When Jesus enters He calls for prayer!

When Jesus enters He calls for prayer … Here Comes Jesus!… turning over the tables.

Matthew 21:13 "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ’den of robbers’."

Our house should be a “house of prayer” but often it’s a house of confusion and conformity. Confusion, because we allow the rush of the day to invade us to the point where God is shoved out and we have no time to talk to God.

Conformity, because we are conformed to the surroundings around us instead of drawing aside to have some quiet time with God. But God wants us to be a people of prayer. Not simple, surface prayers, but prayers that penetrate our own hearts and the heart of God.

The early African converts to Christianity were faithful to pray. Each one reportedly had separate spots in the thicket where they poured out their hearts to God. The several paths to these spots became distinctly marked; and when any one began to decline in prayer time, it was soon apparent to others. They would then kindly remind him, saying, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”

What about you? Does the grass grow on your path to God? For the Christian, prayer should be one of the most natural things we do every day, every hour of the day.

Phil. 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Karen is the best minister’s wife…she is a prayer warrior. We pray as a family in the morning and before we go to bed. Now Karen hears the fire whistle and she is praying. I hear it a night and think, “Oh great, this is going to wake up the children.” Then I hear Karen praying for the firefighters and those in need of help. We are driving down the road and she sees a car on the side or an accident and she starts to pray…She is lifting in intercession and she is guarding the heart with prayer.

When we pray… Here Comes Jesus!… turning over the tables.

You know I love ya, Don

Living like recepients of something great!

The aim of all human life in God’s eyes is that Christ would be made to look as valuable as he is. Worship means using our minds and hearts and bodies to express the worth of God and all he is for us in Jesus. There is a way to live — a way to love — that does that. There is a way to do your job that expresses the true value of God. Paul is taking all the theology of His Roman letter and prayerfully transforming your life into Doxology…to praise God. That is your life looks like doxology, smells like doxology, taste like doxology, feels like doxology then you know and have experienced what it is to be the Object of God’s Mercy.

Paul’s answer to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is to be transformed. We must be transformed. Not just our external behavior, but also the way we feel and think — our minds. Those who believe in Christ Jesus are already blood-bought new creatures in Christ. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But now we must become what we are. “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

“You have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). You have been made new in Christ; and now you are being renewed day by day. That’s what we focused on last week…we are adopted as God’s children and he has lavished all his love, grace, and mercy on us.

The question becomes of His mystery… why aren’t his riches truly known to those that have received it?

Knowledge is exploding at such a rate--more than 2000 pages a minute - In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished.

Yet, this one simple truth, “mankind is the recipient of the greatest knowledge possible” is obscure and hidden in mystery.  Why is that? Why is it, that in a world filled needy people, seeking to find that answers of truth and knowledge, wanting to know why bad things happen to good people, why we have empty seats in churches, and in a place where children hurt…Why?

It is because; we don’t live as if we are the objects of God’s mercy? 

You know I love ya, Don

Please join me in prayer for the Christ Followers suffering the evil of the ISIS / ISIL.

The LONG process of refining and making maple syrup.

Seeking God is an effort of sacrifice and discovery. You probably have heard many sermons on Gideon’s fleece and how he tested God… but the reality the story is about how God was forming Gideon on his journey through seeking.  The pushing over of his father’s idols and the fleece without dew and fleece with dew was God working within the person of Gideon. God is refining his confidence and clarifying the future of having faith while living that faith… isn’t it true of you and me as well. God is working and building within us a new person that emerges from the depths of our heart.

God reveals himself according to our experience and in our experience God reveals himself to the world through you! Now Listen… that is a profound reality on our journey in the same direction of obedience. God is revealing himself in our experience and in our experience God reveals himself to world. Are you seeking God?

