growing down (up)

...all

2008-05-13T02:49:00.001-07:00

"Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."

- Acts 5:16

ALL healed. All! I get nauseated over Christian reasoning for sickness. "Oh, Christ is building character in me through this disease." Well, don't go to the doctor and ruin this glorious work! "Oh, this pain that I'm suffering with is teaching me to be more like Jesus." Well, then go get hit by a car and let's do a rapid growth! Let's become like Jesus overnight! Where do we get this stuff? Do you know why we use those kinds of things? Because they help to ease the pain of unbelief.

They were all healed.

Yes, God can use pain and disease to bring about good in peoples' lives, but that doesn't mean He ordained calamity or difficulty. It is not normal Christianity to believe that God gives or allows sickness. I'm so desperate to find some people who will fight with me. I need some folks to get really provoked and say, "You know what, it's really possible that every person I lay hands on will be set free from any bondage or sickness and disease." It's really possible to give place to God where he can come and inhabit me to such a degree and dimension that every rebellious cell that's working against the health of somebody's body is destroyed when I get near them. It's possible. It's really possible! Why? Because it doesn't exist in heaven! And He said on earth as it is in heaven.

His standard is the only standard worth reaching for! His standard is the only one worth praying for! His is the only one worth scratching and clawing and fighting for, learning to take by violence through the expression of faith! It has got to matter to somebody.

When somebody is dying of cancer, I have to say to myself, "This is wrong. This is wrong!" This has got to matter somebody. This is illegal! I have been given the authority of heaven to come against that devourer. Will somebody stand? Will somebody cry out for this thing to be broken off of peoples' lives? It's not tolerated by God. It's tolerated by the church! It's the church that has created stupid doctrines to allow afflictions to dominate peoples' lives and we call it God. It's not God. It's still the devil. The devil still has the job of killing, stealing, and destroying. And every Christian has the authority to cancel that job. That's who we are. That's our assignment. We are on this earth breathing air because of that assignment. It's not just about physical healing; it's about every area where the enemy has come and he has stolen, he has plundered, he has destroyed peoples' lives.

Jesus set the standard for us. I didn't make it up! Every single person that came to Him was healed. All of them. He would go into towns and cities and heal every single person. When He left and sent the Holy Spirit on the apostles, they went and did just as He did. They went into cities and healed every single person. There is a reason those verses are in there. They are meant to provoke us, to stir us up and make us hunger after the standard Jesus set for us: every person we pray for gets healed. He set the standard: on earth as it is in heaven. There is no pain or sickness or torment in heaven. None. Nada. And I absolutely refuse to lower the standard of scripture, the standard of Jesus, to my level of experience (or lack thereof). There has to be a company of Christians that rises up and fights for this standard.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all yoru sins and heals all your diseases."

- Psalm 103

...help

2008-03-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

"Africa has been settled for five thousand years. Two hundred or four hundred million have died every century. Split the difference and say that three hundred million have died every year for five thousand years.

It caused me to pray and meditate. I said, 'Has God no interest in these people? And if He has an interest, why is not something done for them? What is the matter with God? Is God unable to help, or does He not care?' My heart was breaking under the burden of it. I said, 'God, there must be an explanation somewhere. What is it, Lord? Tell me about it.'

Then my heart grew calm, and the Spirit said, 'The Church which is His body,' and I knew that was God's answer.

I said, 'Yes, the Church should have sent missionaries and built schools and done this and that.'

But the Spirit kept on saying, 'The Church which is His body. The Church which is His body.' I sat and listened to that voice repeat for a half hour.

I said, 'My God, my soul begins to see. The Church is the ministering presence of the Son of God in the world. The Church is the generating agency of the power of God in the world. The Church has been negligent in one great trust. She has not prayed the power of God out of heaven.' "

~ John G. Lake, 1920 (missionary to South Africa)

Are you really that set on operating primarily through the Church as Your body, God? But we're so weak and frail. We have been so negligent. We have dropped the ball in so many ways. Are you really letting Your reputation get smeared because of our apathy and religiosity?

I don't get it.

Help us, Jesus. Just come and raise us up. Please.

...there's more

2008-03-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of Smith Wigglesworth? Pretty much one of the coolest guys ever. And not just 'cause his name is amazing. He was a Christian evangelist in the early 1900's and had an anointing on his life that is beyond comprehension. He knew God.

I found this chunk about him written during Wigglesworth's visit to New Zealand. A massive revival broke out while he was there. This story is amazing:

"There were eleven leading Christians in prayer with our Brother Wigglesworth at a special afternoon meeting. Each had taken a part. The Evangelist then began to pray for the Dominion [the Kingdom of God], and as he continued, each, according to their measure of spirituality, got out. The power of God filled the room and they could not remain in an atmosphere supercharged by the power of God.

