Looking for Opposition Points

In 2 Timothy 2:25 of the King James translation, we find a really precious bit of advice related to loving people we are called to serve. It’s about dealing with a man who is in opposition to himself. What does it mean “a man who is in opposition to himself?”

My beloved Joy and I were entrusted with 5 children. When my son, the youngest, was around 10 or 11, we were at a meeting in a home. All the adults were in the big room where the leader was talking. The children had all been put in the other room where they were to play or watch TV and do such things that would not disturb the adults (a common but sad practice that I do not recommend).

All of a sudden, out in the other room there arose such a clatter that I went to the door to see what was the matter. I discovered that my son was involved in a heated dispute with the leader’s daughter. If you’ve ever seen a no-win situation, this was it. I took him outside so that he could cool off a bit and suddenly it became one of those God moments.

We began to talk and I turned to him at one point in the conversation and I said, “Son, I want to ask you a question. Now before you answer son, please don’t say what you think I want to hear. Think for yourself for a moment. Make a decision for yourself. Here is the question: Do you really want to be a man of God? Is this really what you want?”

He paused and he thought, and he said, “Dad, I really do want to become a man of God.”

From that moment on, I have been able to help him through many, many difficult situations. I could sit down with him and say “Son, if you continue in this course of action, you are fighting against the thing you said you want for your life, which is to become a man of God.” I could show him how he was in opposition to himself. When you can show a man how he is in opposition to himself, then you are in a position to help him make the decision that he needs to make so that he can be the man that he wants to be.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Relationship Building

Sadly, although relationships are the very fabric of the Kingdom of God, the organizations rarely teach us the basic skills of building relationships. It is often true that the guys who hang out at the local bar or tavern are better at building relationships than the folks who attend religious services every week. But, all life changing service to others must cross a bridge of relationship. Godly relationship building begins in love and humility. Love that lets you value each and every person you meet without regard to your personal opinions about his skin color, language, behavior, attitudes, religion, or any other aspect of his character. In 2 Corinthians 5, we are  shown that when the love of Christ constrains us we stopping looking at people from our own prejudices and start looking at them from God’s perspective.

Humility concurrently helps us to remember we do not have a right or duty to make a relationship with any particular person. It allows us to lean back, relax, and let God ordain our relationships. We can gently wait for others to respond. It is God’s job to save the world not ours. We are simply servants to people -- not their saviors and not their masters.

In this context of love and humility, the relationship building process begins when we acknowledge a person and his/her importance. This can be as simple as saying “Thanks” or calling a person by name. We are courteous to important people. We call our friends by name.        

All service to others must cross a bridge of relationship. 

If we get a response that indicates the other person is open to further contact, we might then begin by exchanging information. We can tell a little about our history or background. We can express interest in the other person without probing or asking very personal questions.

As that flow of information develops we begin to recognize the other person’s areas of interest or expertise. We can make more contact in those areas. As we do we can let the other see how we value his/her input into our lives. If, as, and when, the other invites us to help, we can offer to help this person. Thus, the relationship grows over time.

Many of us are accustomed to everything happening fast. Quick relationships have very little strength and are often quick to breakdown. Slow down, God has all eternity to accomplish His purposes. He does not need you to rush people. 

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Get People Confused Quickly

Life flows through the touch of Spirit to Spirit relationships. Let me show you something. In 2nd Timothy 2:24-26, we find an instruction to those of us who are servants of God. It says the servant of the Lord must not strive or argue. He must not get involved in an argument. In James 3:16 we learn that strife leads to confusion and every evil work. If you allow yourself to be drawn into an argument with somebody, you do not minister life to them. You have simply opened their lives up to confusion and every evil work. So it’s not only useless, but it is actually destructive for you to ever allow someone to suck you into an argument about the truths of the gospel. You will never win anything. You will lose because you will impart to that person confusion and every evil work. Furthermore, he’ll impart it to you as well. You’ll walk away from the conversation confused and attacked by evil. The servant of the Lord must not argue. 

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

As the Father Sent

Much of what you will read here is rooted in a very personal interaction I have had with the Holy Spirit. At one point in my life He confronted me with a quotation from Jesus. Jesus said:

Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.

The Holy Spirit challenged me with the understanding that this statement by Jesus was personally applicable to me. That set me off on an adventure to explore what it means to be sent like Jesus was sent.

At moments this adventure was terrifying. The discovery that virtually everything I had learned about church and religion was wrong was very distressing. What I thought I knew was based in the false idea that I had to do something to please God. To find out this was a lie totally upset my thought processes. At other times this adventure was very satisfying. When I discovered the Father loves me and will never give up on me, that was “Oh WOW!” awesome. When I discovered that Jesus never viewed women as second class citizens in His Kingdom a whole new realm of healthy relationships was opened to me.

So, I was encouraged to explore how Jesus was sent so that I might know how I was sent. Some aspects of this were so very obvious I wondered how I could have missed them all those years. Like Jesus saying He was not sent into the world to judge the world but that through him the world might be saved (John 3).  It was there in the book in black and white. So obvious, and yet my experience with the church had been to watch people being judged and made to feel guilty so that they would conform to the group standards. Most of my experience with the community of believers was exactly the opposite of what Jesus said. It was a stream of judgments with no practical help to save people from the continuing patterns of destruction in their lives. A stream of noise answering questions no one was asking. But a systematic avoidance of dealing with the real questions asked every day by troubled people.

