Category Archives: Receiving Revelation

Do You Ask for a Sign or Understanding?

15 Thursday Dec 2011

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Christmas is upon us again.  It is during this time we hear “The Christmas Story“. One of my favorite sections of the Advent Story is how God orchestrated the whole event.  The Lord initiated the event by speaking to the parents of both John the Baptist and Jesus.  One set of parents was older and the other younger.  In addition, their response to the Lord’s instructions was radically different.

     First, Zacharias was given a promise from God that was beyond his comprehension.  (Luke 1:5-24) He was told he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son in their old age. It was difficult for him to believe, so he asked God to give him confirmation.  Apparently an angel speaking to him inside the temple wasn’t a big enough sign! God silenced him for nine months.

At first glance this might appear to be too harsh.  We need to understand the bigger purposes of God.  When God silences the voices of unbelief, it is usually because their words could affect the outcome of a promise. Silence is not a bad alternative if you’re prone to destroying the word of God with your own mouth.

When Zacharias saw God’s promise fulfilled, he chose to name his son according to the command of the Lord.  All this stood against the wishes of his relatives.  They thought Zacharias would name the child after a member of the family.  When Zacharias chose obedience to the Lord’s initial word,  God loosed his tongue.  Obedience against popular opinion will often reintroduce someone to personal faith.   This a faith that goes against understanding.  (See Luke 1:57-66)

The Lord also gave instructions to Jesus’ parents, specifically Mary.  Like Zacharias, Mary was also given a promise beyond comprehension.  She was to give birth to the Son of God. When she couldn’t understand, she asked how it was possible since she was a virgin.  (See Luke 1:26-56)

She too was blown-away by the magnitude of the Lord’s words.  The difference here is profound.  Mary didn’t ask for a sign or confirmation.  She asked for further understanding of the Lord’s plans for her.  As Bill Johnson says, “Understanding a promise from God has never been the prerequisite to its fulfillment.”  How many of us have had to learn the hard way, we do not have to understand everything the Lord is doing in our lives in order for it to come to pass.

Ignorance asks for understanding; unbelief asks for proof. Mary stands apart from Zacharias because, while being ignorant, she surrendered to the promise. Her cry remains one of the most important expressions the Church can learn in this day—“Be it unto me according to Your word.”

So we have the choice: to stand in the shoes of Zacharias and lose our voice, or walk in the ways of Mary and invite God to restore to us the promises we cannot control.

Who do you want to be like?  It is imperative we not lose our voice due to lack of faith in what God is doing and calling us to do.  Lets be in agreement with Mary’s prayer today…”Be it unto me according to Your word.”

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Ten Ways Not To Hear From God

10 Thursday Nov 2011

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1.  Take no time for margins in your life.

 

Fill your life with so much activity that there is no room to “Be still, cease striving, and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). When we live in the tyranny of the urgent, we can be so busy that two-way conversation with God is not a priority.

 

2.  Don’t admit that you have any needs.

 

Be so self-sufficient that you don’t need a prayer base. We all need personal intercessors. Yet, as I ask most Christian leaders if they have a prayer base as a necessity of their life and ministry, they reply blankly, “Uh… no.”

 

 

3.  Respond to every need as if you are the only one who can fix it.

 

Jesus did not respond to every need. From our people-pleasing natures, it is not easy to see that every need is not our call. Our valid call is only from God, not from the pleading voices around us.

 

4.  Don’t ask God any questions.

 

People have questions, and they will look for the answers somewhere: psychics, self-help books, friends, talk-radio shows, the internet, etc. Only God is the source of eternal Truth. He is available for our questions, toll-free, unlimited access.

 

 

5.  Be exhausted!

 

Be so exahausted that your physical, mental, and emotional fatigue cries out to be satisfied louder than the still, small voice of God. To hear from God, we must take adequate time off to get much-needed rest and refreshment. Burned out, we are no good to ourselves or anybody else, much less to God.

 

6.  Completely ignore the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit speaks words of truth and comfort and enables us to grow in spiritual awareness. By slighting His work and failing to rely on Him, we short-change our ability to hear from God.

 

 

7.  Insist that God must conform to your comfort zone.

 

Be so comfortable that if God did speak, it would upset your status quo. Self-satisfaction kills our hunger to hear from God. So does lack of vision that there’s more beyond where we are. When we are busy perpetuating a personal agenda, we will not hear the voice of God, especially if it means change.