God is changing Gideon through his experiences… because if we read on in the text, Judges 7 reveals that Gideon puts together a great army and God rejects the army, and through a series of reductions, God reduces the army to 300 soldiers. Why? So that the world would know that ONLY GOD Could do this…only God could make this happen. God is working and reducing and refining and developing and revealing himself in the world in which you live.

Dr. David Osborn at Denver Seminary says, "Too often we try to use God to change our circumstances, while He is using our circumstances to change us." (Compass, April 2003) You see, God is right now in the process of making us like Christ.

Think of the process of refining maple syrup. Maple trees are tapped with buckets hung under the taps, and out drips a sap, which is thin and clear, like water. On a good day, 50 trees will yield 30-40 gallons of sap, but it is essentially useless at this point with only a hint of sweetness.

Then as the buckets fill, they are emptied into large bins that sit over an open fire. The sap comes to a slow boil; and as it boils, its water content is reduced and its sugars are concentrated. Hours later, it has developed a rich flavor and golden-brown color, but it must be strained several times to remove impurities before being reheated, bottled, and graded for quality. In the end, those 30-40 gallons of sap are reduced to one gallon of pure, delicious maple syrup, which is far better than the cheap, imitation, colored sugar-water that passes for maple syrup in the grocery store.

So it is when we come to faith in Christ. We start like raw, unfinished sap, which could have been tossed aside as worthless. But God knew what he could make of us. He sought and found us, and his skillful hands are transforming us into something precious, sweet and useful. The long and often painful refining process brings forth a pure, genuine disciple easily distinguished from cheap imitations.

Are you seeking ?  Jesus said in Luke 11:9-10, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Don’t expect to open the Kingdom of God unless you are seeking the Kingdom of God.

We are on this journey together ... you know I love ya, Don

Breathing in and Breathing out!

Acts of the Apostles reveals the passion of the early Christians for continuing what Jesus Christ had started in his earthly ministry (Acts 1.1). These early believers demonstrated a devotion that sparked radical transformation in their worldview during the days following Pentecost. A question arises: “What was the newly discovered passion that encouraged their change?” In the following pages, I seek to examine Acts 2.42 as supporting the presumption that the “devotion” of the early believers was the means by which radical transformation took place in their lives. There is tension in living the contemplative life in Christ and the active life in Christ. Tension between growing in Christ and living for Christ is experienced by followers of Christ and I suggest that there is a biblical solution for resolving this tension through a persistent devoted nature.

Mulholland suggests tension is natural and is like breathing in and breathing out. Humans are created to do both. “There are not three classes of humans: ‘breathers in,’ ‘breathers out,’ and ‘breathers in and out.’ Healthy physical life requires a synergy of breathing in and out.”[1] Healthy spiritual formation is only possible if there is direct connection between growing in Christ and serving the purpose of Christ. “Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.”[2] The first followers of Jesus devoted themselves to learning of righteousness, fellowship with others, remembering Jesus, and submitting themselves to God in prayer for the benefit of growing inward and sharing the message that Jesus outward.  

Seeking to breathe in and breathe out my devoted life to Jesus. You know I love ya, Don

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[1] M. Robert Mulholland. “Spiritual Formation in Christ and Mission with Christ” JSFSC 6 (2013), 11-17.

[2] M. Robert Mulholland Jr. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1993), 12.

A Call to be Transformed by God

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Abram’s journey may look like it’s a kind of quest, but very quickly he and we will discover quite the opposite to be true. This won’t be a call to take hold of anything other than God. Abram was clearing the road to the cross. Even though he did not know of the cross, he was willing to trust God to transform his life and to bless the entire world. Abram will spend the rest of his life learning to let go; let go of his doubts and fears, let go of all kinds of passions, to let go of his way of doing things

God’s goal is to bring Abram to a point where the only thing Abram has left – is God himself.

God is going to transform Abram in a magnificent way. The call of Abram will lead people for every generation to follow on a road to the cross.

