Liked this Article enough to land on it regarding the House
the KINGDOM come – David Ruis
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
so much talk about the kingdom ...
might just be me - but I am sure hearing the term bandied about the subcultures of the church a lot - it’s used to endorse and explain all kinds of practices and experience across the spectrum of faith - “Hey ... it’s the kingdom dude ...” or “… all for the kingdom you know ...”
our understanding of the kingdom shapes so much of how we walk out our faith - it’s a pretty critical point of theology to wrestle with. This journey that we’ve embarked on is described as the “gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14) - our message is one of calling individuals, society and culture to align with the kingdom (Mark 1:15) - our call is to seek first the kingdom (Matthew 6:33) - and our prayer is to see the kingdom come (Matthew 6:10) ... seems kind of important that we know what we’re talking about ...
way too much to unpack here - but it might be high time for a bit of a talk about what we’re really saying. A good starting point may be around this notion of the kingdom “coming”.
kind of boils down to basically three approaches as I sift through what I see and hear:
1) a vertical “in the moment” understanding of the kingdom breaking in ...
2) an “off in the distance” coming (other than “salvation") - way out of reach so just hang on ‘til Jesus comes - understanding of the kingdom ...
3) a more horizontal eschatological understanding of kingdom breakthrough...
the first approach is this sense of urgency propelled by the thought that if we can just get it “right” - if we could just break through into the heavenly realms and “pull it down” - everything would be ok. So we look for the big healing, or the download of provision, or the ultimate revival as the answer to all our woes and the sure sign that God has come and His kingdom is here. All that’s needed is a purer bride, some serious fasting, a few “third heaven” experiences and a glory environment of worship and expectation complete with angelic activity and blow your mind prophecy. Then the kingdom would come ... all the time ... in the present ...
or ... if you’re uncomfortable with that - and a bit more conservative ... all we need is the right power point, or the hippest liturgy, a bit of spiritual anarchy and some justice activism ... then all will be set right.
my personal struggle with this perspective is that you’re pretty much forced into a mindset that is constantly looking for what’s “blocking” the in breaking and who’s to blame ... and a triumphalism (both charismatic and activist) can begin to bleed through your understanding of the church and her role on the earth. Everything from worship, to the disciplines of the faith and engagement with the culture at large can become extremely driven - constantly looking for the cutting edge, the latest cause and the “next level” of spiritual encounter.
faith is exciting ... but can become reliant on hype and potentially very self serving.
let the kingdom come ...
the second can be - quite frankly - at times a pretty attractive posture. Leaning hard into the sovereignty of God - which does bring a significant measure of joy and security this side of heaven - we do the work of an evangelist, keep our morals intact as best we can, challenge society with how far away from God they really are and hang on until the end of all things.
I lived with such a faith for a very long time - pretty secure - but really bored.
my personal struggle with this approach (although it seems quite safe the longer I walk this path) is that it leaves me ... quite frankly ... empty. The danger here is to loose the sense of God invading the present reality and the expectation that He could be up to anything at anytime.
faith sustains ... but can end up having very little impact.
let the kingdom come ...
the third world view is filled with tension.
some have coined this approach as one of embracing “the now and the not yet”, or “the time between the times”. The compass is set eschatologically and the in-breaking of the kingdom of God is seen as the future invading the present rather than a current reality “up there” that needs to penetrate the “down here”. There will come a day when all things will be set right, every tear wiped away and all injustice banished forever. Jesus will come again. So the return of Christ is seen as that ultimate “revival” if you will ... the time when all things ultimately will be set right ... but the good news is that we don’t just have to wait for the fullness of the kingdom and the presence of God - we can see it’s impact and dynamism now. The kingdom is upon us ... it is at hand ... so reach out to pray for the sick; take courage and feed the hungry; declare the gospel, challenge injustice and oppose the dark forces of hell. As we journey in the time between the times - you never know when the kingdom will break through. Have faith ... believe ... proclaim and engage fully expecting a present manifestation of the future reality - yet with a faith that is secure in an eternal hope, that is not shaken if the present need must wait for a future resolution.
my personal struggle with this understanding is that can be very difficult to model given the consumerism and fast food culture that surrounds us. There are no easy answers here ... so the default usually is to attempt to resolve any tension that is created by this “now and not yet” reality. In my opinion, so many of the “successful” templates of church life and the instructions on how to live as a “successful” christian end up promising relief from the tensions the kingdom (potentially) creates. As far as I’m concerned these empty promises - but It’s very hard to cut up stream in this.
faith is full of risk and constantly in motion straddling charismatic and conservative values ... a weariness can eventually set in (Galatians 6:9)
let the kingdom come ...
some of the differences noted may seem subtle ... but I believe they are far more than just a difference in semantics. It really is a difference in world view ... and that’s huge.
