A Different Side Of The Pandemic

I had the opportunity to see a different side of the pandemic this week. A side that I knew in theory existed but something I had not yet experienced.

On Thursday my wife had an appointment with her gynecologist for her weekly check up. She had four weeks left in her pregnancy so she was now being checked on bi-weekly. Due to the pandemic I was not permitted to attend the appointment with her so I ran a few errands and then sat in the parking lot preparing for my General Science class I was teaching the following day.

I didn’t notice my wife until she opened the door and silently slipped into her seat. I looked at her and asked how it went. Looking straight ahead she told me that we had to go to the hospital. Why, I asked. She calmly told me, after they took her blood pressure, they suddenly rushed her into the doctor ahead of the people who were there before her. The doctor took one look at her numbers and told her she was to go to the hospital immediately and they would take care of her there.

So we headed to the hospital.

When we presented ourselves at the birthing center we were brought into an observation area. They kept checking her blood pressure and then took blood and urine samples for testing. No one told us anything but we knew this wasn’t routine. All this time we were talking through masks and watching nurses, doctors and cleaning staff hurry about their duties in all their protective gear. It was strange to watch, like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.

They must have rushed the tests because it didn’t seem we were there very long before the results were back. A very gentle doctor came to talk to us. She informed us that the results indicated pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening condition for baby and mother if not attacked upon. She informed us that there was only one cure: delivery. They would have to induce my wife four weeks early.

We were not prepared for this physically or mentally. We suddenly realized that we were at the hospital birthing center, preparing to give birth, with no baby, mommy or daddy bags. We had the clothes on our backs. No music. No extra pillows. No snacks (for dad). And worst of all, no phone chargers.

At first the doctor said I could go home and pick up what was needed because they would start the induction in the morning. Then everything changed when the medication failed to lower Melodie’s blood pressure. I was told to stay put. Wait, what? It was the only moment that we had any apprehension. Were they going to end up doing a c-section? But thirty minutes later the doctor was back to explain they were going to transfer my wife to her room and start the induction now. The doctor turned to me, smiled, and said that I had time to go home and get what was necessary. Then she added, but don’t be long.

Armed with a long list of things I needed to get for baby and mom and where I would find them at home, I left the hospital. Round trip, not counting seek and find time, it was 34 minutes. Thankfully my eighteen year old daughter was waiting for me and gave me a hand putting things together and even packed a lunch for me. By the time I got back with everything (more or less), my wife was comfortably installed in her room and the procedure had started. 

Being people of faith and belonging to a large faith family, there were people all around the world praying for us. This was something incredibly comforting in knowing that friends in Greece, Belgium, France, the US, throughout Canada, in the Philippines and places we didn’t even know about were praying for us and little Samuel, who was being forced into this world before he was ready. We had a wonderful sense of peace in the Lord’s presence. All was well.

Over the next eighteen hours we had the privilege of meeting many incredible doctors and nurses. Their compassion and tenderness was amazing, but something happened that made me see people in this pandemic in a whole new way. The thing that changed everything, that made me sit up and take note happened at the most incredible moment of our time in the hospital.

Melodie was in active labour. Nurses seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. The doctor was in the catch position. Everyone in the room became the cheerleaders and my wife was immersed in the moment. It was loud. It was busy. And it was then, as the sweat was washing over my wife’s face and the pain was at its most intense, with her breathing deepened to the point I thought the medical mask would disappear into her breath, that one of these beautiful cheerleading women reached over and flicked my wife's mask off her face. She was free to suck in all the air she needed. In one simple motion, compassion trumped protocol. I was stunned by this act’s insane nature of beauty. It was second only to the arrival of our beautiful baby boy.

Pause and reflect for a moment. That mask on my wife’s face was not there for the benefit of my wife. It was there to protect everyone else in the room. The act of removing that mask was entirely for my wife’s benefit, to the endangerment of everyone else in that room. This significance was not lost on me.

There was something absolutely wondrous how the beautiful part of humanity overshadowed the masks, gowns and hand sanitizer. Not once did I hear these beautiful people raise doubt about the pandemic or the protocols in place because of it. There were no complaints or fussing or frowns. After a bit I stopped noticing what they were wearing because their hearts of service caused these things to evaporate in their soft tones of tender compassion. They were not focused on themselves or the inconvenience of working twelve hours in this equipment. Their focus was caring for these new mom’s and their beautiful new born babies. If they were tired of all this they never showed it beneath those beautiful voices and those healing hands.

So my take away : no matter the circumstances of the day, the best parts of humanity can outshine it when we are determined to focus on love.

PS. My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, weighing only 5.5 lbs, just this side of being a preemie. Mother and baby are resting comfortably at home, healthy and well. We consider ourselves tremendously blessed and are eternally thankful for such a large praying family.

Cleaning House

In the final week before the crucifixion Jesus was in no mood for fooling around. These were the last few days and every moment mattered. It makes sense then that we would pay close attention to what he said and what he did with his time.

After arriving in the city to much fanfare from those who knew him, Jesus went to the Temple. It only makes sense that this is the first place he would go; it was the center of all religious activity. More personally, it was his Father's house. Imagine the disappointment he felt when we walked in and found a market place. I am sure that every Israelite who made the pilgrimage felt a similar disappointment. It may even be the same disappointment that seekers of God today feel when they walk into some of our churches.

In his authority Jesus stepped in and chased the marketers out and told everyone who was willing to listen:

"He said to them,'It’s written, My house will be called a house of prayer. But you’ve made it a hideout for crooks.'” (Matthew 21:13)

Imagine how he feels about what we have done with his Church, our mentality of marketing, which has turned the Church into big business. We can justify it many different ways but we need to ask ourselves some honest questions about purpose, perspective, power, expectation. Then we need to look at what Jesus did after he cleansed the Temple:

"People who were blind and lame came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them." (v 14)

In the days to follow Jesus will heal many more people and will teach great spiritual insights in the Temple. Today, we have turned our Churches into social work centers, running food programs, day cares, AA meetings, exercise groups and many other great programs, to show that the Church is relevant today. Yet, we fail to do what Jesus did.

We pray with people as a way of encouraging them, but we don't have people lining up to be healed. They don't come because we don't believe it happens. It is not that they don't believe; we don't believe. God's House, the Church, is no longer a house of prayer, where God moves and miracles happen. We are a place of business, managing our money, and meeting as many needs as we can within our means.