 

8.  Be religious.

 

“Religion” is characterized by tunnel vision that thinks it has all the answers. Religion does not deepen us in the grace of God. Look at the Pharisees. They were preoccupied with keeping every jot and tittle of the law.  Jesus called them whited sepulchres, full of dead men’s bones. They kept a form of godliness and missed God walking among them. God calls us to cultivate a living relationship in intimacy with Him at all costs.

 

 

9.  Be ignorant of the warfare.

 

We must not see only the surface of things. We are not fighting flesh and blood but unseen spiritual battles (Eph 6:12-13). Paul instructed us not to wage war on the horizontal level as the world does. The informed and armed soldier overcomes everything that sets itself up against the righteousness, peace, and joy of the kingdom of God (2 Cor 10:3-5, Rom 14:17).

 

10.  Tolerate unconfessed sin in your life.

 

The psalmist said, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps 66:18). Our sin and flesh must not be allowed to dominate so loudly that they drown out God. We must draw near God with a clean conscience (Heb 10:22).

 

The best way to hear from God is to follow the example of Jesus, who often slipped away from the crowds to spend time with the quiet loving voice of his Father.  Take some to correct the issues preventing you from hearing God and purpose to get alone with Him each day.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

For more reasons why we don’t hear God, see Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence, Vol 2, page 55-58. © Sylvia Gunter 2000. Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com

I Bled Enough!

16 Sunday Oct 2011

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       I have done a lot of counseling in my life.  Many times I have wanted to share a story or two but never would do so for confidentiality reasons.  Who wants to see their life displayed in a blog?  A fellow pastor was given permission to share one young woman’s life long struggle with cutting.  It reminded me of power that comes from just a single word of God.   Listen to her story, then I will make a comment or two.  The story comes from Dr. James Emery White.

      Just a few weeks ago, on a Thursday afternoon, a young woman came by the office to give me something.  She was going to put it in the offering plate, but decided to just hand it to me.  I was in a meeting, so she left it at the front desk.

     On the outside it said, “Jim White,” and underneath, “Be careful…sharp objects inside.”  On the back it read, “I thought I was going to put this in an offering plate but I think it would be best to give you directly.”

      I opened the envelope, and inside a plastic bag were razor blades.  And a letter she later told me I could share.

      “I have been coming to your church on and off now since I was in 5th grade.  I am now 23…When I was 12 years old I started cutting myself.  Now my arms are covered in an overwhelming amount of scars, but I am proud to say there are no open cuts.  I have not cut for probably a year now, but I still have razor blades that are hidden around my room…

      “I quit when I was about to cut one day but heard Jesus in my ear saying, “I bled enough.”  “He took my pain on the cross and I no longer needed to take it out on myself. But I realized by holding on to razor blades I am not fully letting go of the pain and addiction to cutting.  I want to fully let it go now…

      “It says in the Bible, “Cast all your anxiety on him for He cares for you.”  So I’m doing that today.  This is an offering plate and I am offering to Jesus today more than any amount of money I could ever offer Him.  These are all my razor blades that I have kept hidden around in different places out of my reach just in case.  I am handing it over to God and I trust you also with this as well.  Thank you for all you and this church have done in my life...”  And then she signed her name.

      And now I am holding her razor blades in my hand, instead of her holding them in hers.  And that is why I do what I do.

Dr. James Emery White

This story is not unlike many I have counseled as well.  The blood of Jesus is for you and IT IS ENOUGH!  Whether you are a cutter or not, the blood of Jesus covers every issue so you do not have to continue repeating the same destructive behavior.   What a wonderful truth.  Take time today to cast your cares upon Him and surrender yourself fully to His Lordship.

Blessings,

Pastor

What Real Obedience Can Look Like!

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

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      I have spent a lot of time in the past few blogs discussing the importance of hearing God speak and walking in obedience to the spoken word.  I haven’t been able to work in many illustrations.  Below is a story from Beth Moore’s life back in 2005.  It is a alittle long, but well, well worth the read.  In fact…it’s a must read.  Did I sell it?  Please take some time to digest her story. 

Blessings,

Pastor

Beth Moore at the Airport : The Hairbrush Story

At the Airport in Knoxville on  April 20, 2005,
      Waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing.  I’d had a marvelous morning with the Lord.  I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.  You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.  Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego. I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight.  Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier.  His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still  in his shirt.  His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.  The strangest part of him was his hair and nails.  Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back.  His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.
 