I was forced to ask questions for which no one I knew had practical answers. For example: What does it mean if we are sent into the world as “the Word of God become flesh to dwell among men?” How does life look if we are coming to our own people but they do not receive us? I know I am not the Messiah, but what does it mean for me to be sent so that my part of the world might be saved?

Then one day near the turn of the century I was looking at Jesus’ instruction that we were to make disciples from every ethnic group. I began to compare all the religious stuff I had learned with the way Jesus operated. He did not make disciples by getting people to join an organization. He did not even form an organization. He did not make disciples by standing up front and inviting people to come forward to make a decision. Much of the time He was standing up front he intentionally spoke in parables so that most people would not understand Him. Jesus’ way of making disciples was quite different from anything I had seen in the institutional church system where I grew up.  Jesus accepted a few men who had been entrusted to him by the Father. He walked with them. He talked with them. He let them see every detail of how He lived his life. He answered their questions and spoke plainly to them. They chose to follow Him and He befriended them. They became closer than family to Him. He lived before them as an example of God the Father to them. He loved them deeply without regard to whether they loved Him or betrayed Him, acted without guile or acted like Satan. He loved them selflessly. He alone is our best model of a disciple maker.

And He instructed us to continue His example. He commissioned us. Not to build churches. Not to build congregations. Not to make converts. He commissioned us to follow His example by serving men and making them our disciples.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Guidelines for Functioning

A quiet chat at Starbucks or Denny’s is more important than a great speaker. If we are to be or make disciples it is in this environment that we must function. There are several aspects to this new style of functioning that need to be recognized.

First, we function within the context of healthy, loving, well maintained, God ordained relationships.

Second, we function on the basis of spiritual revelation not merely with intellectual information.

Third, we function with powerful tools to breakdown the prisons the enemy has built into the lives of people around us.

Fourth, we function connected in strong joints with other individual members of the Body of Christ.

Fifth, we function on the basis of what we see the Father doing and hear the Father saying instead of on the basis of our own good ideas.

Sixth, we function as an intimate part of the world-wide Body of Christ seeing beyond a local group with which we may or may not be working.

Seventh, we function acknowledging that all authority has been given to Jesus so we continually guard ourselves against asserting authority over other people or permitting them to assert false authority over us.

Finally, we function in true humility, not denying who and what we are but internally acknowledging that every good thing or quality we have is ours as a free gift entrusted to us by God not a matter of pride or power over others. 

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Weapons of Warfare -- Forgiving Sin

Weapons of Our Warfare

FORGIVING SIN

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. II Cor. 10:3-4 

Many leaders talk about the promises of God in the Bible.  Many talk about the imaginary authority they have over other people in their various clubs. But, it has always struck me as strange, virtually none of them talk about the power every son of God has to forgive sin.  Indeed many leaders seem more focused on conceiving of new ways to make us feel guilty than they are on ways to make us clean.

But, Jesus conferred on each of us, His brothers and sisters, a very special power.  Whoever's sin you forgive they are forgiven. That is a real and powerful weapon.  Let me start with you, personally, right now as you are reading this.  By the authority Jesus gave me, I forgive you.  I forgive you for every sin you ever committed from the day you were borne right through to today as you read this.  I forgive you for the gross evil things you know you did.  I forgive you for the little things you just forgot to do. And I forgive you for all the things in between.  Now, no one in all the universe has the authority to accuse you about anything you did before this moment in time.  You are completely clean and you are starting the rest of your life with a clean slate.  So when the accuser comes to blame you for something out of the past you can tell him to go back to hell with all his accusations.

Some of you right now are feeling like a huge weight has just been lifted off you.  That is because it is true, a huge weight has just been lifted off you.  Some of you are wondering is it really true.  YES, it is really true you are free, you are forgiven.

Now think about this:  If you are a son of God, you have the same power to forgive people and set them free from the guilt of their past sins as I do.  If you have been loving people much at all, you have time after time encountered people who are so loaded down with guilt that they do not believe they can ever get free of their past sins.  But, you have the power to set them free. Just speak forgiveness to them.  

Sometimes they will need blanket forgiveness like I illustrated above.  Other times there will be need for forgiveness of very specific sins.  For example, there is some man reading this who has been carrying around a load of guilt because of the way he treated a girl decades ago while he was in school.  He has lost contact with the girl, but all of his relationships with women are still being affected by what he did with that girl.  I want him to hear me right now:  In the name of Jesus, I forgive you.  Receive your forgiveness now and forgive yourself.

Therein lies the problem many people encounter.  Because they are having trouble believing they have been forgiven, they find it very difficult to forgive themselves.  So, right now, I want you, my beloved reader, to take a moment and declared to Jesus the following:

Lord Jesus, I forgive myself for all the sins of my past and I release myself from all the judgements I have made about me.

Be generous and freely give to others the forgiveness you have so freely received from Jesus.

His, thus yours,

  Stuart

Difficult Moments and Difficult People

Beloved songwriter and performer Kari Jobe has a song called "You Steady My Heart".  It focuses on the reality that God has not promised anyone a life without pain and disappointment. Having a steady heart becomes most important when we face the difficult moments and difficult people.

A few days ago I was in a family home sitting around the kitchen table eating one of those memorably great meals.  We were enjoying eating together and being church. As it was getting late in the evening and we were all getting close to the time to head for our homes and our beds, one of the family relatives joined the discussion. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he exploded into the conversation.  This otherwise very helpful fellow, who had intentionally stayed away from most of our time together, suddenly burst into the conversation with accusations that I was judging him and that the very ideas of personally hearing God and/or that God cares about anyone individually and personally were ludicrous and offensive to him.

