What Draws You, A Thought on Dating & Marriage

“But I love him/her/them!”

Meaning what exactly?  There is a reason we should be telling our children they need a Christian spouse but there is also a reason we see them (and ourselves sometimes) dating non-Christians or at least dating inactive Christians.  What is it exactly that draws you to that man or woman who makes your heart race and your palms get damp?  Of all the possible reasons you might be drawn to them, looks (and to this I somewhat add race as well) should be one of the very last.  Proverbs 31:30 says, “favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.” 

How someone looks is vain (useless and unimportant in the long run) because unless they are supernaturally gifted in that department as Sarah was it won’t last long.  Beauty may draw someone to you or you to them but character and character alone will make it last.  Psalm 39:11 says God’s rebuke will eat your good looks up.  Isaiah 28 talks of sin causing the glorious beauty of a land to be eaten up and wiped away and in its way refers to the individual as well.  To this we add Isaiah 53 where our own Savior is said to be without beauty in the natural sense. 

What?  How can that be?  Our own Savior Jesus without natural beauty?  Consider President Abraham Lincoln.  Have you ever seen his photograph?  To be sure he has a striking visage but certainly not handsome.  His face is craggy and lined with hollow cheeks and a mole prominent in one of the two lines framing his mouth.  It is said his voice was grating and disharmonious.  His detractors used to call him monkey face and between the hollow cheeks and curly beard you can see the resemblance. 

For all that, Lincoln was a learned man, a liberator and great motivator.  He was a visionary whose Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.  It is said that he pressed through severe illness, possibly even the beginning stages of smallpox to give the speech.  Plain though he may have been, grating though his voice may have been, Lincoln was nonetheless a man of good character and beautiful in the eyes of the Lord.

Have you considered what spoken line makes your knees weak and your brains turn to mush?  Are those words the absolute truth?  Come on, be honest.  Are those words the absolute truth?  Are they some version of, “You are fine as new wine in the summer time.”  Sound corny?  So do most of the lines that get us men dates.  Proverbs 31:30 says that, “Favor is deceitful.”  We are currently choosing a president to lead us and one thing I know is that they WANT your favor.  They want you to like them.  Are you a Christian?  They are Christians.  Are you Muslim?  They are a friend to Muslims.  If you love the color red, they just decorated their den in that color. 

Someone who wants your favor will do whatever it takes to get it.  It doesn’t matter if they must fracture the truth a bit to get it.  That’s just how favor is. 

You might be asking yourself, “So what preacher.  What are you trying to say?”  I’m trying to say that there are some really great people out there who don’t sell themselves well because they are honest.  Some of them don’t come across as exciting or special because they tell it like it is and don’t try to color themselves in broad strokes when the one you are dating now has lied to you for years.  I’m not saying all men and women seeking a mate are liars, but a lot of them are.  Your task is to find out which one is lying and which one is telling the truth.

Before you can find the right one, you have to make a life decision for yourself.  What sort of mate do I want anyway?  Am I looking for someone who will care about me and help me through the rough times as I help them through theirs or do I want someone beautiful but bitter whose touch in my life will devour my soul and diminish my life?

If the man or woman you are pursuing (or being pursued by) is not placing God first in their life then there is no hope for a godly home with that individual.  It’s bad enough that they have a secular mind and are not sold out to the Lord but to raise children with that sort and have your kids grow up twisted…  I once knew a Jewish woman who was marrying a Catholic man.  When I asked her how they would raise their kids she foolishly told me they would allow the children to choose.  Lunacy!  You must raise up a child in the way they should go.  One day soon enough it will be against the law to raise a child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  The men and women passing these foolish laws will be the same ones raised by the likes of a Jewish man and a Christian woman who believe in nothing at all.

Each of us has a responsibility to God to limit our relationships to those He has sanctioned.  It is incredible how many excuses we can think up when we marry out of our faith.  This is by no means a thorough or complete list of the things I’ve heard:

I’m lonely.  (So find someone qualified to join you in a CHRISTIAN marriage.)

The brother / sister is FINE!  (Now, what about twenty years from now.)

I can get them saved.  (Really?  Let me see you do it now with no relational issues involved.)

My faith sanctifies the relationship.  (Not an excuse according to God since it refers to relationships entered into prior to your salvation so don’t bother quoting me the scripture.)

My example will change them.  (Hasn’t worked so far has it.  What makes you think living in the same home will change things?  Sinners tell one another that the good mates are all in church you just gotta get the religious stuff out of them.  Who is going to change who?)