There is a difference between good stewardship and faithless business. People come seeking and they are disappointed with what they find. They are not looking for a group to help them with their hospital bills; they want healing. They are not looking for someone to call in their loneliness; they want the emptiness to be filled with Jesus. They don't want a long list of suicide prevention numbers; they want the spirit of depression to be cast out. They aren't looking for a floor show; they want to see God.

We Are Warriors

Not everything is as our society defines it. Not everything that exists can be seen. Just because we have yet to experience something does not mean it isn't real. If these things are true statements then we should not allow our society to define our reality but instead understand that our reality is defined by the Creator of heaven and earth.

We are warriors. Not warriors as our society defines them. We do not walk around with guns. We do not have mad martial art skills. We are not muscle bound freaks. Most of us aren't even much to look at. Our skills are limited. Our education is limited. Our finances are limited. Our circle of friends is limited. But we serve a King who is unlimited and he has called us into his service. We are his warriors. And our weapons are the most powerful weapons in all of creation, if only we would learn to use them:

Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments, and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God. They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Our problem is that we have been raised and educated in the system of this world. It feels familiar and comfortable to us. So when Jesus teaches us that there is a better way there is a lot of resistance on our part.

When Paul describes the Church as a body and explains that each of us are a part of it, as assigned by the Spirit and we are to work together for our common goal, we know that the only way this is possible is supernaturally because we don't get along very well. Then he tells us that there is one way that makes this possible. The enemy has tried to mimic this in the world but self-centeredness always exposes the truth of the matter. Paul describes this one way with great poetry:

Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth.  Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) 

That is the supernatural love of Jesus worked out through us. The world can't live this because you need the Holy Spirit to do it. Your flesh will rise up against it and it is only in submission to Jesus that the Spirit is able to win over the flesh.

We are warriors of love, setting aside hate, fear, prejudice, revenge, rights, self. We are warriors who love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us. We are warriors who pray in love against the dark fortresses that imprison the lost, the blind, the poor, the spiritual destitute. In love we are friends with the enemies of our Saviour for the sake of their salvation. We stand in the cesspools of our society, holding out the only hope that exists. We are warriors who fight against the dark principalities, praying for those who don't know enough to pray for themselves, be they friend or foe.

Perhaps we have been confused by the system of this world to think we are fighting for our rights. We are mistaken to defend ourselves in fear and hatred, with bitter and angry words, using insults and slurs. We have all the rights of the Kingdom of which we are citizens, something of much greater worth than rights on this earth. We aren't here to defend ourselves but to fight for those who would silence us, behead us, make us less than themselves, who perceive us as their enemy. We are hear to fight with a love that desires everyone to be saved from the judgement close at hand. Let us fight with the methods of our Lord.

Why The Promise "Ask and Receive" Is Not Working For Us

It is amazing what the Spirit teaches us when we meditate on God's Word instead of just reading it. Most of us just read and, although we gain a lot of knowledge in our reading, mere facts, we miss the spiritual knowledge. Most of us do not take the time to plumb the depths of verses or passages. If we do anything at all we just read.

Meditating is not a difficult thing. You don't need to enroll in Bible College or have a ton of commentaries hanging around the house. You simply approach the verse or passage in prayer and take it apart. You can write what is on your heart in your own words concerning the verse. Write it out several times, giving the emphasis to a different key word each time. Read it out loud. Read various translations. Do a word search on the main topic words. Ask the Spirit to explain it to you. Make lots of notes.

A verse I was meditating on yesterday is found in John 15:

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (v. 7)

The first thing to note is that there is a promise here. The promise is that we can ask for what we wish and it will be given to us. That is a fantastic promise and one that many Christians lean on but few see fulfilled. But this is a promise. Does that make Jesus a liar? Well, I know he is not a liar so what else does this verse say that we may have missed and caused us to misunderstand the promise? Are there any conditions to it? Reading the entire verse I can see there are two conditions related to each other.

If you abide in me.

Abide means to remain, to dwell, to continue with, but it is also an attitude or relationship. It strikes me that to rest in Jesus, to live in him requires that we are loyal to him, obedient. steadfast. It means not being distracted by shiny things, not allowing anything to disturb us like fear or worry. It is a position of trust and dependency. It means not giving ourselves to anyone or anything else. We belong exclusively to Jesus if we are living in him, or abiding. It means no longer living for ourselves because we have become one with him. We want what he wants, our will is submitted to his.

It conveys a oneness with Jesus. If I let my spirit express itself concerning this relationship I hear and feel such words as, dying to my flesh, pleasures, passions, lusts, appetites. My heart felt cry is "I need a new heart." "Transform me Lord!" "Change me!" Then I read:

And my words abide in you.

Again, abide means to remain, to dwell, to continue with. So his Word takes up residence in us, becoming part of us, taking over, shaping, molding, transforming. We begin to live by this Word. It only makes sense as Jesus rebuked the devil with a common Scripture:

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Luke 4:4)

Jesus had also just taught his disciples:

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21)

We are to be controlled and directed by the Word, governed and set right by it. It is not something we carry around with us in a book. It is not a set of laws. It is a living thing within us that brings life. Yahweh promised to write it on our hearts and we are to bury it there like a seed. The Holy Spirit uses it to encourage, comfort, correct and empower us.

My spirit fills we with words that again describe this oneness with Jesus: owned, possessed, governed, controlled, desiring, seeking, longing, hoping, pursuing, surrendering, casting out, giving, dying. The realization that the direction I am moving in is wrong. I pray, "Your ways O Lord. Your paths. Your truth. I run to you!"

The promise that we would receive what we ask for is obviously based on an incredibly intimate relationship, one of dependence and submission. In such a relationship we would never find ourselves as James described those who lacked from not asking, asking with wrong motivations and asking with doubt. Such a loyal and intimate relationship with Jesus would never allow us to be found in such condition.

From our own selfish perspective we consider this promise of asking and receiving to be about us, for our own gain. However, these two conditions describe such a selfless and intimate relationship with Jesus that asking anything outside of his will seems impossible. Some would say that Father loves to pour blessings out on his children but that comes from a selfish perspective. We have to stop and consider Father's perspective, motivation and the purpose of Jesus.