I remember how easily I would have cowered into a corner in the face of such an attack not so many years ago.  I remember how I would have been filled with fear and turned that fear to irrational rage. I remember how I would then have systematically set out to shred every idea or argument my perceived opponent set forth.  Then, I would have automatically concluded a person who attacked my "religion" was attacking God himself. It was my job to defend God and all of my cherished doctrines.  It was my job to destroy the infidel.

However, since those days I have discovered that Papa God loves me deeply.  No evil thing can overcome me because God is for me.  I am on God's team and we will always remain undefeated.  So, there is nothing to fear.  With no fear there is no rage arising.  With no rage I can remember Papa deeply loves people, even deeply deceived people.  People who disagree with God are deceived.  Thus, they should receive my compassion not my anger.

So, I set out to try to understand this fellow.  I asked him what I had done that caused him to feel that I was judging him.  When he said things about the religious systems which I knew to be true, I voiced my agreement with him.  When he  got loud and angry I remained calm.  When he was speaking I was listening, really listening not trying to think up my answers.  When he interrupted my talking, I reminded him that I had listened to him.  And, if he wanted to understand my answers he needed to actually hear my complete answer.  When he heard my question about what I had done, he responded with a blast of accusations about what "Christians" are like.  After I listened to him, I reminded him of what my question had been and that he had not answered it.

In the end, he made it clear that he did not want to hear anything from me.  That was fine with me.   I have learned it is impossible to answer questions no one is asking. But, he also came to the point of apologizing to me for accusing me of judging him.  That simple thing was in fact a major concession from an angry man.

But, why was he an angry man?  Simply because he has often endured judgment from people who call themselves "christians".  He has over and over encountered men and women who were very sure they were right.  They were among the many for whom it is more important to be right than it is to be righteous.  Why?  Because they are full of fear.

Remember, "Perfect love casts out all fear."

A person with an experience is never at the mercy of one with an argument.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

The Purposes of God

In Acts we are told that David served the purposes of God for his generation then he died. 

What purposes are you serving?

There are of course the few intentionally evil people.  They are serving evil purposes and intentionally so.  But, those are unusual people.  None of us would think of ourselves that way.

There are many people going through life with no concept of having a purpose.  One of the reasons for the great popularity of Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life was that it gave many people their first vision of what it means to have a purpose.  Of course the many institutions of the “church” were delighted to capitalize on that well written book in order to get people to adopt the purposes of the institution as their own purposes.

Virtually all people for part of their lives and many people for essentially all of their lives move only to fulfill their own self-centered purposes.  Some for money and the things it will buy, some for power, some for sensuality, and some for the shear pettiness of being self-centered and never needing to consider any other people.

Sadly, because hearing God, prophecy, and prophetic ministries in the Church have been largely despised and dismissed as irrelevant for our intellectual society, many believers have no greater sense of purpose than the unbelievers who are outside the Church.

But, there are many men and women who have a strong sense of purpose.  Many of them are able to cite multiple Scriptures upon which they base their purposes.  Most of these would tell you in no uncertain terms that their purposes are the purposes of God.

Ah, but David …

David the Book tells us served the purposes of God for his generation.

“For his generation” necessarily implies that for other generations God had different purposes.  Nonetheless, virtually none of us have ever heard a robust discussion among believers concerning what are the purposes of God for this generation.  Indeed for most who have ever considered the purposes of God at all, we have gone along believing that the purposes of God, like the character of God, are the same yesterday, today, and forever.  So, when some leader or another has provided a statement of the purpose of God and given Scripture proof-texts for it we have simply accepted it with little or no real examination as to whether it is the purpose of God for our generation.

Most of the “church” system is based on fulfilling the purposes from past generations that have been adopted for the institution.   When the question has been raised as to whether these are the purposes of God for us, the answer has generally been the equivalent of, “that’s the way we have always done it.”  At times we have even sung songs extolling the virtues.  “It was good enough for grandpa and its good enough for me.”

But, I ask you.  Have you ever seriously sought to learn God’s purposes for your own generation?  Be warned!  This can get you into conflicts with the system.  But, ask yourself whether David would have been satisfied with fulfilling something other than the purposes of God for his generation. 

I can tell you with certainty: The purposes of God for each of the three generations now walking the Earth are quite different from each other and radically different from the purposes of past generations.

What are you going to fulfill before you die?

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

RELAX and BREATHE

Somehow we are nearly all willing, even expectant to hear someone say "Go feed the poor" or "Go teach in Africa"  or  "Read your Bible" or "Pray."  We must become willing to hear Father say "Do nothing.  Go and rest." 

It is time for the people of God to learn we must repent from the dead works we have decided to do and limit ourselves to doing what Father requests.  We must repent from striving to take care of every person and every need.  No leader suffers burn-out from doing the works of God.  He gets burned by doing the dead works of his own choosing.

The tragic result lies not in our weariness.  It lies in the truth that when we do not limit ourselves to doing what Father says, we fill our time with fruitless stuff.  Those dead works gradually consume more and more of us.  Before very long we simply do not have enough left in ourselves to do the works of God.  We have spent ourselves on our own dead works.

As I have often quipped, a very important part of my ministry is sitting in my recliner reading a novel.  When Father has not given me tasks to do or words to say, I need to sit down and shut up.

