sake, for our sake and for heaven’s sake.
God save the anti-queen.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Value System of His Sacrifice
If my faith is not reaching into the value system of His sacrifice I will end up walking in some kind of sin. Not the kind of sin that robs a liquor store, but the “church-y” sin that allows for a self righteous bigotry and shame based vision of God. Sin is simply and terribly, “missing the mark”, misfiring at the bull’s eye and sending an arrow to a less satisfying but more easily achieved destination.
I want to be very careful in defining what I hope to convey here. Bill Johnson, an apostle who is rapidly owning my heart as a spiritual father, says, “Reaction to error simply creates more error”, and he could not be more on target. My purpose could easily get lost in that kind of reaction. My goal is to call my readers to cultivate their spiritual roots deep into a most holy and healthy soil and away from depleted and anemic dirt. So, I will take some calculated risks to that end and press you upward, hopefully with a bare minimum of looking elsewhere.
I have a “three strike rule” when listening to any given teaching or reading any material from most Christian sources. When I hear one of the phrases, “the end times”, or “the last days”, I internally register, “strike one, strike two and strike three”. Why? Because these two phrases are usually taking nourishment from the church-y sin I described in the first paragraph. When strike three is achieved, I don’t necessarily check off the speaker or author as a bad person or completely false (recently someone on a CD I was listening to referred to the “end times” 17 times in 20 minutes!). I simply bring into play a much stronger filter for my soul.
Several years ago I heard a man of God say, “Take it easy, chicken little….you’ve got time to obey God”. That statement alone could change your whole life! Obedience based on a heart that yearns to be trained, mentored, transformed, renewed and fully engaged is nurtured in the environment of a holy holistic Creator. Obedience rooted in any of a number of versions of a Heavenly Father in need of some kind of anger management due to His ever shrinking patience with our behavior or a loudly ticking clock in the Throne Room is not obedience, but, in fact, is dysfunctional at best and dreadfully shame based at worst. In the environment of a holy holistic Creator everyone and everything is getting HEALED, in the other environment everyone, including the health care givers, is getting more diseased.
Even the phrase, “this end times revival” at times drives me to distraction. Too often it implies that God is in a hurry-up offense, the 2-minute drill. He’s ratcheting up the numbers so He can be justified in the inevitable horrible end that’s just around the corner.
We need to get a grip! A grip on the True and Living God whose vision for His creation was fully finally secured in the Words of His Son on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED!” The Law and the Prophets have been fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at YOUR HAND, the Lamb of God has taken away the Sin of the world, The Father has looked at the anguish of His Son’s soul and He is satisfied! The magnificent Redemption of Christ Jesus trumps all notions of any angry God scenarios. The New Testament writers proclaimed the “last days” as connected to their own time and not some futuristic END.
In Bill Johnson’s book, “When Heaven Invades Earth” he says (page 34) “One of the tragedies of a weakened identity is how it affects our approach to Scripture. Many, if not most theologians, make the mistake of taking all the good stuff contained in the prophets and sweeping it under that mysterious rug called, ‘the Millennium’…..the mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can’t be for now.”
The Moravian believers have a core vision captured in these words, “Win for the Lamb that was slain the reward for His sufferings”. Herein is found all the motivation we need to be in a full on pursuit of the Will of God and the purposes of the Kingdom of God! God’s Son Jesus has finished the work of a New Creation. It is our privilege and honor to passionately labor for the spread of New Eden, the glorious Kingdom of God!
Only a bully stands in the playground threatening the weak and unsuspecting with a mysterious and bloody “end” if there is not immediate cooperation! Papa God is NO BULLY but our warped end-time obsession has us presenting Him as such in a loud, albeit unwitting, way. IT IS TIME TO RE-PRESENT THAT WHICH IS ONLY AND COMPLETELY GOOD NEWS! We have been called to the privilege of believing into and acting out of the value system of His sacrifice.
"All things are possible to those who believe..." (Mark 9:23) means to me that God is looking for a community and a culture of believers who intentionally take on impossibilities with a warrior's heart to, "win for the Lamb that was slain the reward for His sufferings" (the Moravians).
I'd rather fail in the attempt of the miraculous than to succeed at mediocrity.
I want to be very careful in defining what I hope to convey here. Bill Johnson, an apostle who is rapidly owning my heart as a spiritual father, says, “Reaction to error simply creates more error”, and he could not be more on target. My purpose could easily get lost in that kind of reaction. My goal is to call my readers to cultivate their spiritual roots deep into a most holy and healthy soil and away from depleted and anemic dirt. So, I will take some calculated risks to that end and press you upward, hopefully with a bare minimum of looking elsewhere.
I have a “three strike rule” when listening to any given teaching or reading any material from most Christian sources. When I hear one of the phrases, “the end times”, or “the last days”, I internally register, “strike one, strike two and strike three”. Why? Because these two phrases are usually taking nourishment from the church-y sin I described in the first paragraph. When strike three is achieved, I don’t necessarily check off the speaker or author as a bad person or completely false (recently someone on a CD I was listening to referred to the “end times” 17 times in 20 minutes!). I simply bring into play a much stronger filter for my soul.