There are no saved men / women out there.  (Not true.  God always has someone for those who are actively seeking.  Scripture may say that a man who finds a wife finds a good thing can be speaking of a nurturing woman who will make a good wife and not merely a Christian woman.  Becoming a Christian does not make a woman wife material.  It doesn’t make a man husband material either.  That is a whole other level of readiness. 

We just click together.  We fit.  (What you seem to be saying is that you have more in common with a sinner than with a saint.  Perhaps you fit so well because you need to draw closer to God.  In all honesty you shouldn’t fit that well with someone unsaved.  It’s a problem and frankly it’s your problem.)

As I say, this is just a bare scraping of the surface.  None of these excuses are valid. 

Another point I’d like to make is that too many people fail to prepare THEMSELVES to be the husband or wife God has called them to be.  If you come from a single parent home you have no example to follow of a Christ centered marriage.  Getting a scriptural foundation as a man or woman for marriage is absolutely necessary.  In a perfect world you would pick this up by watching your two (2) parents and they would have received it the same way and have supplemented their basic training through thorough study of marriage text in Scripture.  Without this two-parent basic training you not only have to learn ‘theoretically’ what is required of a husband or wife in marriage but also overcome all the damage caused by that lack of proper upbringing. 

Yes I know some of you are screaming at the screen right now and telling me your mother (or father) did just fine raising you alone.  The truth is they did not.  They may have been the best parent in the world and still could not raise a child the way two loving male and female parents could.  Why?  Because your responses from infancy to adulthood would all be skewed by the lack of a participating parent.  Even your individual parent’s responses to daily life would be different.  God’s best choice is for two people who love Him with their whole life should meet one another and love each other with their whole life and raise children in that love. 

In reality when you marry after two or three generations of single parenthood you bring all the reinforcement of that history to bear AGAINST your unified ‘couple’ marriage.  YOU aren’t comfortable with the proper roles because you have little or no experience in them and the unsaved society which does not want to ‘own up’ to their failure in serving God will try to tell you that your single parent upbringing is just as good as a two parent (heterosexual) house.  It is not.

Men and women are different.  We think differently.  We act differently depending on the situation.  Each of us brings different strengths and weaknesses into the relationship.  When those relationships are out of line with the Word of God then the children grow up damaged and lacking. 

Culture is how you have been raised from generation to generation and that culture becomes normal to you.  If your culture stresses the normalcy of a one-parent home then that becomes part of culture.  The parent in this culture is unlikely to stress the Biblical plan as the only lifestyle because it will point a finger back at themselves and force them to admit they have missed God in this matter.  Coming from a two-parent household I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to adequately impress upon my children the ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT that they establish a two parent Christian household without holding my own failure in that area before them. 

There are social, racial, financial and other reasons that make it difficult to do what God requires and yet, He really doesn’t want to hear any excuses.  God just wants you to do the right thing. 

God does not expect you to fail.  He has given you the tools to succeed.  Society used to hold you to a higher standard, which made it harder to go against your parent’s rules. 

Society and your parents used to say “Do not have sex before marriage.”  Now society says you are nuts to marry before testing the goods.  Society and your parents used to say “Do not marry an outsider, an unsaved person.”  Now they coin a four-letter word, “love,” and say that word makes everything all right.  These people have totally diluted God’s definition of THAT word.  Society used to say that an unwed mother or father was a negative thing, which forced you to at least try to make your marriage work if you had one.  It used to be till death do us part and now we marry till the thrill is gone.

If you do not like this or it makes you feel bad, tough.  It’s real and it’s honest.  This isn’t even an exhaustive lesson on this subject; it barely scratches the surface.  God says to marry before sex.  God says to marry another believer who loves God with their whole heart.  He says, “Do not marry an unbeliever.”  God is not ambiguous about it.  He says what He means and means what He says. 

Will God love you if you slip?  Yes.  Will He forgive you if you marry someone outside of your faith?  Yes.  Will it cost you in ministry and in life?  You can take that to the bank.  It will cost you dearly.  God’s rules aren’t to make our life harder; they are to make it more productive, loving and fruitful. 

It’s your choice beloved.  I hope you make the right ones.

Bishop J

In Honor of Jeannie Lewis

The road was hidden most of the time with no clear direction.  You knelt down in prayer which brought you low enough to see the path ahead and on your knees you followed that lighted way.  “I have children Lord,” you whispered as the clearing seemed to turn away from home and hearth.  “They are my children as well,” came the whispered reply.  Heedless of travel over oceans and into foreign lands the path cared not for your comfort or personal wishes.  “Higher up, further in,” cried the voice of great insistence from somewhere deep inside. 