Jesus did not come showering gifts upon everyone. He came with some really great news and a demonstration of Yahweh's power. He was bent on one purpose, to save the lost. He trained disciples to carry on this mission while he returned to the Father to send us the Spirit. After he opened the doors of forgiveness and eternity via the cross and empty tomb, he gave us the commission to continue on with the great mission of making disciples. For two thousand years men and women who have taken this mission seriously have sacrificed everything for it, including their lives. Yet here we are, two thousand years in, thinking that this promise of ask and receive has to do with mansions and cars. Are we kidding?

The conditions of this promise is an incredibly intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, where we have his commands, his words and are walking in obedience to them. Whatever we need, wish, ask for will be given to us, but keep it in the context of these conditions. If we have such an intimate relationship with Jesus then his priorities will be ours, as will his will and his will is the Father's and the Father's will is that everyone would be saved. Ask whatever you need or wish to fulfill the will of Father and it is yours. It has never been about us, it is about the lost and Jesus' mission to save them. Is this what we are living for?

That is where meditating on the Word gets you, a whole lot deeper than just reading.

The A, B, C's Of Decision Making

Have you ever sung the hymn "What A Friend We Have In Jesus"? Have you ever listened to the words you have sung? Have you ever been convicted by them?

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

It's crazy, you know, just how accurate these words are. We do throw away the peace Jesus has so freely given to us because we mishandle our challenges in life. How do you handle tough decisions? You probably turn the options over in your head again and again and again. If they are big enough decisions you probably lose sleep over it while turning the options over again and again and again. Perhaps you have people that you trust who you talk it over with. If you have several friends they probably give you different advice so you end up measuring what they say over again and again and again. Whether it is a decision, trouble or hardships, if we don't know how to handle it properly we can end up doing a lot of damage to ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

It is an easy thing to say "take it to the Lord in prayer" but if we have not cultivated the habit of prayer we can find the task daunting. How do you pray? For how long? In what position? What do you say? How do you word it? Many of us usually simply say a quick prayer and then rush off to find our own solutions. But prayer is equally more complicated and simpler than that.

Prayer isn't as much about the petition we have to bring as it is about the relationship. This is the point most of us miss. We rush into the presence of Yahweh and right back out again but what Father wants is our time and attention. He wants us to hang out with him, just to enjoy his presence, to love and worship him. We spend 5 minutes, if we are generous maybe 15 minutes, in prayer. After all, there is only so much one can say in a one sided conversation. But it isn't one sided and it isn't all about talking.

Sometimes the greatest solution to your problems is to worship or to sit in Father's presence in silence or to meditate on Scripture. I didn't say read but meditate. Take one of Jesus' promises and turn it over in your thoughts again and again and again. Certainly tell Father your problems, your need for a solution, but don't make it your only purpose. Don't focus on your problem but instead give your full attention to him. This can sometime take time, perhaps days. Jesus set us the example.

Jesus had the daunting task of choosing the members of his inner circle from a group of 120 disciples. These 12 he would call his apostles. This was not a simple task or one to be taken lightly. These would be the ones he would trust with the greater truths, the ones into whom he would seed the Church. So what did Jesus do to make his decision? He prayed all night:

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles. (Luke 6:12-13)

Are you greater than Jesus? I know I am not, yet there have been so many times in my 20 years of pastoral ministry that I have trusted the advice of advisers instead of resting in prayer. I have made a number of wrong decisions as a result of my lack of prayer. Over the years I have learned that sometimes it can take a month of fervent praying, of focusing on the relationship, before the solution is made clear. Much of the time is spent wrestling with my thoughts and opinions to submit them to Father's will. If you have already cultivated this prayer life it is an easier task because you have gained discipline but it may not be any less time consuming.

We should be ashamed of ourselves. We testify to the goodness of Jesus. We worship him with all of our heart. We gladly surrender all we have to him. We really do trust him,. but we allow ourselves to follow the patterns of this world instead of having our minds renewed in him. We have allowed ourselves to become too busy with diversions to spend an hour, 2 or 3 in prayer every day. We just don't get how utterly dependent we are on Jesus because if we understood we wouldn't be struggling with this stuff on our own.

Pray. Focus on Jesus. Hang out with Father. Let him be your comfort, your counselor, your guide. Take time with him and you will be amazed how clear the solutions become:

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.


 

What Is The Purpose Of Your Today?

What is your purpose? Why are you alive today? Why have you been given the gift of life for this specific day? Sometimes we wake up and start to move through our day without giving much thought to it. We get up, grab a shower, eat breakfast, get dressed and walk through our front door into the world without giving any thought to purpose. We think about what we need to get done. We think about our complaints. We think about what we want to do for pleasure. We think about friends and family. We think about stuff but we do not ponder the question, why?

You belong to Jesus Christ. He bought you. You didn't have to accept that purchase. You could have remained a slave to sin but you made the decision to accept the price that Jesus paid for you, so now you belong to him. But for what purpose? Are you just someone for him to throw blessings at, like a pet dog? Hardly. You have become his brother, his sister, a child of Father. You and I are now part of this incredible family. But is there purpose in it?

There is purpose for our life and for each moment of our day and I want you to see it through one simple verse found in Malachi. The context of this verse is interesting. Yahweh is chastising Israel for her neglect of their relationship. She took her relationship with Yahweh for granted and abandoned him and her purpose, to live a life she chose. But in the midst of the chastisement we find this gem of a verse which sheds some light on our relationship with Yahweh:

For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
In every place incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
For My name shall be great among the nations,”
Says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)

Israel had rejected Yahweh and Yahweh was about to reject the people of Israel. But the Lord will never be without praise and worship. His name will never fail to be lifted up. Israel's purpose was not to become great for her own sake; she was to become great by the hand of Yahweh so that all nations would see the glory of Yahweh through Israel. But he could not bless her as he intended because of her disobedience. Yet, he had a plan that would still allow the nations to discover his glory and enter into relationship with him. That plan was Jesus.

What Yahweh stated through Malachi the prophet has come to pass. Consider the Church, a people who were not a people, the Body of Christ spread around the globe, found in every nation. Wherever you find a Christian you find the Church and you find the Spirit of God. Wherever you find the Church you find praise and worship, the lifting up of the name of Jesus. The sun never sets on the Church. The praise of Yahweh never ends, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, around the entire globe. While we are sleeping, brothers and sisters on the other side of the world are lifting up the name of Jesus. His name is great among the Gentiles.

