The Pain Of The Hallway Experience

 There is an interesting phenomena in the Christian experience that happens when the Lord moves you from one ministry to another. If we consider the ministries like rooms, the transition from one to another requires a hallway. It’s when you are in the hallway that you aren’t really attached to anything but the Lord. You aren’t part of what you left but you are also not yet really part of what the Lord is moving you into. It can be a very disorienting experience even for the veterans of such experiences.

The problem arises because of our tendency to take on as our identity the thing that we do. If we are asked to describe who we are we usually start off with what we do : I’m a pastor, doctor, electrician and so on. We may also describe ourselves relationally ; I am a father of two, a son, a grandfather, a husband. But these do not say who we are.

Identity is very important and when we are in a hallway experience we often have time to consider “who am I”. The enemy wants to define us by our sins and mistakes. People want to define us by what we do. Our family wants to define us by our relationship. But who do we say we are? More importantly, who does Father say we are?

Our Father also defines us according to relationship but it is different with him. He calls us his son or his daughter but this has more of an impact on us than our earthly father and mother. To be his children we had to be transformed to be like him. We have been transformed and we are being transformed. So my identity is both relational (I am a child of God) and behavioral (I am kind, I am loving, I am compassionate and so on). Because I am a child of God, what is important to him is important to me, and what he does is also my desire to do.

The hallway experience is an opportunity to be stripped of anything that has claimed itself as our identity and for us to be renewed in our core identity as a child of God. It sounds like a pleasant experience in theory but the reality can feel very different. It really depends on the circumstances of the change we are experiencing. If you are thankful for where you were but knew it was time to go, then you enter the hallway with great expectation so that the time of renewal is filled with excitement. But if what we are leaving behind is something we don’t want to leave behind but we are doing so only because of obedience to Father, then the period of renewal is filled with great mystery and we may tend to cling to the “doing” of our identity.

Regardless of why we are in the hallway, the great benefit of being there is the renewal of our relational identity with Father. It is in these moments that we renew our attitude that what we do does not matter compared to who we are, and the reality in Christ being that who we are defines what we do. We can be who we are despite how the world defines us by what we do in life. I can be the Prime Minister of Canada and still live as a child of God. I can be a stock boy and find great contentment because I am doing that thing as a child of God. As a son, I am renewed in my contentment so that if he needs me to sit for a while I can sit with joy. Being great or little in the eyes of people has no value to us but pleasing Father does.

C. S. Lewis wrote about the purpose of pain in the Kingdom and the hallway can be a painful moment, but it is amazing what he births out of that pain. Sometimes, the longer we are in something the longer it takes us to be renewed in the transitional hallway. He strips us down so that we are clothed only in him and when we are, we are ready for the next room. It is simple, but not always easy.

Moving Through Change Without Bitterness

 The other day I was spending time with the prophet Ezekiel. He was a priest who had been exiled from Jerusalem during the first deportation of Judah. The great siege and destruction of Jerusalem was yet to come. Ezekiel was now without purpose and a job, confused with everyone else in exile. But Yahweh needed prophets for his people in Babylon and he had set Ezekiel aside for this purpose.

We always focus on the great vision of Ezekiel and for good reason. Each prophet brought a different revelation of Yahweh and putting them together gives us a fuller understanding of Yahweh. But this is not a path Ezekiel would have chosen for himself.

People today chase after the office of the prophet because it is different from the Old Testament Prophet. Prophets today are part of the five-fold, the trainers in the Body of Christ. Back in the day before the Holy Spirit was given to all believers, the prophet was the voice of Yahweh, bringing his word and will for that day. This did not give the prophet favour with the leadership or the people because the prophet often had a word of correction to bring, and no one likes correction.

Ezekiel would have known Jeremiah or known of him, so he knew of the bad things that were done to this dear prophet in Jerusalem. And Ezekiel also knew that this was the norm for the prophets of Yahweh. When chosen, that person lost his old life and comfort and now stepped into the privilege of intimacy with Yahweh and a very punishing life of service. So it should not surprise us that after receiving his anointing and commission, when the wind picked him up to carry him to the deportees, we read this:

“Then the wind picked me up and took me away. With the Lord’s power pressing down against me I went away, bitter and deeply angry, and I came to the exiles who lived beside the Chebar River at Tel-abib. I stayed there among them for seven desolate days.”  Ezekiel 3:14-15

So the result of this vision and encounter, of the call and commission : “I went away, bitter and deeply angry.” Ezekiel knew what this was going to look like. Remember, he wasn’t asked if he was willing, he was simply told to go. Too often we put all the emphasis on the benefits of our relationship and so we are unprepared for the cost. There is always a cost.

Several times in my life the Lord called me to something that caused my world to shift. I knew I would have to say good-bye to what I knew and what I was comfortable with, to step into the obedience of Father’s purpose for me. There was great cost. But there was also great benefit, and the benefit far outweighed the cost. But there was a cost.

I could compare it to having a baby. There is great cost to the mom. Her life will never be the same again. There will never be another moment in her life when she won’t be a mom. There is pain in the birth. There is pain in the difficult nights, giving up plans for a sick child, and the tons of work involved in raising a child. But the benefits of having that little person pouring out their love into your life far outweighs any cost.

If we forget his benefits we run the risk of having bitterness and deep anger filling our hearts and clouding our perspective. Change is never easy. Many of us struggle with change. But change is also filled with exciting possibilities. The thing that is important to anchor yourself to is the truth that our Father never changes. Even in the chaos of the change that he is bringing about he is our anchor. We must remind ourselves of his benefits. We need to review our many testimonies of his goodness. We must declare our trust in the darkness. We must hold on to him because he is the only one who makes sense of life and provides the strength we need.

We are given the honest reactions of prophets, psalmist, servants and kings so that we can see that these are normal reactions to unusual times. But we are also given the example of how they confessed these things to the Lord and then confessed their trust in him. This is given so we know that this is how we get through life-shifting changes without bitterness and deep anger taking route.

We Are The Change Our Society Longs To See

We are pretty naive if we think the ills of our society will be fixed with marches in the street and op-eds in the newspapers or with FaceBook posts. Much of what we are seeing has been underneath the skin of our society since it's beginning. In the beginning it ruled our society but then disappeared beneath the surface to pop up every now and then when a camera happens to catch it. 