Several years ago I heard a man of God say, “Take it easy, chicken little….you’ve got time to obey God”. That statement alone could change your whole life! Obedience based on a heart that yearns to be trained, mentored, transformed, renewed and fully engaged is nurtured in the environment of a holy holistic Creator. Obedience rooted in any of a number of versions of a Heavenly Father in need of some kind of anger management due to His ever shrinking patience with our behavior or a loudly ticking clock in the Throne Room is not obedience, but, in fact, is dysfunctional at best and dreadfully shame based at worst. In the environment of a holy holistic Creator everyone and everything is getting HEALED, in the other environment everyone, including the health care givers, is getting more diseased.
Even the phrase, “this end times revival” at times drives me to distraction. Too often it implies that God is in a hurry-up offense, the 2-minute drill. He’s ratcheting up the numbers so He can be justified in the inevitable horrible end that’s just around the corner.
We need to get a grip! A grip on the True and Living God whose vision for His creation was fully finally secured in the Words of His Son on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED!” The Law and the Prophets have been fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at YOUR HAND, the Lamb of God has taken away the Sin of the world, The Father has looked at the anguish of His Son’s soul and He is satisfied! The magnificent Redemption of Christ Jesus trumps all notions of any angry God scenarios. The New Testament writers proclaimed the “last days” as connected to their own time and not some futuristic END.
In Bill Johnson’s book, “When Heaven Invades Earth” he says (page 34) “One of the tragedies of a weakened identity is how it affects our approach to Scripture. Many, if not most theologians, make the mistake of taking all the good stuff contained in the prophets and sweeping it under that mysterious rug called, ‘the Millennium’…..the mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can’t be for now.”
The Moravian believers have a core vision captured in these words, “Win for the Lamb that was slain the reward for His sufferings”. Herein is found all the motivation we need to be in a full on pursuit of the Will of God and the purposes of the Kingdom of God! God’s Son Jesus has finished the work of a New Creation. It is our privilege and honor to passionately labor for the spread of New Eden, the glorious Kingdom of God!
Only a bully stands in the playground threatening the weak and unsuspecting with a mysterious and bloody “end” if there is not immediate cooperation! Papa God is NO BULLY but our warped end-time obsession has us presenting Him as such in a loud, albeit unwitting, way. IT IS TIME TO RE-PRESENT THAT WHICH IS ONLY AND COMPLETELY GOOD NEWS! We have been called to the privilege of believing into and acting out of the value system of His sacrifice.
"All things are possible to those who believe..." (Mark 9:23) means to me that God is looking for a community and a culture of believers who intentionally take on impossibilities with a warrior's heart to, "win for the Lamb that was slain the reward for His sufferings" (the Moravians).
I'd rather fail in the attempt of the miraculous than to succeed at mediocrity.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Firebrand School of Ministry
September 16, 2008 is the opening day of classes for the Randy Dean Ministries Firebrand School of Ministry. It is a 2 year school and every student in the school will be an assigned intern working under my pastoral care for the duration of the full 2 years. Go back in these blogs and read the blog, “10,000 Firebrands” for the story of God’s leading in this purpose…it has been an exciting and challenging journey.
For an application you can go to our church website at www.lwc1.com and click on the school announcement on the main page. Since we are attempting to keep our costs to a bare minimum as we begin this venture, an individual student can come on board for $75 a month, or $900 a year. Married couples can enroll for $100 a month or $1200 a year. Each student will be responsible for their own living expenses, potential mission’s trips, and textbooks. Since we are brand new with no accreditation we offer no grants, financial assistance or student loans. We are, however, open to anyone interested in underwriting scholarships for students with proven needs.
I promise this: an uprising of spirit and a revolution of Kingdom sized proportions.
The following three core values of the vision will guide us:
1. Generational impartation; what one generation fought for and won will be a starting point for the next generation to build upon and increase.
2. Holy Spirit Conversion; the Baptism of Fire from Jesus Christ. Not based on a doctrine or formula, but rooted in lifestyle and passion.
3. Healing of and through authentic spiritual authority. The full expression of the Kingdom of God will be found in a culture of honor and growing dimensions of humility and obedience.
Firebrand School of Ministry mission is to equip and deploy full time ministers, whose personal core value is, “on earth as it is in heaven” into the full spectrum of life on earth; artists, politicians, entrepreneurs, inventors, home-makers, church workers, and servants of all descriptions. Out of their authentic passion, they will transform the world through the communication and demonstration of the Kingdom of God.
The Old Testament tells the story of Sampson pulling a “firebrand” out of a campfire and lighting the tails of 300 foxes and sending them running through an enemy’s crop land. That’s a wild story and a terrific picture of what my goal is for this school. Our motto is, “If you’ve got ‘em, light ‘em!” 10,000 firebrands lighting 300 equals 3,000,000!