      I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.  As I tried to imagine what his story might havebeen, I found myself  wondering if I’d just had a Howard Hughes moment. Then, I remembered that he was dead.  So this man in the airport…an impersonator maybe?  Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat, trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me.  All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let’s admit it.  Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern,  and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

      I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I’ve learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen.  And it may be embarrassing.  I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. “Oh, no, God, please, no.”  I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, “Don’t make me witness to this man.  Not right here and now.  Please.  I’ll do anything.  Put me on the same plane, but don’t make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience.  Please, Lord!”

      There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, “Please don’t make me witness to this man.  Not now.  I’ll do it on the plane.” Then I heard it…  “I don’t want you to witness to him.  I want you to brush his hair.”  The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun  like a top.  Do I witness to the man or brush his hair?  No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, “God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man.  I’m on this Lord.  I’m you’re girl!  You’ve never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life.  What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if  he is not redeemed?  I am on him.  I am going to witness to this man.” Again as clearly as I’ve ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind.  “That is not what I said,  Beth. I don’t want you to witness to him.  I want you to go brush his hair.” I looked up at God and quipped, “I don’t have a  hairbrush.  It’s in my suitcase on the plane.  How am I supposed to brush his hair without a  hairbrush?” God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God’s word:  “I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:17)  I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself.

     Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible,” Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?” He looked back at me and said, “What did you say?”
      “May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?”  To which he responded in volume ten, “Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you’re going to have to talk louder than that.”  At this point, I took a deep breath and  blurted out, “SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?” At which point every eye in the place darted right at me.  I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks.  Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, “If you really want to.” Are you kidding?  Of course I didn’t want to.  But God didn’t seem interested in my personal preference right about then.  He pressed on  my heart until I could utter the words, “Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem.  I don’t have a hairbrush.”  “I have one in my bag,” he responded.  I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger’s old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing.  I stood up and started  brushing the old man’s hair.  It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted.  I don’t do many things well, but I must admit I’ve had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I’d done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. 

      A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man’s hair.  Everybody else in the room disappeared.  There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I’ve never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life.  I believe with all my heart, I – for that few minutes – felt a portion of the very love of God.  That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.  The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God’s.

      His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant’s.  I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him.  I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, “Sir, do you know my Jesus?” He said, “Yes, I do.”  Well, that figures, I thought.  He explained,  “I’ve known Him since I married my bride.  She wouldn’t marry me until I got to know the Savior.”  He said, “You see, the problem is, I haven’t seen my bride in months.  I’ve had open-heart surgery, and she’s been too ill to come see me.  I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.” 

       Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance.  This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known.  It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane.  I was deeply ashamed of how I’d acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, “That old man’s sitting on the plane, sobbing.  Why did you do that? What made you do that?” I said, “Do you know Jesus?  He can be the bossiest thing!”  And we got to share. 

      I learned something about God that day.  He knows if you’re exhausted because you’re hungry, you’re serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on, but you feel too responsible to budge.  He knows if  you’re hurting or feeling rejected.  He knows if you’re sick or drowning under a wave of temptation.  Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.  He sees you as an individual.  Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way… all because I didn’t want people to think I was strange.  God didn’t send me to that old man.  He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Life shouldn’t be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving  safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, “Wow! What a ride!  Thank You, Lord!”

Don’t Judge A Word By Its Size

11 Tuesday Oct 2011

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30 And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.”  Mark 4:30-32

      Mustard plants can be found all over the Mount of Olives.  They produce little pods and the pods have hundreds of little seeds about the size of ground pepper.  In fact, if the wind blows too hard or you sneeze, they will disappear right before your eyes.  This is why Jesus chose the mustard seed for His inspiration.  It was the smallest seed in the experience of those listening.  This little seed doesn’t stay small.  It grows to be a tree 8-10 feet tall, providing cover and nesting for birds. 

      Remember parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings.  Jesus is saying words and revelations that come from the Lord are just as small as a mustard seed. This is the Kingdom way…. insignificant, small beginnings can have major impacts.  What starts out small but is planted in good soil can grow to become something huge that ministers to all around. 

     Christianity today is far too impressed with “bigness“.  Unless we see enormous structures and multitudes of people, we simply do not believe God is in it.  According to Jesus, nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, the polar opposite may be true.  Yet many only study large churches to learn the secrets to their success.  We rarely study small churches because we do not believe God is present in such small things. 