The author on hearing of this from one who was present registered a vow that if the opportunity came, he at any rate would remain whoever else went out. During the stay in the Sounds a special meeting was called to pray for the other towns in New Zealand yet to be visited. A like position to the other meeting now arose. Here was the opportunity, the challenge, the contest was on. A number prayed. Then the old saint began to lift up his voice, and strange as it may seem, the exodus began. A Divine influence began to fill the place. The room became holy. The power of God began to feel like a heavy weight. With set chin, and a definite decision not to budge, the only other one now left in the room hung on and hung on, until the pressure became too great, and he could stay no longer. With the flood gates of his soul pouring out a stream of tears, and with uncontrollable sobbing he had to get out or die.

And a man who knew God as few do was left alone immersed in an atmosphere that few men could breathe in."

Wowsers.

...need

2008-03-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

I just got a book by Maria Woodworth-Etter. She was a woman born in the 1840s who ended up becoming an incredible evangelist. God worked through her in such incredibly displays of power that it blows my mind. Ya'll should check her out. Good stuff.

Last night I was reading her testimony about being called into ministry, and it really hit me: Every single person who has been used mightily by God in revival throughout all of history anywhere in the world was thrust into that calling by the same thing. That one common denominator was a baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. It's something way beyond a Pentecostal doctrine that other denominations shrug off as weird or unnecessary. It is the very purpose that we are left on this earth at all: that we could be filled, saturated, possessed by the Spirit of God, the same Spirit that was in Christ Jesus. And it's not an option. We were born for this. We are indebted to the world to be filled with the Spirit of God through a baptism in fire.

Am I the only one who feels like the pursuit of this encounter is absolutely necessary? Does anybody else want it this bad? It seems like it has been either diluted or ignored entirely. That's a really big problem.

Anywaaaaaaaaays...this excerpt from Maria's testimony wrecked me:

"The great desire of my heart was to work for Jesus. I longed to win a star for the Savior's crown. But when I thought of my weakness I shrank from the work. Sometimes when the Spirit of God was striving and calling so plainly, I would yield and say, 'Yes, Lord; I will go.' I was filled with zeal and power, and felt as if I could stand before the whole world and plead with dying sinners. It seemed to me that I must leave all and go at once. Then Satan would come in like a flood and say, 'You know you could not do it.' Then I would think of my weakness and say, 'No; of course I cannot do it.' Then I would be in darkness and despair. I wanted to run away from God, or I wished I could die.

But when I began to look at the matter in this way, that God knew all about me, and was able and willing to qualify me for the work, I asked Him to qualify me.

I want the reader to understand, that at this time I had a good experience, a pure heart, was full of the love of God, but was not qualified for God's work. I knew that I was but a worm. God would have to take a worm to thresh a mountain. Then I asked God to give me the power he gave the Galilean fishermen - to anoint me for service. I came like a child asking for bread. I looked for it. God did not disappoint me. The power of the Holy Ghost came down as a cloud. It was brighter than the sun. I was covered and wrapped in it. My body was light as the air. It seemed that heaven came down. I was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and fire, and power which has never left me. Oh, Praise the Lord! There was liquid fire, and the angels were all around in the fire and glory. It is through the Lord Jesus Christ, and by this power that I have stood before hundreds of thousands of men and woman, proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ."

- Maria Woodworth-Etter

She was a nice Christian who loved God, but she realized she needed something more if she was going to be truly effective. She knew she needed that baptism. She got it. The rest is history. Golly gee, I want it real bad.

...no more

2008-02-17T02:46:00.001-08:00

Praise the Lord, O my soul

all my inmost being, praise His

holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul

and forget not all his benefits -

Who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases

Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His love for those who fear Him

As far as the east is from the west

so far has He removed our

transgressions

from us.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

(Psalm 103:1-4, 10-12, 22)

...goodness

2008-02-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

I'm mad. Really mad. I want to guard myself from pointing a finger at another group, because all I want to do is just simply love people. And so never will I choose as an enemy someone that confesses the Lord Jesus. But goodness...I need to address a lie and I'm gonna speak some truth:

God is good. He really is. He is. He is. He is. He is. He is. He is.

I'm so weary of hearing all these theological doctrines that work against the very nature of Who God is. He is good. He is not bad. He is goodness. He is good. Goodness gracious, He is good.

When will we realize it? When will I realize this? He is good. He is never bad. Sometimes (most of the time) He operates way outside my box. But He is good.

God is good.

All the time.

The devil is bad.

All the time.

God...good.

Devil...bad.

Cancer...bad.

Hmm....I wonder where it comes from.

The Church of this nation has been so deprived of the real gospel that we have formulated ways of thinking that are antichrist in nature, and they are called spiritual. They deny the very nature of God in that they embrace sickness and disease as a gift from God to help us become better people. It's a lie from hell. It really is. It is blasphemy to attribute to God the very work of the devil. It is inconsistent to have Jesus pay a price for healing and for us to believe that it's not God's intention to heal.

Now here's the conflict: You prayed for somebody, they didn't get healed and they died. So we have to live now in this tension between what I understand and what I don't understand. And this is what happens throughout Church history when we have the puzzle: Aunt Martha died. "We prayed, we fasted, we did everything we knew to do...it just must have been have been God Who chose not to heal her."