But, as often as we talk about entering Father's rest, we often seem to be at a total loss as to how we get into that rest place.

When God entered his sabbath rest (Genesis 2), it was because He saw that everything that needed to be done was already done and it was very good.  For us to join him in His rest, we must join Him in believing the same truth.  Everything, yes, all of it,that needs to be done He already did.  He prepared it all beforehand and we are simply walking through it with Him (Ephesians 2).  God has left nothing to chance.  The universe does not depend on you.  The salvation of your neighbor does not depend on you.  Everything you think must be done is either already done in the eternal realm or it is not needed.

Breathe in His Love and Peace.  Relax !

Please, enter into the Father's rest.  There you will watch real works of God.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

YOU ARE ON MY MIND

Hi,

You personally are on my mind and in my prayers today.  When I say personally I do not mean by name for I know only a few of you by name.  Rather I mean you as one of the people who read my blog entries.

I have been thinking of you and praying for you specifically: that you would be blessed; that I would hear Father and write things He wants you to read; that your friends and family would be enriched by the revelation that you find in reading the blog; etc.

I thought you might like to know that between one-third and one-half of you readers live outside the United States.  Most of those people in countries that I have not yet visited.  I look forward to the time when The Lord will authorize me to travel to your countries, too.  If any of you are coming to the USA, please feel free to let me know and to plan a visit with me in Oregon.  At minimum let me know your travel plans so that if we are going to be in the same area I could be blessed by meeting you.

Very, very few of you write any comments.  For those who are fluent in English, I do not know why you do not share your thoughts and insights.  Even just a few words would bless all the rest of us.

If you are uncomfortable writing a comment in English, it would be wonderful if you would write a few words in your own language.  My computer is able to find translations for almost any thing you would write if you will use simple ordinary words.

Whether you comment or not, you are deeply loved and appreciated.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

LOVED

We often have false expectations of Father God.  Many of us were trained as children to think of Him like a wise but very stern King sitting on His throne.  One who dispenses severe punishment for our every wrong and tells us we were only doing what was expected of us when we do something great.  But mostly one who is distant and not really paying much attention unless we really pray diligently. All these expectations leave us feeling vaguely guilty of we are not sure what and fearful of how He is going to discipline us next.  Indeed, most of us have been told that every great sermon points out more clearly the things we should be doing and leaves us feeling more guilty and more fearful of failure because we are convinced that we can never really measure up.

But, the Book teaches us that God is love and perfect love casts out all fear.  So the Father NEVER motivates His adopted children with fear.

And, the Book teaches us that there is no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus.  So Father NEVER motivates His adopted children with guilt.

And, the Book teaches us that God is steady and reliable and will never ever leave us.  So Father NEVER treats His adopted children with benign neglect ignoring them.  Indeed He has chosen to have His Spirit take up residence within us gently prompting and cueing us moment by moment through every day of our lives in Him.

So then how are Father's adopted children motivated ?

Father loves us.  Yes, He loves each of us individually and personally.  And He loves all of us corporately.  He absolutely loves us.

Because He first loves us, we begin to love.  Some of us seem to take a very long time getting our heads out of our self-centeredness that the world taught us.  But, we will drink in His unfailing, unflinching, steady, continuous LOVE for us.  Then we will begin to love.  The more deeply we drink in His love, the more we love.

As we begin to recognize that in His love for us Father provided for our total and complete forgiveness by allowing Jesus to pay the penalty for every bit of our sin, -- Yes all of it; past, present, and future sins. Then we begin to love more and more because He who has been forgiven much loves much.  And, Jesus, the one who died in our place, becomes a special focal point for our love.

Jesus teaches us that the result of loving Him is that we do the things He wants us to do.  Do not confuse that.  What we do is never the measure of how much we love.  Rather, the transition of what we are doing from self-centered to God centered is the result of our loving Him.  The more we drink in Father's love the more we are empowered to love Jesus and the more we are transformed by our relationship with Him.

So when you, like all the rest of us, find that you are not doing all the things you would like to do for Jesus, do not make the mistake of focussing on your behavior.  Get your focus off yourself and your false feelings of guilt.  Turn instead to focus on how much Father has forgiven you and how deeply He loves you.  Drink deeply of His love.  Revel and wallow in His love.  Snuggle up to Papa and let Him love you even more.  Feel Father's enjoyment of you, His delight in you, and His approval of you. 

Yes, He actually likes you.

So, please take a moment right now.  You are surrounded by His love.  Take a moment to drink that love in very deeply.  Let His love wash over your soul cleansing away all the filth the enemy has splashed on you from your travels through the world.  Soak in His steady love.  He is really quite steady.  There is nothing you can do or can have done to separate you from His love.  You are LOVED, just as you are right now.

His, thus Yours

Stuart

The Most Important Decision of Your Life

Here is the fundamental question with which we each must wrestle to a real conclusion:

Does Jesus have the final authority over all our decisions ?

Father God has undertaken to prove to you His love for you.

The Holy Spirit has been speaking with you on a regular basis.

But, the crucial question is whether Jesus is Lord or not.

He has proven himself to be the one who loves and forgives.

He has proven himself to be your provider.

He has healed your body such that despite the destructive stresses you have put on it you are able to function.

The essence of Lordship, however, requires that the final authority for each decision become vested in The Lord in response to His proven love.

If up to this point in your life you have reserved the right to say no to anything He may ask of you then He is not really your Lord.