     Here is the truth…If God speaks a word, it is because He desires to plant and invest in our lives.  His word should become the most important thing going on in our lives.  Why?  Because even though God’s word may start off small and insignificant, it will grow, making some kind of Kingdom impact. 

      So…what has God been speaking into your life lately?  God still speaks in a “still small voice.”  Our responsibility is to be good soil for His word to grow.  Don’t despise these types of small beginnings.  Instead, treasure every word of God. 

Blessings,

Pastor

Have You Seen Lately What You Have Been Hearing?

09 Sunday Oct 2011

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24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”  Mark 4:24-25

                I don’t like stepping on the scales.   The scales keeping telling me I’m putting too much food in my mouth.  Ouch!  I keep telling myself, “This can’t be right!”  In the end the scales are always right.  I’ve just been living in denial.  Maybe you have been there? 

                Jesus is discussing with His followers a principle of the Kingdom about hearing.  He is literally saying, “Look at what you hear.”  Now we can’t actually look at what we are hearing because words are sounds and they cannot be seen.  So, just what exactly is Jesus implying.  Jesus is saying we all need to examine our hearing process.  Because all the words and revelations the Father shares with us are placed on scales and measured.  Heaven knows what goes into our ears and the Lord expects a return on His investment. 

                 We have already admitted to ourselves that the scales do not lie… or least I did.  God’s scales do not lie either.  The Lord wants to us to pay close attention to our hearing/listening process because His daily bread to us is more valuable than our real food.  Even though God’s revelations can be difficult to understand at times, they are not impossible to grasp.  They simply require an investment of time and energy on our part.  God will never invite us to accomplish something that is impossible.  Sometimes He may hide the answers so that we will dig and appreciate the process.  These types of difficulties should only serve to spur us on to greater depths, not quit in frustration. 

                Let me share one more important truth with you.  There are heavenly truths and secrets awaiting the genuine seeker right now.  The Lord doesn’t want us to keep studying the saints of yesteryear at the cost of neglecting to seek His face.  There are fresh truths waiting to be released from heaven right now.  This is why the Lord gives us parables.  These little riddles sift out those with other agendas from the genuine seeker.  When we come to the Lord with our agendas and preconceived notions, then we will miss discovering a real relationship with the Lord. 

                I want to encourage you to begin seeking the Lord and expect to receive a fresh revelation from the Lord.  If you have seen the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, then purpose to be more like Frodo, not Gandolf.    In the movie, the fellowship is trying to make their way to destroy the ring of power.  They reach a point where they have to go through a series of mines. The problem is that the door of the mine is locked and they can’t get inside. Gandolf doesn’t take the time to read the inscription on the door, and instead, he tries all the secret passwords that he knows. Of course, none of them work, so he sits down in frustration, giving up. But the simple hobbit Frodo reads the inscription and he sees that it’s a riddle. So Frodo solves the riddle and the solution to the riddle opens the door. 

                Approach the Lord with fresh eyes tomorrow.  There are no secret passwords to His presence.  He doesn’t want you to act religious with Him any longer.  He simply wants to you to pursue Him and experience a loving relationship with Him.  It is that simple.  He is waiting. 

Blessings,

Pastor

This Little Light of Mine

06 Thursday Oct 2011

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 21 And He was saying to them,“A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the  lamp stand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Mark 4:21-23

      This verse takes me back to my first grade Sunday School class.  Maybe you remember singing a song called, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”  The thrust of this song was to not let the wind, the devil, or a basket cover your light.  In other words, keep that light shining at all cost!  I can remember holding my little finger up, purposing not to let my light get snuffed out!  I was tough back in the first grade.  Hey, life was simple back in the those days. 

      We all want to be lights and this is a good thing.  Before we can be lights for the Lord, we must have something in our hearts to shine.  Let me draw a distinction between receiving a word from the Lord versus letting that word shine.  In our passage Jesus purposefully places this parable about being a light right after the parable of the sower.  The words or revelations we receive from the Lord should be finding good soil and growing to maturity in our heart.  Revelations are real-time spiritual insight and information about God, the Bible, others, and life in general.  We desperately need this type of information.  If we are obedient to God’s revelation, it changes everything about us. 

      When God’s word matures in us, then it can become light for others to observe.  Light then is how we project our words and revelations to others.  The first group of people who are going to see our light is our close family and friends.  Usually God’s first words to us are about how we are to interact and respond to those closest to us.  Why?  This immediate circle is the place where we will have our greatest impact.  As our circle spreads out, our light should impact school, work, and other friends.  Jesus states later, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works.”  Most of the time we do not have to be aggressive witnesses for this group to know we love the Lord.  We live is such a way that they see our light.  As someone once said, “Preach the Word and if needed use words.” 