Well, is that true? Because 2,000 years ago God chose to heal her. That's why Jesus went and bore 39 stripes on His body, enough stripes to remove all the flesh from His back so that His internal organs were exposed. It was a payment that He made. It says He was punished in the punishment I deserved so that I could get what He deserved.

How can you decide not to buy something you already bought?

It's too late! It's already paid for! That's why the scripture declares, "By His stripes you were healed." The work was done. It was accomplished. It is finished.

So why do we live with problems that don't get solved and answered? What the Church does then is we want answers so badly that we begin to invent and make up answers that make us feel good about our present condition, and we lower the standard of scripture to our level of experience. But to do it, we have to go over and take one of the absolutes that God has shown us about His goodness, and we bring it over and sacrifice it on the altar of human reasoning. And then we will have people who will stand up and tell us: "God gave my relative leukemia to teach us perseverance."

No.

Stop it. Everyone stop it. God is good. He is not bad. He can make good out of any situation. He can take your disease and use it to build character or bring a family together. But that's not His design. He is just real good at winning any hand He's dealt. That's the greatness of God. I know that there are many, wonderful people who are hurting from disease personally or with friends and family, and oh goodness I don't want to come off as being insensitive to them at all. Their pain is real, and I there needs to be a level of sensitivity to that. And it's so tough when we do all the things that seem right like prayer and fasting and still the loved one dies. And when that happens, we need to be able to cast blame somewhere so we claim it to be God's sovereign choice not to heal them.

And it's in this kind of situation that bad theology is birthed: When leaders are forced to give an answer to a situation that God Himself is not addressing. We make up answers to bring comfort in the moment but it can create a theology that is antichrist in nature. God didn't give you your sickness. God isn't allowing it for some greater purpose either. He is just that good; it's not the fact that He ordained calamity or difficulty. And that twisted line of thinking has given so much room for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy and we call it God. It's not God. It's the devil. The devil still has the job of stealing, killing, and destroying. People will say, "Oh, God is just allowing this disease for a reason."

No! He didn't allow it: the Church allowed it.

Why? Because Jesus commanded us to continue the mission for which He was sent: "To destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Sickness is a work of the devil. Healing is from God. And God is not a kingdom divided against Himself. Jesus said so.

Jesus is the "exact representation of the Father" (Hebrews 1:3). How many times did Jesus refuse to heal anybody because it wasn't God's timing? How many times did Jesus tell someone that God was allowing it to make them a better person? How many times did Jesus pray for somebody and watch them go away disappointed because they weren't healed?

Stop equating spiritual maturity with a Christian laissez-faire mentality that says God chooses not to heal people sometimes and we should learn to accept it humbly. Stop it. That is not mature to believe that. It is stupid. It is a lie.

Jesus Christ is our model for Christian maturity, and He warred against any disease or affliction that would dare to touch one of His sheep. Jesus hates sickness. Sickness is to your body what sin is to your soul. God hates it.

In Mark 1:40 a leprous man asks Jesus if it is His will to heal him. Jesus answers him saying, "I am willing!" There is God's will. He is never "not willing." It's true. He really is that good. But He has placed in our hands the responsibility to properly represent His nature and goodness while we have created doctrines that work against His very purposes to set people free from the enemy.

"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). It's true. He really is that good.

I know there are number of "problem" verses in scripture that, when read improperly, would seem to contradict me. I'll get to those later. I just needed to get that out. But don't worry. I'm right. God backs me up on this too, so don't even mess.

Hahaha, just kidding....kind of.

...warrior

2008-02-08T02:25:00.000-08:00

I was reading over some of my posts. Man, I sound like I'm writing college papers or something. Part of me likes it, part of me hates it. You know? Maybe you don't. Sometimes academic writing gets gooey and stupid and the thesaurus becomes way too close of a friend. Ah...

Anyways. God is up to something here at SPU. As my newfound friend Nate would put it, "God is connecting the dots." I love it. Revival is coming. And I love that it's going to look nothing like I expect. And I love love love that it's going to go beyond what I can possibly ask or imagine. Why? 'Cause God wants it more than I do. Real bad. Gosh, in the book of Isaiah, God likens His passion and desperation for revival to that of a woman gasping, groaning, and panting in childbirth. That's intense.

Ohhhhhhhh Jesus....come. Holy Spirit, fall with fire. Yup. Ohhhh yummy. hahahah I am beyond excited right now. There's a remnant. There's always a remnant. I didn't believe it, but it's actually true. You were right, Melyssa. I love that.

I was looking back on some old documents that I had, and found one I got from my gal last year. It's called The Warrior's Creed, and I forgot how much I love it. And just to prove how much I love it, I'm going to type the whole thing out for the world to see. So there.

I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

I have Holy Spirit power.

The die has been cast; I've stepped over the line.