For an application you can go to our church website at www.lwc1.com and click on the school announcement on the main page. Since we are attempting to keep our costs to a bare minimum as we begin this venture, an individual student can come on board for $75 a month, or $900 a year. Married couples can enroll for $100 a month or $1200 a year. Each student will be responsible for their own living expenses, potential mission’s trips, and textbooks. Since we are brand new with no accreditation we offer no grants, financial assistance or student loans. We are, however, open to anyone interested in underwriting scholarships for students with proven needs.
I promise this: an uprising of spirit and a revolution of Kingdom sized proportions.
The following three core values of the vision will guide us:
1. Generational impartation; what one generation fought for and won will be a starting point for the next generation to build upon and increase.
2. Holy Spirit Conversion; the Baptism of Fire from Jesus Christ. Not based on a doctrine or formula, but rooted in lifestyle and passion.
3. Healing of and through authentic spiritual authority. The full expression of the Kingdom of God will be found in a culture of honor and growing dimensions of humility and obedience.
Firebrand School of Ministry mission is to equip and deploy full time ministers, whose personal core value is, “on earth as it is in heaven” into the full spectrum of life on earth; artists, politicians, entrepreneurs, inventors, home-makers, church workers, and servants of all descriptions. Out of their authentic passion, they will transform the world through the communication and demonstration of the Kingdom of God.
The Old Testament tells the story of Sampson pulling a “firebrand” out of a campfire and lighting the tails of 300 foxes and sending them running through an enemy’s crop land. That’s a wild story and a terrific picture of what my goal is for this school. Our motto is, “If you’ve got ‘em, light ‘em!” 10,000 firebrands lighting 300 equals 3,000,000!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Holy Beast
I’m tracking a Holy Beast. His footprints and trail are everywhere around me. It’s not so much that He is hiding from me as it is that He is hidden FOR me. In sublime moments here and there I thought we were completely intersected, but He slipped away or more accurately put, I assumed discovery while He sighed, “That’s the porch. I’m in the Great Room”.
For three decades I’ve read two passages of mystery, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced (violently stung) to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37) and, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell (affectionately seized with a violently grasping embrace) upon all those who were listening to the message…and all…the believers…who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out…”(Acts 10:44, 45). In these brilliant word pictures I see that Peter, most likely unwittingly, is unlocking the Kingdom of Heaven and Something, quantitative AND qualitative drops with an unmistakable thump and entire gatherings of people are blessedly attacked and desire no escape.
The truest essence of the language in these passages is that these people were seized, grasped, taken hold of, clutched and clasped and, while it was an affectionate seizure, it was with more or less violence than we might like to think. It was seminal, determining, generative, axiomatic, a point of origin, a fountainhead, a wellspring, a dictum and a command catalyst.
Western sensibilities long to tame this Holy Beast. Like a circus lion, we want it to play with the tamer, roar only on command and send me home with giddy arrogance. It offends our rational democratic pleasure of always wanting to take our time, consider the options, and come back later, after we’ve played the intellectual, to cast a vote against it. Yet, I’ve come to believe that He is eager to write a new book, “How the West Was Won; Again”.
I’m serious about this. There are Keys of the Kingdom for the unlocking of this undomesticated God and if Peter could stumble his way into their usefulness, then I refuse to be denied. In her book, “Teaching a Stone to Talk” Anne Dillard describes my heart perfectly, “Why do we people in churches seem like cheerful brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may awake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.” She quotes an Hasidic rabbi as refusing to visit a friend the next day by explaining, “How can you ask me to make such a promise? This evening I must pray, ‘Hear O Israel.’ When I say these words, my soul goes out to the utmost rim of life’”.
We are all beckoned to that utmost rim of life, but IN CHRIST, to return with the Hurricane Breath of God to unleash an irresistible Word. I’ve just participated in burying one too many young lives to believe that God does not have an irresistible Answer. Pardon me, but I just heard a Roar just a few meters from where I’m sitting….you can stay where its safe if you’d like, but I’m on my way to be delightfully devoured by a Holy Beast Who longs to be found.
For three decades I’ve read two passages of mystery, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced (violently stung) to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37) and, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell (affectionately seized with a violently grasping embrace) upon all those who were listening to the message…and all…the believers…who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out…”(Acts 10:44, 45). In these brilliant word pictures I see that Peter, most likely unwittingly, is unlocking the Kingdom of Heaven and Something, quantitative AND qualitative drops with an unmistakable thump and entire gatherings of people are blessedly attacked and desire no escape.
The truest essence of the language in these passages is that these people were seized, grasped, taken hold of, clutched and clasped and, while it was an affectionate seizure, it was with more or less violence than we might like to think. It was seminal, determining, generative, axiomatic, a point of origin, a fountainhead, a wellspring, a dictum and a command catalyst.
Western sensibilities long to tame this Holy Beast. Like a circus lion, we want it to play with the tamer, roar only on command and send me home with giddy arrogance. It offends our rational democratic pleasure of always wanting to take our time, consider the options, and come back later, after we’ve played the intellectual, to cast a vote against it. Yet, I’ve come to believe that He is eager to write a new book, “How the West Was Won; Again”.