Of course, having been given the power of self control, we all have the ability to take any given decision back to ourselves 

But, the implication of our saying "Jesus is my Lord" is that we have on a continuing basis given up that right our ability not withstanding.

We are saying to him, “Jesus, I trust you so much that whatever you ask of me I will do it.”

Do we occasionally fail Him? Of course.

But, our basic committment remains and gradually our steadfastness developes.

Your growth into the fullness of all that His love would provide for you requires that you allow Him to be Lord with absolutely final authority over all your decisions.  It requires giving up your right to live a self centered life.

All of creation is waiting with anticipation for you to decide.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

He Became Sin

Much ado is made around churchianity about Jesus who as our saviour became sin on our behalf.  So much so that often people talk about receiving Jesus as saviour to the exclusion of ever getting around to acknowledgement of His Lordship.  Sadly this ignorance of His role as Lord results in a complete misunderstanding of the purposes of God and the ways of living in relationship with the person of God the Trinity. 

Moreover, the idea of Jesus becoming sin is somewhat difficult to accept because of the popular idea that somehow God cannot possibly abide the presence of sin.  An idea so emphasized that at times it seems like sin to God is like kryptonite to Superman.  But, this idea is of course absurd.  It is not that God cannot handle sin.  Rather it is that a man who chooses sin is concurrently choosing that he, the man, does not wish to live in the presence of God.  A choice which God is willing to honor.  People who go to hell are being loved by God who honors their choice to live separate from Him.

Jesus becoming sin on our behalf is indeed a fundamental truth related to our salvation. His being crucified produced the death penalty which was required as the price of sin.  Because he was without sin, his taking on sin and paying the penalty for sin did in fact pay the penalty on our behalf.  But, how could he possibly take on our sin without damaging His personal relationship with God the Father?  It is because His taking on sin was not a violation of His relationship but was in fact a means of expressing that relationship.  You see sin is not the problem for God.  It does not scare Him or weaken Him at all.  His concern is about our relationship with Him.  Thus, for those of us who love Jesus and have accepted His gift of paying the price for all our sin (past sin, present sin, and future sin) Father is not concerned about our occasional sins.  His concern is for the intimacy of our relationships with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit, and the Father Himself.  

How are you doing with walking in an intimate friendship with each of Them.  They would truly enjoy your spending time chatting with each of them. Find your place of freedom to walk and talk with them.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Real or Fake

Ah the wonders of modern man --

Years ago I was an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.  When the ship was underway I often stood watch on the Bridge of the ship as the Officer of the Deck.  In that position, I was the senior officer awake and watching over the ship. Needless to say, it was not acceptable for me either to leave the Bridge or to fall asleep on watch.  But, these watches usually followed long days of working at the routines of maintaining the ship, conducting searches for people lost at sea, or repairing aids to navigation.  Each of us junior officers was expected to keep up with the day time work of the ship, stand a watch during the daylight hours and again stand the watch during the night.  This was simply what had to be done.  It was not heroic.  It was just life on board a Coast Guard Cutter.  And, it was exhausting,

During those long night watches, one of the relished privileges of the Officer of the Deck was to ask a crew member to bring a mug of coffee to the bridge. On those long nights I needed the caffeine of the coffee to help me stay awake.  But, I also needed an energy boost - something to raise my blood sugar.  Thus, I learned to drink my coffee with plenty of milk and several spoons full of sugar.  Some years later while in law school  I was again staying up late into the night.  And again, the caffeine was essential.  But, I was married and my lovely bride pointed out to me that my waist line was expanding rapidly.  It was not rocket science to figure that all that sugar was bringing about true growth in my life.  Ah but, I had learned to like my coffee sweet.  I could not stop the coffee.  So, I started the use of Sweet and Low, a saccharine substitute for sugar.  Years later I learned that saccharine is carcinogenic.  Not wanting cancer I switched to Equal.  After a while it was rumored that Equal causes brain damage.  So, I switched to Splenda.  Splenda and Equal were especially nice because they came in packages combined with other thigs so they actually looked a lot like sugar.  I could put them in the sugar bowl on the table and noone would know the difference.

Is it not a wonderful thing ?  Based on the science of modern chemistry I could still get all the caffeine I wanted with no sacrifice.  I never was required to give up my sweet loving sense of taste.  I never was required to learn to like my coffee rich and strong and black without sweetness.  Cup after cup I can get that creamy sweetness I love without having to sacrifice anything to keep my weight under control.

During the first generation of the Church, the beloved apostle John, wrote that the spirit of the anti-christ was then already functioning in the world.  The literal meaning of the word transliterated as Antichrist is substitute christ or impostor christ.  

Now if instead of sugar in my coffee my wife had substituted a bitter thing like strychnine I would not like it or want it.  And even if I was silly enough to drink it, anyone who watched the result would never choose to imitate me.  My sugar substitute needed to taste sweet.  And, if it was a poison, it was essential that like saccharine it work slowly over a long period of time.  Noone else could be sold something that killed me quick.  They would have to see me keep using it and appear to enjoy it.  Slow poisons are still poison but they are far less noticeable.  They remain marketable even while they do their work.

So, what looks like Jesus, tastes kind of like Jesus but, unlike the Bread of Life it has zero calories ?  It has no nutritional value at all.  What is it that masquerades as an impostor of Jesus ?  Now, to pass as an impostor it must look like folks expect Jesus to look.  It must be able to go into life's sugar bowl and look right.  And to pass as an impostor it must feel like Jesus is expected to feel.  It could not be like strychnine instead of sacchrine.  What is that ?