The decisions has been made:

I am a disciple of His.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning,

Smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking,

Chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, potions,

promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized,

Praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience,

Live by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven,

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,

My Guide reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,

Lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity,

Negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the port of popularity,

Or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let go, or slow up

Until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up,

Stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop,

Preach till all know, and work till He stops me.

And when He comes to get His own,

He'll have no problem recognizing me.

My banner is clear:

I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

Good stuff. Saturate me, Holy Spirit...

...i want to be effective

2008-02-05T00:44:00.000-08:00

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

- Jesus (Matthew 10:8)

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

- Jesus (Matthew 6:10)

In Acts 3, John and Peter were walking along and came across a crippled man. He wanted some money, but Peter said to him, "I don't have any silver or gold, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." They gave him a release of the power of God that healed his body. And he stood up, he danced, he ran, he shouted, he yelled...he did all the kinds of things that are appropriate for a good church service. And he let people know that God had healed him.

What I want to write about has been burning on my heart more than anything else in my whole life. I want to talk about becoming a church of power. That is what God is doing in this hour. He is turning His listless, lifeless Bride into a Warrior. He is turning and waking up an apathetic group of people that have been accustomed to hearing the Word, applauding what's true, doing little or nothing, and calling that Christianity. But a Church that is clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit confronts the powers of hell - that's what it's there for. The power is not to put on light shows and "wow" people. The power is to undo the works of the devil. The devil has marked and scarred and stolen from people, and God has kept us on the planet and filled us with His Spirit and power so that we can go and apprehend busted-up and broken people and undo those works. And we can actually see a working in reverse of tragedy so that they're pulled right out of the pit and healed and restored. That is a gospel of power. I don't want to mix words. I don't want to water it down. I don't want to make it sound pretty. I want to take the cattle prod of the Holy Spirit and stick it where it counts.

This is a pursuit to relearn and rediscover what it means to preach this gospel of power. The apostle Paul said, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4-5). In Romans 15 he declared, "I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ [...] by the power of signs and miracles through the power of the Spirit" (Romans 15:19b, 19a).

The entire package includes the miraculous: things that are beyond our understanding, beyond our control, but are released through our obedience. I carry a burden, and I am so desperate to find people who will carry it with me. It's this burden where I sense that I owe people an encounter with God. It is not good enough that I bring somebody good words. I realize that when the gospel is preached in word, there is to be power and a release of faith so people can be saved and transformed. There have been incredible revivalists in the past that moved only in the actual preaching of the Word (they still preached with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. But I want you to understand that oftentimes the church has had a loaded gun and failed to pull the trigger. We have a loaded gun in the sense that we've been given Something from heaven that has the ability to transform any and every hellish situation and turn it around for the glory of God: Disease leaves peoples bodies, demons leave, pain leaves. It's the habitation of a human life by the Spirit of God where the works of the devil are destroyed and reversed for the glory of God. That is what I am about. That is who you are.

To paraphrase Paul in 1 Cor. 2:4-5, he said, "I'm not going to come to you with fancy words. I'm coming to you with power because I want your faith to be in power, not in the wisdom of man. I don't want you to put your faith in my ability to give you a good sermon. I want you to put your faith in the fact that God has power that is sufficient enough to transform every hellish circumstance of your life, every devilish ground that has been taken through the course of life." The power of God is demonstrated to eradicate the powers of hell, the works of darkness. God has designed the Church to be the living expression of Jesus Christ on the planet.

Look at this verse: "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all" (Acts. 4:33). I love that verse. Wow. Think about this: Every time the power of God is demonstrated in a person's life, it is the declaration of heaven: Jesus is alive! When we go to the world we are not just to go to them with a story of the resurrection, we are to go to them with the living proof of the resurrection. The living proof is in the miraculous. The living proof is in the fact that I'm giving God a chance to reverse their hellish situation, to destroy the works of the devil. I owe them, I owe God, a proper demonstration of the resurrection. I am indebted to God. I cannot preach this gospel and not insist that there be power in the message. I cannot declare this gospel and not expect the impossible circumstances in people's lives to be reversed. It is contrary to the gospel to live that way.

It is a lie to promote the resurrected Christ and not leave people with signs that point them into the direction of meeting the resurrected Christ. That's the purpose of miracles, signs, and wonders. And the signs are the signs of healing, the signs of deliverance, the signs of a transformed and changed life. We owe people an encounter with God. We owe them more than a message. We owe them more than a prayer of concern. We owe people a divine encounter. How is that possible? It is possible by a people who possess the mountain of God. How do you possess the mountain of God? It's to dwell in that place of rest where God trusts you with realms of authority, power, and glory that He cannot entrust to somebody else. It's literally so that to meet you is to encounter God. You're not God, I'm not God. But I carry Him. I am in Christ, Christ is in me. This is the gospel of the Kingdom: It's the declaration that Jesus' Kingship and Dominion is here now and it is to be proven with miracles, signs, and wonders.