I’m serious about this. There are Keys of the Kingdom for the unlocking of this undomesticated God and if Peter could stumble his way into their usefulness, then I refuse to be denied. In her book, “Teaching a Stone to Talk” Anne Dillard describes my heart perfectly, “Why do we people in churches seem like cheerful brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may awake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.” She quotes an Hasidic rabbi as refusing to visit a friend the next day by explaining, “How can you ask me to make such a promise? This evening I must pray, ‘Hear O Israel.’ When I say these words, my soul goes out to the utmost rim of life’”.
We are all beckoned to that utmost rim of life, but IN CHRIST, to return with the Hurricane Breath of God to unleash an irresistible Word. I’ve just participated in burying one too many young lives to believe that God does not have an irresistible Answer. Pardon me, but I just heard a Roar just a few meters from where I’m sitting….you can stay where its safe if you’d like, but I’m on my way to be delightfully devoured by a Holy Beast Who longs to be found.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
"Ask What You Wish Me to Give You"
When Solomon was confirmed as the King of Israel after his father David’s death, he offered a thousand sacrifices and later that night, God appeared to him in a dream. First of all, the notion of God appearing in a dream is pretty trippy, but it is right there on page 455 of the Bible. Either we accept this reality or we don’t. And, if we do, we also accept the possibility of God behaving in the same manner today as He did then. To me, Bible knowledge without Bible experience is lame, at best and vain at worst.
In this dream, God says to Solomon, “Ask what you wish me to give you…”. In essence, “What do you want? No caveats, no fine print, no bait and switch. What do you want?” Astonishing.
You can talk all you want to about God’s all knowing capacity to see what Solomon really wanted. We could debate Solomon’s moral weaknesses (and by the way those weaknesses were already present when God offered this blank check) and his eventual downward spiral. Doctrinal experts rush in like a “haz-mat” team to immediately confine God’s behavior here so as to avoid anything messy happening in our time. But none of the above matters to me. I say, if God didn’t want me to want this, He should never have put this story in the Book.
New Testament disciples are called upon and designed to be “kings and priests” (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6) with royal aspirations living in our visions and dreams. Jesus came to be “King of kings” not “King of bums”. If you and I don’t see this we won’t offer a thousand sacrifices as Solomon did the day before he had this outrageous dream and we certainly won’t have the revelation of the possibility of the offer of this dream being our inheritance.
I want my inheritance! Not for squander like the younger son’s error in the parable of the prodigal (Luke 15:11-32), but for investment and fully realized potential as could have been for the older son in that same parable! Do you realize that the older son was equally guilty of wasting the inheritance as was the younger son? The younger son wasted his inheritance with loose living but the older son wasted his inheritance with NO living!
Read it for yourself, the older son was ticked off and separated himself from this significant family party that dad was hosting for the younger son’s return. When the father went out to get his older son he said, “My child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Both selfish harlotry and self righteous resentment will separate you from God’s richest offers.
The extreme generosity of this father suggests that he would have given anything to either son and clearly, on some level, both sons were missing the point! Is it possible that we are still missing the point? “…All that is mine is YOURS…” sounds to me wonderfully familiar to, “Ask what you wish Me to give you”.
What would it look like if we too would offer a thousand royal sacrifices of worship? What would it look like if we would allow the Holy Spirit to lift us to a dream state to realize that our Father is saying to us, “All that is Mine, is YOURS”? What would it look like if we wanted, ONE THING?
Oh…I almost forgot…Solomon asked God to impart to him the full capacity of genuine royalty…that’s how I read it. Lay this template over the story of the prodigal. What if one of the sons in that story had said, “Father, bless me with the full capacity to rule in your house with a heart of genuine royalty that I might increase, enjoy and properly distribute ‘all that is yours’”.
“But seek for His Kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen GLADLY to give you the Kingdom.” Luke 12:31,32
Go ahead….ASK…..I dare you.
In this dream, God says to Solomon, “Ask what you wish me to give you…”. In essence, “What do you want? No caveats, no fine print, no bait and switch. What do you want?” Astonishing.
You can talk all you want to about God’s all knowing capacity to see what Solomon really wanted. We could debate Solomon’s moral weaknesses (and by the way those weaknesses were already present when God offered this blank check) and his eventual downward spiral. Doctrinal experts rush in like a “haz-mat” team to immediately confine God’s behavior here so as to avoid anything messy happening in our time. But none of the above matters to me. I say, if God didn’t want me to want this, He should never have put this story in the Book.
New Testament disciples are called upon and designed to be “kings and priests” (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6) with royal aspirations living in our visions and dreams. Jesus came to be “King of kings” not “King of bums”. If you and I don’t see this we won’t offer a thousand sacrifices as Solomon did the day before he had this outrageous dream and we certainly won’t have the revelation of the possibility of the offer of this dream being our inheritance.
I want my inheritance! Not for squander like the younger son’s error in the parable of the prodigal (Luke 15:11-32), but for investment and fully realized potential as could have been for the older son in that same parable! Do you realize that the older son was equally guilty of wasting the inheritance as was the younger son? The younger son wasted his inheritance with loose living but the older son wasted his inheritance with NO living!