I’m sure you’ve guessed by now where I land ... I’ll take door number three Monty
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Prayer for President Obama
"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." -- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007
Please read the legislation proposed - you can follow the link through http://www.nrlc.org/foca/index.html
OK - so here we go . . . This is NOT an attack on our new President AT ALL - if anything, it is a call to pray FOR him . . . so regardless of how any of us may have voted . . . PLEASE read on. It is a call to prayer now, today, without delay.
I've looked at plenty of the church's varied responses to the election - both positive and negative - and given my own feeble one but now I want to get going and call us into action. We have NO time to waste.
There are many arenas of concern that we all care a great deal about, including war, civil rights, racism, poverty, the protection of Israel , etc. All of them have great weight and can NOT be neglected. But I want to focus on the issue of abortion because it is the matter of the day. One of the fundamental issues in the elections for almost as long as I've had an awareness (which was President Nixon's Election) has been this issues of life.
Very squarely, since before I understood what sexuality was about, I already understood what abortion was. The fact of the matter is that I knew then that the very word implied an end to something that has begun. I have been a participant in it and would have had one myself if I was faced with it and the only reason I escaped it was that somehow I did not ending up being pregnant. So, from the get go, you all need to know that I am not sitting in judgment or wanting to poke at arenas of the heart that many of us have our own grief over. I have committed so many sins, I consider myself a master and I squirm when any one of them are mentioned, including this one, even though I am hid in Christ. My point then is not to point . . . it is to rally, to awaken, to encourage.
"What is abortion? Is it more than people say it is? First the dictionary definition of abortion; Expulsion or extraction of the fetus from the womb before it is viable, usually before the twentieth week of gestation. Truly, there is more to abortion than any young desperate women could really see. Abortion is killing a living being. Not only does it kill it, but it could harm the women and make it impossible to conceive later in life. The definition states that abortion takes place before the twentieth week. Did you know that the baby’s hearts begin beating on the eighteenth day after being conceived? Also, doctors have begun using EEG, to detect brain wave activity to determine death. If a baby’s brain has activity at about forty – forty-three days after being conceived, shouldn’t it be considered a living being, after that amount of time? A baby is a baby right away. A baby is defined with forty-six – forty-seven chromosomes. If the baby was still part of the egg and sperm it would only consist of twenty-three chromosomes. Within twenty days a fetus becomes viable. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. What the bible says about abortion, the Bible really doesn’t say anything directly towards abortion. . . . The only reason it didn’t say anything directly towards it was because it was a completely unthinkable thing back then. "
"This may surprise you but out of the 4,000 abortions a day in America alone- only about 3% are because of rape and health of mother alone. can you believe that? The majority are because the woman chooses not to have a child at the moment. I do have compassion for the woman. I counseled them for over 10 years- and some of them never realized how devastating an abortion can be to the woman herself. There are many physical risks, but the main risks are emotional and spiritual. I counseled women who have not forgiven themselves for what they did, even if the abortion was years ago."
The practice of killing our infants is likened to the ancient worship of Molech and it basically was done in the guise of "protecting the family". Although we may claim it is different, it smells the same and the blood still cried out from the land. Biblically, we see judgment regarding it quite clearly in the conquest of Jericho whose walls were fortified with the blood and bodies of children as a sacrifice. As a note, our generation has been called a Joshua Generation. Joshua's first major conquest was Jericho - the tearing down of its walls through obedience and worship. Our first major conquest must be the end of this practice and the tearing down of THIS wall.
" . . . of the inhabitants who occupied the fortified city-outpost known as Jericho can raise many questions in the mind of the careful reader. The higher critic has claimed for many years there was a conflict between the Bible and current archaeological data and that the claimed historicity of the sacred text was merely exaggerated colorful myth. Some liberal thinkers have viewed the Jehovah of the Old Testament as a deity who required appeasement and blood sacrifice to satisfy his capricious lust, while the New Testament god, in their view, is all about love, acceptance, and toleration. Then, the atheist uses the Bible to “prove” to the Christian that the god of his scripture is a warmonger and the murderer of innocent women and children, and even if he did exist, he would remain unworthy of the worship and adoration required to satisfy his huge ego.