Jesus Christ is our perfect model for ministry. In the New Testament, He works against the tragedies that are devouring people's lives and brings restoration and healing by the power of the Holy Spirit. How many sick and diseased people came to Him and left afflicted and disappointed? How many times did Jesus actually say that the problem a person had was because God the Father was trying to teach a lesson that would ultimately make them more like Him? To how many diseased people did He try to explain that it just wasn't God's timing for them to be well? How many tormented people did He leave in that condition, saying, "This is the result of their choices. I would set them free if they really wanted to be free"? How many storms did Jesus bless? He not only lived differently from the peoples' common understanding of God; He lived in complete contradiction to their common understanding of God.

Jesus stopped storms; He wasn't interested in just helping with the cleanup afterward. He resurrected the dead instead of conducting funerals. He healed the blind instead of training seeing-eye dogs. He healed cancer instead of administering the last rites.

This is way beyond some Charismatic, Pentecostal fling. This breaks beyond the barriers of denominations. This has nothing to do with whether you're a Catholic, a Lutheran, or a wild Pentecostal. I'm so weary of the Church doing what is humanly possible, and that being the high watermark of the Christian experience and ministry. I'm thankful we can raise the money for the buildings. I'm thankful we can do missions projects and do all that we do. I'm grateful for every one of them. But until we've invaded the impossible we have not put to the test this gospel that knows no impossibility. You were born for this. You were born with an appetite for the impossible. You were born with this desire: to see those things that have been deemed impossible bow and ben their knee at the name of Jesus. That's what you were born for. Every single person that claims to know Christ. It's not just about a temporary desire or an emotional high. I don't care how it affects my emotions. I don't care at all. It's a lifestyle where I live with hungry eyes to see the Kingdom of God break forth and the name of Jesus lifted high. I'm so desperate for this. I'm just so hungry to be effective as a man who has the same Spirit in me that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The devil deserves some butt-kicking, and God has given us the privilege to exact vengeance on the whole host of hell.

This was probably way too long. My bad. It felt good to finally get this out. Woot.

...times

2008-01-31T00:46:00.000-08:00

You are always righteous, O Lord

when I bring a case before You.

Yet I would speak with You about Your justice:

Why does the way of the

wicked prosper?

Why do all the faithless

live at ease?

You have planted them, and they

have taken root;

they grow and bear fruit.

You are always on their lips

but far from their hearts.

- Jeremiah 12:1-2

...religion (ick)

2008-01-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

Gosh. It's been a while. To all my faithful readers, I give a sincere apology for my absence.

It's been a rough couple of months.

I read a book by Gene Edwards called, "The Divine Romance." Definitely a good one. There was one particular spot that captured me in so many ways. Rather than go on some lengthy explanation of what it said, I figured I would let the excerpt speak for itself. Here we go:

From "The Divine Romance:"

Moses spoke to the sea of Israelites: "And what is it the Lord asks of you? I have stood before Him, face to face. I have seen His holiness ... yet lived! I have watched His power ... unlimited. I have drowned in His glory ... indescribable. What does such a God require of us? But one thing. Above all else, one thing." Moses paused, then cried out,

Love Him

With all your might

Love Him

With all your mind

Love Him

With all your soul

Love Him

With all your being

Love Him!

As the great throng broke up, the words of Moses still ringing in ears and hearts, the people returned thoughtfully to their tents. And as they gathered in those dwellings, they shared their hearts. Among one family, of the tribe of Levi, there occurred this conversation:

"Oh, father, I do love Him. I wish to serve Him. This very day I shall speak with Aaron. I wish to devote my whole life to serving our wondrous Lord ... His dwelling ... and His people."

A short distance away, a wife turned to her husband, searched his face for a moment, and then spoke her heart. "Oh, husband. In Egypt ours was a lot far easier than most of our countrymen. And the gifts given us upon our departure were no small things, for either slave or free. I see in your eyes that your thoughts are mine. Our God is so gracious, so kind, and we do love Him, with all our hearts. All that we have of silver and gold, let us give to Him."

Quick and eager was the husband's response. "Yes, with a heart of love, let us give Him such as we have."

And in another tribe, far distant from the Levites, a group of fervent young men spoke in grave and measured words. "It is agreed. Today, here and now, we make a solemn vow to our Lord and to one another. We will forever obey the voice of our God. What He speaks we will do. Always. Whatever He asks, be it a small thing or be it our very lives, we will obey the voice of the Lord. If He speaks in the silent places of our hearts or in the hearing of our ears, or be it to Moses that He should speak, His demand shall instantly be our will, as long as breath is in us."

"'Tis not enough," broke in another. "Prayer! Let us covenant to pray. To be men of prayer, upon our knees, seeking His face, allowing Him to search our hearts. Yes, and asking for power to do His will in hours of need and crisis."

As they spoke of these things, an elder of the tribe rushed by, hurriedly seeking out the other leaders of his tribe. Having found them, he spoke in fervent terms: "This we must do! Tomorrow let our tribe assemble. Let us come with our cymbals and trumpets. Behold - here in my hand - already a song has been written by one of our youth. 'Tis a psalm exhorting us to extol the ways of our God. Let us take this song and other psalms of praise; let us render them unto our Lord and fall down upon our faces and worship Him together." Eagerly the elders agreed, "Surely there is no better way to show our love for our God than to pour out our worship before Him."