Abram won’t get there by just being a better person; by making a few minor changes in his diet and in his health; he won’t become the person God has in mind by reading a few good books. Abram can’t answer this call with a sorta-kinda, luke-warm commitment and effort – This is going to require tremendous courage if he is going to follow where God is leading.

And the same is true for us. If God needs something from me, I need to try harder. I’ll try to read a few more books, read my bible more, say more prayers, pray stronger, pray louder…But the question isn’t about trying harder… Trying harder doesn’t deliver what it promises to deliver…Yes, you do everything you can to give yourself over the Holy Spirit. You commit yourselves to the spirit disciplines: You read, you study, you pray, you worship, you confess, you serve, you give… But none of that makes you holy. None of it gives you courage. None of it proves you to be God’s possession. Only God himself can make you worthy, make you capable, and bring you to transformation.

This isn’t about how good you are. God uses people like Abram, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Samson, Peter, Mary, Martha, and Paul…What do they have in common? In an uncommon way, they gave everything in their lives over to God – their needs, their passions, their agendas, their plans, their pride, their fears, their hearts, their minds and their souls. Abram teaches us to travel, trust, and be transformed by God by spending more time letting go and giving God more of your heart, more of your time, more of your strength, more of your dreams!!!

You know I love ya, Don 

Hungry for the Transformation....

Followers of Jesus should be the old game, Hungry, Hungry Hippo. The goal of the game that each play gets a hippo to catch up as many marbles as possible. Christian that are strong toward the Apostle’s teaching should be like the hippo quickly seeking to get every nugget of truth from God’s word.

Sins damage the human soul. Transformation is the hunger from deep within the belly of a believer seeking to know more of God and his ways. Acts 20:1 states, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight." Paul was leaving the next day they hungered for the word…so they listen all night long. It is like being out doing physical labor or exercise for a long period of time without food. Deep within your stomach is this urgent call for good food…when you get that hungry there is no desire for junk food only the nourishment that comes from quality food.

The Apostles lived as Jesus lived and followed him for three years. They possessed the knowledge and experience of the tangible life of Jesus. The Holy Spirit guided them in mentoring others as Jesus had mentored them. The new believers embraced mentoring while establishing disciple making as a major pillar in the infrastructure of this new sect within the Jewish faith. 

    The Holy Spirit within a believer encourages the heart and mind to know more about Jesus on a personal level. Jesus was set apart to accomplish the will of God. The Holy Spirit sets the believer apart as a demonstration of transformation. The Holy Spirit sets that church apart as the church sets out to impact the surrounding environment. The Christian theologian, John Stott describes, “They sat at the apostles' feet, hungry to receive instruction, and they persevered in it.”^[1] Discipleship for the early believers was to take that which was forming within their own being and share it with others.

You know I love ya, Don

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[1]          John Stott. The Spirit The Church and The World (Downers Grove, IL.: Intervarsity, 1990), 82.

Being Elevated to Save our life!

Developing a habitual commitment to study and meditation on God’s word elevates the believer to a place of heighten awareness of God’s purpose and a keen awareness of right living. It is the ability to discern right from wrong. It is the absolute truth of God’s revelation. The bible is God’s letter of love and grace to you and to your abundance in living.

Airplane and a rat! An airplane pilot was flying his plane one day when he heard a scratching sound behind him. Knowing he was the only one on board, he quickly realized that it must be a rat. Putting on his oxygen mask, he began to increase altitude and continued this until the scratching and gnawing sounds stopped. After concluding his flight, the aviator searched his plane and found the dead body of the rat next to a hydraulic line that was almost chewed into. He had killed it by taking it to an altitude where there wasn’t enough oxygen to sustain its life. Had he not done so, that little rat could have taken the pilots life. 