Is this not what every religious organization is working toward ?  Does not every group seek to give us an experience that looks and feels like we expect Jesus to look and feel ?  What is "seeker friendly" about portraying a Jesus who desires and deserves that I would give up all my personal desires and be willing to die in order to follow Him ?  Oh, many of them portray making great sacrifices, especially sacrificial giving.  But, very few portray that Jesus already made the great sacrifice and all my righteousness is as filthy rags.  Most of the "good and Godly" religions have noble codes of conduct for men to follow.  But, the conduct is in reality only practicing the form of Godliness while denying the real power of it.  Virtually all of them hold weekly meetings to which the faithful are expected to come.  In those meetings, most commonly, the faithful have an emotional experience they are taught to believe is worship.  They hear someone preach to them  a lesson that usually has no practical application in modern life.  And, they are exhorted to give their money in support of the organization.  Then they go home.  All that standing in stark contrast to the things the Bible teaches us are intended to happen when the saints meet each other. 

Now some of us have realized that the first organization we came to is really carcinogenic.  It is so far off the path of Jesus that it is giving us spiritual cancer.  What have we done ? Usually we vote with our feet, we move on to another better organization.  We go from Sweet and Low to Equal.  But, more often than not we eventually learn that the new group also is toxic somehow.  Then we move on again.  We move from Equal to Splenda.  But the problem with our new group is not that we have learned it is toxic.  It is simply that by its very design is has no real nutrition for our spirits or souls.  It makes us feel good.  We are not required to give up the sweetness we found in religion.  It all looks and feels right.  But, it just does not give us enough Spirit and Life to sustain us. 

Now, there is nothing inherently evil about most religious organizations.  They are much like other organizations (Lions Club, Rotary Club, Moose Lodge) .  They all do the best they can with the limited revelation they accept.  What is the problem then ?  It is this.  Jesus did not send us forth to build organizations and churches.  He sent us to disciple men.

Disciples walk in close knit relationships.  Disciples are close friends who trust each other.  Disciples genuinely love each other.  Disciples follow someone in whom, after very close examination, they see the real character of Jesus.  Disciple makers always have time for the disciple.  Disciple makers always have vision for the disciple.  Disciple makers never feel senior to, better than, or above the disciple.  Disciple makers never minister for the purpose of making money.  Genuine discipleship relationships are the Hallmark of the Church Jesus is building and preparing to be His Bride.

So, who are you following ? Jesus or an imposter ?  The real Bread of Life or just another pack of spiritual Splenda ?

Shakespeare Was an Optimist

"To thine own self be true and it shall follow as the night the day thou canst not be false to any man."  The great bard said something close to that.  (I admit I did not go look it up.)  But, do you notice that the validity of the quote depends entirely upon an assumption about "thine own self."

What if "thine own self" were a person whose fundamental character was based in greed, lust, and deception ?  Then the bard may have needed to conclude that it would follow that "thou wouldst be false to any man or woman in whom you saw a way to take advantage."

Up until the mid to late 1800's when German universities abandoned the notion that the Scriptures are inspired by God, educated western thought was based in the idea that there are some character traits/behaviors that are inherently good and some that are inherently bad.  Thus, belief in God and His goodness was the only accepted social norm.  Atheism was solely the attribute of a fool.  Love, generosity, kindness, protection of the weak, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, were all socially applauded and expected social mores.  To suggest about another man that he lied was in fact an invitation to engage in a fight to the death.  A man would rather risk death than permit anyone to question his integrity.

Today, in a society which has abandoned any belief in an absolute morality, people openly call even our foremost public leaders "Liars." Indeed it has become a presumption that all politicians lie.  In this environment quotes from earlier centuries would often appear to have been far from valid even though when they were written or said they seemed perfectly true.

Many people today find scripture passages completely unbelievable because of a similar dynamic.  For example, in the context of today's common beliefs in America, the statement that "God is Love" seems unbelievable.  Why?  Because in today's society the highest attributes of love are the protection of another's physical life and the actions that make the loved one feel good and comfortable.  In previous centuries there were many values worth dying for and many values worth killing for.  But, today, it is practically impossible to imagine a social leader like Patrick Henry who would seriously claim "regret that (he) had only one life to give."  Rather he would say, "I had to compromise because there is nothing I could do if I allowed them to kill me."  For today's young believers, it is difficult to comprehend that overcoming Satan requires "love not their lives even unto death."

In a similar vein, many of the statements of Jesus about His followers seem to lack reality in today's context.  But, if we restore to them the context in which Jesus spoke them, their reality becomes much more observable. When Jesus was prophesying about the future for his followers, all of His prophesy was based on 2 fundamental assumptions.  1) It was assumed that He was talking to people who would give up their own personal life styles and receive Holy Spirit who empowers them to walk as sons of God.  2) It was assumed that they would in fact walk as sons who would not act out of their own initiatives.  Further, this assumption means that they would only do what they were seeing the Father do and only say what they were hearing the Father say.

So, let's consider an example:  Jesus said I could speak to a mountain and it would be moved.  In all my years in the Kingdom I have only heard of such a thing happening a couple of times.  If I go out in the lawn and look east to see Diamond Head Mountain, then say to it move north 5 miles; what do you think will happen?  Before I bet on the outcome, I want to know a fact or two.  First, did I hear Father God say that before I said it?  Second, did Father God authorize me to say it at the time I said it?  If both answers are affirmative then I know what will happen.  If the first is affirmative and the second is not, then I am unsure what might happen.  If the first is negative, then I know what will not happen.