By nightfall the great rock upon which Moses had spoken was vacant, except for one lone Figure. Unobserved by all, He had been there listening - listening to Moses recount to the people His very own message to them. Afterward He had walked among His people, listening intently to their every word.

A deep sadness now disturbed the face of the Lord, for He was contemplating the response He had heard from His people. A long, deep groan of sorrow, unheard by human ears but shattering the tranquility of the entire heavenly host, rose up from His depths:

I did not require of you

your wealth nor coins of gold.

What need have I of these?

I did not ask of you

that you serve Me.

Do I, the Mighty One,

need to be waited upon?

Neither did I ask of you

your worship nor your prayers

nor even your obedience.

He paused. Once more a long, mournful groan rose from His breast.

I have asked but this of you,

that you love Me...

love Me...

love Me.

I want to fall in love with You, Jesus. Take my hand. I'm Yours.

...amen

2007-11-17T02:13:00.000-08:00

"The idea that religious faith is somehow a sacred human convention - distinguished, as it is, both by the extravagance of its claims and by the paucity of its evidence - is really too great a monstrosity to be appreciated in all its glory."

- Atheist Sam Harris

"Faith is rather like a rhinoceros, in fact: it won't do much in the way of real work for you, and yet at close quarters it will make spectacular claims upon your attention."

- Atheist Sam Harris

"Scientific beliefs are supported by evidence, and they get results. Myths and faiths are not and do not. Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence."

- Atheist Richard Dawkins

"Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time."

- Atheist Richard Dawkins

It's strange: I completely agree, or at least empathize, with the above quotes. I even felt the urge to shout out, "Amen."

Though true faith is nothing of the sort described above, it's really strange to realize that much of our religious culture in the past several hundred years has subtly perverted the definition of faith to something that resembles Dawkins' rant: "Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence."

When did Christianity begin to give that impression? Goodness gracious, something is terribly wrong...

I've been reading up on atheist works and have been surprised to find that in all their anger, bitterness, and obstinacy against Christianity and God, nearly all of their objections can be boiled down to this: They see no empirical evidence for the claims of faith.

What do they see? Rampant hypocrisy. Blind fideism that casually commits intellectual suicide. Pejorative rejection of anyone (including fellow Christians) who disagrees with their theology. An unconscionable air of pharisaical piety. And many other things. But what does it all really come down to? Faith's paucity of evidence.

If this faith I believe in, that which is called Christianity, can't be proven empirically, scientifically, historically, then let's go do something else. Blind fideism and Christianity do not mix. God bless those people who can hold on unswervingly without empirical evidence to support your faith. But realize you are empirical evidence for falsity and a stumbling block for the atheist. A bit harsh, but it's true.

Jesus never went around arguing and debating to prove His point. There were just as many strange philosophies and atheistic tendencies in His day as in ours. But He never felt the need to organize a public debate to prove His superior intellectual and scriptural prowess. And sinners enjoyed being around Jesus; they don't tend to have similar sentiments with us. Jesus proved the truth of His message with empirical evidence: miracles. He even went so far as to say that we don't have to believe in Him at all if He doesn't do the miracles. Miracles are the living proclamation and evidence that Jesus is God, He is alive, and He is coming.

Faith is not a theory. Hasten the day when such a notion is burned away like chaff. Gosh, I'm digging another hole here, aren't I? That's okay, I'll fill it back up sooner or later. God, please let the day come soon when those called "Christians" will not only teach the theory of the atonement of Jesus Christ, but demonstrate its reality and power to save both soul and body.

God, pour out Your blessing over Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. Open the heavens over their lives. Let Your love and power pour out over their lives, and open their eyes to see Your goodness! I pray for divine encounters, visitation, third-heaven experiences, dreams, visions, trances, angels. Lavish them with Your love, God! Let Your kindness lead them to repentance. God, I pray that you would turn these evangelical atheists into fiery apostles. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

"We must find our way to a time when faith, without evidence, disgraces anyone who would claim it."

- Atheist Sam Harris

Amen, Sam Harris. Amen...

...hello?

2007-11-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

"My God, my soul begins to see. The Church is the ministering presence of the Son of God in the world. The Church is the generating agency of the power of God in the world. The Church has been negligent in one great trust: she has not prayed the power of God out of heaven."

~ John G. Lake (1920)

I hope I don't strike a sour chord tonight in my thoughts, and the last thing I want to do is throw mud on the Bride's dress. But I can't get this question out of my head: What good is Christianity to this earth?

I definitely consider myself as a Christian, and I'm 100% lovesick for God. He's amazing. Jesus blows my mind with His goodness. But I can't seem to reconcile the fact that the majority of western Christianity bears a bleak resemblance to the Christianity I read about in the Bible and the Christianity that exists in places such as Africa, China, India, etc.