Even many an ardent Bible believer has felt some uneasiness at the unashamed transparency of the sacred text. Along with this comes the struggle to reconcile the relationship between a good and benevolent God and the obvious presence of evil in the world, especially as it relates to the death of women and children.
Recall the youthful gusto with which many have sung the traditional American spiritual.
“Joshua fit de battle of Jericho ,
Jericho , Jericho ,
Joshua fit de battle of Jericho ,
An de walls come a tumbling down.”
Of course, in Sunday School, as we marched around the chairs and pretended to blow the ram-horns, we were definitely on the side of the “good guys.” On the other hand, Jericho and its inhabitants were the villains who deserved to lose their city, though we didn’t know why. Only much later did we come to realize there was a sober side to this deadly dance, which gave new face and fresh meaning to our childish play.
Let us consider the text as it reads in the Authorized Version of the Bible.
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. (Joshua 6:21)
Try as we might, there is no way we can dodge the dilemma by laying the event at the feet of an overly zealous Joshua leading a nomadic army of marauding, misguided Israelites. Nor can we sweep it under the rug by allowing for some kind of modified divine permission or restraint, which might absolve God from any direct culpability. The fact remains; it was a carefully calculated act with a specific goal in mind. Jehovah ordered it (Deuteronomy 7:2), and Joshua did it (Joshua 6:21).
The qualifier in this saga seems to be what is referred to in Genesis 15:16 as the “iniquity of the Amorites.” The nations that occupied Canaan had become so hideously debauched, so degenerate in custom and practice, that the judgment of God became imminent. We are told in the Mosaic account that God is preparing to act and His longsuffering is about to end.
For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. (Leviticus 18:25)
In the larger context of the writings of Moses, the Amorites are viewed by Jehovah as representative of the whole of Palestine . Further, it was as if they had become so saturated with corruption that the very earth itself spit them out.
Recent textual discoveries in Ugarit confirm the Scripture record of centuries filled with idolatry, sodomy, bestiality, sorcery, and child sacrifice. Consequently, each generation had polluted the next with idolatry, perversion, and blood. We must not read Deuteronomy 18:9–12 with an emotionless indifference in the way that some would read yesterday’s news. Parents offered up their children to the god Molech by fire. Child sacrifice is more than an unfortunate, ancient tribal custom. It is a hideous twisted ritual conducted by men who have reprobated themselves into beasts. Then again, the customs of Canaan are not really a quantum leap from ancient religious ritual to our current indulgence of “a woman's right to choose,” are they?
The problem of Jericho is easily solved. God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible just as He is. His self-revelation to Moses (see Exodus 34: 6–7) is very revealing:
And Jehovah passed before him and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth; keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgressions and sin; and I will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children. . . .
Can we not see that God’s disposition is showcased in His longsuffering, equity, mercy, and patience? He never acts in a knee-jerk, capricious manner. Yet at the same time God reserves the right to be God, doing as He chooses when He wills and with universal authority over His creation. Even as he pleaded for God to spare the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah , Abraham declared, “Shall not the judge of the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). So, the answer to the problem lies bound up in the character of God as revealed in Scripture. Is there ever a time when divine genocide is justified? The answer must be “yes,” because the judge of the whole earth always does what is right. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that in time the longsuffering of God will transform itself into judgment if the warnings are not heeded.
A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge Of The Holy says it well:
Before the Christian church goes into eclipse anywhere, there must first be the corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, “What is God like?” Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
Here are words from the Apostle Paul challenging us to think Biblically about the nature and character of God. “Behold then the goodness and severity of God.” (Romans 11:22)
We have no time to waste. If God releases us into judgment because we have sanctioned the death of 50 MILLION infants, He is right to do so and legislating the end of abortion was/is a good strategy and right in God's eyes - I believe in it - however, at the heart of it, we as a nation need more than law to keep us in line - in ALL arenas - we need a true change of heart and mind. Legislating that would only resolve part of the problem and I am still believing for the whole problem to be resolved with true awakening, a great deal of love and heart-felt repentance.