Read it for yourself, the older son was ticked off and separated himself from this significant family party that dad was hosting for the younger son’s return. When the father went out to get his older son he said, “My child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Both selfish harlotry and self righteous resentment will separate you from God’s richest offers.
The extreme generosity of this father suggests that he would have given anything to either son and clearly, on some level, both sons were missing the point! Is it possible that we are still missing the point? “…All that is mine is YOURS…” sounds to me wonderfully familiar to, “Ask what you wish Me to give you”.
What would it look like if we too would offer a thousand royal sacrifices of worship? What would it look like if we would allow the Holy Spirit to lift us to a dream state to realize that our Father is saying to us, “All that is Mine, is YOURS”? What would it look like if we wanted, ONE THING?
Oh…I almost forgot…Solomon asked God to impart to him the full capacity of genuine royalty…that’s how I read it. Lay this template over the story of the prodigal. What if one of the sons in that story had said, “Father, bless me with the full capacity to rule in your house with a heart of genuine royalty that I might increase, enjoy and properly distribute ‘all that is yours’”.
“But seek for His Kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen GLADLY to give you the Kingdom.” Luke 12:31,32
Go ahead….ASK…..I dare you.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Secret Service Reports "Incident" at McCain Rally
Sources tell us that the secret service agent assigned to Senator John McCain was called away from a local bar to hurry to the side of the presidential candidate at a campaign rally at a community college in Paducah, Kentucky, late last night. Witnesses at the scene have reported that in the middle of the Senator’s speech a man was said to be clapping and cheering “vigorously”.
When Senator McCain’s secret service agent arrived he tells us that he found several audience members surrounding the suspect demanding an explanation for his sudden burst of enthusiasm. Several witnesses complained of “undue excitement” and “a raised heart rate”. Later when this unidentified person was being escorted out of the room by a part time campus security guard he could be heard apologizing and explaining that he had had a second cup of coffee that morning and “wasn’t himself”. One member of the audience humorously commented, "Go ahead, taze him bro". Toxicology tests have not yet confirmed these findings, but little else would explain such behavior.
The official spokesperson for the McCain Campaign promised a thorough review of the Senator’s speeches for any further signs of innovation, inspiration and visionary thought in an effort to avoid similar future outbursts. The Senator himself said, “No one was more surprised than me. Our intra-organizational mantra has been, ‘keep it cool, keep it lame’. We’ve decided to reward our secret service agent with time off for the next week in hopes to have him back fresh and ready for our run through North and South Dakota”.
Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama expressed his concern and offered a prayer for the safety of his opponent at a campaign stop along the Great China Wall. Several reporters in his entourage were said to be weeping openly.
When Senator McCain’s secret service agent arrived he tells us that he found several audience members surrounding the suspect demanding an explanation for his sudden burst of enthusiasm. Several witnesses complained of “undue excitement” and “a raised heart rate”. Later when this unidentified person was being escorted out of the room by a part time campus security guard he could be heard apologizing and explaining that he had had a second cup of coffee that morning and “wasn’t himself”. One member of the audience humorously commented, "Go ahead, taze him bro". Toxicology tests have not yet confirmed these findings, but little else would explain such behavior.
The official spokesperson for the McCain Campaign promised a thorough review of the Senator’s speeches for any further signs of innovation, inspiration and visionary thought in an effort to avoid similar future outbursts. The Senator himself said, “No one was more surprised than me. Our intra-organizational mantra has been, ‘keep it cool, keep it lame’. We’ve decided to reward our secret service agent with time off for the next week in hopes to have him back fresh and ready for our run through North and South Dakota”.
Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama expressed his concern and offered a prayer for the safety of his opponent at a campaign stop along the Great China Wall. Several reporters in his entourage were said to be weeping openly.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Senator Obama Cures the Common Cold
Rumor has it that the presumptive president-elect, Senator Barack Obama, has cured the common cold. His campaign spokesman said this morning that it was too early to comment on this development, but that she was sure it was true.
Media outlets around the world are preparing their responses, however, in order not to offend Senator Obama, they are waiting for him to make his own announcement. To do otherwise would potentially steal his thunder at worst and, at best, hurt his feelings. Medical researchers who have expressed doubts are being urged to show restraint until after the November election. Most media outlets are reporting that this advise is certain to be honored.
On another presumptive president-elect Obama news front, it is also rumored that Senator Obama will be visiting a number of homeless shelters throughout the nation and multiplying fish and loaves to feed the masses. Sources close to the senator are neither denying nor confirming these plans, although one source who asked to remain anonymous said, "This dear man can only do so much at any given time. We must be patient and temper our expectations. Please allow the next leader of the free world some time and space to finish his research on time travel before demanding a solution to homelessness...one step at a time!". One reporter close to this interview was said to be weeping openly.
Finally, on a more humorous note, the Pope has reportedly attempted to contact the Obama Campaign to request an audience. When asked about this, the presumptive president-elect smiled that all knowing, kind grin of his and said, "Please, do I look like I want another preacher around me who could potentially embarrass me?" Laughter abounded, birds sang and a rainbow appeared just over the horizon.