 

When we study the truths of the apostle’s teaching, we elevate ourselves to a place that eliminates the unrighteousness from our lives. Hebrews 4:12 states, “ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

You know I love ya...Don

Transforming me in 2014: Pursuing personal experiences with God

A few moments in the presence of God will change anyone.  Sometimes God just shows up on His own initiate and changes people.  However, He has also given us several places to meet with Him and experience Him…if we are looking for Him.  We can experience God in what we commonly call the spiritual disciplines.  (Prayer, meditation, the Bible, silence, solitude, giving, serving, worship, fellowship with other Christians, fasting, etc.)  Spending time with God allows Him to customize us to abundant life.

Jesus said in John 15:4, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

 Cling to the truth…always forgive…resist temptation…pursue God…goals for transformation!

You know I love ya, Don

Tranforming me in 2014: Resisting evil influences

Resisting evil influences

The true test and temptation is not what you do with your weakness. You know your weakness. You know what you do not have. You have no choice but to stand in humility because you are weak in that area.  You and I have a choice when it comes to our weakness… we can fight it and let it take over or you can recognize it is a weakness and go through the fire and suffer. You are powerless in the situation. The true test in temptation is what do you do with what you have? 

 

What you have is what power you have. This is why people who have nothing will lie, steal, and cheat to get something. They have nothing so they must find a way to gain the power to make their own choices. 

It is what you have that truly draws in your temptation. How do you handle this opportunity? Do you use it for your own good or for the good of others. It is not about how you handle broke with your tithe…10% of broke is still broke! It is about how you handle what you have been given and do you give with an open heart that says it all belongs to God and 10% is His portion…. or do you keep strings attached to what God has given you.

You have Internet at your house…you have the power of the world wide web. How you use it is your test. 

“Having” opens responsibility and that opens the influence of temptation…Do you show off so everyone can see what super Christian you are…when you resist evil influences you never have to prove what you already are.

James 4:7 states; “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Satan and his minions are like hackers who are constantly trying to insert bad software into your mind.  We must learn how to identify them, remove them and shut down their access points into our lives. Resisting temptation is hard work and it is hard to remain faithful when all we think on is the sin.

Cling to the truth…always forgive…resist temptation…Seeking transformation in 2014. You know I love ya, Don

Transforming me in 2014: Exposure to and assimilation of Truth!!!

Truth is a life-transforming agent.  The more truth we know (personally, intimately and exponentially) the more we will become like Jesus.  Jesus said it this way:

“If you continue in my word…you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”  John 8:31-32

Assimilating truth is like downloading new software into your mind. You are what you think. If you want to be a scientist, you go study science. If you want to be a musician you think on music. If you want to be a historian, you study and think on history. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, you need to think on Jesus. If you want to renew your mind and bring about a transformation with in your heart…then you need to think on the truth.

Being a racist is not something you were born with …you thought on these things and it is a lie that changed your thought process. Sin in your life of watching bad things or using crude language or clinging to property or coveting and lusting over things are all sins of the mind…want to change and have a new day... a new year…find exposure to and assimilate in your life truth.

Seeking Transformation in 2014...You know I love ya, Don

Transformed by the Great Transformer!

David C. Casland wrote:

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, spent 40 years helping people hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. When he died in April 2012, one newspaper article carried the headline, “Charles Colson, Nixon’s ‘dirty tricks’ man, dies at 80.” It seemed surprising that a man so transformed by faith should be identified with things he did as a politically ruthless presidential aide decades earlier before he knew the Savior.

The apostle Paul’s conversion and his early Christian witness were greeted with skepticism and fear. When he began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, people said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose?” (Acts 9:21). Later when Paul went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, they were afraid of him (v.26). In years to come, Paul never ignored his past, but spoke of it as evidence of the mercy of God (1 Tim. 1:13-14).

Like Paul, we don’t need to parade our failures or to pretend they didn’t happen. Instead, we can thank the Lord that through His grace and power, our past is forgiven, our present is changed, and our future is bright with hope for all He has prepared for us.

Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign. —Burroughs

 

Only Jesus can transform our life. You Know I love ya...Don