      Unfortunately some never go through the maturity process to allow their words from the Lord to shine.  We want to be light!  Real light must originate from real revelation.  If we fail to allow this process to happen, we will only beam our own personal light.  Which light would you rather project…God’s light or your light? 

      I encourage you to stick with the process God has you in today.  Allow His word to flourish in your life.  Only then will your light be one that will truly reach your family and friends. 

Blessings,

Pastor

Bloom Where You’re Planted!

03 Monday Oct 2011

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10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”  Matthew 13:11-12

      I blogged on this a few days ago.  Help me, I can’t stay away from thinking about these verses.  It is the plight of being a pastor.  When you begin to meditate on certain issues, they ruminate in your spirit until you share them.  So listen up! 

      I struggled with these verses for several years.  Why are some given beauty, talent, higher IQ’s, and athletic ability, while others do not appear to have been “granted” as much?  When we are young, these differences seem to be even more glaring.  Some have even taken their dissatisfaction and have grown to despise the Lord for His creative neglect.  They are somewhat bitter over their limited ability, skills, or physical appearance. 

      At first glance, Jesus’ words appear to confirm what many falsely believe.  God has favorites!  Some have been granted more and others have not been granted very much.  How could God allow such a thing to happen in the Spirit as well?  Life is not fair!  How could some be given an inside track to God’s mysteries, while others are left out? 

       What do you think?  Do you feel God has kept His best from you?  Do you feel God placed you at the end of the line when He passed out both physical and spiritual abilities?  Have you grown bitter over such issues?  I think I might be able to help you.  There is a better, more complete way of viewing these types of situations and this passage….follow me for a few moments.   

  1. Don’t fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy!  “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;  15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,”   What comes first, a hard heart or God keeping His revelation from you?  Let me paraphrase Isaiah’s words.  Isaiah’s prophecy states that if we keep a dull and hard heart, it prohibits us from hearing God and being healed.  Wow!  God doesn’t want it to be this way.  It is simply a spiritual law at work.  It works 24/7/365.  The polar opposite is equally true.  A soft heart allows God’s revelation to flow to us.  Anytime you find your heart growing hard and calloused towards God, repent immediately. 
  2. Purpose to “bloom where you are planted.”  Physically speaking…you are where you are.   It may not be in the best of places, but it is the place God has planted you.  God made you the way you are and loves you the way He made you…warts and all.  Don’t allow your circumstances to make you bitter.  Permit the hardships of life to make you better.  This is more than just making lemonade out of lemons.  It is about allowing the glory of the Lord to manifest in your life.  Remember, a soft heart towards God changes everything.  God will open up the heavens for a soft heart…believe it.    

      This helps to explain why some appear to grow more easily than others.  It is not that God has favorites.  Those with a soft heart are simply in compliance with God’s spiritual order of things.  Where do you stand?  Is your heart soft towards God today.  Only you can change that situation. 

Blessings!

God’s Word Has a Shelf Life

02 Sunday Oct 2011

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          The sower sows the word. (Mark 4:14)  God is faithful about sending us His word.  It reaches us in various ways.  Most people I know don’t think they could ever lose God’s word.  How could anyone lose the words of God.  Could you lose Shakespeare or Plato?  I have some stuff that’s gotten into my head that I wish would go away.  Jesus is making the case in this passage that you can lose the revelation of the Lord.  Wow!  In fact, Jesus gives a short discourse on how this process takes place in our lives.  So God’s word to us does have a shelf life unless it is acted upon quickly. Jesus offers four different scenarios in Mark 4.   