Why is the Church even here? Why didn't Jesus just whisk us away into a sweet, blissful eternity? I have some answers, and don't get me wrong: I love the Church. I am passionate about the Bride of Christ come into her full purpose and destiny. I don't want to pour salt on a wound, and more than anything I want to become the Church rather than complain about what it is not. But I need to vent. Real bad.

I am very aware that the Church in many ways is doing incredible and loving work in areas like feeding the poor, sending missionaries to both preach and meet practical needs of people groups, and many other things. And they are all good. I love that stuff. Jesus told us to do it, and we do it so much with great joy. And let's keep on doing it. But let's be honest: nearly all of what the Church does can be accomplished by the Elks Club down the street. It's all good and necessary, but didn't God design the Church to be a broker of heaven's realities, and not just temporal earthly relief? We as the Church have been assigned to represent another world, another system, another order. It's superior in every way. And Jesus is returning for a bride whose body is in equal proportion to her Head (that would be Jesus woot). But what does that even mean???? Goodness, I'm glad you asked. I wonder if I'll even get to that tonight...this is already so lengthy...

Much of the western evangelical message has essentially been boiled down to this: "If you repeat this prayer after me, you can be forgiven of sin get your ticket to heaven. Then you can come and join our nice social club where you can meet nice people, listen to good sermons, learn interesting facts about the Bible, and generally avoid those who would attempt to question or discredit your faith in the name of atheism, agnosticism, etc. Then you can spend the rest of your life identifying yourself clearly as a Christian through good skills in testifying, being known for what bad things you don't do, and don't forget your plastic Jesus-Fish on the back of your car. And then you can hope that after years and years of good moral conduct those around you will realize what a nice person you are, that you're a Christian, and maybe they'll make the connection between the two and, (if God so wills to choose them), they will come to believe in God, repeat a prayer, and be set for eternity as a nice person who got their fire insurance."

I know that's a bit sardonic and lengthy, but the sad thing is that it's not far from the truth. God is so stirring the Body of Christ right now. He is making us aware that we are in over our heads, and we have nothing to offer people. Our nice sermons, our nice fancy testimonies that we've memorized, our nice Scriptural principles that we use to get people into the Kingdom...they're not working. Why? Because we've not offered people an encounter with God. Occasionally one or two stumble into it, but most of the time our words fall flat because I've not had the thumbprint of God pressed in on my own soul in an encounter with Him, and therefore I'm not able to bring anybody else into it. It is not accomplished through good messages. It is not accomplished merely by boldness and good skills in testifying. It is not accomplished through feeding the poor. It is not accomplished by our youth group meetings.

Again: don't misunderstand me. The message of forgiveness of sins and the reward of eternal life is absolutely crucial and amazing and a huge part of the gospel message. And good sermons are great; I listen to them all the time. Feeding the poor is incredible and we need to do it even more. But far too often, our words fall flat because all we offer people is a theorized version of Christianity that is in word only, and we hope they'll merely set aside all their questions and objections because, after all, we're not so sure what we believe is so true. And come on now, what if someone asks us to prove a tenet of the Christian faith? Most likely, we would fumble around with our words, try to remember some Bible memory verses, spew them out, then talk about how happy we feel emotionally with God in our life. And please hear me when I say I am very aware that this is not the case with so many wonderful people. But sadly, it is the case with many wonderful people. In a nutshell, what we usually offer people is a theory of Christianity, and we hope they'll take the gamble so we can notch one off on our spiritual checklist (we like to use the word faith instead of theory when we can't prove what we believe).

To be blunt, it's not working. "Why," you ask? Well, over 1,000 years we've taken our whiteout and casually ignored most of the main verses of the Bible's instruction to us regarding our methods of ministry. Shoot. Actually, most of what we call "ministry" today is but a glimpse of what Jesus and the early church did. We aren't doing what Jesus did and told us to do. Dang it. Daaaaannnng it.

But fear not. There is hope. Aren't ya glad God is all big and mighty? I sure am. I realize I'm digging a big hole right now and getting slightly abstract, but I have to bring this to a close because I know people will not read much more than this if they have even read this far at all. I'll pick this subject back up on another post soon, but I want to leave this with some quotes that will point the way to where I'm going. Oooohhhhh I love writing. And Gushers. Yup. I love Gushers.

"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is."

~ The Apostle Paul (Romans 12:2)

"I have always felt that if Christianity could not demonstrate her superiority over every other religion, then Christianity has not the place and power that Jesus Christ said Christianity had in the word. In those early centuries of Christianity, Christianity did not go into the world apologizing. It went to slay the powers of darkness and undo the works of the devil, and it lived in holy triumph."

~ John G. Lake (1920)

...vain humility

2007-11-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

Still got my saltines. I wonder if they're addicting...

I couldn't resist spewing out a bit more before I nod off into the land of Nod.