Media outlets around the world are preparing their responses, however, in order not to offend Senator Obama, they are waiting for him to make his own announcement. To do otherwise would potentially steal his thunder at worst and, at best, hurt his feelings. Medical researchers who have expressed doubts are being urged to show restraint until after the November election. Most media outlets are reporting that this advise is certain to be honored.
On another presumptive president-elect Obama news front, it is also rumored that Senator Obama will be visiting a number of homeless shelters throughout the nation and multiplying fish and loaves to feed the masses. Sources close to the senator are neither denying nor confirming these plans, although one source who asked to remain anonymous said, "This dear man can only do so much at any given time. We must be patient and temper our expectations. Please allow the next leader of the free world some time and space to finish his research on time travel before demanding a solution to homelessness...one step at a time!". One reporter close to this interview was said to be weeping openly.
Finally, on a more humorous note, the Pope has reportedly attempted to contact the Obama Campaign to request an audience. When asked about this, the presumptive president-elect smiled that all knowing, kind grin of his and said, "Please, do I look like I want another preacher around me who could potentially embarrass me?" Laughter abounded, birds sang and a rainbow appeared just over the horizon.
Monday, July 07, 2008
A Roar in the Forest
I carry in my Bible the tattered notes of a message I preached on January 25, 1989 here at Living Word Chapel in Forest, Wisconsin. (Side note: our mailing address says we are in Emerald but our actual location is Forest. Forest isn’t big enough to merit its own Post Office…for that matter, neither is Emerald since they closed it several years ago…but I digress) Anyway, where was I…?
Oh yes, the tattered notes. The title of the message is, “A Roar in the Forest”. It is based on a passage in Amos 3 that describes a lion’s roar in a forest when it has captured prey. The image is that of God or His people roaring like a lion when an enemy has been seized and neutralized. I spoke prophetically then of this little hamlet in the middle of no-where being a place of the choice of God for an invasion of His Kingdom and His Presence. I’ve carried those notes for 19 years as a reminder to me of God’s precious promise that this “little” place would someday be in the vortex of His mighty roar…that someday is today.
For over 3 full months we have been trembling in awe of a “heaven on earth” outpouring in our rural setting. I have often jokingly told people that I pastor a church of 150 in a town of 15…We’ve reached our city for Jesus, now we’re coming after YOURS. I am frequently amused by the slick church growth pamphlets I receive in the mail that promise me a conference sure to inspire me to “take my city for Jesus”. Hmmm…I suppose we could go after the cows on the other side of the highway…but again, I digress.
On quiet Monday mornings lately I walk across the empty sanctuary and my body just starts to “buzz” from the spiritual energy left over from the day before. The supernatural testimonies of what is happening among us are far too many to list here. For every one that I can recall, ten more come to mind later. It is simply amazing.
I don’t often refer to our podcast web-site but I feel compelled to do so today. Go to www.lwc1.com and click on podcasts. Last Wednesday evening is a sweet sampling of what God is saying and doing in the middle of a cow pasture in western Wisconsin.
I guess since He was born in a barn and laid in a manger, He apparently He enjoys the ambiance.
Oh yes, the tattered notes. The title of the message is, “A Roar in the Forest”. It is based on a passage in Amos 3 that describes a lion’s roar in a forest when it has captured prey. The image is that of God or His people roaring like a lion when an enemy has been seized and neutralized. I spoke prophetically then of this little hamlet in the middle of no-where being a place of the choice of God for an invasion of His Kingdom and His Presence. I’ve carried those notes for 19 years as a reminder to me of God’s precious promise that this “little” place would someday be in the vortex of His mighty roar…that someday is today.
For over 3 full months we have been trembling in awe of a “heaven on earth” outpouring in our rural setting. I have often jokingly told people that I pastor a church of 150 in a town of 15…We’ve reached our city for Jesus, now we’re coming after YOURS. I am frequently amused by the slick church growth pamphlets I receive in the mail that promise me a conference sure to inspire me to “take my city for Jesus”. Hmmm…I suppose we could go after the cows on the other side of the highway…but again, I digress.
On quiet Monday mornings lately I walk across the empty sanctuary and my body just starts to “buzz” from the spiritual energy left over from the day before. The supernatural testimonies of what is happening among us are far too many to list here. For every one that I can recall, ten more come to mind later. It is simply amazing.
I don’t often refer to our podcast web-site but I feel compelled to do so today. Go to www.lwc1.com and click on podcasts. Last Wednesday evening is a sweet sampling of what God is saying and doing in the middle of a cow pasture in western Wisconsin.
I guess since He was born in a barn and laid in a manger, He apparently He enjoys the ambiance.
Monday, June 30, 2008
10,000 Firebrands
A few years ago God promised me that I would awaken 10,000 firebrand ministers. At first glance I considered that as a broad and general project, to be done along the way and in the midst of my many other projects. After the past several weeks of diving in the “deep end” of the sweetest times I have ever known in God, it is clear that this is a specific project for this very specific time in my life. This fall we are launching a firebrand School of Ministry…our motto…. “If you’ve got ‘em, light em”.
