His name is Jesus!

So, let's get back to the core of our belief. Please, please let's return to Jesus!!

Jesus!!!

Is he onto something?

https://youtu.be/zng2piCy4RA

Do you think he's onto something? Do you agree? Disagree? What are your thoughts?

Onto something?

THE DIFFERENCE

PRAYER THOUGHTS NOV 1st

As we were praying this morning the topic of relying on God and God alone came to me, and i felt God speaking to me from the knowledge of believers in other countries and why is it that their faith seems a lot more real and active and alive and relevant than ours. 

Why is it that it seems like their spiritual lives, their everyday lives, even though under pressure, under attack, under challenges, trials and difficulties, seem more alive, more full of joy, peace, love, kindness, and just an overall contentedness and wholeness than ours?

What is it about their faith that seems so different and real than ours?

I believe that one of the reasons that they experience God in a different way than we do is because most of the time their situations and the availability of “other gods” is not available to them. They have no financial security. they have no counseling services. No medicine experts. No psychologists, no big shopping malls, no 150 channels, no sports figures and big rock bands. no great educational systems. No running water and air conditioned places, no heated homes, no big luxurious houses and vehicles, vacation spots, etc. They live very simple, rural, humble, scarce, shaved off lives without the temptations of other gods screaming at their lives and hearts. What they have is trouble without the option for bandaids. 

They have to rely on faith because most of what they can see is not hopeful. Most of what they see is already depressing. Hopeless. Dark. Oppressing. At times even demonic.

So they need to believe in something greater and higher than what they can see. And God becomes something they embrace and cling to because they know that apart from the divine they have no hope, no joy, no chance for life, freedom, peace, comfort, etc. 

And for us that is not the case or the reality. We have so many choices, options to try out before we come to God and believe that he can do anything about it. We try on our own not once, twice or three times, but countless times before we come to the end of our rope, and then we might turn our eyes to heaven and might try crying out to God, still many times in complete disbelief and doubt that he might even care or even be able to do something about it.

How sad is our situation when the one source, the one place where we can find all we need is relegated to the last option and even then we might not even try it.

And when he does show, we fall in love with him all over again only to be choked up again pretty soon by the temptations and things of this life, the empty and relentless pursuits that leave us hollow, tired, exhausted and spent without the energy or strength to be who God created us to be in our families as mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, teachers, doctors, workers, lawyers, etc. 

When we talk about revival i don’t believe it will come like we think will come. It won’t be a magic trick performed by God in a prayer meeting. We are far too gone for that. It will come as he brings conviction to individuals and communities all over this country and world that we need to return to His word, to the true message of the gospel and we allow His spirit to use this message, the simple message of the gospel to transform us, to change us, purify us, rebuke us, reshape us and then empower us to boldly live it out!

Until we realize that our culture has taught us that we don’t need God and has educated us and discipled us into the belief that we have all we need and that we can be self-sufficient apart from God, until we realize we’re living under the influence of satan’s lie that says we cannot trust God and that we “can BE LIKE GOD”, we will not see anything happening but the continued debacle of our society and our world!!!

There’s a reason why God tells us the story of the Israelites and the Exodus. He had to lead them to a place of complete dependance on Him so that they would truly become his people, and even after everything he did for them and how he kept them safe, fed them, provided for them and loved them, they still wished for Egypt. 

Crazy, uh???

When we think about the people around the world and see their situation we feel bad and sad and we pray for them, but honestly, I think even when we hear that they’re being massacred and killed and murdered, they die happier, fuller, and more fulfilled people than us. And why? Because they have experienced the verse that we so often sing but do not live “i once was lost, shackled, bound, enslaved, but now i am found, freed, liberated…was blind, ignorant, alone, depressed, hopeless and finished, but now i see, know, hope and am alive!!!”

What do you think???

CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH - WE NEED TO RETURN TO HIS WORD

As I watched this video (and I have watched it a couple times) I am so thankful that there are people out there, leaders, who are committed to pause, stop, think, meditate, look deep into God's word and allow it to speak to us, to teach us, to impart truth to our cores and to transform us.
It is a trait, an art, a tool that we so seldom and rarely use or practice anymore. But you can see, as he is asked the question, with what care, respect and quietness he gives his answer. And you can tell he's being cautious as to what he's about to say. And the words that come out of his mouth are so wise. Why? Not because he's a great speaker and he's so smart and awesome and gifted and he knows it all.
No!
The reason his answer is so wise its because it points back to God, His word and his wisdom. We are so quick to give our thoughts, our answers, our insights, from our perceptions and conjectures, and we post all kinds of opinions and non-sense in the social media sites without even thinking of the repercussions and impact that those things we say will have, specially if and when they come based on our own feelings, views, lenses and filters that we see the world through, instead of the word of God.
Brothers and sisters, what is happening to us???

When approached with questions about any issues that are out there and that are relevant to our culture, whether about religion, politics, social or anything, how are we answering them? Are we pointing people to God's word and truth? Or are we merely drilling people with our own wisdom?

Let's be careful that we don't do the latter.
Francis Chan is giving us an example here on how to approach individuals that have real questions and that need real answers.

He's right. Do we believe God is our creator? And if we do, how's that affecting our every day lives? Our thoughts? Emotions? Opinions? Views?
And if He is who he says he is and we believe Him, then we will believe His word. And if we study his word then we can find out the truth that will set us free. We will yield and surrender and accept His truth no matter what. And if we don't, then it's a personal choice.

Let's stop arguing and fighting and putting all our flawed, bias, and personally crafted opinions on social media sites and let's start by pointing people to the truth of God's word as we ourselves commit to doing so in our own lives first. What do you say???

Pointing to God and His word!

THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT

As you watch this, let it speak to you about what's the real deal, and THIS MESSAGE is what we need to go back to. Until we let this message mess with us so deeply that it alters all of our worldview, we will never be or experience what God has intended for us since the beginning.

THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT

As you watch this, let it speak to you about what's the real deal, and THIS MESSAGE is what we need to go back to. Until we let this message mess with us so deeply that it alters all of our worldview, we will never be or experience what God has intended for us since the beginning.

CAN YOU RELATE?

HIS WORK OR MY EFFORTS?

AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST

“Jesus show me just how far the east is from the west cause i can’t bear to see the man in me rising up in me again”

Do you know the feeling of shame, hopelessness, anxiety and despair that comes whenever you feel like you are not measuring up, like you are falling short, like you need to try harder, do better, be holier, pray more, read more, go to church more, be nicer, etc?

That feeling of guilt that surrounds you sometimes when you remember your sins, your shortcomings? Like when you yelled at your kids in frustration? Or when you said something mean out of anger and pain to someone that hurt you? Or when you forgot to keep a promise with someone and you let them down? Or maybe when you did that thing in secret you struggle with and that you promised you wouldn’t do again? That secret sin you’ve been struggling with that no one else knows about but that haunts you and makes you feel so crappy that you can’t shake it off and have victory over it?

I cringe at the thought of me going back to some of the things God has liberated me from, freed me from, and healed me from. So, when i see some of these things wanting to rise their ugly heads again, I fear, i shutter, i get anxious and stressed out and allow for the feeling of hiding and running away to fill my heart and mind. 

Do you know what i am talking about? Maybe you are different than me. Maybe you never hear words of accusation, guilt, torment and shame that make you want to hide, reach for some kind of comfort, make you anxious, angry at times, frustrated with the way things are going. Maybe you are able to quiet all those voices that tempt you to run away from God and make you and me hide from Him like Adam and Eve did when they disobeyed. Maybe you are able to escape and triumph over the temptation to avoid coming to God because we have come to the “conclusion” that “i am so flawed, so broken, so messy and so rebellious that there’s no way God could or wold take me in and forgive me for the 1000000000000000th time”.

“I’ve failed so many times…i’ve done it again” 

And we feel the need to try harder, to make more promises and sacrifices, to try an appease this God we think of as a strict ruler, a righteous judge and mad and angry Father, who is disappointed with us and looks at us with this “OMG, you did it again” look on his face. 

So we say “I’ll go to church more” or “i’ll pray more” or “i’ll read the bible more” or “i’ll try harder at being nicer, kinder, more generous, etc”

But it doesn’t last. Soon after that we fail again and there we go all over again. Vicious cycle. 

And it will never end. Because that is what it is…A CYCLE. Round and round it goes.

So, what’s the answer?

I have been reading this book called “Abiding in Christ” by Andrew Murray. And it has been a beautiful read and an amazing tool for me to remember how it all works. How my relationship with Jesus works. How His freedom and love and forgiveness and justification and redemption and restoration and sanctification works.

There’s so much i could write about this, but i feel like these couple thoughts he shares with us sums up what i am trying to say here. 

All our striving to be better, to be holier, to grow, to make up for our shortcomings and to please our Father (cause we think he needs to be pleased with our performance and our good works and deeds) will never get us anywhere. We cannot do anything on our own. He says it In John 15:5 - “Apart from me you can do nothing!!!”

We cannot be better. We cannot become holier, We cannot please him with our works and deeds. We cannot appease His righteous wrath. His word says in Romans 2:5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.[a] 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

So, today, i cannot rely on anything good i can accomplish or do. I CAN’T! I cannot measure up to His standards. I cannot win His approval. 

So, then, how can i find peace in the midst of the turmoil, confusion, guilt, shame, torment, and struggle in my heart and mind? How can i find rest in the midst of all the accusations that come my way, about who I am and what i’ve done?

I need to remember that His sacrifice has been the only thing that has satisfied God’s ultimate standard and His wrath has been appeased and His verdict has been paid for and our freedom has been bought and our salvation has been granted and our inheritance and adoption has been established and our forgiveness has been made possible. 

And this is His doing. Ephesians 2:1-10 declare this truth. And verse 9 sums it up. “Not by our own works…”

So, what Andrew Murray says is this “remembering that what we do is only the manifestation of what God is doing in us. The establishing in Christ is HIS WORK. He accomplishes it by stirring us to watch, wait and work. But this he can do with power only as we stop interrupting Him by our self-working, as we accept in faith the dependent posture that honors Him and opens the heart to let Him work”

You see, friends, even the work of us growing and maturing and being victorious over anything in our lives comes from Him. It is His work in us, as we yield to His power and His will everyday, that will enable us to overcome. It is as we learn to abide in Him, trust His work in us, become fully surrendered to His love, and trust Him with all of our hearts that we will be able to experience the true transforming power of His spirit in us and that we will be able to become more and more like Him in our everyday lives!

Be encouraged today. You cannot do it alone and on your own. You were not meant to. 