It is interesting to study and investigate the incense offering but let us simply say here that it represents prayer and worship. The offering of incense was an act of worship in ancient days and was combined with prayer. Often incense was mixed with other types of offerings. What are the fundamentals of our relationship with Yahweh? Prayer and worship. And these are offered up in the name of Jesus all around the globe, in every country, all the time, as the saints seek the face of Yahweh.  His name is glorified among us and it comes from sincere hearts, completely possessed by the love of Jesus. It is our purpose today and every day.

As you open your eyes today I pray you will realize that you have a great purpose and responsibility: To bring glory and honour to Jesus. It is not a secondary thought after your 'To Do' list. It is the purpose of the air in our lungs. We worship him in prayer but also in our actions and words throughout the day. We have the same purpose of Israel, to allow Yahweh to bring glory to himself through us; through our strengths and weaknesses, our victories and defeats, in the sunshine and rain. Yahweh will never be without worship; all praise is due him. If you do not understand anything else about your purpose today understand that you have purpose and it is to worship Jesus in all your living so others will see his glory.





 

Hey Dry Bones, What Is The Lack In Your Life?

I think more of us are in love with the idea of loving Jesus then with actually loving him. Love is an easy thing to say. It comes with no commitment because to us it only expresses a vague notion of some idea that we have not quite grasped. We like the thought of it but have never measured the cost of it. To say we love Jesus just means that we recognize some value there but we don't really want to think about it much; we have other things to do.

When I fell in love with my wife I wanted to know everything about her (I still do). I grilled her with a thousand questions about her past, her experiences, her likes and dislikes, her hopes, dreams, aspirations. I wanted to hear her opinion on everything. I wanted to know everything because I loved what made her her. Yet, this is a weak and faulty love coming from a weak and faulty heart. How much more should I be consumed with the One who gave up everything to give me his everything?

The truth is, most of us just pay lip service to our love for Jesus. How do I know? Our actions and our priorities reveal our heart. How much time did you spend in prayer yesterday? No excuses, just an honest answer. Write it down on something so you can see the reality of the figure. Now, how much time did you spend, hearing, reading, studying and meditating on the Scripture yesterday? No excuses; write it down. A number of years ago a survey was taken from Christians attending a conference on prayer. Keep in mind that most of the attendees were pastors and their wives. This survey revealed that these Christians, attending a seminar on prayer, spent less than an average of five minutes a day in prayer.

Everything we know and experience comes from Scripture and prayer. Everything about us as Christians come from the Word and prayer. A lack of time in Scripture and prayer reveals a lack of love for Jesus because if we were actually in love we would be consumed with being with him and knowing him. It means that most of us Christians are nothing but dry bones because we aren't even giving the Spirit the tools to work in and through us. Yahweh spoke to his people and told them why they were in trouble:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)

Let the Spirit convict where he must today. This is in direct contrast to what was said as the people were coming into the Promised Land, before they possessed it:

Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do what is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

Are we brave enough to admit the lack in our life? "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." We aren't anywhere near what we should be because we lack two very basic Christian disciplines: Bible hearing, reading, studying, meditating, and prayer. How can we love Yahweh with our entire mind, soul and body when we choose a life of lack? Yet, we are told that prosperity and success belong to those who meditate on and live the Word.

Our prayer should mirror that of the psalmist who prayed:

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:4-5)

It is a simple decision to allow Jesus' love for you to decide your actions and priorities. "Because you love me so much Jesus I want to know all about you; what pleases you and how I can honour you." It is when we make the decision to make the time for the Bible and to make the time for prayer that we grow in the relationship. I said "make" on purpose. It is something we have to carve out of each day. As we know the Word we will begin to live it. In this we will find the blessing of Jesus' prosperity and successful for our lives and we will go from dry bones to being trees planted by streams of living waters, whose leafs never wither. Is this not our great desire?

Passion Week: Ask, Believe, Receive

This is Passion Week, the last days before Jesus' crucifixion. This is the most important week in the Christian calendar, a week of sober thought and reflection. It is also a point in the gospel narrative where we should realize that Jesus was not wasting time. He spent these last few precious days teaching the valuable things he wanted his followers to retain. It is good to take extra time this week just to plumb the depths of what Jesus did and what he said during these final days.There is something incredibly powerful about the intensity of this last week.

The first morning after his great entrance into Jerusalem and the clearing of the temple court, we find Jesus entering into Jerusalem again. He had spent the night in Bethany, probably with his friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. 

So it was early morning and he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree in full leaf Jesus went to pick some figs:

Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!”Immediately the tree withered. (Matthew 21:18-19)

As a child I always had a problem with this story as it seemed unfair to me. What had the tree done? Now, being older I can understand that the tree was a disappointment to Jesus. The leafs gave the appearance of promised fruit but it had none; it was a non-bearing fruit tree, useless to anyone. However, Jesus saw here an opportunity to teach one of the most important lessons these disciples, and those to follow, could learn. He spoke to the tree and it immediately withered. Mark states that they didn't notice it had withered until later but regardless of when they noticed, the fact was that Jesus spoke to the tree and it reacted to his words.

It was Peter who spoke up:

“Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” (Mark 11:21)

After all they had witnessed this withered tree still surprised them? They had witnessed Lazarus coming out of his tomb, alive, simply because Jesus spoke to his dead body. What is a tree withering at the command of this same voice compared to a dead man being called out alive? Regardless, Jesus showed his usual patience and taught them concerning faith:

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:22-23)

This was a lesson the disciples would have to rely on for the rest of their lives. It is a lesson most of us have let go. Let's be honest with each other: When you pray do you believe or do you simply hope? Many people pray without believing; it is more a thing of desperation, like throwing dice and hoping you come up with a seven. It is not a certainty but there is always a chance. That isn't faith.

Jesus said that we would do even greater things than what he did but it would require a people who live by the same faith as Jesus. When Jesus spoke to that tree he knew that his words would cause a reaction. When he told that tree to wither he expected it to wither. He told his disciples that if they spoke and did not doubt but actually expected it to happen, it would be done for them. In other words the power behind your prayer is not you but our heavenly Father. However, lack of faith, lack of trust, lack of belief, blocks our Father from doing anything.