No dates are set, no fees have been established, no hard data on the initial number of student/interns and no official name for this school of ministry. Just this: a word from God. Yep, that’s all, just a clear, thundering “do it” from God. The very minute I set my heart to obey Him, potential students started knocking on my door.
This blog is my first public declaration of this project. I am literally shaking at the prospect; scared to do it, but more terrified of NOT doing it and missing God’s command. Why is such a thing needed? Because this is the summer of the American Awakening. The Holy Spirit is no longer “hovering above the chaos”, He has plunged into the heart of this nation and Kingdom Revival is, IS, IS upon us.
A new countercultural wind is blowing in the Body of Christ. That gale force has been active in me for 30 plus years. A month ago while attending a leadership conference at my new spiritual covering in Redding California we were challenged to ask God for a fresh baptism of fire. The instant I asked, the Spirit of God snatched me by the heart and pulled me up into a vision of the Throne of God. As in the book of Revelation the Throne was in a vortex of a rainbow aura. From around it appeared my parents, my step-dad, Ginger’s grandparents (our spiritual mentors) and behind all of them appeared Smith Wigglesworth and A.A. Allen. Smith had laid hands on Ginger’s grandparents when they received the Holy Spirit and Allen had laid hands on my mother in ’52 and prophesied my birth to follow in ’53.
I became wonderfully aware that my mother (an Iroquois Native American) was in full war dress, dancing like I had never seen her dance before. She let out a magnificent war cry (on earth, she prayed me out of darkness and into the Kingdom). Behind her I saw an image of what I recognized to be an Iroquois Healing Hut. Though they were more pantheistic than any thing else, they had an instinctive echo in them of the True and Living God who is the “God who heals us”. Suddenly from that hut and from Smith and Allen something like lightening shot out and into me. God spoke to me in that instant and said, “You’ve faithfully communicated the Kingdom for 25 years…from this day forward you will demonstrate the Kingdom in Healing power”. I’ve been smoldering ever since…..
This school of ministry will not be a place of knowledge alone, but a place of impartation. We will not be reaction to the current Christian culture fixated too often on “going to heaven”, however we will desperately, passionately and “with loud crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7) seek to create a Kingdom Culture with a laser like focus on bringing heaven to earth.
Interested?
No dates are set, no fees have been established, no hard data on the initial number of student/interns and no official name for this school of ministry. Just this: a word from God. Yep, that’s all, just a clear, thundering “do it” from God. The very minute I set my heart to obey Him, potential students started knocking on my door.
This blog is my first public declaration of this project. I am literally shaking at the prospect; scared to do it, but more terrified of NOT doing it and missing God’s command. Why is such a thing needed? Because this is the summer of the American Awakening. The Holy Spirit is no longer “hovering above the chaos”, He has plunged into the heart of this nation and Kingdom Revival is, IS, IS upon us.
A new countercultural wind is blowing in the Body of Christ. That gale force has been active in me for 30 plus years. A month ago while attending a leadership conference at my new spiritual covering in Redding California we were challenged to ask God for a fresh baptism of fire. The instant I asked, the Spirit of God snatched me by the heart and pulled me up into a vision of the Throne of God. As in the book of Revelation the Throne was in a vortex of a rainbow aura. From around it appeared my parents, my step-dad, Ginger’s grandparents (our spiritual mentors) and behind all of them appeared Smith Wigglesworth and A.A. Allen. Smith had laid hands on Ginger’s grandparents when they received the Holy Spirit and Allen had laid hands on my mother in ’52 and prophesied my birth to follow in ’53.
I became wonderfully aware that my mother (an Iroquois Native American) was in full war dress, dancing like I had never seen her dance before. She let out a magnificent war cry (on earth, she prayed me out of darkness and into the Kingdom). Behind her I saw an image of what I recognized to be an Iroquois Healing Hut. Though they were more pantheistic than any thing else, they had an instinctive echo in them of the True and Living God who is the “God who heals us”. Suddenly from that hut and from Smith and Allen something like lightening shot out and into me. God spoke to me in that instant and said, “You’ve faithfully communicated the Kingdom for 25 years…from this day forward you will demonstrate the Kingdom in Healing power”. I’ve been smoldering ever since…..
This school of ministry will not be a place of knowledge alone, but a place of impartation. We will not be reaction to the current Christian culture fixated too often on “going to heaven”, however we will desperately, passionately and “with loud crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7) seek to create a Kingdom Culture with a laser like focus on bringing heaven to earth.
Interested?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Proceed with Caution: Old Man Dreaming Ahead
Joel 2 says that when the Holy Spirit gets His way, even old men have dreams. I used to read that and think in strict categorical terms: Young men get visions…check. Old men get dreams…check. I hope you get the point. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Last week I had the distinct privilege to speak at Youth Alive Camp in Osceola, Wisconsin. The theme God gave me was; “Dream-Why Not?” It was an awesome time of releasing these students to be free to SEE. Old Testament prophets were sometimes called “seers”, because they had a transcendent capacity to look into the heavens and see God’s resources and call it down to the earth. Holy Spirit dreaming is seeing “on earth as it is in heaven”.