The same dynamics apply to many of Jesus'prophetic utterances.  Forgiving sin; healing sick; casting out demons; et cetera.  We seem to forget that when Jesus said "in my name," He was not talking about the blasphemous tag line that is tossed about on the end of prayers as "in the Name of Jesus. Amen."  In the name of Jesus was a power of attorney statement. If I authorize my daughter to sell my house, then I have given her a power of attorney.  When she executes the deed for me it is just like I signed the deed myself.  She was authorized to act in my name.  But, a power of attorney for her to sell my car will not authorize her to sell my house.  A power of attorney for her to sell one of my cars does not authorize her to sell all of my cars.  A power of attorney is only valid for the specific actions I have authorized.  Jesus said He was not sent into the world to judge the world.  How can we imagine that we are authorized to judge the world when He Himself was not so authorized?

So, if things are not happening around you, if signs and wonders are not following you, perhaps it is time for you to sit down with Jesus and find out exactly what He has authorized you to do.  

And today is certainly a good day to tune in on your vision of what Father God is doing and on what Father God ia authorizing you to say.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

I Remember the Dance

I remember the school dance when I was about 11.  I was 2 to 3 years younger than most of my classmates and very awkward and self-conscious. There were two very intelligent girls in my class who were also quite pretty. Neither had ever paid much attention to me.  But, I surely noticed them. I gathered my courage and asked Judy to dance (she was the shorter one, not much taller than I).  She turned me down.  

Ouch!  I licked my wounds for a bit then tried asking Sandra.  I will never forget.  She said YES.  Wowee !  But, then we were on the dance floor.  The tune was "Put Your Head On My Shoulder." That would have been awkward for her since my head only came up to about her shoulder. We were surrounded by other people dancing.  I was stumbling around the floor stepping on her toes. Finally she drew me a little closer to herself and quietly said, "Relax, just feel the music and let yourself move with it."  Well, as a young boy in the arms of a beautiful girl I had long admired from a distance, it was not exactly the music I was feeling, but I did manage to relax a little and step on her less.  I will always remember Sandra as the most gracious young teen I ever met.  She was willing to put her social status at risk and dance with the clumsy young geek.  She was even willing to be kind and supportive to him. I lost track of her when we went to different high schools.  I pray that she has found great grace and fulfillment in her life.

Judy, on the other hand, went on to the same high school as I.  She was always smart and popular.  She ended up marrying a fellow who was popular and from a richer family.  I hope that he grew into a man who could be her equal.  But, she never could see that I was anything other than smart but socially graceless and insignificant.  Indeed, she seemed to feel about me the way I also felt about myself.

I remember as though it were this morning the day The Lord began to change the way I felt about myself.  It was my first year in college. I was just turning 17.  My classmates were 2 to 3 years older still.  But the gap from 17 to 19 is proportionally much smaller than the gap from 11 to 13 or 14.  One day I was in my room alone.  I had just taken a shower.  I was half dressed and combing my hair.  As I looked into the mirror, within me I heard the Spirit say, "Look at yourself.  You are not a bad looking guy.  In fact, some people might even say you are good looking."

Wow, where did those kind of thoughts come from ?  That was completely different from any way I had ever considered myself before.  Then more thoughts came.  Sure, other guys have more money than you do.  And they have cars.  But, you have brains.  You are actually smarter and can be more interesting than most of them.  You do not have to be an athlete for girls to like you.  You can compete with your own skills.  You can be thoughtful and kind.  And, do not forget, unlike a lot of them, you actually know God.

Now, I did not instantly emerge from my cocoon as a social butterfly taking flight with wings of beauty.  It took quite some time for me to learn a few social graces.  It was a slow process for the God of Grace to build in me the ability to see myself as not being a social failure.  But it was a process that had begun.

Do you remember Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana ?  How awkward He must have felt when His mother put Him on the spot.  He was very clear about telling her it was not His time yet.  But, even though He was not feeling ready, when she put herself at risk of embarrassment by telling the servants to do what He said to do, He reached into the depths of His own identity and came through for her.

Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”   When He said this, He was the only sent one.  So, He had to be believing in Himself.  Then Jesus told us that He is sending us in the same manner the Father sent Him.  That is to say, for us to see the works of God happening, we need to believe in ourselves as ones sent by Jesus.  Being sons of the living God is not what we do.  It is who we are.

Isn't it time for you to dry off after being washed with blood and immersed in Holy Spirit; time to comb your spiritual hair and look in the mirror and admit the truth.  You do look a bit like your handsome older brother Jesus.  You do have great riches from your Father.  You are filled to overflowing with love.  You have been transformed by the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in your life.  You are a gift to the people around you.

As Paul wrote to the folk in Colossae, The anointed one in YOU is the hope of glory.

Enjoy being Father's sent son this weekend.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Weapons of Warfare - OUR SOURCES

Weapons of Our Warfare

OUR SOURCES

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. II Cor. 10:3-4 

I was driving, alone, singing out loud.  "Jesus is the answer for the world today ...."  Holy Spirit had been listening.  He asked me, "Really ?  Is He the answer ?"  Then He pointed out that if that was real then I do not have any problem.  Because a problem with an answer is already solved.  Do you also have friends for whom it seems that no matter what you ask the answer is Jesus.  And when you ask how does that look you get a response that does not really tell you anything like, "You just have to believe."  How different and refreshing it is when someone asking us to pick up some peanut butter says, "Go to the Market of Choice, on Aisle 5, the side near the baked goods, near the bottom.  I want the Adams brand, smooth, natural kind." 