What you and I were meant to do is to return to Him, to abide in Him, to listen, to BE IN HIS PRESENCE, and as we do this, He will lovingly mold us, transform us and change us into His perfect image. 

Unthinkable You - Louie Giglio Sermon Jam

This sums it up in a nutshell. We need to go back to finding our identity, and it can only be found in who God says we are!!!

Indescribable by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman

We're missing the gift of awe and wonder. Thanks to Louie Giglio for reminding us of these amazing things that make our heart connect to the bigger picture!

A WINDOW INTO OUR HERE AND NOW - IGNITE

A LITTLE VIDEO OF LAST NIGHT'S GAME

I am letting you all know my heart is full of all kinds of feelings right now, all good and exciting, and at the same time humbling and awe-inspiring.

I am almost speechless as I sit here and try to write this email. I'm speechless cause there's so much to say, so much in my heart that I believe God is speaking, doing, revealing, stirring...I am going literally crazy!!!

I know it might come as a surprise that I would be at a loss for words, but I'll try to make it up to you as i put my thoughts down in this email.

LOL!

God at work at church in the youth and the worship team and in people's lives altogether is so beautiful. And i am so thankful that i can truly confess that it's truly been Him and Him alone doing this. I am so thankful that I can truly confess that it is Him doing all of this work, and feel so blessed and so humbled that He is so kind as to invite us, share with us what he is doing and allow us to be a part of it. To know that in and of ourselves we cannot make anything happen, come up with great ideas or device some great kind of program that will impact, change and touch the lives of the people we have been called to serve. i am so glad that we have no power at all whatsoever. That we are worthless without His power.

You have heard me say this over and over again and I truly stand by it 100%. We cannot do anything apart from Him. It s only Him that will draw all men to him. It is him who produces in us to will and to do. It is His spirit that leads us, speaks to us, reminds us, prompt us and communicates with us our Father's heart.

So, with all that said, I am so thankful to be able to share a few things that are happening as praise and a testimony to how he's moving and as an ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP LIVING AND SERVING AND LOVING PEOPLE THIS WAY as Spider Lake Church.

The last few weeks I have been anxious on Wednesday nights as I think and pray about youth group and the kids and the night and the worship and the message and everything else that goes on there. I confess that the peace and rest i had been experiencing in the knowing that i cannot and will never be able to control what the kids think, how they feel, whether they like me or us, what we are doing, and letting go of all that pressure and just enjoying the ride with God and His work had left me a little bit, and i began to feel a little bit of the "performing pressure". The pressure to say the right things, do the "right things", crack down on worship and prayer and bible study and raise the expectations on these kids to behave better, to pay better attention, to want God as much as i do, and to begin to see things they way i see them.

All these things that only bring stress, anxiety and the temptation to control, to take over, to try to manipulate things. Manipulate the worship times, the prayers, the lessons, etc.

Wow, how sickening does that sound to me? Very. Yet it is always a temptation.

And last night, or yesterday, I was glad God was so kind to remind me of this situation and helped me be at peace.

It is crazy, though, how easy we can fall into that "performance" temptation.

So, I will share with you what has been transpiring with our High Schoolers and then a couple amazing things that happened last night as well.

I have had only three students the last couple weeks, but it has been good. They've been tired and not super 'hyped" to be there necessarily, and not because of anything else but the tiredness and the craziness of  everything they have going on. But even in the midst of that "resistance" or "apathy" we have had some really good discussions about our beliefs, what we believe, why we believe it, the purpose of our existence and what truly matters in life.

It's an exploration that I believe is necessary so that we can truly know what we believe and why we believe it. And all of this so that we truly have a strong foundation and an anchor in our souls.

Yesterday it was a night of honesty again, where a couple of students, based on what we were exploring, asked and shared some things that brought us closer to truth about God and who He is and how He sees us and how He wants to relate to us.

Next few times I believe We will beginning to truly look at the basics of Christian life or the gospel, our core beliefs and then as we go through them the idea is to arrive at a conclusion every time of whether we're going to believe it and embrace it, all with the purpose of strengthening and building this foundation.

But It is also SOOOOO refreshing to see Danielle with her class when i come out and to see how engaged those kids are and how good they seem to be responding and participating. I loved hearing my daughter praying to close and hearing her prayer. Thanks Danielle for investing in those kids. It is worth it!

And then to hear what happened in Leah's group. I'll keep it short but basically as they were going through their lesson some of them said, "wait, i had never heard this, or understood this, but, this needs a response" I know i am paraphrasing it, but i think it is basically what this kid said, and so Leah gave them the option to ask more questions and to respond if they wanted to. And what was the response needed? To ask Jesus into their hearts and give them over to Him. And so 4 of them did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, 4 young kids gave their hearts over to Jesus, and the best part is that they did it fully knowing what they were doing, and it was their decision based on the truth they had heard! This gives me the chills and brings tears to my eyes. It sounds like the new testament church and the Holy Spirit at work.

It was Him convicting them, leading them, drawing them near to Him. This is what we are praying for. This is what our hearts cry for. His Spirit drawing all men and women to Him.

So, as of last night, there are 4 newborn brothers and sisters in our youth group!!!

How beautiful and how sweet. As i remember singing "Amazing grace" last night i can't help but think that God was preparing this all along.

And after all, to be able to just have so much fun with a game of charades and the "mannequin challenge"...THANKS ANGIE!

The kids love the games!!! AND SO DO I! We need them. They want them. They ask me every night.

And to know that the kids feel loved and at home at IGNITE makes me all the more passionate about just letting God and letting go of all expectations.

It is not easy, but please, I ask you, to help me pray that we will continually be reminded to yield to Him, to get out of His way and to just bow our knees everyday in complete surrender and allow him full say and do in our youth group and church as well.

So, let us not give up loving and being there for these kids.

And for that matter, let us not give up loving and living our lives so that they truly reflect the character of our Father and Jesus as we let Him for it in our hearts!

Have a blessed day!

Francis Chan - If you just open your Bible

OUR GREATEST NEED IS TO RETURN TO THE WORD OF GOD!!!

MY HEART WILL SING NO OTHER NAME

Oct 31, 2016 | Blog

I know tattoos are and have always been a topic of controversy. Everyone has their opinions about them and they are all valid and respected. Just as politics, religion and many other topics, we will never see eye to eye on a lot of things, and that’s why I’m leaving that topic off for now. The reason why I am sharing these pictures are for something different. I have these two tattoos on my arms because a while back I was going through a season where God was doing something really deep within me. A work of convincing, conviction and captivating that led me to encounter this truth that rang super deeply in my heart and that brought me to a place of awareness and understanding that I had never experience before. One of those “a-ha!” moments that completely changed the way I looked at my relationship with God and at God Himself!

It was the revelation, the truth of God’s sufficiency in my life, in our lives, and in our world! The revelation of Him being enough, more than enough, to fill, fulfill, complete, provide, everything in everything!

That He is indeed, the GREAT I AM!

The song goes like this “And oh, I’m running to your arms, I’m running to your arms, THE RICHES OF YOUR LOVE WILL ALWAYS BE ENOUGH…” and then there’s this part that says “my heart will sing no other Name, Jesus, Jesus…”. And this is where this truth hit me really hard. Our hearts have been made, created and design to worship. And we are all worshipping something. We are all running somewhere for our comfort, our worth, our value, our peace, our joy, our significance, our love. We are all giving ourselves and of our time to look for ways to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be full, to be comforted, to be at peace, to find joy, etc. And we are all in some way or another in a hot pursuit for that which will make us feel satisfied. But let me tell you what I’ve found…”salvation (meaning, peace, joy, love, comfort, peace, wellness, fulfillment, worth, value, freedom, etc) is found nowhere else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we can be saved” ACTS 4:12

This is what salvation means. And it is found nowhere else. No where else that you are looking in! Stop it! It’s not there. There’s only one place. David says in in Psalms 73:25 “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire more than you; my heart and my flesh may fail, but God, YOU’RE THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER!!!”

So, what are you in pursuit of and where are you trying to find it? MY HEART WILL SING (look for, pursue, believe, trust, surrender to, yield to, worship, lift my eyes to) NO OTHER NAME, JESUS, JESUS!!!

Here’s my prayer today:

• Father, i want you so much more than anything else on earth. My soul can feel the deep cry for you and for your courts, knowing and realizing and being aware that nothing on this earth could ever satisfy and fill me with life, wholeness, fullness, meaning, worth, value, joy, peace, love the way you can.
• In fact, I wasn’t meant to find it anywhere else.
• Only in you. Everything else is fake. Everything else falls short. My heart aches cause it realizes and feels also the deep cry of the flesh for the things of this earth. It is a battle that i know has been won, yet the intensity and reality of it can be felt in my chest, as it struggles to truly give you everything and yield to your love.

• Why is it that our hearts, my heart, refuses to yield, to believe, to trust, to embrace the very thing that can satisfy me and complete me?
• Why is it that my heart battles your love, your pursuit, your calling me to your side, to your courts?
• Why does my heart rejects the invitation to dwell with you, to abide in you, to listen to you, to hear your words, to let them wash over me and speak into the core of who I am?
• Why do i fight your spirit and your prompting to let go of all I am and find that as i lose everything i hold dear and that deceitfully keeps me trapped in a false security I will find the very thing I am divinely longing for?
• Daddy, let my spirit and my soul be swept away, struck down and completely submitted to the furious strength and power of your love, that i might have no other choice but to completely yield, surrender and allow myself to be captivated, enamored and committed to your heart.
• That in every way my heart will belong to you!
• That no matter what the situation, the challenge, the struggle, the fight, the battle, the trial, my heart will SING NO OTHER NAME!!!

GRACE TO GRACE - A song from Hillsong

If love endured that ancient cross
How precious is my Saviour’s blood
The beauty of heaven wrapped in my shame
The image of love upon death’s frame

If having my heart was worth the pain
What joy could You see beyond the grave
If love found my soul worth dying for

How wonderful
How glorious
My Saviour’s scars
Victorious
My chains are gone
My debt is paid
From death to life
And grace to grace

If heaven now owns that vacant tomb
How great is the hope that lives in You
The passion that tore through hell like a rose
The promise that rolled back death and its stone

If freedom is worth the life You raised
Where is my sin, where is my shame
If love paid it all to have my heart

How wonderful
How glorious
My Saviour’s scars
Victorious
My chains are gone
My debt is paid
From death to life
And grace to grace

When I see that cross I see freedom
When I see that grave I’ll see Jesus
And from death to life I will sing Your praise
In the wonder of Your grace

I’m sharing this song from Hillsong with you because it speaks volumes about what life is truly all about and it puts us in a place of accountability. What do I mean with that? It puts us in a place of looking at something that has been done for us, in our favor, completely underserved, whether we know it or not, that has liberated us, freed us, pardoned us, forgiven us and changed our status in the justice system. But let me make this clear. I am not talking about this world’s justice system. No, not even close. Our system is so flawed, untrustworthy, corrupted, bias, etc. No, not this system at all. What I am talking about is the cosmic, heavenly, divine, Holy, perfect and unfallible justice system of our Creator, our God, the King, the Ruler, the absolute authority in the universe, beyond time restriction and limitations, the Righteous Judge!!!

In His system, we are doomed, broken, lost, hopeless, guilty, condemned and sentenced to death. Absolutely no good deed, no good work, no good thing that we could come up with would ever be good enough, could ever satisfy the punishment, the verdict, the sentence that our disobedience, sin and rebellion have earned. The wages of sin, any sin, all sin, is DEATH! That is how the system works. Yours and mine works of “good behavior, going to church, doing the right things, not drinking, swearing, gossiping, generosity by giving, being a good person, working hard, etc” will never be enough.

God’s system doesn’t work that way. And thank Him for that!!! In an of ourselves we cannot fix what our disobedience has brought on us. We cannot earn anything. Freedom, salvation, being absolved. No, nope, no way!

His word says that our good deeds are like “filthy rags”. The word used here for filthy rags is not a pretty picture. The word filthy is a translation of the Hebrew word iddah, which literally means “the bodily fluids from a woman’s menstrual cycle.” The word rags is a translation of begged, meaning “a rag or garment.” Therefore, these “righteous acts” are considered by God as repugnant as a soiled feminine hygiene product.

So, what hope do we have? Why do I say that thank God that in His system these works, deeds, won’t work?

Because that allows for the awesome display of His true nature, His true character and His identity!!!

He is unfailing love. Unconditional love. Underserved grace. Underserved forgiveness. And He offers all of these things to us. Freely. Because of His love.

The only problem is that most of us have not known this, believed this, embraced this and own this. We live our lives unaware that everything that needed to be done to get us back into relationship with God, which is the ultimate purpose of our very own existence, has been done. That we cannot save ourselves. That we have been granted and given the salvation, the pardon, the forgiveness and the freedom from the curse, the condemnation, the verdict, the sentence and the punishment.

What we don’t understand is that this gift, even though is free, needs to be embraced, accepted, welcomed, wanted and lived out, used!

His love is available to us today. His freedom. His life!!! But we need to reach out and grab it, make it ours, believe it, and live it out. And that means letting go of the one old, broken, sinful, filthy, hopeless, lost and dead life we live now. I’d say it is a great exchange, don’t you think?

What about our lives right now, without experiencing life and life to the fullest, is worth hanging onto?

Let’s respond to this amazing pursuit and let His life blossom in ours!!!

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN…

What does this mean? How can it be true?

Why did Jesus teach us, showed us to pray this way? Your kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN? Why this way?

It has been a while since i felt Dad speaking to me about this, and it has been a very long and intimate and sweet exploration of this thought that has brought me to truly believe that this is one of the most important aspects of our faith, of the gospel, of our experience of life here on this earth.

The idea that His life, His kingdom, His realm, the way things are in heaven are available to us here on earth, that they can be experienced here on this earth, today, as we live and go through our lives everyday.

That his love, his peace, his comfort, his provision, his freedom, his power, his friendship, his abundance, his healing, his promise and his fullness can be lived out in our lives everyday regardless and in spite of our situations, our challenges, trials, tribulations, temptations, mistakes, brokenness, darkness and just everyday happenings. That it can truly affect for the better every relationship, every friendship, every word, every emotion, every feeling, every pain, every wound, aching, disappointment, failure, eetc.

But how? How can this be possible? Is it true to hope for something like this?

Or are we doomed to go through life struggling without hope? Without joy? Without peace? Without joy?

Why are we here? Why did Jesus come to die for us? Was it just to pay the price for our sins? To rescue us from the penalty of dead? To cancel our debt? To get us a ticket to heaven? WHY? I always ask the why’s because it is so important to explore, to dig deep, to wonder, to inquire, to look for the answers.

WITHOUT EXPLORATION THERE’S NOT DISCOVERY. WITHOUT DISCOVERY THERE’S NO EXPERIENCE AND WITHOUT EXPERIENCE THERE’S NO KNOWLEDGE!

So, if Jesus’s whole stint on earth was just to save us from death and sin and damnation, then why are we still here on earth? Why not just take us with Him once we have embraced His forgiveness and the gift of His sacrifice for us? Why not just rapture us right now and bring us with him and end this whole thing?

Why are we in the midst of political turmoil, a rise of immorality, hatred, injustice, war, despair, murder, lies and deceit, division, indifference, etc?

What’s the purpose, the deal with our lives here on earth?

I’ve heard it said that in this life we are not to look at our situations as “troubles” or “struggles” but just as events. That we ought to change our perspective from looking at what life brings us and calling them troubles to looking at them maybe as events, or opportunities or something else like that. And i maybe get the point they’re trying to make. But this is not the way of the word of God or what Jesus said.

He did say “in this world you WILL have trouble…but TAKE HEART, i have overcome the world”

And Paul says it over and over to the people he writes to in the different churches that he help plant. To the people that he dearly loved and cared for. He knew that in this world we would have trouble.

But he also knew there was a reason that we we still here on earth even after having embraced God’s gift of salvation, and that was to bring others to the knowledge of the hope, the salvation, the life, the freedom and the peace we could experience and live out everyday of our lives. To bring the hope of the true gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

“On earth as it is in heaven” reminds me of that song that has truly made a huge impact in my life and i know in other people’s lives as well, and in some cases it has impacted others with a negative connotation. Which is sad because we are so narrow minded that we lose focus of truth, and we twist it and dismiss it and overlook it or criticize it without truly looking, digging, pondering, meditating, and exploring its meaning.

The same thing we have done with the word of God. We have failed terribly at holding the word of God as what it is…the INSPIRED, GOD-BREATHED and POWERFUL word that comes from the very heart and mind of the creator of all things! WE have forsaken, sugar-coated, minimized and made irrelevant the very word that was given to us for life, for teaching, for admonishing, correcting, disciplining, and forming in us the very character of Jesus in us.

***But that’s another topic which i will touch on on my next blog about this election and our prayer meeting that we had at Spider Lake Church last night.***

The song I am referring to is John Mark McMillian’s “How He Loves”

And the part i am quoting is “and we are his portion and he is our price, drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes, if his grace is an ocean we’re all sinking; so HEAVEN MEETS EARTH LIKE A SLOPPY WET KISS AND MY HEART TURNS VIOLENTLY INSIDE OF MY CHEST, AND I DON’T HAVE TIME TO MAINTAIN THESE REGRETS WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE WAY THAT HE LOVES US!!!

Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss? I asked the youth what they thought about this line and they were all like “gross!!!”

And that is exactly the response a lot of people have gotten from it. And here’s where I think is so sad that we have missed the point.

When i hear this phrase and think about the mental picture it brings to my mind, what i can see is this intimate, very passionate and yes, maybe gross to look at, kind of physical expression. But what gets me is the meaning, the intention, the strength behind it.

This reminds me of passion, of true lovers, of an expression of intimacy that should only be experienced in the right and holy realm of committed love before God, (marriage) but nonetheless a gross, unashamed, unreserved and very intimate expression of desire, love, unity, connection, harmony, consent between the two parties involved, a fusion of bodies expressing their feelings and their connection with each other.

Maybe i am being too graphic, but it is with a purpose. Because when i hear this phrase in relation to the kingdom of God meeting earth, meeting us, like a sloppy wet kiss, it makes me thing of heaven, God, with all His passion and desire for us, with all his promises, his love, his joy, peace, his thoughts of good for us, his plans, his purposes and his riches, provision and comfort and healing, forcefully and furiously breaking the realm of dimension and time and space and connecting with us with all the power and force and strength and majesty and divinity of His nature!!!

And when Jesus says “on earth as it is in heaven” it makes sense then that as he lived this way Himself, healing, comfort, peace, joy, freedom, forgiveness, and all other kind of miracles were possible, cause helped his life experiencing heaven on earth. When he touched a person it was the kingdom of God being present and available and here with us. When he loved someone it brought not only physical healing but real wholesome healing to their souls. When he said “all these things you will do and ever greater things than me you will do” he meant it! He knew and believed that everyday we could experience the kingdom on heaven here on earth.

But what does it take? It takes truly embracing his word, what he offers, what he promises, and in order to do that we need to let go of our own way. Our own wisdom. All that we hold dear. We need to repent. WE need to surrender. We need to empty ourselves of ourselves. We need to relinquish all power, all control, all fear of what it might look to truly trust him, rely on Him, believe him, abide in him, and not pursue what our hungry and thirsty souls are running after.

Which sadly are all empty pursuits. Things that will never satisfy the true need of our souls. HIM!!!

IF WE ARE WILLING TO LOOK AT THIS, AND EXCHANGE THE PURSUIT OF ALL OTHER THINGS FOR THE PURSUIT OF LIVING HIS KINGDOM AND EXPERIENCING HIS LIFE EVERYDAY, WE WILL BEGIN TO SEE A CHANGE IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES. INDIVIDUALLY, AS FAMILIES, AS SOCIETY, AS A NATION AND THE WORLD!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS. AGREE? DON’T AGREE? WHY DO YOU AGREE? WHY NOT?

LET’S BEGIN TO PRACTICE THE DIGGING DEEPER, ASKING QUESTIONS, CONVERSING ABOUT THIS AND EXPOSING THE LIES AND THE DECEIT OF SATAN. IT IS TIME

ELECTIONS...?

***Disclaimer: This blog, this one specifically, does not reflect the opinions and stances of the leadership and staff and council members of the spider lake church. it is absolutely the conviction and the view of the writer and the writer alone. Any comments, complaints, disagreements should be brought only to the writer of this blog, which is me, David Teran. It is also not an attempt for any political conversation or argument or discussion. It has no political agenda or any other agenda of any kind. it is merely, again, what i believe God laid on my heart. Thanks***

ELECTION???

What’s really going on???

It has been the craziest season of election and political turmoil in the last few months. I need not say anything else. All things have been said. All sides have spoken their views and thoughts. All parties have gone back and forth, and sadly, both you and i have been a part of it one way or another, whether posting other people’s posts, creating our own, or commenting on everything we see on all the social media sites.

But, what is truly going on?

People are asking for prayer for this country. People are worrying, fretting, going overboard with fears and anxiety, the atmosphere charged with uncertainty, hopelessness, despair, etc.

People are making statements like “i’m leaving if so and so wins” or “if so and so wins we are doomed” or “there’s no good choice” or many other statements that let us see into how and what we believe.

But as we were at our prayer meeting last night @ the Spider Lake Church i couldn’t help but feel irritated and uncomfortable. WHY, you might ask.

This is why.

As we were praying, it was as if, (and this has been going on for a while now as I hear people say what we need to pray for and how we see this whole situation) we feel or think that this situation can be fixed with a miracle, or that somehow God needs to come and fix this in a “magical” sort of way. We don’t know how. We have no idea. But we are hoping and praying that maybe God will, in some “hocus pocus” kind of way just come in and save the day!!! WHAT THE HECK ARE WE THINKING? WHY DO WE EVEN THINK THAT THIS IS THE WAY THAT GOD WOULD MOVE? WHY DO WE PUT ALL THE RESPONSIBILITY ON GOD TO FIX THIS? OK, YES, I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU THIS POINT…HE ALONE CAN DO IT. WE HAVE NO POWER WITHIN US TO DO ANYTHING. WE HAVE NO POWER TO CHANGE ANYONES’ HEARTS. AND AS WE LOOK AT THE CANDIDATES AND THE PEOPLE RUNNING FOR OFFICE AND THEIR CAMPAIGNS AND EVERYTHING RELATED TO THIS ELECTION WE REALIZE THAT YES, WE NEED A CHANGE OF HEARTS! BUT EVEN THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN AND OF OURSELVES!!!!

So, what is truly going on? As we were praying there last night, God shared with me, I believe, that we are very deceived in the way we are looking at this whole thing. And that is the BIGGEST PROBLEM WE ARE FACING IN AMERICA, OUR LIVES, OUR FAMILIES, OUR SOCIETY, OUR WORLD TODAY!!!

We have forgotten to really look at where the problem lies. We are so busy blaming each other, finding fault in everything else, blinded by pride and arrogance and a lack of conscience and honesty.

Really, brothers and sisters, the problem lies in one thing and one thing only…OUR HEARTS!!!

We have forgotten God, have taken him out of schools, allowed for murdering of our babies, allowed for our freedoms to be taken, our morals to be erased, our values to be compromised, our families to be infected with lies and deceit, etc.

Now, you might say “aren’t you being a little hard on you or on us”, and you might be right. I am being hard. First of all on myself. I am so prideful and arrogant that I refuse to take ownership of my own faults and sins and lack of commitment and lack of gutsy attitude to stand up for what I believe and know and confess and declare with my words that is right.

I spend so much time talking about it at church, in my group of “safe people” to share with, or thinking about it, but very little time living it out, allowing it to change me from the inside out, and transform me.

And what I am talking about is THE WORD OF GOD.

The problem that we are facing is due to us, our decisions that we have made everyday. This is not something that just happened overnight. This is a problem that has been brewing for decades, for generations, as we have slowly forsaken the holding on to the word of God, allowing it to change us, to mold us, to teach us, to discipline us, to guide us, to transform us, etc. YES, we preach it from the pulpits, we blog about it, we post cute quotes online, we share it here and there as a cute thought or as something to make us feel good about ourselves, put in on t-shirts, signs, cards, etc. But very few of us are actually living it out, experiencing its power everyday of our lives, and we can see that reflected in the condition of our world today. We marvel at the hatred, the turmoil, the division, the murders, the injustice, the bitterness, the quarreling, the rapes, the cheating, the deceit, the divorce rate, the pornography and double lives lived by so many, the indifference, the lack of attendance in our churches.

But why do we marvel at these things?

We have allowed for all of this to happen. It is our fault. We are reaping what we have sown.

And this is what I am referring to about what God spoke to me last night about.

We are hoping for some miracle.

Hello people, God doesn’t work that way.

He didn’t even spare His own people Israel.

When they sinned and walked away from Him, he brought judgement. Loving judgement. I am not calling for judgement for this nation. I AM NOT SAYING WE NEED TO PRAY THAT GOD WILL JUDGE THIS NATION. The judgement is already upon us regardless of anything. That is the way God works. Like I said, all we need is to look at scripture and know that when a nation departs from God, judgement will come. He is A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. His word says that.

So, stop thinking we are going to escape the consequences of where we have gone and what we have planted. No, we won’t.

But this is not the point. He is in control. We know that. We know that whoever wins it is of no surprise to him. He already knows. Again, if we go by His word, it says there that he sets up kings, establishes leaders and rulers and he also takes them away and brings them down. This world, this nation, belongs to Him. So, don’t worry about who will win tomorrow. He already knows, and he is the one that decides that. Not you and me. We don’t know better. We could be praying for Trump to win and God might want Clinton there. “How could he want that”,  you would ask if you are a republican or conservative. We could be praying for Clinton to get in and God might want Trump there. Again, you might ask the same question if you are a liberal or Democrat. But, hello???How arrogant have we gotten that we assume that we might know what’s better for this nation???

Do you see how useless and deceived this kind of thinking is?

I might get in a lot of trouble or step on a lot of toes, but reality is, we need to look at the WORD of God and what it reveals about the character of God.

He is more interested in the hearts of his people, and where we have wandered and gone so far off to.

So, if we do this, then we can take a look at the history of the world and how God has dealt with these situations.

Every time Israel would sin he would discipline them. He would bring other nations to subdue them, to enslave them, to take them captive, etc. He would bring other nations to plunder them, to kill their people, etc.

When they disobeyed in battle he will allow for other nations to beat them, to rout them, to capture them, etc.

When they offered the wrong sacrifices, when they tried to do things their own way, God came hard on them and rebuked them, admonished them, corrected them, disciplined them.

So how can we think that he won’t do that to us? He loves us people!!! And like every parent that loves their children will discipline them and lovingly punish them when they’re disobedient and rebellious, so will our Father in heaven. Now, that is also in His word, isn’t it? So I am not giving you any new wisdom, cause I have none. All I am doing is looking at his word and allowing it to speak to me and hopefully to us.

What else can we look at?

Well, that when a nation was being addressed by our Father about their situation, specifically about their rebellion and disobedience, their response was very important. What were they going to do with what God was presenting to them?

And that is what God shared with me last night. Examples of nations’ responses and the outcome of that response.

Let’s take Sodom and Gomorrah. What happened there? An admonition, a call to repentance, a warning and a sentence was given to them. They were brought to the knowledge that God was not happy with their lifestyle and he told them to repent. What did they do? IGNORE IT. REJECT IT.

And what happened? BOOM!!!! You can read it for yourself.

Another example: Pharaoh and Egypt. Result? Same.

Another example: ISRAEL time and time again when the didn’t heed God’s word and call to repentance. What was the outcome? Slavery. Exile. Death. Hopelessness. Punishment. Defeat. Destruction. You name it. Read it. Go ahead. Take the time to explore these things.

Now, what happened when they did hear and heed His word and his call to repentance?

Let’s look at some examples.

NINIVEH – Jonah and the whale, remember? Yes, they were naughty, a very naughty nation. But when they heard the warning, when Jonah told them what was going to happen, what did they do? HERE IT IS PEOPLE, THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS BLOG AND WHAT I BELIEVE IS GOD’S MESSAGE TO US TODAY IN THIS NATION AS WE LOOK AT THE NEAR FUTURE…THEY REPENTED!!!!!!!!

YES, THEY REPENTED. THEY HEEDED THE WORD OF THE LORD AND REPENTED. THEY FELT BAD ABOUT THEIR SINS AND LIFESTYLES. THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THEY HAD DONE WRONG. THEY HAD A SPIRIT OF REPENTANCE.

Brothers and sisters, what we need in this nation, in our lives, is God to bring a spirit of conviction, of repentance, of godly sorrow over where we have gone, over our lifestyles, our choices, our decisions, our compromises, the way we have forsaken his word, his ways, and have traded the beauty of His gospel and the meaning and power it is meant to have in our lives as we embrace its truth and have embraced instead a philosophy of fatness, of comfort, of compromise, a gospel of pride and arrogance, where we are comfortable and safe, unwilling to suffer, sacrifice and yield to his will in our lives. We have accepted satan’s lie that tempted us to want to “be like God” or “become like God”. WE have bought the lie that somehow we know better than God what’s best for us.

And if we do not pray and ask God to bring this spirit of conviction, godly sorrow and repentance to our lives and to our families and our country and world, then we will continue to see these things rise and fear the worst.

The example God brought to my heart last night about this spirit of conviction and repentance came from the story of King Josiah in 2 Kings 22.

If we are serious about His word and that word being powerful, then read the story and see what happened.

I’ll tell you a quick version of it. He was in his 18th year as a king, and in a mission he had sent some of his people to fulfill, they found the book of the law. He didn’t know what it said, so someone read it to him. What happened next is what I BELIEVE NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN OUR INDIVIDUAL LIVES FIRST, THEN OUR FAMILIES AND THEN OUR NATION AND SO ON AND SO ON.

VERSE 11 “ WHEN THE KING HEARD THE WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THE LAW, HE TORE HIS ROBES!!!”

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THIS IS AMAZING. THE KING ASKS GOD “WHAT’S UP WITH THIS?”

AND GOD SAYS “I AM BRINGING JUDGEMENT UPON THIS NATION ACCORDING TO EVERYTHING THAT SAYS IN THERE”

SO, DOES IT LOOK LIKE GOD WITHHELD THE PUNISHMENT FROM THEM? KEEP READING THE STORY

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THE STORY ALL THE WAY THROUGH CHAPTER 23.

VERSE 25 OF CHAPTER 23 SAYS THIS “NEITHER BEFORE NOR AFTER JOSIAH WAS THERE A KING LIKE HIM WHO TURNED TO THE LORD AS HE DID – WITH ALL HIS HEART AND WITH ALL HIS SOUL AND WITH ALL HIS STRENGTH…”

So, brothers and sisters, the answer is not anywhere else but in coming before God and allowing his word to convict us, to allow His spirit to bring us to a place of repentance and godly sorrow for how far we have fallen away, and to ask him to help us experience a new hunger for His words, his laws, his decrees, his commandments and for the strength to follow them everyday of our lives, and to end the compromise we have made with the world and with the enemy.

We need to come back to God. And that will not happen with a “hocus pocus” magic trick. It will happen when we, as Josiah did, allow His word to penetrate deep into the most intimate parts of our souls and let it rip apart the kingdoms we have built so that he alone has all say and control in our lives.

THERE’S HOPE FOR OUR NATION – HIS NAME IS JESUS!