In moments of strength you stood with hands held high and declared your unwavering faith.  In other seasons you whimpered, “Lord, if it be possible, let this cup pass,” only to continue, “but not my will Lord, thine alone.”  His nurturing Spirit carried, cajoled and comforted you on almost every continent, before moments strong and frail and before those who loved and hated.  Your many wounds served you well and tears brought comfort to others weaker still. 

You cared not for arrogance or haughty lives but raised the weak and humble.  Your example brought an, ‘I can’ attitude to all who heard your counsel. 

This is the season of your peace and if we are not comforted in your absence let us be so for your joy.  You will be missed noble lady … but only briefly.  You will continue to speak in our hearts through that echo of words remembered, and dedication so well known.  One day soon enough we shall make this same journey.

Rest well noble lady and when we too have done as well and fought as hard in the service of our King then we shall see you on that golden path waiving as we enter the gates of glory.  On that day you will no longer be missed for we too shall walk in robes of white with crowns of honor upon our heads. 

Worry not for those you have left behind noble lady for we shall remember all you have spoken into our lives and remember that now it is up to us to enter in.  You have brought us as far as the Lord will allow gracious woman of God.  Now it is up to us. 

When our days are hard and threadbare; if our hearts are bruised and torn.  When we wonder if we can continue, if we can accomplish the task God has given, we can hear your wise words clearly spoken, “Well, why not!” 

Why not indeed?  God will see it come to pass.

Rest well noble lady.

Bishop J

Crawl, Walk, Run

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith

I tell you I’m ready now!!!  I can prophesy like Elijah, Preach like John the Baptist and teach like Paul the Apostle.  Give me a church full of people and I will really shine.  Step aside and watch! 

So, you think you’re all that and more eh?  Jesus believed much about himself as well.  In John 8 he said, “14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.” 

Perhaps you really are on par with our Savior…more likely not.  One thing I know however is that those who brag had better have actions and power to confirm their lofty gifting’s because swelling words and empty promises are the talents of pompous politicians.  Can you say to this mountain be removed?  Have you emptied the hospitals of sick and infirm?  How about one hospital?  No?  One floor of the hospital? 

In Exodus 14:16 Israel hadn’t learned to trust God for much.  In spite of the obviously miraculous rescue from slavery the people found it difficult to fully trust the invisible God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Moses was bringing their complaints to the Lord and He had had enough.  His answer was for Moses to send the people forward into the sea.  They must have looked at him like he was crazy.  Hey old man!  Don’t you see the water lapping at the rocks under our feet?  We can’t go that way and now you’re telling us that we won’t ever see Pharaoh again?  How’s that going to happen; you going to drown us?

The truth was that God allowed them baby steps and provided miraculous paths in the sea for them to walk.  When the Egyptian army tried to walk the same path they were drowned.  You can’t walk the miraculous unless you walk hand in hand with the miracle God.

Where are you in your walk?  Do you feel pressed up against an impassable obstacle?  Has your faith already begun to raise up a standard against that wall or have you begun to hammer it down through your prayers?  Maybe you just wet your pants in fear…  Don’t be offended, we’ve been through all these stages of growth and know how difficult they can be.  On the other hand we shouldn’t be telling everyone that we are the next savior of mankind and they need to listen. 

Whenever you know with some certainty that God is leading you in a specific direction it is time to keep your eyes open for the testing.  A soldier does not go into battle until he has trained and learned the way of war.  In most cases the training is actually worse than the warfare itself.  One motto might be, “Train hard, fight smart, and let the other guy die for his country!”  God will put you through season after season of ever more difficult scenarios before trusting you with life and death situations.  We wrestle not against flesh and blood.  We wrestle against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.  Time after time you will find that wall in front of you and each time it will take more faith to break it down. 

This is a basic fact of life in Christ.  A weight lifter doesn’t pick up three hundred pounds of steel when he first begins.  He picks up fifty pounds and works his way up to ever increasing amounts.  Acts of faith that would have me hiding in the closet thirty years ago are handled almost without thought now.  They are becoming my ‘first’ nature.  It’s not that I don’t have to try any longer or work as hard, it’s just that the level of trial has increased.  We are the pillars of the house of God.  The strength of those pillars determines how much of His house you can support. 