This is what happens when we try to control people's behaviour with laws. Wrong behaviour might be curtailed when people are watching but it does nothing about wrong thinking. Laws do not change the hearts of people. A mayor and police chief may be very good people with good hearts and best intentions but they cannot control the thinking of the people under them. The police chief is not there with that one patrol officer who is harbouring fear and hatred toward a certain ethnic group. That poor police officer may not even be aware of how society has shaped his thinking.

What we, the Church, must ensure is that we are doing the job of creating the culture of God's Kingdom among his people. We must help people understand the poison of wrong thinking that is systemic in our society and instead embrace a passionate relationship with the King. It is in this relationship that hearts and minds are transformed but we must understand the change this brings.

When we speak of the "righteous" it is not the "holier than thou" thinking but the "doing what is right according to my Father's heart" thinking. I choose to align myself to my Father and do what I have seen him do and say what I have heard him say. I can do this because my birth in the Spirit has given me the capacity to do this. Every citizen of the Kingdom has this capacity.

One of the key elements of the Kingdom is honour. When we look at Israel's laws we can see that they were based on honouring Yahweh and honouring other people. There was a huge emphasis on honouring those who were in weak positions. It was a law that created an atmosphere of prosperity. In a place where I watch your back and you watch mine there is a desire to see each other people succeed. But as I already stated laws cannot change the hearts of people. 

That's the beauty of the Kingdom; Jesus came to make it possible for the Law to become part of our DNA.  In loving him it makes it possible for his life to be manifested in us so that we do naturally what the law tried to force people to do. The reason we struggle is not because of the power of anything over us (that power was broken) but instead because of habit. Old habits can take a while to change. Spirit God has been given to us to train is in the new habits of the Kingdom. So this is to say that the Church should be an example to our society of what it looks like to be a people who honour each other.

Honour is not based on worth but on relationship. Because you are the object of my Father's love I value you. I find it much easier to honour the people I consider valuable. This is the Kingdom of God, where we consider others more important than ourselves, where we consider the needs of others along with our own, where we have each other's back, long for each other's success and celebrate the victory of others.

It is true that this ideal is not where we currently function in the Church but we can be because we have the capacity through Jesus, our King. Our allegiance is to our King, and his desires. We do not get to re-shape his Kingdom according to our opinions. We are here by invitation, because Jesus paid the price for our entry and even gave us our best friend, Spirit-God, to train and mature us in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is demonstrable. The Kingdom of God is powerful. The Kingdom of God is here, seen through us and we carry this Kingdom wherever we go. This Kingdom cannot be forced on anyone but is available by invitation. We get to share this invitation while demonstrating the benefits of friendship with the King. It is why we are still here.

We are here to influence society but we cannot influence if we are no different. But we have the capacity and capability to be different because of Jesus in us. We have been re-created to be different. We have the answers our society needs. Peter said it best in 1 Peter 2:17 "Honour everyone". That is our King's heart desire because it comes from the Royal Law "You must love and value your neighbourhood as you love and value yourself."

Today, be what you were created to be. Be the change our society longs to see.      

George Floyd Knew The Solution

Hate and prejudice are ugly and have been a part of humanity since Adam and Eve were removed from the garden. It is an ugly side of human nature. No societal outrage, no laws, no Goodwill can change the heart of a person.

That is truly the sad part about the death of George Floyd, my brother in the Kingdom of God. We can accept a death when it has a purpose, when there is some greater good involved, but when it is pointless and preventable we are left angry. This was a wasted death like so many before it. There is no higher purpose here. There is no great change about to happen.

There are marches, protests, speeches, even riots but nothing will change. How many times have we seen this? If there had ever been an opportunity to see things shift it was when evil showed up and killed all those kids at that school in the US a number of years ago. But if society is not going to make the change after such a heart wrenching and horrifying scene, why would it shift over yet another death of a black man?

Are we shocked? We shouldn't be, not if we have been paying attention. Are we horrified? I hope so. The death of any innocent person should be horrifying to us but even more so when it is another innocent man taken from the Black community. They have faced too much already.

Yesterday I expressed my heart felt sorrow to the black members of my church family. They are my family by birth in the Spirit and I mourn with them. I sit in the public square with them and I bitterly weep because my heart is broken. But I can't feel what they feel. I can't know what they know because I have not faced what they face.

I can walk through my neighbourhood without being looked on with suspicion. I don't have people crossing the street to avoid me from fear. I don't have store security following me around the stores I shop in. I am not randomly stopped and questioned by the police just because I am alive. I don't have to educate my sons on what to do when they are stopped by the police. I don't have to watch my kids leave my house and have that nagging thought in the back of my head, will I ever see them again.

Saying that "I am not prejudice" is not making me part of the solution. In fact., it is saying that this has nothing to do with me. I am a product of my society and so are you. We have been taught prejudices even if we are not willing to admit it or aware of it. Instead I need to decide to become aware of how I see the world and why. All is not hopeless and there is a better way.

Anger and vengeance is often the result of a feeling of hopelessness and lack of power to be able to change anything. But George Floyd was not powerless and he knew the solution and from what I understand, he was working with the right people to see change brought to his beloved community. There are many more people out there just like him who are working the solution for their neighbourhood.

The solution is not found in laws, police, education, food banks and make work projects. These things can help but they are not the solution. The only thing that can change the heart of humanity, transform the minds of people is reconciliation with the One who designed us and created us with a great capacity to love. 

Certainly love is the solution but humanity is broken. We have all kinds of books, teachings, wise sayings, seminars and great schools of thought but we have a problem with application. The reason is because we need a love that we are not capable of generating in our brokenness. We need a love that manifests in forgiveness, redemption, mercy, grace, compassion; a love that applies all these even in the face of hate.

Jesus gave his life for the sake of the redemption of humanity because only such a sacrifice could provide the reconciliation and transformation that was needed. The humanity our Father created is broken and almost unrecognizable from his design. George Floyd knew this powerful transforming love and he desired to see his community transformed by it as well. But then the always destroying hatred and prejudice reared its ugly head in the form of the authority that is meant to serve and protect. That authority, twisted by hate, snuffed out a bearer of hope in a very dark world.

The Kingdom that George and I belong to is a Kingdom of honour and respect. Because of the great foundation of love, each life is valued and cherished, be it friend or foe. We belong to a Kingdom that holds out hope for every heart knowing that nothing is impossible for our Father. We belong to a Kingdom that, out of honour, loves our enemies and prays for those who persecute us. We belong to the Kingdom that tells us to do to others what we want to see them do to us (be the change you want to see). We belong to any awesome Kingdom that is governed by an awesome King, who remains the hope of this world; the only hope. 

Transformation is possible.                 

Does Jesus Make A Difference

Are we any better as a person with Jesus than we are without him? Christianity is not about knowledge; it is about relationship. Knowledge about Jesus is important but it amounts to nothing without relationship. It is the relationship that defines everything.

This is not a relationship like you have with a friend. Jesus said that he wants to be one with us. As he is one with the Father he longs to be one with us. He wants to be so intimate with us that he has chosen to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit. That is the most intimate relationship in our life. It makes intimacy possible but not if we don't understand, don't desire or decide to do our own thing.

This intimacy that Jesus desires does not leave us the same. It changes us so that we become like him; in obedience, in power, in compassion. We cannot be in Jesus and Jesus in us and remain the same. And therein lies the problem.

Too many of us are trying to conform ourselves on the outside with no real change on the inside. Before there can be any conformity of behaviour there has to be an internal transformation provoked by the intimate relationship we have with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It is not something we can fake.

I always consider the outward expression of Jesus' love to be sign posts in our lives that we are on the right track. If they aren't there it means something is wrong with the relationship. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the Christian we discover the uniqueness of Yahweh's heart: Look at this from Leviticus of all places:

"If one of your fellow Israelites faces financial difficulty and is in a shaky situation with you, you must assist them as you would an immigrant or foreign guest so that they can survive among you. Do not take interest from them, or any kind of profit from interest, but fear your God so that your fellow Israelite can survive among you. Do not lend a poor Israelite money with interest or lend food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you Canaan's land and to be your God." (Leviticus 25:35-38)

Compassion, generosity, kindness, concern, love are all great parts of our Yahweh's character. Jesus taught and demonstrated this to an even greater depth. Just consider this simple command to those who would call themselves disciples of Jesus:

"I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other." (John 13:34-35)

That sets the bar pretty high because we all know how Jesus loved us. Don't downplay this. Study and understand what Jesus commanded us and the example he set by loving us to the depth he went. This makes it a legitimate question to ask ourselves: Are we any better as a person with Jesus than we are without him? Do we know what it is to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord with that same love? Do we know how to reach out and heal the broken people of this world with the same compassion and power?

If you can live the same way with Jesus as you did without him there is a problem with the relationship. You should look into that today.

God's Power For Salvation

I cannot fathom how anyone can say they are a Christian and then dismiss the Bible. We have such incredible deceptive teaching permeating the Body and we scratch our heads wondering how people can believe the lies. They can believe it because they have thrown away the Bible or shot holes all through it so there is no longer a solid place to stand. And it is catching on like wild fire because it allows us to create our own beliefs and our own god who will allow us to do whatever we think is best. We have learned nothing from the history of Israel.

I for one stand on the Word of God and I desire nothing else. Call me a fool. Call me an idiot. Call me whatever you like but I will not depart from it nor will I be ashamed of it. I stand with Paul who stated:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

The gospel is power. My opinions and cute stories are not going to save you but the power of the truth of the gospel will. We can try all we want to persuade people but we cannot save them. I cannot save anyone in my name even if I had The Paul Van Buren International Ministries. The only thing that will save is the Gospel of Jesus Christ To Save The World Empowered By The Spirit ministries.

Don't belittle the Word. Don't be afraid to share verses. Don't think that there is no power to change hearts and minds. It is even more powerful when you live the Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to do it through you. That's what it is going to take now to reach people in this age. The whole world and part of the Church is dismissing the Word, discounting it, creating their own separate beliefs. They no longer believe in the worth of the gospel and yet Paul wrote:

For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. (v.17)

But I guess that is the real heart of the matter, isn't it: People do not want to know the righteousness of God. They don't want to know there is a right and a wrong because they would have to do something about it. It is better to remain in ignorance or just dismiss the truth and be able to do what you want. The only problem with this thinking is that opinions do not change the truth of Yahweh; it doesn't change the Words of Jesus; it's not going to save you from the fires of hell.

We cannot bring people to Jesus according to our opinions because if we do we are having them build their house of faith on sinking sand. Salvation comes through the truth of the gospel. Do we know that truth? Is our life built on that truth? Are we capable of sharing that truth with others without our opinions getting in the way? Are we capable of sharing the gospel without commentary so that the full power of it touches the hearts of those who need it? It is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes.

The Purpose Of Life

For far too many of us Christians, there isn't much difference between who we were before we met Jesus and who we are since meeting Jesus. There is something wrong with this picture because one of the signs of salvation is a changed life. Sure, we go to church now. We are learning to sing worship songs. We may have even gotten involved with a prayer meeting or a Bible Study but our perspective and attitude are still the same. We just don't see any difference.

What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of following Jesus? What makes the difference?

The difference happens when it is a sincere response to Jesus' great act of love and grace. It is a sincere response to the Father calling us. It is a sincere response to the Holy Spirit's conviction of our sin. It is a heart response because of Jesus. It is also the realization and acceptance in that moment that things have to change, that we have to change, and it is a surrender to the Spirit to allow that change to happen.

What I dislike is when we make it out to be about what we can do. We turn it into a self-help program where we try to change ourselves. The only place that gets us is the disappointment of failed conformity. Jesus does not want us to conform but to allow him to transform us into his character. He does that through conviction, circumstances, people, the Bible, a changed perspective. It doesn't happen all at once but is more a series of practical life lessons that we progress through until we are called home. We never stop needing to grow.

The important thing to realize is what Jesus was talking about in John 6:27 as he explained the purpose of life:

Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him. 

Yes indeed, we have been given a new set of principles and a new perspective. Study to learn the principles of the Kingdom and allow the Spirit to change your perspective. Cooperate, seek it, ask for it, knock and you will see the changes. Don't be content where you are, desire more of the Spirit, but don't try to do it yourself. There is an incredible thing the Spirit is doing in you, a supernatural thing that you need to give him room to do. Your part is to seek it out, to pursue the things of the Kingdom, which are foreign in this world, and then trust. Trust even when it doesn't make sense.

Just don't stay where you are. Don't accept the non-change. Don't be content with the status quo. Jesus saved you for so much more than what we are settling for in this world. Hear his voice as he calls you to deeper things.

Hold On To Jesus' Truth

Hold on! That is the message I receive in my spirit this morning. Hold on to the faith. Hold on to the Word. Hold on to the Spirit. Hold on to Jesus Christ. There is a lot of forgery, mockery, and deception that is taking place and it is discouraging, but hold on. There is a lot of pressure to compromise, to give in, to conform to our society, but hold on. There is a lot of questioning, doubting, fear mongering in our own heart, but hold on.

Okay, but how do we hold on?

It is sad to encounter so many Christians who are redesigning their faith and beliefs according to the dictates of our society. Here I thought the Church was suppose to impact and influence society but in the truth of the world today it is the other way round. Youth and adults are claiming to be Christian while promoting teachings that fly in the face of the holiness and righteousness of Jesus. I am left scratching my head in sheer bewilderment how anyone can know the Word and make such assertions.

There are really two reasons why this is happening. The first is that we are not in the Word. The Bible is the source of everything we know about Father, Jesus and the Spirit. It is the reason it is under such incredible attack today, not that most Christians are even aware of this attack. But most Christians don't even open it let alone read, study or meditate on it. How can they apply the foundations of the Kingdom if they don't even know them?

So if Christians aren't in the Word, what is the source of knowledge for most of us? This blog and others like it, or short statuses, or society. The last is the scariest because Christians look to society for guidance but we are the ones who are suppose to be guiding society. The only source a Christian should be turning to is the Word of God and if they don't understand it they can seek the help of a mature Christian.

The second reason why we are encountering so many confused Christians is because they mistake their desires to be truth. Again this past week I have heard of at least three pastors who have decided to leave out sections of the Word because it conflicts with their new view on things; their new desires. God's Word did not change but their love for the Lord did, allowing their opinion to become greater than God's Word. Don't be shocked, we do it all the time.

We compromise on the Word when it comes into conflict with our desires. Yet the Word says that we have been crucified with Christ and no longer live but it is Jesus who lives in us. Amen! Sounds great until you realize it means the death of your opinion, your desires, and sets Jesus above all things. All things. We are too in love with this world to even begin to imagine how this impacts our lives. We want all the benefits without any of the cost.

It is not a simple thing. It gets messy when you hold on to faith and the roots it comes from. Jesus said he didn't come to bring peace but division. He said because of him families would be divided. Truth! But we are seeing compromise as parents' love for their children take greater priority over their love of Jesus. Because their children have made certain decisions parents are willing to throw out portions of the Bible. I know it is hard, these are your children, but they need salvation and that isn't going to happen as you try to make it easy on them by compromising. They need to see the truth and they need to see it in you, even if they don't like it.

It's going to get rough. It is going to get a lot harder. There are going to be some very discouraging days ahead. Hold on! Don't give up now, especially as the Day is approaching. It is like sitting down in a race with the finish line in sight. Yes, it is hard and will take all the effort you can muster but eternity is well worth it. Jesus' love is well worth it.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage each other - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

My friend, dwell in the Word and in the Spirit every day. Don't miss one day. Worship every day. Make Jesus your greatest priority. Let him be the source from which everything else flows. With what is approaching, you will need to make sure that you are as close and as dependent on him as you can get. No compromise. Hold on!

Why It Sometimes Goes Wrong

Life is fluid. Everything is constantly moving, changing, evolving because life involves a lot of people. Perhaps if you stood in isolation, dependent on no one else and having no interaction with anyone else, life might be predictable. However, your life involves a lot of different people who are independent in their decision making. Even you, with your many decisions in a day, cause life to be fluid. This is the reason we should never assume.

We are dependent on Yahweh, or at least, we are suppose to be. We are suppose to be in constant communication, checking his will and direction. He adjusts our actions according to the decisions of other people so that his will is always fulfilled. That means it is not one set of instructions and off we go. He goes with us for a reason, so adjustments can be made. This is why he desires obedience from his children, so we will listen constantly and obey in love and trust. We have an example of this with Joshua and the Israelite's.

They just had an awesome victory at Jericho. It was a bit odd but the purpose was to show them that Yahweh was giving them victory and it was not dependent on their army. He had given them exact, step by step directions. So now their sights were set on their next objective, the city of Ai. Joshua sent the spies and they came back with this report:

Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few. (Joshua 7:3)

Confident on the heels of their victory, they did not consult with Yahweh. They assumed. But life is fluid. None of them could possibly have known that the situation had changed. One of their own had disobeyed Yahweh's instructions in the first battle and because of his sin, Yahweh had removed himself from Israel. When they went up to attack Ai, a much softer target than Jericho, they were thoroughly defeated and people died. People died, not just because of Achan's sin but because the leadership had failed to consult Yahweh. If they had verified things with him they would have discovered the change in their situation.

We can't make assumptions with Yahweh. We must remain in the Spirit, being sensitive to his voice so when adjustments need to be made we will be in the know. If we do not understand and practice the presence of our Lord then we will have the mentality of a commander receiving instructions from the general, then going out without the general to carry it out. Then again, a general always has contact with his troops in the field for the purpose of adjustments as the situation changes.

Practicing the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than for our strength. We often get selfish in this relationship, thinking it is always about us. It is true that being aware of his presence is a great source of strength and confidence, but his presence is also for direction. You have never been left alone to do this on your own because on your own you are not capable. You are not capable of understanding all the changes in our fluid lives, but the Spirit is and he is here to direct us in our Father's will. So learn to listen and obey.

A Change Of Season

Last night we could feel the change of season all around us. Suddenly, with a change in the wind, the air felt cooler, fresher as the hot, humid air of summer was replaced by the approaching Fall. A new season is approaching.

There is also a changing of the air as a new season comes upon our family business. My oldest son has found a new job in preparation for his eventual move out of this province. It is a sad moment for me but a good one for my other children, forcing great opportunities upon them as they rise up to take on his responsibilities. New seasons bring adjustments which we may not want to make but we eventually do because we must.

It is also a change of season for me spiritually. Our walk with Jesus is always a progression and hopefully it is a progression forward. We learn new lessons, gain maturity and move on to the next. We face new challenges, gain new skills and move on to the next. We face small crisis, overcome and move on to the next. But with each victory comes new assurances, new strength and a new level of peace.

I have faced some things in the last few weeks which I was honest enough to face and they almost crushed me. But "almost" does not mean I was crushed. Almost means that the Lord strengthened me in my weakness so I could grow in the experience and become more of what he has called me to be. It is what he promised in his Word. It comes from not quitting, not running away, not hiding in a cave.

I have had a lot of cave experiences in my life, where I have run away out of fear just like Elijah. Just like him, it was fear from the empty threats of the enemy, threats to destroy and kill that drove me to hide. Just like him, God has met me in those caves and asked, "What are you doing here?" It is something I identify with, God asking me why I am in a place that he did not desire me to be in. "What are you doing here and not where your responsibilities would have you be?" The last time this happened I said it would never happen again.

This time I stood my ground. This time I was honest about my weakness. This time I listened to the Lord's examination. I am so thankful for his grace which allowed me to learn from my failures and to mature in my trust. Elijah was encouraged by God in that cave in which he hid, but even seeing the glory of God did not bring him out of his fears. He chose to stay in that same condition even though God met him in that dark place in his life. I praise the Lord he has taught me how to respond to him in times such as these; with absolute trust, adoration and determination.

It is amazing the level of peace that comes when we decide to stand in faith, declaring our trust in Jesus. His peace is always there, never removed, never absent but when we make that decision to abide by faith, there is a deeper revelation and experience of it. The day after the seasons changed there remain hundreds of unanswered questions but there is a peace that says "I know who holds the answers".

As I wrote yesterday, it is a day at a time attitude. He gives me enough grace, strength, wisdom and resources for today. I don't need to be concerned about tomorrow because whatever it holds for me, I know he will provide for it. I am a strong believer that before I was born God knew every day of my life. He knew the decisions I would make. He knew the things I would face. He knew the decision others would make that would impact me. Nothing surprises him. And the beauty of it is that he has laid down his plans for me according to his knowledge. What an awesome God who calls us his children. May the name of Jesus be forever lifted up. No more caves for me.

You Can't Do It Alone

All sin can be traced back to a selfish heart. Every offence against someone is because someone considered themselves more important. Everything we have ever done against God happened because we considered what we wanted more important than what God wanted. We are a people who say we want to love God but we don't know how to let go of ourselves to do it.

We can look at all the socio economic reasons why we behave the way we do but at the end of the day it always comes down to the self-centeredness of the heart. Love is the opposite of selfishness. Perhaps not the thing that passes as love these days but the love that God describes:

Love is kind and patient,
never jealous, boastful,
    proud, or  rude.
Love isn’t selfish
    or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep a record
    of wrongs that others do.
6 Love rejoices in the truth,
    but not in evil.
7 Love is always supportive,
loyal, hopeful,
    and trusting.
8 Love never fails!   (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, CEV)

Use whatever definition you want but this is the one that counts. This is the one that made a God who says he loves us, take action to show that love. This is the love that Jesus told us to have for God and for each other. A love that automatically puts the concerns of the other person ahead of our own and where sacrifice is a normal way of life. Imagine what the world would look like if this love permeated the hearts of everyone.

But it doesn't.

We were all born with a sinful nature that puts self ahead of everything and everyone else. As much as we try in ourselves to keep this love on the surface, what lay in the heart always rises up and dominates. This is why Jesus said the heart is key. It is the heart that will always dictate our actions, as hard as we try to work against it, because we know in ourselves what we want to be but we can't get there. Paul described the struggle of a religious heart without Christ:

I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. (Romans 7:18-20, CEV)

We must recognize that this all important love can only be produced in us supernaturally. If at any moment you think that you can do it without Jesus, you have stepped outside of the design of our Father and have taken your destiny into your own hands. It is an act of rebellion.

There is no good thing in us, everything having been tainted by that sin nature with which we were born. If we really want to live like Jesus and do what he did, there has to be a complete abandonment of everything and a bear hug on Jesus. It is only in the total surrender that we are able to be possessed and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Outside of that we are just playing games. Paul understood his condition and the only one who could save him:

With my whole heart I agree with the Law of God. But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me. (Romans 7:22-25, CEV)

If you really want to be a follower of Jesus; if you really want to do what he did; if you really want to have everything he promised; you have to give up everything else. You have to turn your back on everything you knew and surrender to the Father's embrace. What you were incapable to do he is capable to do through you. There is no other way. You have to decide between the world and the Kingdom; yourself and Jesus. By nature we are a sinful and self-centered people. By God's nature we are like Jesus. I end with this:

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. (Romans 8:5, CEV)

Jesus Is Our Life

Imagine if I told you "Man is something I do but it doesn't run my life"? You would probably think I am nuts. "Man" isn't what I do, it is what I am. Everything I do is shaped by the fact that I am a man. I can't stop being a man and decide to be an elephant. I can't set it aside and just be a man during certain days of the week or times of the day. I eat, drink, sleep, work, and play as a man. It is the same with Christianity.

Christianity isn't something we do, it is what we are. Everything we do is shaped by the fact that we are a Christian. We can't stop being a Christian and decide to be something else for a while. We can't set it aside and just be a Christian during certain days of the week or times of the day. We eat, drink, sleep, work, and play as a Christian. It is not an external religion that tries to impact the soul. It is an inner "being" that impacts our environment.

I will keep stressing this until the day I die, we are a new creation, different than what we were before, changed forever. It is like a chemical change, when molecules are all changed around to form something new. We died and were born again as something completely different, capable of doing things that we could not do before and not dependant on the things that were destroying us. Where once we could not avoid the distractions and sins of this world, now we can.

Jesus is not part of our life. He is not someone who hangs around on occasion who we spend time with. He didn't set things in motion and then back off. Jesus is our life:

When Christ, who is your life, appears,then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)

I don't know if that is sinking in. He is not part of our life; he is our life. I can no more separate him from me than I can separate being a man from me. Everything I think, my perspective, my actions, my reactions all come through Jesus because the life I live I live in Jesus. I gave up my independent life when I died and was raised in Jesus. There was a chemical change that changed everything in me. I am not what once I was, and either are you.

This means we have to stop living according to the pattern of this world and live by the direction of the Holy Spirit. We must allow Jesus to impact every part of us. The Bible is not a set of rules to be followed; it is a bunch of road markers to let us know if we are on the right track. The Word of God is not some old document or history book; it is written on our hearts that we would live it. If we do not see in ourselves what we read in the Word it means that the relationship is not right and we need to deal with it. It is not God working outwards in but inwards out because Jesus is our life.

If Christianity remains a thing of conformity to you then you do not know Jesus. If it is a prudish thing that seems out-dated then you do not know Jesus. If Jesus is something you think about on occasion and a reason to go to church then you do not know Jesus. To know him is to be "chemically" changed forever, having died to what once you were and are now alive in him. If Jesus is not your life now then you will have no eternal life on his appearing.

Don't Just Shower

Love changes people. Just look at teenage guys who fall in love. Suddenly they are taking showers every day, checking their hair, making sure they have clean clothes. And that's just if they are going to be chatting with the girl. A true sign of love is when he starts using mouth wash and actually brushing his teeth a few times a day. Women bring out the best in men.

It is said that God's love changes us and this is true but we can't stop at that. His love opens the door to real change as his power changes us. It goes beyond us "showering" and "brushing our teeth". The change is not just our love response to God. The change comes by his power as Creator and Lord over all things. It is more than an emotional response; there is actual real spiritual change that makes us a new creation.

This is important for us to picture in ourselves because too often we treat Christianity like a change of clothes. This is the wrong change because the core of our being doesn't change, just our appearance. But something really significant has happened to us since we accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord. We have been altered, changed, re-made:

... having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12)

We died.

Death changes a person. We died so what we were no longer exists. Death is not a changing of clothes. Death is an entirely different state of being. So we died, changing forever who we are but we did not stay dead. According to our faith in the power of God to make us new, we were raised with Jesus. We were transformed by the power of God into a new creation, one that is sustained by living in Jesus.

Such a new life in our Holy God does not allow for what we once were to come visiting any more. When we try on those old clothes we find they no longer fit, they are no longer comfortable, they even stink. We have been given new clothes that fit our new state of being. This is not a cosmetic change. It is not a change we have made. It is not something we have decided to do in reaction to Jesus' love. This is something that was done for us, to us, by the power of God.

I am overstating this point because I read people's blogs stating they love God with their entire being but they fill their blog with vile and vulgar things. The two don't add up. I hear people stating they are followers of Jesus but they fill their life with fear, anxiety and stress. I hear a lot of words but all I see is people taking "showers". There is no real change. There is no faith in the power of God. There are no new creation, only dressed up pretenders. I am not saying they are pretending on purpose, only that people do not know the difference between conformity and transformation.

We need to discover the real relationship we have been called to in Jesus. We need to allow ourselves to die. Die to what we think is important to us. Die to our perspective, values and purpose. We have to allow ourselves to be buried with Jesus so that the power of God can raise us to new life. Some people are fasting over the next few weeks and for many the purpose is to reconnect to that death, to make sure we are not wearing the wrong garments, to insure that nothing else has taken possession of us. Take a look at your life, your relationship with Jesus and ask yourself if you have experienced death and resurrection by the power of God. Are you just taking "showers" or are you a new creation?

Changing Priorities For The New Year

Two days away from a new year. How are your resolutions shaping up? We all know that nothing magical happens between the 31st and the 1st but there is a sense of change, or at least the potential for change. There is not a filtering system where everything gets left behind in the old year so we can start over in the new but there are some decisions we can make to be a different person in the new year.

You aren't going to be shocked that I would suggest that it has to start with Jesus. Well, not so much Jesus as it is our attitude in our relationship with Jesus. Everything hinges on that relationship. It is Jesus who changes us so any real change we want to see happen is only going to take place when we welcome those changes.

Personally I know that I have to make other people my greater focus, but that can only happen if I am walking even closer with Jesus. I can clear my agenda to make more time for people. I can change my daily routine to give others greater priority. I can change my financial target so I am investing in people. I can do all this but it won't last if Jesus' love is not my motivation and the only way this becomes my motivation is if it is the foundation of my life. I know for a fact that the greatest thing in my life, in the world, in the universe is the Father's love. But knowing it and allowing that to shape me are two different things.

I will share with you my prayers and desires for myself for this new year:

1. Greater intimacy with Jesus and acting upon that intimacy, allowing it to shape my life so the following can happen
2. Greater intimacy with my wife and acting upon that intimacy
3. Greater intimacy with my family and acting upon that intimacy
4. Greater intimacy with friends and acting upon that intimacy
5. Greater intimacy with strangers and acting upon that intimacy

What I mean by "acting upon that intimacy" is to go beyond words, allowing it to shape the direction of my days, my agenda, purpose and actions. The love of Jesus must be seen in me through my relationship with other people. If all love does is cause me to sing and write I do not know as I aught to know because the love of Jesus compels us to take action. If it doesn't, we do not have the intimate relationship we need to have with Jesus.

My plan of action is simple but will take discipline :

1. Change my agenda to have more time with Jesus, the Word, prayer and worship.
2. Change my attitude so I am back to praying without ceasing, acting upon the presence of God, talking to and remaining open to Jesus throughout my day.
3. Change my agenda to have more time with people. If I want to love like Jesus then I have to have the same priority for people as Jesus did. People are not an interruption to my agenda, they are the purpose for it.

Sounds simple but if you knew what my days look like and the kind of rut I have fallen into you will know exactly what kind of challenge this is for me. But I have no choice. Our days here are growing shorter and we need to get our priorities in order. It is not about what we get from Jesus because we have already received everything. Our focus must be others, loving in Jesus' name. There are so many who are perishing and they have no idea what destruction they are heading toward. I want to be the tool Jesus uses to save them from that destruction. I must make myself more available for him to use.

So, it begins with Jesus. I hope that is where your plans for change begin as well. It's not bad if you have decided you want to exercise more, eat better, read more or whatever improvements you want to see in yourself but I encourage you to consider the eternal matters first. We have been left here for a purpose and that purpose should shape everything in this new year. May the Lord guide you and bless you in your thoughts for 2013.

Paying Attention To The "If's"

There are some who think that because they said a magical prayer they are free to go on living however they want. To them Jesus is some kind of insurance package. They accepted him as Saviour but never as Lord. They take the deal of eternity but do whatever they want here. But it doesn't work that way. Jesus is far from an insurance policy. He must be Saviour and Lord, which means our desire is to live as he lived, to be controlled by the Spirit, to live a life that brings him glory.

A couple of days ago I was writing about how we are holy in God's sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Regardless of how you feel, you are covered by God's grace. That is a hard thing for us to accept because we want to beat ourselves up for our failures but God has this attitude where he picks us up, dusts us off and tells us to get on with it. But there is an "if" to this thing that Jesus does for us:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:22-23)

You see that, right? IF you continue in your faith. Can you imagine running a 12 hour marathon and giving up with a mile to go? All that training; all that time; all that effort, wasted. I think anyone who has trained that long and hard is going to make every effort to complete the race. Many Christians don't.

They don't because they were not established and firm. They called themselves Christian, went through all the motions but they set aside the Word because they didn't have time; they worshiped only at church; they never involved Jesus in anything of any importance in their life. So when the winds of trial and destruction hit, they had no root and were blown away.

Or, because they did not maintain a great relationship with Jesus, neglecting him and leaving him aside, over time their faith was worn away.I little here, a little there. They started changing their mind on things. Sin began to take control and cloud their mind until they were lost again in the depravity of sin. We think it can't happen, but when we do not stay connected to the vine, failing to remain established and firm, it is amazing how quickly we change.

This is very important in this age we are living. Things are changing quickly. Values are evaporating before our eyes. What was once considered sin is not acceptable and what once was acceptable is sin. What once was wrong in this world is right and what was right is wrong. In four short years the public opinion of Americans has flip flopped on homosexuality. Where the majority of people saw this as wrong, today the majority now sees it as right. Just one small example of hundreds of values that are changing.

If you are not established and firm in your faith, standing on the Word of God, possessed and controlled by the Spirit, madly in love with Jesus with a desire to obey, then you will be swept away in the changing tide. You will be sidelined from your faith and will soon be lost, failing to finish the race. We cannot afford to neglect our relationship with Jesus in these darkening days. We need to get as close as we can, increasing our faith, not decreasing. We have to be sure of where we stand and refuse to move as long as we are standing on the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Many will claim to follow him while doing what they want. Many will try to use the Word to win the case for their selfishness. Many will try to convince others that sin is no longer sin to excuse their own attitude. They will approve of other people's sin so they can be free to sin as well. They want both eternal salvation and to live a selfish existence here, but it doesn't work that way. We need to pay attention to the "if's" in the Word of God.

Misplaced Admiration

There is no denying that the Christian perspective is different. To have the mind of Christ and be controlled by the Spirit results in us seeing things differently from how we once saw them. At one time we placed value on people according to what they could do for us. It's a harsh reality but true. Maybe we didn't even realize it but we would always spend time with the people from whom we got the most. As Christians we spend time with the people to whom we give the most. Jesus has turned us from takers into givers; from haters into lovers.

The people for whom we have the most admiration are no longer those who contribute the most to our lives but those in who we see Jesus. We admire the givers, the lovers; they become our heroes even though they may not impact us directly:

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints. (Colossians 1:3-4)

This world will dull our spiritual senses if we allow it to, turning us back into the self-centered thinking we were raised in. But we are inspired when we see those who live like Jesus, always giving, never taking, but always open to receiving. We look and wish we could be like them, not always realizing we were designed to be this way. All of us were saved and given the opportunity to gain the character of Jesus.

It isn't that we wake up one day and decide that we are going to be like Jesus. It is a surrendering and a rejecting of what we know does not belong to that character. We give permission to the Spirit to control and teach us. It is a submission to the will of God, the character of Jesus. We can't change anything about ourselves but the Spirit can and does.

We know that our relationship is right with Jesus when we see our priorities and perspective changing. When we see people becoming more important to us and when we start spending time with people who we can contribute to instead of those from whom we can take, we know that Jesus is the major influence in our lives. That is the important thing to allow to happen; everything else has to become less and Jesus has to become more.

There are many things in this world that will look for your adoration and precious little deserves to have it. Sometimes we can think that it is well with our soul when actually darkness has crept in. Look to those things you admire, the things that make you laugh, the things that occupy your heart, mind and time, and much will be revealed to you concerning your relationship with Jesus. Surrender control of your heart and mind to the Spirit and things will change:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) 

It's All Or Nothing

You can't serve two masters. You can't be double-minded. You can't have a divided heart. It is either all or nothing.

There is nothing "normal" to being a follower of Jesus Christ. There is nothing about it that the world can accept and reconcile it's thinking toward the Church. Jesus was totally radical in everything he did which was contrary to the heart of man. Love your enemy? Pray for those who persecute you? Those who are last will be first and the first last? Those who try to hold on to their life will lose it but those who give it up will save it? Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him? If you are luke warm he will spit you out?

This is not the foundation of some new humanity make over. It is not some new world order. It is the Kingdom of God in the hearts of man. It is the visible outward sign of an incredible inward transformation. A transformation not achieved by good thoughts and good deeds but brought about by the transforming power of the blood of Jesus Christ applied to those who make the decision to give up their lives for Jesus.

I hope you heard that: Who give up their lives. Repeat: give up .

There are no half measures with Jesus. He said we are either with him or against him. To make a decision not to make a decision is to have made a decision against him.

There can be no mistaking what the Word of God clearly tells us. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot have the world and Jesus. We have to decide which master we will follow and obey. If you say to yourself, "I will serve no one. I serve myself and humanity", then you have chosen the world; you have chosen rebellion; you have chosen death. If you choose Jesus then you have chosen light, life, and love. You have chosen a new birth, a transformation, a radical change:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

It is a decision.

It has always been a decision.

We make the decision to accept Jesus' invitation to follow. We make the decision to step into his love which gives us the power to decide to put off our old self and to put on the new self. It is nothing we can do but it is a decision we make. A work of art cannot create itself. It is our Father who transforms us through the blood of Jesus but we have to allow the transformation. We have to make the decision. We have to deny ourself to take up the cross to follow Jesus.

We can try to serve two masters but we are only lying to ourselves because the Son of God has told us that we can't do it. We can try to have both Jesus and our desires but we will be total failures because Jesus told us that it can't be done. He told us plainly and simply, it is all of us or nothing. Either everything is surrendered or nothing is. Either he has all of our heart or none of it. There are no half measures. There are no moments of our day that belong only to us. Jesus cannot accept a portion of our life, he has to have the whole thing.

And when you truly know his love, you wouldn't want it any other way.

Live In The "more" Of Your Life

If there is a common theme that runs through my blogs it is : We are so much more than this! There is so much more to you than what is staring back at you from the mirror. You are more than your job, your school marks, your looks, your fashion, your family, your friends, your mistakes. You are more because of Jesus and because of the Holy Spirit in you. You are more and you need to start operating in the "more" to be an effective warrior for Jesus.

When you pray things happen. You may not feel any different; you may feel nothing at all. But being Jesus' warrior is not about feelings; it's about faith. It's a knowing. When I pray I know things are happening. When I pray I know the Spirit of God has gone into action. When I pray I know things are changing in people's lives. I don't feel it; I know it.

It's called faith and it is part of the "more" of our living. It is the faith that Jesus constantly spoke about and pondered if he would find any in the world on his return. It is the faith that takes Jesus at his word and doesn't allow anyone to water down our expectations of things happening when we pray. You don't have to work yourself up to it; it just is. We pray in the authority of Jesus. We believe in his authority. We live by faith in that same authority.

This is what it is to step out from the crowd and walk by faith. It is what it is to do works of service. Works of service go beyond the cup of cold water and delves into the supernatural. You won't feel supernatural. You will feel like you but when you pray things will begin to happen. Situations will change. Circumstances will change. Lives will change. You will change.

It is as we operate in the "more" that the Church is built up. It is not built up by our wonderful daycare programs and school lunch programs. It is built up as we allow the Spirit to change this world through us, as lives are mended, health restored, strength is lent, marriages repaired, the blind see and hearts are stirred in the "more" of our living. We are agents of change, power, hope, love, miracles; of "more".

Whatever circumstances and heartaches you find yourself in, there is more to your life. Whatever loneliness and depression wage ware against your mind and heart, there is more to your life. However this world has beaten and misshapened you, there is more to your life. Those things do not belong to you and are not part of you. You are so much higher than all those things, so much greater than the sum of them. You were intended for the attaining of the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Not a portion but the whole thing. You are a powerful agent of change because of the Jesus in you and it is time to throw aside anything that says different.

So get up my friend, step out, be what God has rebirthed you to be. You may not feel it but Jesus is moving through you. You may not feel it but the power of God is moving out from you and effecting change all around you. You may not feel it but your prayers cause the enemy to tremble in his place. Demons flee because of you, when you decide to live in the "more" of your life; when you live by the faith that has been given to you; when you are willing to be the supernatural creature that you are; when you are willing to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Live by faith my friend, not by sight!

We Need Jesus

We need a real shaking up!

When I say "we" I mean everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ and as such a member of the Body of Christ.

We need this shaking up because the world has so successfully seduced us that we aren't even aware of it. We are so entrenched in the patterns of this world that we can't bring ourselves to imagine the pattern, system, perspective and direction of Jesus Christ. Everything is from a "me" perspective and rarely a "them" or even an "us".

It's about what I think, how I feel, what I am experiencing, how it affects me, what it will cost me. The supposed American Dream is about my freedom, my wealth, my prosperity, my rights. That is so much part of our psyche, how could we possible understand Jesus when he tells us that everything is about God and others?

And because we can't understand this very simple fundamental truth of life in this place, we try to do what we can with what we have. We make rules, formulas, and methodology the focus and as long as we stick to these we are fine. We are aghast at how people in the Bible could fall for idols and yet we worship a dozen idols every day. Just ask yourself what stuff comes ahead of Jesus and others in your life? What can't you live without? What would fill you with fear if it was suddenly taken away?

Apostle Paul asked a very good question as he wrote to the Colossians concerning the authority of Jesus. He asked:

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? (Colossians 2:20-21)

I think that's the problem: Most of us haven't died with Christ. We haven't died to the basic principles of this world. We still allow it to have authority over us. We still follow its pattern of thinking. We still define things by what we see, hear, taste and touch. We may hold to some vague understanding of the theory of Jesus but the theory is seldom applied.

We talk about faith but we still allow fear to paralyse us. We allow worry to disturb us. We allow the opinions of others to shape us. We still panic and do our own thing to save our own skin. We still measure right and wrong by the standards of our society. We still treat God like the Genie in the Bottle, bringing him out only for emergencies, or believing only when we can't figure out stuff on our own. Instead of being our first thought he becomes our last resort.

We figure as long as we are following the Ten Commandments or are giving it our best effort we are okay but we aren't. We aren't okay. We are far from okay. Unless an encounter with Jesus Christ makes a radical change in everything we know we are nowhere near being okay. The world and everything in it cannot remain the same to us after being possessed by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible.

We go from being a citizen of this world, following the patterns and principles of this world, thinking, acting, living like everyone else. It is only natural being from this world. But after being possessed by the Spirit we cease to be citizens of this world and we become born of a different place, of the Kingdom of Jesus. Everything shifts. Different pattern, different rules, different purpose, different attitude, different perspective, different thinking, feeling, doing. We no longer submit to the rules of this place.

I don't know, are you getting this at all?

Without the Spirit we can't. We can't get it.

Without the Spirit we can't understand. Without the Spirit we remain dead to the ways of God. Without the Spirit there is no mind of Christ and we stick to what we are familiar with: the principles and pattern of this world.

We need a real shaking up!

We need the Father to touch the hearts of his children again. We need the Spirit, in his great power and passion, to provoke our hearts to seek the Face of God once more. In truth, we need Jesus.