I was thinking about what it really means to be humble. But the only thing that seemed to continually race across my mind is what humility is not. Sadly, in Christianity there tends to be a lot of spiritual jargon thrown around that is never tested for truth. "If it sounds spiritual and vaguely Biblical, than we'll run with it," seems to be the attitude. But I was so struck with the danger of false humility.

It is not honoring to the Lord to say, "Oh God, I'm nothing." He disagrees. I have prayed a lot of good things that sound very good and spiritual and everyone around me applaud, but they're stupid prayers. I've prayed all these stupid prayers. Like, "None of me, all of You, God!" But gosh, I'm just finally realizing He had none of me before I was born and He didn't like it. That's why He made me! He actually likes me! Talk about a revelation. God's sitting there thinking, "What does Mark mean by, 'none of him?' None of him? I had none of him and I didn't like it." How about, instead praying, "None of me, all of You," I start praying, "All of me covered by all of You." That's a lot better.

God doesn't want none of me. He doesn't want my personality to not show through. That's why there's four gospels, each unique and different. It's because He wanted us to learn that the anointing takes on unique expression through four different personalities and giftings.

I heard a certain minister sharing a powerful experience he had years ago that changed his whole perspective on the humility issue. He was worshipping one Sunday morning early in his office. He was kneeling and saw a vision of himself coming before Jesus with a beautiful crown. The crown was gold and had a perfect mirror finish on it, and he saw himself take the crown and place it upon Jesus' head. But as he removed his hands, he saw that he had put his fingerprints all over it. He went, "Ugh...," because he could see that he had soiled this thing that was meant to bring Him honor and glory. But as he continued looking he saw the fingerprints turn into gems. Why? The Lord was telling him that He values his humanity. He values my humanity. That's crazy.

Sometimes I despise things He doesn't despise.

Another prayer that I've often prayed is illegal, and there's even a scripture for this one. "I must decrease, You must increase, God." It was a good prayer for John the Baptist because he was closing out the Old Testament. He was passing the baton to the One Who was establishing the presence of the Kingdom of God on the planet. Yes, of course he had to decrease: John the Baptist was closing out an era. And Jesus was initiating a new era. "I must decrease, You must increase." That's not what Jesus said to you and I. He has passed the baton on to us and He said, "Greater works than these shall you do."

Now, I know that the issues of the heart I've prayed for and others have sincerely prayed for boils down to, "God, I don't want my sinfulness, I don't want my willfulness to come in the way of Your plan for my life." I realize that is the intent of the heart in those prayers. That was definitely the intent in my prayers. But if I don't think correctly I will unintentionally partner with error. And whenever you believe a lie you empower a lie, and I end up with a perverted copy of humility, which is self-abasement. And I end up in trouble because I begin to shoot at the very thing God is building. I start to hate that which He actually adores.

And you know what, if the devil finds us uninterested in evil, then he'll try to get us to focus on our unworthiness and inability. In my own pursuit of God, I often became preoccupied with ME. It was easy to think that being constantly aware of my faults and weakness was humility. But it's not. If I'm the main subject, talking incessantly about my weaknesses, I have entered into the most subtle form of pride. Repeated phrases such as, "I'm so unworthy," become a nauseating replacement for the declarations of the worthiness of God. And I'm realizing that at some point, I'm really going to have to believe that Jesus' sacrifice really is enough. He actually did it. It really covers all my sin. I'm realizing it's time to move beyond merely being a "sinner saved by grace," and step into my destiny as a king and priest unto God, living victoriously in the joy of heaven.

"He's a lot better than we think, so let's change the way we think." - Bill Johnson

...bienvenue

2007-11-05T00:54:00.001-08:00

My room is always so cold.

I'm snuggled up with my massive blanket, a box of Saltines, and my precious nalgene.

I've never done a blog before. This is an exciting day. Once upon a time I explored the possibility of having a Xanga, but that became so highschool. At least my keen perception told me so. "Maybe a MySpace...," I thought. But then I realized that Facebook is well on its way to becoming MySpace 2.0. And I already have a Facebook, so I scrapped that idea.

A blog. Is it cynical of me to say that I have read far too many blogs that reek with narcissism? The mere fact that I even have a blog reveals that I feel whatever I have to say is worthy of your attention; I want people to know what is churning and burning deep within me, because maybe some of what's burning in me is supposed to burn in you. Or maybe it's because the thought of anonymity, especially in regards to the very reasons my soul burns, is absolutely sickening. Who knows, champ.

Goodness. I pity the day this becomes a vainglorious attempt to show off my literary prowess as I imagine my readers saying quietly to themselves, "Wow, this guy is so deep...," and I chuckle encouragingly to myself saying, "Yup: I just used the word vainglorious. Just wait until you see what else I've got hidden away in my flowery arsenal of nouns and adjectives. Tremble before my vanity! I can use a thesaurus! Stand in awe of my spirituality!"

Ick.

Welcome to the world of blogging. Aren't I great?

But seriously, I actually think what I have to say is worth reading. And if I'm the only one...fine. More for me.

I gots the munchies.