Compared to what we should be, we live such empty lives, and it is our own failing. Because of our relationship with Jesus we are suppose to be the most powerful beings on this planet; all of nature must respond to us because of the authority that Jesus has given to us. He told us that our words would cause things to happen because of the authority that is behind those words. He told us to speak to the "mountains" and they would have to respond. Read this carefully and try to understand:

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

Believe; not hope, not chance, but believe that you have received and it will be yours. What did James have to say about this?

You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

We think we are spiritually minded but we are so off the mark I doubt Jesus can even recognize us. What we accomplish we do with our own hands. The world can't see Jesus because we present our own accomplishments, not what the Spirit is doing through us. So many Christians do not believe in this kind of spiritual authority and power any more. It is like they believe we have been left as orphans and we have to make our own way in the world, as if our Father no longer looks after us, meets our needs or even responds to us. We are living like the Sadducees who believed that Yahweh did not intervene in daily life and we were left to do the best we can. In contrast, Jesus said: ask, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Speak to the fruitless trees in your life and tell them to die. Stop wasting your time and get rid of those things that are bearing no fruit. Speak to the "mountains", those things that are blocking your progress, the addictions, the things that are standing in your way to a greater walk. Speak to these things and expect them to move out of the way. Speak, believe and receive. Ask whatever you need, make sure it is not from selfish desires, believe that you have received it and it is yours. Understand the authority you have to speak to diseases in people's lives, to speak to addictions, to speak to poverty, to speak to barrenness, to speak to anything that is contrary to God's will and it must obey, coming back into alignment with God's heart.

Some may ask, what if it is not God's will? Let me tell you, if it is not God's will he will tell you just as he told Paul when Paul was praying about some affliction he had. God's response to Paul in that matter was, "My grace is sufficient". Ask and God will not answer with silence as some people teach. Ask and believe and you will receive an answer and there will be times when we have asked out of ignorance, not understanding his will, but he will answer. The longer you operate in faith the more you are able to understand his will.

We need to shake ourselves out of this spirit of doubt. It's crazy. We have Jesus' words right here in front of us and one thing I know is that Jesus is not a liar. He said it. I believe it. AMEN! We are a powerful nation, the Kingdom of God. The power is not found in our effort but in the will of our Father. Jonathan stated to his armour bearer that, whether by many or by few, salvation belongs to God. When we speak we have all of his authority backing up our words. So this morning, speak to those barren trees and believe you have received. Speak to the mountains and believe you have received. Speak to your needs and the needs of others and believe you have received. It will be given to you. Jesus said so, and he is no liar. Yes and Amen!

Real Warriors Of The Kingdom

It seems that life is composed of a great many hills and valleys. One day you seem to be on top of the world and the next you are lost in a valley, your vision obscured by the hills. One day you seem to understand plainly and the next your thoughts are all muddled. One day you are overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord and the next he seems to be nowhere in sight. From all of our experience and from the Holy Scriptures we should have a clear understanding that our spiritual walk is a daily experience. We build upon yesterday's experience but today is unique all on its own.

You cannot rest on yesterday's victories. It is great that yesterday was a day of mercy and grace, and that you overcame many difficulties in the day. It is great that you faced testing and passed. It is great that yesterday was one to go down in your personal history books. But what about today? What about the challenges you face today? What about the battles, the testing, the intercessions of today? Have you allowed yesterday's victories to lower your guard? Have you considered yesterday's triumphs an excuse to rest a bit?

We make the mistake of picturing the spiritual like the physical. After every great physical battle there is always a reprieve, a time of rest. However, the spiritual battles take place on our knees and the enemy's tactic is to prevent us from ever getting there. Each day is almost a physical and mental battle just to drop to our knees, to engage in prayer. Everything is set against us to prevent it. But we must see it as a daily duty as warriors in the battle for souls in this darkening world; also to find new energy and strength for the day.

Every day we have to set our heart to seeking Yahweh's face. Every day we need to desire after his will. Every day we must long for that sweet fellowship with Jesus through the Spirit. It should be the first thing on our mind when we awake and the last thing as we fall asleep. I like to consider Daniel in this matter. He was a giant of a warrior when it came to this fight. His understanding was limited compared to ours as we live on this side of the cross and yet the man held true to the knowledge he had.

Despite what the enemy contrived to stop him from praying, Daniel persisted. It even cost him the experience of the lion's den, but Daniel would not back down. Because of his forced habit of prayer, much was given to Daniel, much was revealed and he had an incredible relationship with Yahweh. It was because of his fasting, prayer and fervent desire to be as close to Yahweh as possible that Daniel was used by Yahweh and he was also given great vision and understanding. On one occasion the angel addressed him like this:

O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you. (Daniel 10:11)

Who of us would not desire to be addressed by Jesus as "greatly beloved"? And consider the results of Daniels life of prayer and devotion to the will of Yahweh:

Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. (v.12)

This wasn't because Daniel prayed on occasion or was a "good" man. This was because Daniel made it his life purpose to understand Yahweh, to humble himself before Yahweh and because he prayed. This was not an occasional thing but a daily habit. Daniel was thrown to the lions because he refused to change his discipline of praying in his room three times a day. He refused to back down from what he started: seeking the face of his God.

Daniel did not know Jesus. He did not experience the knowledge of the cross, the empty grave or the Holy Spirit. He did not know what we know now and yet he knew enough to desire with all his heart to seek the face of Yahweh. We are without excuse. We are lazy and our love is not genuine. If it was genuine then all our energy would go into doing what Jesus instructed us to do and following the example that he set. If Jesus found it necessary to get up early in the morning and stay up late at night to talk with his Father, should that not tell us something. Yet here we are trying to live a godly life with no power because we do not pray.

Yes, we say our quick little prayers throughout the day, which is important, but it is not the relationship developing, battle fighting prayers of our closets. The fact you spent an hour in prayer yesterday is fantastic according to yesterday's relationship and battles. But what about today? What about the people who need your intercession today? What about the instruction the Spirit wants to give you today? What about seeking Yahweh's face today?

We are without excuse. We know our place and the importance of the relationship. We know all the scripture that teach the importance of prayer. We know relationship develops in prayer. We know revival happens in prayer. We know that situations and hearts change because of prayer. We know that daily instruction is given in prayer. We know it is a daily walk. We know all this, so why are we so lazy, distracted and disobedient?