  1. The word is actually stolen from us.  15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.  I don’t ever remember feeling like Satan was stealing God’s word from me.  Of course, you never realize your being stolen from unless the person is caught.  I have never caught him.  In reality, I  don’t think he goes into our minds and retracts God’s word.  I do believe he speaks lies and falsehoods that counter what truths we are given.  As long as he can negate the word of God, he wins and we continue in disbelief.  Unless we believe and tuck God’s word away in our belief system, Satan can come into our life like a bird and eat our seed.  This probably happens in the first 24 hours of a revelation. 
  2. The word is challenged and we give up on it.  16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.  I can relate to this scenario.  When I was a newbie believer, I was so excited about everything I learned.  Like Jesus suggests, I was shallow.  When someone would challenge what I was learning, many times I caved in and lost the word.  After several times of starting over, I began to develop a root system.  This probably happens in the first two or three days of receiving a revelation. 
  3. The word is choked out of our lives because of worldly cares and concerns.  18 And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  The word of God cannot thrive when it has to constantly compete with other worldly issues in our life.  Our mind, heart, and spirit resemble a natural garden.  If you allow weeds to take over your garden, they will eventually outgrow your plantings.  Weeds grow faster than plants.  This is why you have to do something about them early and often.  It is a fact….weeds will take over!  Unless we deal with the worldly weeds in our life, God’s revelations will be choked out.  This happens within the first week of receiving a word from God. 
  4.  The Word is given the right place to grow.   20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”   Just as the three examples are so bad, this fourth one is equally as good.  Our mind, heart, spirit, and soul can be perfect places for the Lord to place His revelation.  There is a promise attached to the good soil.  The good soil gets to bear fruit because the word is accepted right from the beginning! 

      There is hope in this passage.  The first three scenarios can be corrected.  I know because I have had to correct these issues in my life.  You can too!  The date on God’s word to you doesn’t have to expire.  Purpose today to make yourself the perfect place for God’s word. 

Blessings!

The Difference Between Movers & Shakers Verses Lazy Daisies

29 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Receiving Revelation

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1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;  Mark 4:1-3

      If you have been following this blog, then you know I am spending the next few blogs discussing the importance of this parable.  The promise from the Lord here is if we can understand this parable, we can grasp the meaning of the rest of Jesus’ parables.  It is imperative all believers get this one right!  The thrust of what Jesus is relating to His followers is that they are all in a process where the Father is trying to get revelation (the word) into their lives.  Jesus compared this process to the way a farmer sows seed in His field.  Are you a good field?  Have you ever thought of yourself as a field or garden?  You may not but the Lord does! 

God is Sowing! 

       The Father is always sowing His word into our lives.  It is a guarantee.  The question is not whether God is sowing.  The question is are we good soil for the Lord’s revelation or seed?  Back in Jesus’ day farming was done a little different from today.  Farmers today plow first.  In fact, many disk the ground first before they plow and plant seed.  In Jesus’ day farmers many times would scatter their seed first and then come by later to plow it under.  Keeping this thought in mind.  The Lord sows His seed (word) first into our hearts and minds, then He expects us to plow that good seed under.  It is important that we grasp this picture.  Why?  The seed or word is being given out to all.  Yes, it may fall in difficult places to grow, like in thorns or around rocks.  Whereever it originally falls, it doesn’t have to stay there.  Those revelations and words from the Lord can be plowed under to assure growth.  If they are neglected, then eventually they will die. 

The Emphasis In This Story Is The Condition of the Soil

      Now we know why Jesus told this story emphasizing four different soils.  The truth of whether God’s word has effect in our lives lies on whether we are good ground for His revelatory actions.  We hear of people complaining about “how difficult” it is to discern and hear God speak.  According to Jesus, God is continuously sowing in our lives.  So the major problem is not God speaking, but whether we are plowing under the words we have already received.  What farmer would keep sowing regularly in fields where the seed kept dying?  Jesus told this parable so we might all know the importance of receiving the Father’s revelation in readiness. 

      So let’s get right to the issue at hand.  What have you done with the words and revelations you have already been given?  It is important we be honest with ourselves and the Lord.  If our desire is to get “the Lord’s sowing process” right, then we must repent for our neglect and purpose to respond differently.  This shows the Lord we are serious and will be good soil in the future.  Lazy Daisies are waiting for the Lord to act and respond differently so that they might hear from the Lord.  Kingdom Movers and Shakers get with God’s system of sowing and reaping.  God is not going to change and create a special circumstance so that you might hear.  He is going to continue to move in the same fashion He always has in the past.  It is up to you to get into His revelational flow. 

      Some believers like to think God plays favorites with His revelations.  They like to believe that Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, and others like them were given special status in His Kingdom.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  A more correct picture is to view these and other saints in light of Jesus’ parable.  These great men and women of God chose to be fertile ground for God’s revelation.  Since they could be trusted, God trusted them with deeper revelations and greater responsibilities. 

     I submit to you if you make a quality decision today to be fertile ground for God, then your life will be changed forever.  Expect God to be sowing in your life and purpose to help that word grow.   Who knows, in a year your garden will be one full of beauty and grace. 

Blessings!