I just refuse to believe that we don't have the mandate right NOW to press forward even harder in praying for President Obama- RIGHT NOW while there is still time and his choices have not been solidified; praying that he would have a revelation of Jesus that is even more profound than he has already experienced - life changing and mind changing regarding these issues; that his decisions regarding the appointment of his advisers would be very, VERY wise; that the perspective in our nation regarding abortion would dramatically shift; that WE as a nation would hear the cry of the aborted and yet unborn and that the Supreme Court Justices chosen would be turned and righteously inclined; that the nation itself would make choices regarding bringing an end to abortion that will super cede legislation; that right views of relationships and standing by those who are faced with a pregnancy that is not embraced would grow in depth and beauty and commitment and that the Church AWAKEN and fight this battle together - on our knees in prayer and fasting and in our hearts with compassion and actions that demonstrate Christ!
We as a nation can still choose to end this whether it is legislated or not and I refuse to lay down in the face of a "lost" political battle when we are called to fight a war that is in truth a heavenly battle as well as an earthly, governmental battle. I can't look at this in any other way. I can't spend time pissed at the church or the nation or myself or any one else anymore than I already can be inclined to be and I struggle with that every day - for real. But it needs to end! I don't want to be an "angry man" any more.
In the end, biblically, God refines the Church and Israel in these circumstances of great darkness and her light WILL and MUST shine (Isaiah 60). I'm going hard after that. The leading voices may be entirely dead on in everything I've been hearing regarding increasing judgments upon the nation, but I will surely die if I place my eyes on anything other than squarely upon the Lord Jesus Christ and until God says otherwise to me, I believe we have no time to waste in the arena of grief, blame and confusion; we only see in part still and I am pressing on to keep up the fight until God says stop. In particular, I will love, bless and pray for Barack Obama with fervency RIGHT NOW!!!!! according to the wisdom Paul instructed us with and I will pray that the Church awakens into her true identity TODAY!
As a House of Prayer, we will continue to pray in this vein and if nothing else, perhaps the Lord will say - "That IHOP-LI . . .they may be a sorry-ass, sin-wrestling, motley crew . . . but they are relentless in trying to figure out love and unyielding in trying to live in Me . . . and they make me smile." That would be just fine with me.
"Strengthen your hands"!!!!!!!!!!!! Zechariah 8 (Thanks Pastor Marie)
Build the House of Prayer by BEING a House of Prayer
"Jesus, we plead Your Blood over our sins and the sins of our nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America ."
So . . . I'm still all in. How about you?
Love you MUCH, t
Please read the legislation proposed - you can follow the link through http://www.nrlc.org/foca/index.html
OK - so here we go . . . This is NOT an attack on our new President AT ALL - if anything, it is a call to pray FOR him . . . so regardless of how any of us may have voted . . . PLEASE read on. It is a call to prayer now, today, without delay.
I've looked at plenty of the church's varied responses to the election - both positive and negative - and given my own feeble one but now I want to get going and call us into action. We have NO time to waste.
There are many arenas of concern that we all care a great deal about, including war, civil rights, racism, poverty, the protection of Israel , etc. All of them have great weight and can NOT be neglected. But I want to focus on the issue of abortion because it is the matter of the day. One of the fundamental issues in the elections for almost as long as I've had an awareness (which was President Nixon's Election) has been this issues of life.
Very squarely, since before I understood what sexuality was about, I already understood what abortion was. The fact of the matter is that I knew then that the very word implied an end to something that has begun. I have been a participant in it and would have had one myself if I was faced with it and the only reason I escaped it was that somehow I did not ending up being pregnant. So, from the get go, you all need to know that I am not sitting in judgment or wanting to poke at arenas of the heart that many of us have our own grief over. I have committed so many sins, I consider myself a master and I squirm when any one of them are mentioned, including this one, even though I am hid in Christ. My point then is not to point . . . it is to rally, to awaken, to encourage.
"What is abortion? Is it more than people say it is? First the dictionary definition of abortion; Expulsion or extraction of the fetus from the womb before it is viable, usually before the twentieth week of gestation. Truly, there is more to abortion than any young desperate women could really see. Abortion is killing a living being. Not only does it kill it, but it could harm the women and make it impossible to conceive later in life. The definition states that abortion takes place before the twentieth week. Did you know that the baby’s hearts begin beating on the eighteenth day after being conceived? Also, doctors have begun using EEG, to detect brain wave activity to determine death. If a baby’s brain has activity at about forty – forty-three days after being conceived, shouldn’t it be considered a living being, after that amount of time? A baby is a baby right away. A baby is defined with forty-six – forty-seven chromosomes. If the baby was still part of the egg and sperm it would only consist of twenty-three chromosomes. Within twenty days a fetus becomes viable. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. What the bible says about abortion, the Bible really doesn’t say anything directly towards abortion. . . . The only reason it didn’t say anything directly towards it was because it was a completely unthinkable thing back then. "
"This may surprise you but out of the 4,000 abortions a day in America alone- only about 3% are because of rape and health of mother alone. can you believe that? The majority are because the woman chooses not to have a child at the moment. I do have compassion for the woman. I counseled them for over 10 years- and some of them never realized how devastating an abortion can be to the woman herself. There are many physical risks, but the main risks are emotional and spiritual. I counseled women who have not forgiven themselves for what they did, even if the abortion was years ago."
The practice of killing our infants is likened to the ancient worship of Molech and it basically was done in the guise of "protecting the family". Although we may claim it is different, it smells the same and the blood still cried out from the land. Biblically, we see judgment regarding it quite clearly in the conquest of Jericho whose walls were fortified with the blood and bodies of children as a sacrifice. As a note, our generation has been called a Joshua Generation. Joshua's first major conquest was Jericho - the tearing down of its walls through obedience and worship. Our first major conquest must be the end of this practice and the tearing down of THIS wall.
" . . . of the inhabitants who occupied the fortified city-outpost known as Jericho can raise many questions in the mind of the careful reader. The higher critic has claimed for many years there was a conflict between the Bible and current archaeological data and that the claimed historicity of the sacred text was merely exaggerated colorful myth. Some liberal thinkers have viewed the Jehovah of the Old Testament as a deity who required appeasement and blood sacrifice to satisfy his capricious lust, while the New Testament god, in their view, is all about love, acceptance, and toleration. Then, the atheist uses the Bible to “prove” to the Christian that the god of his scripture is a warmonger and the murderer of innocent women and children, and even if he did exist, he would remain unworthy of the worship and adoration required to satisfy his huge ego.
Even many an ardent Bible believer has felt some uneasiness at the unashamed transparency of the sacred text. Along with this comes the struggle to reconcile the relationship between a good and benevolent God and the obvious presence of evil in the world, especially as it relates to the death of women and children.
Recall the youthful gusto with which many have sung the traditional American spiritual.
“Joshua fit de battle of Jericho ,
Jericho , Jericho ,
Joshua fit de battle of Jericho ,
An de walls come a tumbling down.”
Of course, in Sunday School, as we marched around the chairs and pretended to blow the ram-horns, we were definitely on the side of the “good guys.” On the other hand, Jericho and its inhabitants were the villains who deserved to lose their city, though we didn’t know why. Only much later did we come to realize there was a sober side to this deadly dance, which gave new face and fresh meaning to our childish play.
Let us consider the text as it reads in the Authorized Version of the Bible.
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. (Joshua 6:21)
Try as we might, there is no way we can dodge the dilemma by laying the event at the feet of an overly zealous Joshua leading a nomadic army of marauding, misguided Israelites. Nor can we sweep it under the rug by allowing for some kind of modified divine permission or restraint, which might absolve God from any direct culpability. The fact remains; it was a carefully calculated act with a specific goal in mind. Jehovah ordered it (Deuteronomy 7:2), and Joshua did it (Joshua 6:21).
The qualifier in this saga seems to be what is referred to in Genesis 15:16 as the “iniquity of the Amorites.” The nations that occupied Canaan had become so hideously debauched, so degenerate in custom and practice, that the judgment of God became imminent. We are told in the Mosaic account that God is preparing to act and His longsuffering is about to end.
For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. (Leviticus 18:25)
In the larger context of the writings of Moses, the Amorites are viewed by Jehovah as representative of the whole of Palestine . Further, it was as if they had become so saturated with corruption that the very earth itself spit them out.
Recent textual discoveries in Ugarit confirm the Scripture record of centuries filled with idolatry, sodomy, bestiality, sorcery, and child sacrifice. Consequently, each generation had polluted the next with idolatry, perversion, and blood. We must not read Deuteronomy 18:9–12 with an emotionless indifference in the way that some would read yesterday’s news. Parents offered up their children to the god Molech by fire. Child sacrifice is more than an unfortunate, ancient tribal custom. It is a hideous twisted ritual conducted by men who have reprobated themselves into beasts. Then again, the customs of Canaan are not really a quantum leap from ancient religious ritual to our current indulgence of “a woman's right to choose,” are they?
The problem of Jericho is easily solved. God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible just as He is. His self-revelation to Moses (see Exodus 34: 6–7) is very revealing:
And Jehovah passed before him and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth; keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgressions and sin; and I will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children. . . .
Can we not see that God’s disposition is showcased in His longsuffering, equity, mercy, and patience? He never acts in a knee-jerk, capricious manner. Yet at the same time God reserves the right to be God, doing as He chooses when He wills and with universal authority over His creation. Even as he pleaded for God to spare the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah , Abraham declared, “Shall not the judge of the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). So, the answer to the problem lies bound up in the character of God as revealed in Scripture. Is there ever a time when divine genocide is justified? The answer must be “yes,” because the judge of the whole earth always does what is right. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that in time the longsuffering of God will transform itself into judgment if the warnings are not heeded.
A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge Of The Holy says it well:
Before the Christian church goes into eclipse anywhere, there must first be the corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, “What is God like?” Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
Here are words from the Apostle Paul challenging us to think Biblically about the nature and character of God. “Behold then the goodness and severity of God.” (Romans 11:22)
We have no time to waste. If God releases us into judgment because we have sanctioned the death of 50 MILLION infants, He is right to do so and legislating the end of abortion was/is a good strategy and right in God's eyes - I believe in it - however, at the heart of it, we as a nation need more than law to keep us in line - in ALL arenas - we need a true change of heart and mind. Legislating that would only resolve part of the problem and I am still believing for the whole problem to be resolved with true awakening, a great deal of love and heart-felt repentance.
I just refuse to believe that we don't have the mandate right NOW to press forward even harder in praying for President Obama- RIGHT NOW while there is still time and his choices have not been solidified; praying that he would have a revelation of Jesus that is even more profound than he has already experienced - life changing and mind changing regarding these issues; that his decisions regarding the appointment of his advisers would be very, VERY wise; that the perspective in our nation regarding abortion would dramatically shift; that WE as a nation would hear the cry of the aborted and yet unborn and that the Supreme Court Justices chosen would be turned and righteously inclined; that the nation itself would make choices regarding bringing an end to abortion that will super cede legislation; that right views of relationships and standing by those who are faced with a pregnancy that is not embraced would grow in depth and beauty and commitment and that the Church AWAKEN and fight this battle together - on our knees in prayer and fasting and in our hearts with compassion and actions that demonstrate Christ!
We as a nation can still choose to end this whether it is legislated or not and I refuse to lay down in the face of a "lost" political battle when we are called to fight a war that is in truth a heavenly battle as well as an earthly, governmental battle. I can't look at this in any other way. I can't spend time pissed at the church or the nation or myself or any one else anymore than I already can be inclined to be and I struggle with that every day - for real. But it needs to end! I don't want to be an "angry man" any more.
In the end, biblically, God refines the Church and Israel in these circumstances of great darkness and her light WILL and MUST shine (Isaiah 60). I'm going hard after that. The leading voices may be entirely dead on in everything I've been hearing regarding increasing judgments upon the nation, but I will surely die if I place my eyes on anything other than squarely upon the Lord Jesus Christ and until God says otherwise to me, I believe we have no time to waste in the arena of grief, blame and confusion; we only see in part still and I am pressing on to keep up the fight until God says stop. In particular, I will love, bless and pray for Barack Obama with fervency RIGHT NOW!!!!! according to the wisdom Paul instructed us with and I will pray that the Church awakens into her true identity TODAY!
As a House of Prayer, we will continue to pray in this vein and if nothing else, perhaps the Lord will say - "That IHOP-LI . . .they may be a sorry-ass, sin-wrestling, motley crew . . . but they are relentless in trying to figure out love and unyielding in trying to live in Me . . . and they make me smile." That would be just fine with me.
"Strengthen your hands"!!!!!!!!!!!! Zechariah 8 (Thanks Pastor Marie)
Build the House of Prayer by BEING a House of Prayer
"Jesus, we plead Your Blood over our sins and the sins of our nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America ."
So . . . I'm still all in. How about you?
Love you MUCH, t
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Awake O Sleeper
Like many of you, we have been dedicated to praying through the elections and I've been listening to all sorts of interesting occurrences that caused me to stop and think. One issue was that at the last minute, some of my family and friends were compelled to vote differently than they had been inclined and they had no idea why. Second, that the church was so sharply divided over the candidates and all had compelling, redemptive stances that they hoped would affect the course of our nation.
It reminded me of the dilemma New York faced in the 2000 World Series. Mets vs. Yankees. You would root for New York in any other circumstance but this caused the city to divide a bit. Nothing serious but it was unclear except for die hard fans how to pray. Ever wonder about that? Every time there is a major athletic competition - you KNOW both sides are praying hard as is every 'believing" fan and even some atheists and which team has God's ear? How does a city or a nation stand under the division of well intentioned loyalties?
One thing is clear, as a whole, we all love this nation. As believers, we all love and desire God. Toward the morning light as Tuesday dawned, there were a few tokens God threw our way. A.) That this election was inexorably tied into Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech and we were living out the proclamation of that speech. On that note, there was nothing sweeter than watching thousands upon thousands of Americans weeping in joy over the graces of redemption and watching Jesse Jackson weep will be burned in my memory forever. B.) That David prayed and fasted for the child he and Bathsheba had conceived illegitimately until the bitter end and when the child died, he rose, washed himself and ate. Soon after, the Lord gave him Solomon and the House of Prayer was built through him. C.) That the prayer focus on the whole needed to focus on the church and Israel and not on the "world" per se; that she would stand in the identity of Isaiah 60 and shine in the days to come- that she would reveal and reflect Jesus.
The issues facing the church the day before and of and even after the election are still the same. The good news is that an entire generation was polarized in prayer. Now you may wonder why I would think that's good news, so here's my explanation. For those who prayed for John McCain's election because of the areas that concerned you regarding the welfare of America and God's perspective, you are now in this deep enough to understand that prayer must increase and there is no slacking. President Obama needs every bit of love, grace, protection and wisdom he can get to choose well for the United States. For those of you who prayed for Barack Obama because of the areas that concerned you regarding the welfare of America and God's perspective, you already care for him enough to be in agreement with the fact that he needs every bit of love, grace, protection and wisdom he can get to choose well for the United States and are already trained to pray hard for him. Excellent. Now, the church can come together in agreement. Now, we can agree over biblical mandates and love on the Church, Israel and the United States in complete agreement.
I ran across the devotional by Spurgeon below and thought: the church has been in the same battle for centuries and the Lord trains our hands for war through each generation. Truth be told, we don't like having to be the ones who are responsible for stewarding the land and would really like to take some time off regularly from it. It's the story of every generation - except ... maybe this one. I believe that THIS is a praying generation and we pray "Awake, oh sleeper. Rise up from the dead and Christ will give you life." Ephesians 5:14 It would be nice to leave it in someone else's hands and turn our attentions to our comforts. But . . . here we are, being trained to reign with Christ and we have a wonderful husband in Him. Let's worship Him. Let's pray with Him and lets love on each other while it is still day.
(http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/6340 - something to discern through)
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "listserv@lists.studylight.org"
To: devotional-spurgeon@lists.studylight.org
Sent: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 3:05:01 AM
Subject: Spurgeon's Morning & Evening devotional for November 5
Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - November 5
--------------------------------
Morning Devotional
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper."
- Isaiah 54:17
This day is notable in English history for two great deliverances wrought
by God for us. On this day the plot of the Papists to destroy our Houses
of Parliament was discovered, 1605.
"While for our princes they prepare
In caverns deep a burning snare,
He shot from heaven a piercing ray,
And the dark treachery brought to day."
And secondly-to-day is the anniversary of the landing of King William III,
at Torbay, by which the hope of Popish ascendancy was quashed, and
religious liberty was secured, 1688.
This day ought to be celebrated, not by the saturnalia of striplings, but
by the songs of saints. Our Puritan forefathers most devoutly made it a
special time of thanksgiving. There is extant a record of the annual
sermons preached by Matthew Henry on this day. Our Protestant feeling, and
our love of liberty, should make us regard its anniversary with holy
gratitude. Let our hearts and lips exclaim, "We have heard with our ears,
and our fathers have told us the wondrous things which thou didst in their
day, and in the old time before them." Thou hast made this nation the home
of the gospel; and when the foe has risen against her, thou hast shielded
her. Help us to offer repeated songs for repeated deliverances.