What Does It Take To Have A Vibrant Relationship With Jesus?

People ask me how to maintain a vibrant relationship with Jesus. What they are asking is how they can feel strong all the time. I am not sure that we can feel anything all the time. We can't feel joy all the time, but we can be joyful. We can't feel content all the time, but we can be content. We can't feel strong all the time, but we can be strong. We have a source to find what we need when we need it and it is found in our relationship with Jesus. There really is only one secret to maintaining a vibrant relationship with Jesus but it's not even a secret. Everyone knows about it but it is simply something we don't make allowance to do. We need to pray.

People give all kinds of excuses why they don't pray, forget to pray or mean to pray but just don't get around to it. I have lots of excuses as well. But the truth is we find time to do whatever is important to us. If we want to watch our favorite TV show, we make time to do so. If we want to hang out with a friend, we shift things around to make it happen. If we want to spend hours on FaceBook or Tumblr, we manage to find the time, often at the cost of other important activities like sleep. So prayer isn't all that important to us, even though we like to think it is.

Some people don't pray because they don't know how. They don't understand it is a conversation. A one sided conversation you might say. Hardly. Anyone who has developed any measure of habitual prayer will tell you that it is a true communion with Jesus and answers are given, direction is made clear and rich fellowship is enjoyed. Prayer is done in an attitude of worship, with singing and maybe even some dancing. It is filled with expressions of adoration. There are times of talking, others of listening,and periods of incredible silence. It involves the Word and a list of petitions. It is filled with insight and revelation. It is always enjoyable. For each person it takes on a different method or form but the foundation is always the same: spending time with Jesus.

Some people don't pray because they feel they have not yet earned enough favour. They think their life does not merit any response from Father and so they look around for a righteous person to pray on their behalf. They fail to understand that Father has declared us all to be righteous according to how he sees us. We are to walk in righteousness, desiring to be obedient but we need to understand why we go to him with our requests and petitions. Daniel, the prophet, knew why, maybe better than some and the longer you spend time with Jesus the more you will understand too:

O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.  (Daniel 9:18)

And that is the truth of the matter. We don't have a leg to stand on. We have no right in ourselves to be able to approach the Throne. There is no reason in us why Father should even entertain our requests. But he changed all that. We don't approach him in our natural selves because he changed all that. We approach him in the blood of the Lamb, in relationship with Jesus Christ, adopted as the children of the Father. Mercy is when we do not receive what we have earned, which is death, but in his mercy and goodness Father gives us good things. We pray with confidence because of who he is. It is not about us and all about him.

Nothing is going to happen in your life, nothing is going to change, there is no way you will become what he desires of you unless you develop the habit of prayer. Let me put it this way: You are not going to get to know Jesus and become like him unless you spend time with him. Do you want a life of conviction and power? Then spend time with the King. Make it your number one priority every day. Carve it into your schedule. Treat it like eating or hanging with your best friend. It must become essential to your day. Not a hurried two second prayer but a coming aside and sitting in his presence for an hour or two if need be. Work at it. Develop it. Allow it to grow. It is awkward at first, even difficult, but the longer you do it the more natural it will become and the more sensitive to the Spirit you will be. Whatever it takes, however long it takes to remain connected to our Vine of life. Just do it.

The True Failure Of A Pastor

I have been a pastor for a long time and I know the sins of leadership. I know our attitudes are not correct before the Lord. I have sat with pastors as we have talked about our numbers, how we are unappreciated and over worked. I have sat through seminars dealing with the business of church. I know what it is like walking away from meetings with other pastors where we discussed everything but the condition of our souls and relationship with the Lord. I know what it is to sit in a council of elders where there is fighting and bickering over the colour of the bathroom. I have experienced what it is like to meet with leaders who would rather discuss the problem of the noisy children instead of their spiritual condition. It is sad; was sad, because a lot has changed for me.

I realize that it is wrong to take the prophets out of context but I found this verse fitting for what I have experienced taking place among the shepherds:

For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be scattered. (Jeremiah 10:21)

I have no doubt that this is exactly what is going to happen in the coming years as being a Christian starts to cost us something. As society turns on us we are either going to see the gospel compromised behind the pulpit in order to hold on to the immature flock or we are going to see the numbers dwindle even faster. Many churches will close because pastors and elders have failed to bring the congregation into maturity; into the fullness of Jesus. They were too busy managing and entertaining; too busy hanging out with other leaders and learning about leadership to spend time with the sheep, disciplining and maturing. So when the testing fires hit, it will all be burned up. It is going to be embarrassing showing up for eternity empty handed.

There is one verse here in Jeremiah that explains much of what I have been through lately and with which I am still wrestling. It makes the entire difference of who is the head of the church: the pastor, the elders, the denomination, or Jesus:

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. (v. 23)

How can under-shepherds teach this to the flock if they don't see themselves in a role of an under-shepherd but instead the manager? Imagine if every church was not managed by the church budget committee but instead by the Holy Spirit. Imagine if the spiritual direction was not managed by the pastor or spiritual growth committee but instead by the Holy Spirit. Imagine if the vision projected for the church wasn't what man's idea of what Jesus wanted but was actually that of Jesus Christ. Imagine if every pastor realized that they were not the captains of their own destiny but they were merely servants directed by the Spirit. Imagine every pastor realizing that and spending several hours in prayer each day knowing it was the only acceptable way to begin their day; receiving instructions from the real head of the Church.

Too many spiritual leaders fail to give prayer their priority or try to cram it in between meetings thinking it is good enough. Far too many pastors are walking around empty, trying to give out what they do not possess. They are dry bones because they have failed to see themselves under Jesus, dependent on him, needing quality quantity time alone with him. The sooner we pastors better understand our true position and the importance of seeking the Lord, the sooner we will begin to see true maturity developing in our flocks. But we don't have a lot of time, those flames are getting higher.

Increasing The Power Of The Spirit In You

We all have this great desire to know Jesus. Our longing is to be close with him, to sense his presence all the time, to be filled by his power and to represent him to those around us. We want to express our love to him over and over again. We want to make him our everything. These are great desires but if they only stay as desires they will have no eternal purpose. Our desires need to take on flesh.