Because I do not know your community and your situation, I cannot be quite as specific for you as the directions to the peanut butter.  I want you to have some answers about your sources that are far more specific than the very general truth that GOD IS MY SOURCE. Of course, He is our source and ultimately our only source.  But then He is also the source of peanut butter.  But when we want peanut butter we still go to the market as part of our means of going to God.

In Ephesians Paul tells us Jesus has given to us a group of people for the specific purpose of equipping us.  The Army has its quartermasters; the Navy has its storekeepers; and we have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  If you do not have a personal relationship with at least one of each, it is probable that you are lacking some of the weapons and equipment God intends you to have available.  These gifts of God in our lives not only supply us with equipment.  They also demonstrate and instruct us in its uses.

Apostles impart to the Church the government of God which brings peace and good order.  They demonstrate to the saints how the powers of the Kingdom of God overcome all the powers of darkness.

Prophets impart to the Church vision for what Holy Spirit is doing and is about to do.  They demonstrate to the saints how we hear God with confidence.

Evangelists impart to the Church the love that Jesus has for the World.  They demonstrate how we can love those who seem to be unlovable.

Pastors impart to the Church the special love that Jesus has for each of the saints.  They demonstrate faithfulness in our covenant relationships.  

Teachers impart to the Church the security and stability arising from our knowledge of our identity as Sons of God.  They demonstrate to the saints how to receive revelation from the Scriptures.

In addition to their sophisticated supply and logistics systems, every military organization also has a 'boot camp'; that is a source of intense personal training which accomplishes 4 specific purposes.  The Army of the Kingdom of God is the only Army which conducts its boot camp in the middle of enemy territory on the battlefield.  The objectives of the bootcamp are these:  1) It breaks the recruit away from his dependence on the lifestyle he lived before he joined the army.  2)  It teaches the recruit how to be dependable for the other members of his unit and how to rely upon those other members to do their part in the mission.  3)  It introduces the recruit and trains him in the use of his own personal armament. 4) It introduces the recruit to the fundamental customs and traditions of the Army and teaches him how to conduct himself in relationship with his chain of command.  This basic training is common to all soldiers in the army.  It is typically followed by advanced individual training needed for the specific function a particular soldier will have.

These same functions of basic training and advanced individual training are intended to be accomplished in the context of the discipleship relationship in the Kingdom of God.  During this discipling process the individual saint should receive a wide assortment of both defensive armor and offensive weapons.  The saint should also receive both training and practical battlefield experience in the use of armor and weapons.  The saint who has been discipled should have great confidence that he will remain standing and effective even at the end of the most evil of days.

If we do not have relationships with apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers; if we have not been and are not continuing to be discipled; we should not be surprised when we end up in the midst of battles for which we have not been prepared.

His, thus Yours,
Stuart

Weapons of Our Warfare -- IMPARTATION

Weapons of Our Warfare

IMPARTATION

I was sitting in a restaurant with a group of people having lunch.  A young woman came to join the group. She sat beside me. So, to make her feel included I turned to her and said, "Hi, How are you today?"

She turned out to be one of those strange people who answered a social question honestly.  She told me that she was starting to have a panic attack.  My prior experience with a panic attack ended up with my spending 2 hours in a hospital emergency room.  I did not want to go there.  Real panic attacks are fascinating.  If you try to reassure the victim that everything is ok,  the victim's mind translates that to mean that there really is something to panic about, otherwise why would you be reassuring and comforting to him/her.  So, what should I do?  Beside me a motherly type started the reassuring words that were like throwing gasoline on a fire.  I was watching the victim's eyes dilate.  Her breathing was accelerating and becoming a bit ragged.  I was turning to Holy Spirit for wisdom and help.

I turned to the young woman.  I looked into her eyes. I spoke. "My Peace I give to you.  Receive Peace."

Immediately, her eyes began to stop dilating and return to normal.  Immediately her breathing slowed and became regular.  She quickly entered into the group as the lovely, gently humorous, young woman that all in the group loved and enjoyed.

What happened?  When  I spoke an impartation of peace took place.  It was not teaching, not comforting, not instructing or reminding.  There was in that moment a pouring out from my spirit into her spirit an actual peace which Holy Spirit had previously imparted to me.  

An impartation is the act of transferring a particular spiritual grace from the spirit of a person who has the grace and is acting as an agent of God into the spirit of a person who needs or desires the grace.  All such graces are gifts from God.  As such gifts they are permanent and become graces resident within the recipient subject to later being imparted to others.  There are many such graces.  For example, there are graces that correspond to each of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5.  I cannot conceive that anyone other than God could possibly list all such graces.

Note a few weapon use guidelines:

1.  You cannot impart what you do not have.  

2.  You may, however, receive a grace from Holy Spirit and virtually immediately impart the same grace to someone else.

3.  Like all weapons, you are intended to only utilize impartation when instructed to do so by Holy Spirit.

4.  The intended recipient of the grace is free to refuse to accept the proffered grace.

5.  Just because a person has received a grace from God will not necessarily mean that he/she will consistently walk in that grace.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart