Post for January 24, 2012:  It is Finished!

I was sitting in Church Sunday morning thinking about this vision.  I was planning to write it up for an Easter blog post, when I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Why wait?”  I thought for a second or two, but really had no legitimate excuse, and I’ve found it’s always a good idea to be obedient to the Holy Spirit.  So, here we go.

A number of years ago I was interceding during the worship service.  I was up on the platform with the musicians and the presence of God was strong.  I had closed my eyes while praying, and suddenly, I was somewhere else and I was seeing people and things as if my eyes were open.  I was moving through a crowd of people, parallel to another man.  This man was dressed in an iridescent white gown and I thought it must be Jesus.  Then something very strange happened.  One instant I’m moving through the crowd parallel to Him, and the next I am in His body, looking through His eyes.  I look down and see the front of the gown.  His arms are bent at the elbow and the palms of His hands are face up.  I look at them and I can see the ground through the holes in them.  I also see several drops of fresh blood pooled in each palm.  Then I am outside of His body again.

Now Jesus is walking alone across an open area towards a gold platform with an angel kneeling in worship at each end of it.  I can see it as if I’m only a couple of feet away from Him.  He walks to the Mercy Seat, shakes His hands over it, leaving some of His blood on it.  He says, “It is finished!”  Then He starts to mount the gold stairs next to the Mercy Seat to take His place at the right hand of God the Father.  Instantly, my perspective changes and I am now in a vast open space.  The Mercy Seat appears miles away and I sense millions of people around me rejoicing in unison, but I don’t hear a sound.  All of Heaven has joined together to witness this event and everyone is singing one, long, perfect note in a heavenly scale that my mortal ears cannot hear.  The moment ends and I am back in the service, tears running down my cheeks in awe, reverence and joy.

Why is this important?  In the Old Testament, once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a spotless lamb on the Mercy Seat.  This was a yearly atonement for the sins of Israel, but it could never pay the debt that was owed.  Christ was, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  When He died on the cross, His blood became the payment for every sin, past, present and future.  It now rests on the true Mercy Seat at the foot of God’s throne and it is eternally alive, eternally fresh and an ever-present reminder that the debt has been paid in full!  Sin no longer stands between God and Man.  We are now joint heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of Heaven and heir to every promise in the Bible.

I believe that a number of us in the Body of Christ are stuck at Christ’s Death and Resurrection.  We rejoice that our sins have been forgiven and that we now can have eternal life through Him, but we do not move on and actually live in His Victory while we are here on earth.  We don’t believe John 14:12, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (NKJV)  We don’t have the faith for Mark 16:17, “And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (NKJV)  And we don’t value 1Peter 2:24, “…-by whose stripes you were healed”, thereby living powerless lives of infirmity and lack.

If we are to impact others for Christ, they must see the fruit of our relationship with Him in our lives.  For that to happen, we must believe that there is more to Christ’s Victory than forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.  We also need to know that nothing more needs to be done for us to participate in His Victory.  Christ’s blood rests eternally on the Mercy Seat of God at the foot of His Throne.  It pays for every sin and makes every promise in God’s Word available to us.  Therefore, let us boldly declare the promises of God; speak with the authority Christ has given us and move in the power of His Name, for “IT IS FINISHED!”

Post for January 20, 2012:  Be vs. Do

I had a dream last night.  In it, my aunt and I had competing Landscaping companies and we were both trying to be the first to drive to another city and get the work we had heard was there.  I had gotten far enough ahead of her that I couldn’t see her anymore in my rearview mirror.  I was moving along at a good pace on this two lane road that was going up a mountainside.  As I neared the top, there was a sharp curve to the left and I had to come to a complete stop because there was a huge, and I mean huge, hole in the road.  It took up both lanes of the road, was at least eight feet across and at least six feet deep.  I couldn’t drive around the hole because the mountain was on the left and sharp drop off on the right. I pulled my truck over to the side of the road and was unloading my equipment and moving it by hand around the hole.  As I was maneuvering a piece of lawn machinery around the hole, I thought, “I sure hope my aunt is able to stop in time and doesn’t fall into the hole.”  Then I woke up.

Here’s what I believe the Lord is trying to teach me from that dream.  Oftentimes, we get it into our heads that we’re going to DO something for God and we get so focused on the opportunity we envision ahead of us that we miss the ones right at our feet.  As a landscaper with the necessary tools, couldn’t I have filled in the hole and made the road level, the path straight for someone else?  Wouldn’t that have been a blessing to others?  But no…I was selfish and in a hurry.  I wanted to get somewhere else to DO something else that I figured would benefit me.  I barely had a second thought for a blood relative and fellow Christian let alone anyone else.

This also got me thinking about Jesus.  Have you ever noticed that in a lot of the Gospel accounts, Jesus is simply travelling somewhere and someone stops Him because they had a need for a miracle and He provided it for them?  I don’t recall any of the Gospels reporting Jesus saying, “Come on guys, today I’m going to the leper slum and do some serious healing!”  No, He’s travelling from one city to the next being Himself, and things just happen.  Blind Bartimaeus cried out loud enough to stop Jesus in His tracks and Jesus restored his sight as he had requested.  The woman with the issue of blood pressed through the crowd and made a claim upon His virtue as He was walking.  To me this speaks volumes about His character.  He didn’t DO things so much as BE who He was.  As people voiced their need to Him, He had compassion on them and met their need.  I do not recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus denied someone healing or deliverance when they approached Him and asked Him to heal them or set them free.

One more thing to consider:  if you have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are in Him and He is also in you.  Let us try to follow His example, move in His empowerment, and BE the people God created us to be.  Let us use our abilities and talents to help and bless those we meet in this life.  As we model His example, I believe He will shine through us more brightly than ever before and isn’t that what we’re aiming for?  

Post for January 10, 2012:  Coincidence?  I think not!

Sorry this is late. I’ve spent several frustrating days because I was trying to write with my head and not my heart.  Rereading my introduction also reminded me that my intent is to write about my relationship with God; keep things on a level people can relate to.  I’ve been told that the best witness for God that we can give is our own testimony, so here goes…the short version of how I got here.

The year is 1989.  I’ve been apart from God since 1968 when I made the mistake of judging God by the hypocrites who claimed to serve Him. I’ve also been divorced for over 3 years and my ex-wife has moved to Colorado with our two children.  I am extremely frustrated at work, depressed when I’m not drinking and I'm even attending group therapy sessions; but that only fuels my contempt for others.  I meet a woman from Texas through the Alaska Men’s Magazine (this was long before eHarmony and Match.com).  We hit it off and in March of 1990 she came up to visit and I also went down to visit her.  I decide I can’t bear to be apart from her and choose to quit my job and move to Texas rather than stay in Alaska at a job I have come to despise.  (You know it’s time to move on when you walk into the computer room and give serious thought to how much damage you could do before Security could stop you!)  Overly optimistic and short-sighted as most males are, I figured there would be no problem finding work and in the mean time I could live off my retirement account.  So in August of 1990 I leased my house to a friend, packed most of my belongings into a U-Haul and drove to Texas.

Fast forward to October, 1991.  The relationship is not over, but it is not flourishing, (totally my fault).  I’ve been in my own apartment since December of 1990; have not found work and have run through the $90K in my retirement account in addition to selling some property I had in Alaska and a bunch of gold and silver coins.  I’m down to my last $400 and wondering how I’ll pay the rent next month.  On a whim I called one of the folks I used to work with.  He mentioned that they still hadn’t found a replacement for me.  He said the company went through internal hiring processes and external hiring processes and even made offers to two individuals.  Both applicants declined the offer!  I asked him if they would let me apply for my old job.  They did.  I was re-hired and because I was hired out-of-state, they even paid to move me and all of my possessions back to Alaska!

Meanwhile, back in Texas, my lady friend has gone back to church and renewed her relationship with God.  She convinces me to try it and recommends I look for a “charismatic” church.  There were only two of them listed in the yellow pages, so I picked one and went.  The worship was pleasant and instead of the “turn or burn” rhetoric I’d seen on TV, the pastor spoke on God’s love and mercy…things I was in sore need of.  I went back the next week, and the week after that and the week after that.  On Wednesday, Jan. 29^th, 1992, I rededicated my life to the Lord.  A couple months later, on Wednesday, April 1, 1992 I was water baptized.  I’ve been attending the same church ever since.

But this is not the end of the story.

In 1993, my son came up to visit his Grandparents and me.  He could tell I had changed; especially when I apologized to him for the way I had behaved towards him when his Mother and I were together.  It was enough to convince him to turn his life over to God.  His wife later told me that she would not have married him had he not given his life to God.  Because of his influence, my ex-wife and our daughter also gave their lives to God.  Through my daughter, her husband is now saved.  Both families are involved with the Worship Teams in their churches and between them have provided me with 5 beautiful grandchildren.

            But wait, there’s more!

In 1994 an attractive brunette from Fairbanks was attending a revival service at our church in Anchorage.  For some reason she gets bold enough to introduce herself to me.  We talk for a bit before the service and then she returns home.  Later that week someone hands me a large brown envelope with nothing inside of it and only a phone number and the words, “I think you’re supposed to call this number,” written on the outside.  It didn't even have my name on it!  Well, I called.  It was the phone number of the brunette!  That first conversation was a bit strange, but things progressed rapidly.  I proposed to her on New Years Day, 1995.  We were married June 7th of that year and will celebrate 17 years of marriage this summer!

Looking over this, I come to several conclusions.  First, God has a plan for my life.  Since He is no respecter of persons, that means He has a plan for your life too.  He also accomplishes His plan in the most amazing ways.  Where others see “coincidences”, I see the gentle Hand of God guiding us where we need to be.  I also see that God is a Restorer.  I had lost my family, my home, my financial security and my possessions and God has restored all of that and more.  God is also a God of second chances (and 3^rd and 4^th and…Nth chances).  My return to Alaska when I had turned my back on Him is proof of that.  (And it wasn’t easy keeping me here, but that’s a story for another time.)

Bottom line, if you’re feeling lost, if you’ve lost the people and things dear to you, if you need a second chance, lift your eyes to God and seek Him out.  He knows where you’ve been, He sees where you are now and He knows where He wants to take you.  All you need to do is ask.

Post for January 1, 2012:  Once more…with feeling!

I don’t know if any of you can identify with this, but I have not been a big fan of New Year’s Eve.  Even before I stopped partying, the advent of a New Year had lost its appeal.  That’s because I had almost no hope that anything exciting or wonderful was going to happen.  It was going to be another 365 days of “SOS…same old stuff”.  I made resolutions that I never kept or gave up on within a month or two:  lose some weight, exercise more, learn new skills, read my Bible more, pray more, be a better husband/father/grandfather/employee.  You name it; I’ve more than likely resolved to be better at it…and failed.

But things are changing.  Earlier this year my wife discovered the teachings of Dr. James B. Richards of Impact Ministries (http://www.impactministries.com).  We learned that true change can only come about when the heart and mind are in accord with one another.  Too often the rational mind sees the logic in doing something and attempts to achieve it through sheer force of will alone.  Some success can be had, but it is usually temporary because the heart holds our emotional identity, (how we deeply and truly see ourselves), and no matter how hard our mind tries to change us, we will eventually return to the level, or limits, of our emotional identity.

True change must begin in the heart.  Even though I had accepted Christ and knew that, according to God’s Word in 2 Cor. 5:17, I was a “new creation” and that the “old things have passed away”; my heart still retained some of the lies and hurts life and the world had inflicted upon it.  I needed to see myself in a new and better light.  I needed the Word of God.  As you can see in the following statements and Biblical references taken from “The Bondage Breaker” by Neil T. Anderson, (copyright 1990, 1993 by Harvest House publishers); God has much to say about us when we are “In Christ”.  I urge you to read them and begin to see yourself as God’s Word describes you.  I can tell you that it is making a difference in me and although I am far from complete, hope for change, hope in the promises of God, and even hope in the New Year is being restored in my  life.

I am Accepted:

John 1:12        I am God’s child.

John 15:15      I am Christ’s friend.

Rom. 5:1         I have been justified.

1Cor. 6:17       I am united with the Lord and I am one Spirit with Him.

1Cor. 6:19,20  I have been bought with a price.  I belong to God.

Eph. 1:1           I am a Saint.

Eph. 1:5           I have been adopted as God’s child.

Eph. 2:18         I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit

Col. 1:14          I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Col. 2:10          I am complete in Christ.

I am Secure:

Rom. 8:1,2      I am free forever from condemnation.

Rom. 8:28       I am assured that all things work together for good.

Rom. 8:31       I am free from any condemning charges against me.

Rom. 8:35       I cannot be separated from the Love of God.

2Cor. 1:21,22  I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Col. 3:3            I am hidden with Christ in God.

Phil. 1:6           I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be

perfected.

Phil. 3:20         I am a citizen of Heaven.

2Tim. 1:7         I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Heb. 4:16        I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

1John 5:18      I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am Significant:

Matt. 5:13,14   I am the salt and light of the earth.

John 5:1,5       I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His live.

John 15:16      I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

Acts 1:8           I am a personal witness of Christ.

1Cor. 3:16       I am God’s temple.

2Cor. 5:17       I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

2Cor. 6:1         I am God’s co-worker (1Cor. 3:9).

Eph. 2:6           I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.

Eph. 2:10         I am God’s workmanship.

Eph. 3:12         I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Phi. 4:13          I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.