Every person in our Holy Scriptures who was blessed and used by Yahweh were those who had a great relationship with him. This relationship came from time spent in prayer and the Scriptures. There are no short cuts. I have just finished spending time with Daniel and I am once again impressed by this man of faith and loyalty. The angels told him that he was "treasured by Yahweh". He had a great relationship that came by huge amounts of time in prayer and fasting. Out of these times came great visions and understanding. He had what we want yet he did not have the Holy Spirit in him and we do.

David also understood this great fellowship and it caused his heart to yearn for Yahweh. He was a man full of faults but the motivation and desire of his heart pleased Yahweh. He was blessed, favoured, protected, corrected, broken, built up, encouraged as he constantly fellowshipped with Yahweh. David gave us this treasure of understanding in Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (Psalm 1:1)

That's what he doesn't do, which is also important. He doesn't allow himself to be tempted by the shortcuts of life, listening to Satan's invitation to bow down to him for perceived success. This is not our measure of success. But now consider what the blessed man does do:

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night. (v. 2)

He gives priority to Yahweh. He is consumed by him. Daniel was consumed by prayer. Three specific times of the day were set aside exclusively for prayer. He fasted, which is suppose to be an intense period of prayer. Daniel stood loyal to Yahweh no matter the cost. He petitioned for his people, in prayer. Look at the result David speaks of when we become consumed by our relationship with Yahweh:

He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. (v. 3)

This is seen in Daniel, the most favoured man in the captivity of Israel. Every king of his day turned to Daniel for help and everyone of them heaped great blessings and favours on him. This favour did not come because of Daniel's intelligence but because of his relationship with Yahweh.

Those who have rich fellowship with Jesus Christ, who are consumed by prayer, worship and the Word, have a river of life flowing through them. Everyone who accepts Jesus' invitation, is spiritually born a second time, and is baptized by the Holy Spirit, has this river of life flowing through them, but those who make themselves sensitive to Jesus are made aware of it. Because of this fellowship, the desire of their heart, their submission to Father's will, their obedience and loyalty; because they talk with Yahweh all the time, fruit will be produced through them, they will always contain life and whatever they put their hand to will succeed. We are possessed by the power of the Spirit.

Too many of us are in love with the idea of this kind of relationship but most of us are not willing to put in the time. We have lots of excuses but if Jesus was honestly our "everything" we would find a way to spend time with him. I am not talking about the fifteen minutes we set aside for our quick list of requests. I am not taking about a conversation throughout the day - although this is important too. I mean the same attitude that Daniel and so many others of the greats had. The same attitude as Jesus. Time set aside for complete concentration on Jesus will bring us to the place where we want to be in our relationship. There are no short cuts.

Examine your life and make a list of the things that contribute to your walk with Jesus and the things that do not. Then start reducing the "do not" list and you will be amazed how quickly you find time for Worship, prayer and the Word every day. When you do this you will find your relationship with Jesus and the desire of your heart rapidly changing. May you discover the warrior he has called you to be. Pray!

Why Do We Pray?

We all nod in agreement whenever someone states that we need time with Jesus every day. But that is a misleading statement because we are always with Jesus; he is in us and we are in him. What we are mindlessly agreeing to is the notion we need time alone in our prayer closet; time to worship, time to pray, time to receive instruction in the Word. We need quality time with the Lover of our soul.

Yes, we nod in agreement but most of us fail in it because we fail to understand the importance of its purpose. I was reminded of that importance today. I was reminded while washing dishes. Yes, strange, but I am a strange person and the Lord often speaks to me in strange ways and in strange places.

As I was finishing up the dishes for the second time today, listening to some new worship songs and allowing my heart's desire to be expressed to my Lord, I stopped to survey the kitchen. I concluded everything was done, in its place and it was looking good. The floor was swept, counters cleaned, dishes washed and put away. Not bad. And the the thought, "At least until the next meal". We all know and agree that there is no end to keeping our homes clean and in good running order.

"Exactly", was the thought that penetrated my contentment.

Exactly what, I thought. "Exactly how relationships work. Exactly how you grow in me."

In a flash, like the Holy Spirit does it, I understood the Lord's point. Prayer was putting everything into it's proper place. Prayer is submitting ourselves to the Spirit so he can put all our priorities right, to correct perspectives, to encourage us in the truth, to work out all the rough spots, to bathe us in love, mercy and grace. Prayer is necessary for the well being and growth of our relationship with Jesus. It is the maintaining his power in our lives to walk in obedience, truth and power. Without prayer our lives would end up in a complete mess with nothing being taken care of, with no correction and us putting things wherever we think is best.

Most of us know what our kitchen looks like after one meal and it bugs us too much to leave it even for an hour. Yet, we think nothing of setting aside prayer. We think nothing of letting the mess pile up in our lives. We think nothing of it because we don't understand our relationship and the importance of rich fellowship with Jesus in prayer and worship. Listening to worship is not enough. We must worship with all our heart and enter into prayer with that same attitude.

If only we would pray. We would see a lot of things change. We would discover the miracle of a refreshed heart each and every time. We don't wash the dishes when we feel like it; we wash them because they need to be washed. Don't pray when you feel like it; pray because you know you need it.

Is There A Limit To Prayer?

What kind of warriors are we? A good warrior never quits, even if it costs him his life. There is a persistence and determination in their actions because they have been ordered into action. Imagine if every army that went to battle were filled with the likes of us? Would we be those who flee when faced with insurmountable odds or those who held their ground even to death? The only difference is that we go to war, not with swords and shields, but on our knees. How persistent are we?

If we want to consider examples of prayer warriors there are a few of them in the Scriptures to admire. Just consider Elijah. We are told that he was a man just like us, as normal as we are, but he understood his responsibility and the place of prayer:

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:17-18)

James was making the point that our weapon is prayer:

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (v. 16)

The thing is that Elijah had to persist in prayer just as much as we do. He prayed what he was told to pray. He knew it to be Yahweh's will and still he had to persist in prayer:

And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”

So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” (1 Kings 18:42-43)

James words to describe prayer were "effective, fervent". Fervent, intense, enthusiastic, persistent. How quickly we forget the lessons Jesus taught on persistent prayer, not giving up, continuing until it happens. Many believe that praying once is enough and if it doesn't happen it wasn't Yahweh's will. But Jesus taught us to pray until something does happen or we get a clear answer. Remember the persistent widow and the judge who finally gave in to her because of her persistence. Listen carefully to Jesus' conclusion:

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8)

Will he indeed?