If you are the pastor of fifteen people and never seem to grow past that number then perhaps it’s time to ask God for some new trials.  That might seem foolish and even dangerous but a soldier doesn’t join an elite force without taking ever-increasing risks.  Soldiers in training get hurt all the time.  Sometimes they even die.  Saints in training get wounded all the time.  Sometimes they even die.  Hopefully they don’t backslide.  It’s better to die for your Savior than to turn to the enemy.  You want a greater ministry?  Pick up the pace of your life before God.  Press toward the mark.  Phil 3:14 uses the word dioko for press.  It means to pursue, to prosecute and persecute.  We must harass the enemy until HE cries uncle.  Right now he is kicking your behind and making you too scared to take him on.  Think about it.  Scriptures says we are MORE than a CONQUEROR.  If you are a soldier and your bulletproof, bombproof armor is sitting in a closet collecting dust then no wonder you are getting beat.  Your sword is rusty and dull and your feet are shod with the gospel of run for your life.  If you look around for your shield of faith it’s probably under a sheet in the living room being used for a coffee table. 

Sigh.  Okay, perhaps I’m overdoing it a bit but I don’t think so.  We have every gift and opportunity we need to be super soldiers for Christ and we aren’t accomplishing great things.  That’s on us, not the Spirit of God.  He’s pushing.  The Father is pushing.  The Son is pushing.  The only one not pushing if you are not successful is YOU.  If Satan pushes, don’t get scared…push back.  If you get hurt, don’t quit, PUSH BACK!  He can’t kill you without permission.  He can’t seriously hurt you without permission.  He can only whisper in your ear that you are a loser and it’s up to you whether you listen to that lie or tell him to shut up and move on.  He can plague your unsaved loved ones and make your life temporarily miserable until you TAKE IT BACK and BUST HIS SKULL!! 

If you have made it to this level then you are no longer a babe who requires his daddy to hold both his hands just to walk.  Babes and toddlers wobble along and frequently fall down and cry.  Waaaaah!  Waaaaah!  Daddy!  Change me.  Rock me.  Burp me.  I can’t do anything.  Waaaaah!

I don’t know about you but I would be embarrassed to tell God I can’t make it, even with thermonuclear spiritual devices at my command.  I’d be ashamed to tell Him I quit just because someone hurt my feelings.  You’re not in daycare any more.  You’re not in kindergarten where you get a snack right after your nap.  Now you’re in grade school and He expects you to learn your ABC’s.  Now you are part of a community and expected to learn your responsibilities.  This is what Kennedy meant when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for YOU but what you can do for your country!” 

We’re past the season of your life where you cry, “God!  I’m useless!  Feed me!”  Now it’s time to say, “Lord, how can I help?  Teach me how to cook.  Teach me how to clean.  Teach me how to pick up around me.  Teach ME how to set the table and take care of the little ones.”  Yes brothers and sisters it is time to WALK!  Moses isn’t going to hold up his staff until the Lord pushes all the water out of your way.  This time you will get your feet a little wet before you see the miracle. 

Joshua 3:14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

We’re not talking about a little trickle of water like the Santa Ana River that gives Riverside, California its name.  If you run fast you can practically jump over that.  We’re talking about a mighty rushing river that was at flood stage and at best a frightening torrent of water.  This is the river that the children of Israel came to, the Nile, the Mississippi, the Amazon!  This is the reality of the God that they and we serve.  This time there was no Moses to make it happen before anyone had to move.  This time the priests had to march into the river and it would not stop flowing until AFTER their feet got wet. 

I grew up in the State of Washington and did a lot of camping when I was young.  In the Spring when all the snow began to melt the rivers would overflow their banks and the water would rush along carrying logs, debris and if they weren’t careful the occasional human being.  This Jordan wasn’t a quiet sleepy brook babbling along but a loud raucous torrent of muddy stirred up water waiting to snatch the unwary toddler.  To cross this you had to be a well-balanced walker at least.  There had better be a little RUN in you too.

How long does it take two million Jews to walk to walk from one side to the other with all their flocks and herds, wives and children?  That’s how long the priests were required to stand in the middle of the river with the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders.  I’m sure it took more than an hour and would be surprised if it took less than a day.  These men were walking before God.  They were forced to hold fast when the people just scurried over as quickly as possible in case God’s hand got tired and the water came crashing down on their heads.  The priests had a bug’s eye view of the foot of God holding back millions of tons of water.  That was not a place for the faint of heart.