Joel 2 also says that when the Spirit is truly falling on us that our sons and daughters CAN SEE and they prophecy! The students at this camp ended up in a torrential outpouring of dreams! It was Psalm 126:1 coming to pass, “When the Lord brought back the captive ones…we were like those who dream”.
Follow me carefully now: I was the “old man” at that camp. They were the sons and daughters. I prophesied, they dreamed. That’s not categorical… it’s a transcending weaving in and out and back and forth as the Spirit is allowed to get BIG. I liken it this way: as the Spirit rises in us He drives our cynical, wooden, rigidity up and out. You know it’s the outrageous power of the Holy Spirit at work when the most likely people among us to be injured by disappointments and frustration are set free of their unholy fixation on the glorious past and the miserable present AND NOW THEY DREAM!
Another Kingdom principle we witnessed last week is hidden in this Joel 2 treasure chest as well. An old man dreamed out loud and that released sons and daughters to prophesy! How many times have we heard the old song and dance, “what’s wrong with kids these days?” I’ll tell you what’s wrong with them—the older generation keeps holding the Holy Spirit in check and the dreams we ought to be releasing for the healing of our sons and daughters is cheating them of their Kingdom inheritance.
I witnessed it first hand last week. Once the spiritual air around these students was cleared with the Word of an old man dreaming, these youth could SEE and became SEERS. When I prophesied they dreamed, when I dreamed they prophesied and the Holy Spirit lived His character among us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.
Three weeks ago on a Wednesday evening service I was compelled by the Spirit to prophesy that this summer is the summer of America’s Awakening. Sometimes prophesy is a confirming tool and sometimes prophesy is a “make it happen” sledge hammer. I am welding the latter. Take caution around me these days, I’m in a mood. My dreams are overwhelming me, my eyes have seen the glory. Whether you be young or old and your vision is wilted, I release upon you NOW an all out attack of the Holy Spirit.
I close with this. Here’s an irony. I fought some kind of sickness all week at camp last week. A cold, allergies, sinus infection….what ever it was, I was miserable….physically. Now that I’m home and I’ve had an opportunity to call my doctor, it appears I have an infection not unlike “pink eye”. Hmmm, do you think there’s an analogy here? Is it possible that the prince of darkness (yet another impediment to seeing) knew that he must distract an old man in his divine assignment to impart vision to a new generation?
Hmmm….where’s my sledge hammer…..
Last week I had the distinct privilege to speak at Youth Alive Camp in Osceola, Wisconsin. The theme God gave me was; “Dream-Why Not?” It was an awesome time of releasing these students to be free to SEE. Old Testament prophets were sometimes called “seers”, because they had a transcendent capacity to look into the heavens and see God’s resources and call it down to the earth. Holy Spirit dreaming is seeing “on earth as it is in heaven”.
Joel 2 also says that when the Spirit is truly falling on us that our sons and daughters CAN SEE and they prophecy! The students at this camp ended up in a torrential outpouring of dreams! It was Psalm 126:1 coming to pass, “When the Lord brought back the captive ones…we were like those who dream”.
Follow me carefully now: I was the “old man” at that camp. They were the sons and daughters. I prophesied, they dreamed. That’s not categorical… it’s a transcending weaving in and out and back and forth as the Spirit is allowed to get BIG. I liken it this way: as the Spirit rises in us He drives our cynical, wooden, rigidity up and out. You know it’s the outrageous power of the Holy Spirit at work when the most likely people among us to be injured by disappointments and frustration are set free of their unholy fixation on the glorious past and the miserable present AND NOW THEY DREAM!
Another Kingdom principle we witnessed last week is hidden in this Joel 2 treasure chest as well. An old man dreamed out loud and that released sons and daughters to prophesy! How many times have we heard the old song and dance, “what’s wrong with kids these days?” I’ll tell you what’s wrong with them—the older generation keeps holding the Holy Spirit in check and the dreams we ought to be releasing for the healing of our sons and daughters is cheating them of their Kingdom inheritance.
I witnessed it first hand last week. Once the spiritual air around these students was cleared with the Word of an old man dreaming, these youth could SEE and became SEERS. When I prophesied they dreamed, when I dreamed they prophesied and the Holy Spirit lived His character among us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.
Three weeks ago on a Wednesday evening service I was compelled by the Spirit to prophesy that this summer is the summer of America’s Awakening. Sometimes prophesy is a confirming tool and sometimes prophesy is a “make it happen” sledge hammer. I am welding the latter. Take caution around me these days, I’m in a mood. My dreams are overwhelming me, my eyes have seen the glory. Whether you be young or old and your vision is wilted, I release upon you NOW an all out attack of the Holy Spirit.
I close with this. Here’s an irony. I fought some kind of sickness all week at camp last week. A cold, allergies, sinus infection….what ever it was, I was miserable….physically. Now that I’m home and I’ve had an opportunity to call my doctor, it appears I have an infection not unlike “pink eye”. Hmmm, do you think there’s an analogy here? Is it possible that the prince of darkness (yet another impediment to seeing) knew that he must distract an old man in his divine assignment to impart vision to a new generation?
Hmmm….where’s my sledge hammer…..
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