People use Paul's thorn as an excuse not to be persistent. They consider that since he prayed three times they can draw the conclusion that we should limit ourselves to praying three times. Such people fail to understand that it was after Paul prayed the third time that he got a response. You don't keep praying after Jesus has responded. For Paul it was only three times, for Elijah seven, for you maybe 100 times. There is no set number, just the instruction to be persistent until we have the answer.

What strikes me in this is that Elijah prayed what he knew to be Yahweh's command and still he had to persist until something happened. So what kind of warriors are we on the battle field? Do we throw our weapon down when we meet with resistance, or do we persist and stand on the ground we have been given to keep? Your family and friends are your responsibility, for whom you fight and protect. You are to cover your leaders. You are to fight for the weak. Remember at all times, you are a prayer warrior: "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Never give up. Pray on until something happens.

Is Our Faith In Trouble In 2014?

The New Year is knocking on our door as we do a quick review of the departing 2013. At this time of year most of us go beyond a review of the news events and do a spiritual review as well. One of the questions we should be asking ourselves is : Is there anything in my life taking away from my relationship with Jesus? I am not really sure that we are equipped to answer this honestly.

One thing that ensures the development of faith is a reliance on God; when we know we need him. If we don't need God we will dismiss him from our lives. This is the reason why faith is on such a dramatic decline in the Western World. We don't need God. We have everything we need: wealth, health, education, jobs, purpose. We are perfectly self-reliant so why continue with the premise of worshiping a God who no longer has a place in our lives? This is why so many hearts have grown cold to the gospel.

And if you do not think this is true, ask yourself if you are more reliant on seeking God for provision or your credit card? Do you seek him for your daily bread or do you figure it out on your own? Is he just something to worship or is he the God who provides all that you need?

Couple this with our insatiable appetite for diversion. We are a people whose great motivation in life is entertainment. The enemy of our soul does not need to put in any effort to try to distract us at all from the Lover of our soul because we do it to ourselves. Even the Church has changed to accommodate this appetite by making everything more entertaining, feeding into this great weakness that is a threat to our faith.

If we examine Jesus' words more clearly we will discover that his instructions were to make the Father our focus. He reminded us that our love for God must be all consuming, greater than any love of anything else in this world, even greater than of our parents, spouses and children. Yet we submit ourselves to entertainment that constantly disparages this relationship, defames our God and ridicules those who chose to be dependent on him. Can faith really be as bright as it is meant to be when we allow life to be sucked from it by such things?

The only goals worth having for this new year is to love God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul and all our strength; and to show our love to be genuine by loving our neighbour as we love ourselves. We should seek to re-capture the servant heart of our Lord, desiring to be possessed and overwhelmed by his love. Perhaps we should start by returning to fasting and prayer. Perhaps we should start by removing the distractions from our faith. Perhaps we should start by returning to our first love with all our heart.

Jesus taught us to be radical in our love for our Father. He told us that if there is anything that is separating us from him we should remove it. He said it was so important that it is better for us to enter heaven maimed than to enter into hell whole. Is it not easier to turn off that television show or movie than to cut off a hand or to walk away from the internet than to pluck out an eye?

In 2013, has anything distracted you from your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ? Has anything enslaved you again from what you were freed? Are you going to carry these things into the new year or leave them behind? Is it time to make some hard decisions so you can grow into the spiritual maturity to which our Father has called us? We cannot serve two masters. What is your priority for 2014?

It's A Daily Walk, Not A Weakly

How quickly does the refreshing of a Sunday wear off for you? How quickly do you feel the dullness invading, causing your keen insights and revelation to slip away? How quickly does discouragement and doubt come knocking? How quickly do you lose your sensitivity to the Spirit? It's not suppose to be like this.

Maybe you didn't realize? Maybe you thought this was just normal; how it worked? It's not.

We don't belong here.

There is a condition in this world that has twisted our basic nature so that the world is in constant rebellion against its creator. We did that. We introduced this rebellion and made everything dull, cold and ugly. But our Creator loved us too much to leave us like that, even though it was our decision.

So he punched a whole in this thing to allow us to escape and enter into vibrant, colourful life again,where he lives in us and we in him. He did this through Jesus who had to sacrifice everything so we could gain everything. But there was more to God's plan.

He couldn't bring us home yet because we are part of his plan to bring the good news of what he has done to the four corners of this planet. So because we had to stay in this dull, dying, rebellious place, he filled us with himself; his power; the Spirit of God, to keep us fresh, alive, colourful, and equipped to do his will. But we have to participate.

The moment we take our focus off of Jesus the dullness of this rebellious place crowds in. We have no power of our own to drive it away but we are filled by the power of Jesus through the Spirit of God. So we must stay focused. We can`t become distracted. We can`t allow the dullness to prevail. We must overcome every day.

Jesus had to as well.

He did not walk this planet as God. Although he is fully God and fully man, he set his divinity aside to fulfill his mission. His power came via the Holy Spirit who took from the Father and gave to the Son. Did you not notice that Jesus started off his day in solitary prayer and he ended the day in the like manner. Jesus, who is God, had to walk this spiritually dull and rebellious planet as us and it must have drained him as it drains us. He needed refreshing every day. Every single day he looked for his spirit to be renewed in the presence of his Father.

What about us?

Do we think we are better than Jesus, that we can go from Sunday to Sunday without refreshing, without renewal, without sweet communion with our God? I pray all day long about everything and everyone, but it isn't the same as coming aside from this dull world and sitting in the presence of my Father. Of course it is my desire to be aware of his presence 24 hours a day, but I am not there yet. I am like Jesus; I long to be renewed each day, to have the dullness of the rebellion washed away and to be re-energized in worship. Every day.

That is the cure to your spiritual dullness; worship. Seek our Father's face. Desire to be in his embrace. Listen to his voice. Listen for instruction. Search the Word. Study. Dig deep. Dance in his presence. Present yourself to him and allow him to do what needs to be done. To repair the brokenness. To remove the hurt. To restore your energy. To be reminded of his grace, his strength and his purpose for you.

Don't wait until Sunday. It is a daily walk that requires daily refreshing. Be renewed today.