Do you suppose they got tired just standing there?  How many priests carried the Ark of the Covenant?  It was not nearly as large as a coffin in a funeral but it was covered in gold with a solid gold lid so it was heavy.  Perhaps twelve priests stood there, one for each tribe in Israel and three holding up each corner of the Ark by shouldering the staves of gold plated wood.  Depending on whether the hammered cherubim decorating the lid of the ark were solid or hollow it could have weighed anywhere between a few hundred pounds (say 150 kilograms) to almost eight thousand pounds (3500 kilograms).  Even if it only weighed 300 pounds and each man only carried twenty five to thirty pounds it was a difficult and wearing task to hold it up for so long. 

The Navy Seals have a test where they all run together bearing a large log on their shoulders.  If one man falls they all fall.  They run through along the beaches and into the water and back out again.  The Seals have a powerful drive that keeps them going as well as an unwillingness to let their brethren down.  We have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us and if we truly listen to Him and lean on HIS power we can accomplish great feats that would crush us on our own.  I venture to say we should be at least as unwilling to let our brethren down as the elite military teams.  They serve a nation but we serve Almighty God. 

Perhaps the priests swapped out men as they got tired throughout the day.  Scripture doesn’t say; but I believe that when you are in the midst of a great work or trial for God and you truly lean on Him there is no need for relief until the test is complete.  Once it is over there will be a time of refreshing and you will discover that you have risen to a new level of faith and victory.  Most of us quit during trials because we lack faith, not because we are too tired to go on.  Fear robs us of our hope and we become ashamed.

Perhaps the people all made it over in one day or perhaps it took several days and God let the water resume each night.  However long it took they stood tall and did not waver in the work of the Lord. 

Joshua 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests 'feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:  5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

Somewhere during this great migration into the Promised Land God told Joshua to select twelve men to gather stones for a memorial.  He must have sought men of great character as well as strong bodies to carry the largest stones possible.  It has been said that when Jesus came toward Jerusalem and the Pharisees were offended that His disciples and the people called “Hosanna” and honored Him as the reigning king, that Jesus may well have indicated the twelve stones collected by Joshua’s order and made into a memorial of God’s miraculous provision.  The valley of Jericho wasn’t so far away and they would have known what it meant.  This was a sign of trust, that God would not drown them or stumble in His protection.  God expects us to learn from His various provisions and to mark those experiences so we do not forget to give Him honor when that honor is due.  He also wants us to expect and depend on future provision and remember in faith the past.

We need to learn to ABIDE in faith.  It is one thing to breathe a word of thanksgiving after an unexpected deliverance but are you ready to walk in the miraculous?  I’m not talking about mountain moving trust yet.  I’m referring to faith for toothpaste and basic needs.  I’m referring to daily provision of food and shelter that you did not procure out of your wisdom or direction but through God’s wisdom and providence.  We grow from faith to faith but if you are too timid to try and trust God then you have no basis to please Him with your faith.  God isn’t your fairy godfather who just leaves money under your pillow but he does want to guide and direct you every moment of every day.  He has arranged things for you to experience if you are willing.

10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: 13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

Can you see it?  Can you see it?  In the life of Israel right here and in your own life can you see it?  God does not merely produce miracles because He wants you to walk in the miraculous; God produces miracles so you might trust Him for the next one.  Grab ahold of this…FROM FAITH TO FAITH.  From level to level.  From mountain top to higher mountain top.  There is no plateau where you just sigh, lay down on a bed of lilies and say, “it is finished.”  That was Jesus’ project, not yours and when He said that He was dying.  You are supposed to gird up your loins and stay in the fight.  The miracle is that once you get in the fight He keeps giving you greater and greater outpours of His Spirit.  Just be ready for the even greater fights. 

Stop yelling.  You knew that was coming. 

Israel didn’t get to the other side and enjoy a picnic.  Israel got to the other side through a miracle so it wouldn’t be that hard to accept God knocking down the walls of the greatest military garrison city in the area.  Forty thousand prepared for war came from the tribes of the other side of the river and were added to those who were moving in to their new property.  They didn’t leave their wives and children to think deep thoughts.  They came across armed and ready to take on the enemies of GOD!  They came to make war!  Their faith was in the God of the river behind them.  Their faith was in the Red sea of days past.  God prepared the miracles to prepare their hearts for the next step! 

When God does a miracle in your life don’t waste it by kicking back and resting on your laurels.  On the one hand they’re God’s laurels and on the other you will need that miraculous push to take down the next stronghold.

14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

The Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of the people.  Read Joshua chapter one and see how many times God told Joshua to be strong and very courageous.  Why?  Because God was in a miracle-making mood like He is today and He rejoiced to see Israel on a roll.  Once they were across he turned His eyes off the water piling up beside them and the river flooded back down its banks.  God’s eyes are on you to work great miracles and when He takes His eyes off of someone their life falls apart.  You don’t want God to put you in a holding pattern.  There are no miracles in a holding pattern.  There are no wonders in a holding pattern.  That is a place where God is watching to see if you will wake up and listen.  It’s much better to listen now while He is speaking AND moving.

Jeremiah 12:4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end. 5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan.

God is not going to hold back His wrath forever.  Our president recently said he wants to see daylight between Israel and the United States.  That means he doesn’t want us to be so close.  The sin and degradation of this land is greater than at any time in its history and right now any act of kindness we bestow upon Israel will help to protect us from His anger.  That said, this portion in Jeremiah is trying to get us to understand that life out there is bad.  Between the sin and the wars it is only going to get worse.  Right now we have a measure of peace that other nations do not have.  If things in America aren’t deadly to saints then let me ask you a question.

Why is the church struggling so much?  We’re not being destroyed but Arab and Chinese churches are thriving under persecution.  We are not thriving.  You say, “You don’t understand preacher.  Things are hard right now.  I don’t pay tithes so I can’t find a job.  I don’t study scripture so I am afraid all the time.  I don’t pray for my fellow man and so things never seem to work out.  If God would only fix this stuff I could do the right thing.”

Hogwash.  God insists on tithes.  He insists on prayer, fasting and consecration.  He insists on holiness where you don’t lie just to get your way.  God expects His church to represent Him no matter what and if you are not part of the few, the proud and the sanctified then you will NEVER amount to anything in Christ.  You will just be another sorry saint wallowing around in your pity party.  You do not build your faith by telling God what you will not or cannot do.

Beloved, we’re past the crawling stage.  God has made us great and given us authority to make powerful changes.  We’re past the walking stage.  We should know how to believe God for our day-to-day needs.  That is just living saved 101.  We ought to be in the running for our lives stages.  That doesn’t mean to run away but to run toward the battle with our armor on our bodies and a shout of triumph on our lips.  If you get a sword cut or knife jab in your back and Satan declares victory then just remind him that he is the Prince of Lies and keep on walking … and running … in victory. 

Wounds come.  Sorrows come.  Pain comes but victory is an every day thing.  You cannot lose your victory unless you give it away!

Blessings,

Bishop J

Few and Evil, What Of It?

Few And Evil

What Of It?

He has too much talent just to live a happy life.

Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed, focused and always turned toward Him.  On the other hand Psalm 44:22 and Romans 8:36 says that we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter and for God’s sake we are killed all the day long.  Talk about a strange dichotomy of bliss and death.  This is why Christ was considered to be a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness to … well … us, the Greeks. 

Consider our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  He was everything we’re supposed to be and never achieve.  He was holy, unblameable, unreprovable and totally without sin.  He always did everything right.  Jesus was caring and compassionate and He served God down to the letter of the Torah, God’s law.  For that He had to die.  1 John 3:13 says we should not be amazed if the world hates us.  We are Christians, the Christ like ones.  It is required by the devil that all his children hate us.  We need to get used to it.

I heard the statement above on a television show and the Lord reminded me of it.  We are not called to go out and do good works and live happy lives.  We are called to live like Christ lived and lead the lost to an Eternal God who will guide us in whatever direction he wants us to go.  He might want you to be like John the Baptist and make straight the paths of one who will follow behind you and reveal the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in more depth.  The problem is John was beheaded to finish HIS race.

Genesis 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

Jacob lived his entire life for the Lord.  He had a shaky start with Esau and all the skullduggery which God chastened him for with his uncle, serving for his wife (wives, extra wives).  Jacob worked for decades and when his uncle went too far cheating him after God had finished correcting him, God drained all his uncle’s bank accounts and left him behind … broke.  He wound up with four wives (don’t get me started there.)  His sons barely got along with one another and went through more years of deception, jealousy and assaults against one another with one son winding up as a slave.  In the end though that worked out okay.

In all his trials and tribulations Jacob never forgot God’s promises to Abraham his grandfather or to his father Isaac.  He couldn’t understand how God’s visions to Joseph could have been so wrong after wild animals presumably killed him.  Jacob lived in grief over his dead son Joseph, his favorite wife Rachel, and all the difficult times he was forced to endure.  He was almost certain Esau would kill him on sight when he returned home and went through many difficult times. 

One could easily be discouraged or surrender but Jacob kept plodding along serving God.  One day near the end of his life he learned that it all had been worthwhile.  God had not forsaken them or the dreams of young Joseph.  Near the end of his life Jacob was reunited with his son and was called upon to bless the most powerful man on Earth, Pharaoh.  His son had become prime minster of the greatest power on the planet and God would see his chosen people through the greatest drought in history.

Isaiah 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

I have said this before … you … are … a … POT, a dish, and a utensil in the hands of God.  Whatever use He has in store for you is for your ultimate good.  If you happen to be a chamber pot and your neighbor is the expensive vase at the museum remember one thing…both are priceless in their own way.  Don’t stress out over being molded in a direction you didn’t choose.  God calls those who insist on doing things their own way dumb beasts who do not know their maker. 

I am a clay pot.  God has called me to do a work for Him.  It is enough.

Luke 9:57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Why did you come to the Lord?  Think back over the years and consider that question.  Some of you got saved to miss Hell; others fell in love with the God who loved them.  I personally came to the Lord because I was bored and wanted a change in my life…not very spiritual I know.  Whatever reason God used to call you (and all are valid), God Himself was the architect of your salvation.  He was the one who drew you with bands of love; who appealed to your needs in a special way that brought you to that moment of surrender. 

While all that is wonderful and poignant it is only the beginning of the journey.  Scripture says, “Many are called but few are chosen.”  Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If any man open the door I will come and share a meal with him.”  My point here is that this dinner is not a candlelit dinner but a business meeting.  He is bringing you into the kingdom and showing you what He expects of His subject / brethren.  There will be a candlelit dinner but it will come later; after the work is complete.

God wants you to know in advance that this walk is not an easy one.  The birds have nests and the foxes have holes but the Messiah has no real home to lay his head.  Jesus is inviting you to join Him in that life. 

Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60-- Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Once He has asked you to join Him life is not generally easy.  You will be tried and tested.  You will have a crises of faith…perhaps several.  A crises of faith is that moment that makes you wonder if you should continue.  I can tell you it is worth it but I cannot tell you it won’t hurt.  Family members will expect certain things of you and your answer may not please them.  Abraham was told to leave his nation and father and others like the young man above are told to let their spiritually dead family handle their own problems while he handles God’s.  It’s not that Christians aren’t supposed to care about family but our eyes are on a greater prize.  Your duty to God is greater than any other.

Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot had been half dragged out of Sodom and when the angels led them out they warned them not to look back.  Take care that when God begins you on a path you don’t keep looking over your shoulder at what you’ve left behind.  I have certain concerns about my own future but I have embarked upon a new adventure and I cannot forge ahead by staring longingly behind me.  Israel did that.  They wandered about in the wilderness being kept alive miraculously.  Their shoes never wore out, their clothing either.  In spite of this supernatural provision they never stopped looking back at Egypt and the tasty foods they had there.  They had taken everything they could carry from the Egyptians and were wealthy beyond description but they longed for the old days … of slavery.

Beginning a life of faith is always hard but never forget that many are called but few are chosen.  This is a walk where you REALLY want to be in the chosen category.  Give God your all and eventually you will have all.

Luke 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.

But I was just going to say goodbye?  Exactly.  There comes a time when you need to step out and do what God has called you to do.  I once read that you could tell the well-trained professional soldiers from the scared want to go home kids.  The soldiers would jump off the helicopter at the landing zone and walk straight into the jungle without so much as a glance back.  The frightened kids would stand there and watch the copter fly away.  It can be frightening and difficult to serve God at times but faith will keep you walking forward in spite of your personal doubts and fears.  The battle is ahead of you; not in the life you have left behind.

Personal note:  As someone who used to watch the helicopter fly off, please understand that we’re not all at the same place spiritually, emotionally or socially.  A few of you get it right away.  For some it takes time to trust God in all circumstances and to embrace the life.  Some will NEVER get it.

Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Don’t beat yourself down if you don’t get it right away.  I suppose my answer to the question, “When will the church trust God implicitly,” is…when mountains fly.  Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, “Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea,” and doubt not in your heart then you shall have what you say.  Have you seen any mountains fly away into the sea?  Me either.  We all have doubts.  We all fall short.  That said, we are all pressing toward that mark.

Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?  Not one.

This verse is not a dig against women.  Adam wasn’t born of a woman and his life wasn’t all rose petals and ice cream sundaes either.  We are a fallen people.  You have committed enough sins in your life to miss God completely.  You don’t have the right to judge someone else and you certainly can’t save someone and bring cleansing and clarity to him or her.  No one on earth can make you or anyone else clean; only Christ can.  It takes time to learn to serve God properly.  He will complete the work He has begun in you…unless you quit.  You’re not going to quit are you?  Please don’t quit; this life is over so quickly and THEN things get really interesting.

Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.  God hoped for a universe and it was.  What do we hope for?  Rahab believed that Israel would overcome Jericho through God and hoped for a better future than her people would have.  She didn’t give any valuable military information and nothing the two spies saw made any difference to the future of the city.  She saw herself in a dangerous, even fatal situation and reached out to the only ones with answers, the two Jewish spies.  Because of her importunity she purchased the lives of her entire family.  Yes she abandoned her people.  The whole point is that you will no longer be the earthborn; you will be the children of the Most High.  If everyone around you is about to die and spend an eternity alone in Hell why would you want to join them?  Do you really think God has designed Hell so there are mutual admiration societies in operation?  I can almost picture Hell as an enormous group of soundproof boxes where you get to spend eternity, alone, with no water or light or hope. 

Please don’t tell me how mean God is for sending you there.  If you are reading this you have been given another opportunity to call on Him and miss Hell.  Nope, if you want to go there with your family fine, but I’m not going.  I’ll take the door with the cross on it please.

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

These people endured the worst privations and assaults against them for the sake of the kingdom of God.  Tradition holds that Isaiah was stuffed into a hollow log and sawed in half.  Jeremiah spent more than a little time buried to his neck in mud and we already know Joseph was a slave for decades.  The three Hebrew boys were tossed into a furnace and though they lived unscathed it had to be one of the worst – and most glorious – days of their lives. 

If you wonder how much people have suffered for Christ’s sake just read Foxes Book of Martyrs.  In that book you will truly see how depraved mankind can become without the grace and love of God.  If you live in the United States you already see our freedoms eroding daily.  If you live elsewhere you may never have had those freedoms.  In either case, things are pressing toward the final conflict and Satan will not go quietly into that good night.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Those who have gone before us are our examples and those who watch us now are our witnesses. Whether those who have passed on before see us or not is irrelevant.  I personally wonder if they do because why would God force them to grieve our foolish choices when they have already made it in.  I think they witness to our consciences and help our decisions.  They give us an example of patience and faithful endurance.  Even Jesus is this sort of example though He indeed watches us every moment of every day. 

Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Have you ever been lied on?  Just me I suppose.  Has anyone ever changed the story just enough to sound plausible and get you into trouble?  Yep, me too.  The truth is if they hated Jesus you won’t be on their Christmas Card list.  Your life and dedication to it is just too extreme (or should be) for you to live comfortably in polite company in this world.  The truth is beloved, you can’t ALWAYS remain silent because after a while your lack of input makes you look afraid and not wise.  Eventually you will have to speak on behalf of your God and I hope you find it in you to do so.

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

I grieve for those who have never known a loving mother or father.  How difficult it must be to develop a warm loving relationship to God when you don’t have the basics down, however imperfectly, with your parents?  I have seen the results of this on society when a child who has lost mother and father is just trying to make it and thugs and gang bangers in school make his or her life a living hell.  This is not God.  This is not a healthy way to live.  When you add to this an inability to actually raise your children without being accused of abuse or neglect or any other crime by hyper vigilant Nazis currently working in some social service organizations you have a society on the ropes.

Jehovah is not a brutal and violent God.  His desire for mankind is love and grace but too often we ourselves refuse to bow to His will.  Of all the faiths out there only Judeo / Christianity have the comfort of accurate and long established prophecy to show the reality of a God outside of time.  What a wonder for those who examine the scripture in depth and hand in there as God molds you.

Hebrews 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

I wrote a book called “Lighten Up!”  It was all about being a light in a dark and dreary world.  How can we expect men and women to follow us as we follow Christ if we look like someone stole our puppy?  It’s hard to make others want to serve God when your normal daily outlook is from Revelation 8:13, “Woe, Woe, Woe!”   On one hand Paul says that if all we have is this life in Christ then we are the most miserable people on earth but on the other he calls it this incomparable Gospel.  Which is it?  Should we be depressed by things that happen, or excited to see God moving in our lives no matter the cost?  What do you think?  What does that verse up there say?

Beloved, serving God is not for the faint of faith.  The faint of heart can apply but you must exercise your faith and it will strengthen your heart.  Ezekiel is demanding a lot of us and so is Jeremiah.  The time to show those around us we’re not a bunch of freaks and losers is now, “for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of peace for it is the power of God unto salvation for the Jew first and also to me.

Get out there and be noticed beloved.

Bishop J