Grant us more and more a hatred of Antichrist, and hasten on the day of
her entire extinction.
Till then and ever, we believe the promise, "No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper.
" Should it not be laid upon the heart of every lover of the gospel of
Jesus on this day to plead for the overturning of false doctrines and the
extension of divine truth? Would it not be well to search our own hearts,
and turn out any of the Popish lumber of self-righteousness which may lie
concealed therein?
--------------------------------
Evening Devotional
"Be thankful unto him, and bless his name."
- Psalm 100:4
Our Lord would have all his people rich in high and happy thoughts
concerning his blessed person. Jesus is not content that his brethren
should think meanly of him; it is his pleasure that his espoused ones
should be delighted with his beauty.
We are not to regard him as a bare necessary, like to bread and water,
but as a luxurious delicacy, as a rare and ravishing delight.
To this end he has revealed himself as the "pearl of great price" in its
peerless beauty, as the "bundle of myrrh" in its refreshing fragrance, as
the "rose of Sharon" in its lasting perfume, as the "lily" in its spotless
purity.
As a help to high thoughts of Christ, remember the estimation that Christ
is had in beyond the skies, where things are measured by the right
standard. Think how God esteems the Only Begotten, his unspeakable gift to
us. Consider what the angels think of him, as they count it their highest
honour to veil their faces at his feet. Consider what the blood-washed
think of him, as day without night they sing his well deserved praises.
High thoughts of Christ will enable us to act consistently with our
relations towards him. The more loftily we see Christ enthroned, and the
more lowly we are when bowing before the foot of the throne, the more
truly shall we be prepared to act our part towards him. Our Lord Jesus
desires us to think well of him, that we may submit cheerfully to his
authority. High thoughts of him increase our love. Love and esteem go
together.
Therefore, believer, think much of your Master's excellencies.
Study him in his primeval glory, before he took upon himself your nature!
Think of the mighty love which drew him from his throne to die upon the
cross! Admire him as he conquers all the powers of hell! See him risen,
crowned, glorified! Bow before him as the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the
mighty God, for only thus will your love to him be what it should.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional is public domain.
It reminded me of the dilemma New York faced in the 2000 World Series. Mets vs. Yankees. You would root for New York in any other circumstance but this caused the city to divide a bit. Nothing serious but it was unclear except for die hard fans how to pray. Ever wonder about that? Every time there is a major athletic competition - you KNOW both sides are praying hard as is every 'believing" fan and even some atheists and which team has God's ear? How does a city or a nation stand under the division of well intentioned loyalties?
One thing is clear, as a whole, we all love this nation. As believers, we all love and desire God. Toward the morning light as Tuesday dawned, there were a few tokens God threw our way. A.) That this election was inexorably tied into Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech and we were living out the proclamation of that speech. On that note, there was nothing sweeter than watching thousands upon thousands of Americans weeping in joy over the graces of redemption and watching Jesse Jackson weep will be burned in my memory forever. B.) That David prayed and fasted for the child he and Bathsheba had conceived illegitimately until the bitter end and when the child died, he rose, washed himself and ate. Soon after, the Lord gave him Solomon and the House of Prayer was built through him. C.) That the prayer focus on the whole needed to focus on the church and Israel and not on the "world" per se; that she would stand in the identity of Isaiah 60 and shine in the days to come- that she would reveal and reflect Jesus.
The issues facing the church the day before and of and even after the election are still the same. The good news is that an entire generation was polarized in prayer. Now you may wonder why I would think that's good news, so here's my explanation. For those who prayed for John McCain's election because of the areas that concerned you regarding the welfare of America and God's perspective, you are now in this deep enough to understand that prayer must increase and there is no slacking. President Obama needs every bit of love, grace, protection and wisdom he can get to choose well for the United States. For those of you who prayed for Barack Obama because of the areas that concerned you regarding the welfare of America and God's perspective, you already care for him enough to be in agreement with the fact that he needs every bit of love, grace, protection and wisdom he can get to choose well for the United States and are already trained to pray hard for him. Excellent. Now, the church can come together in agreement. Now, we can agree over biblical mandates and love on the Church, Israel and the United States in complete agreement.
I ran across the devotional by Spurgeon below and thought: the church has been in the same battle for centuries and the Lord trains our hands for war through each generation. Truth be told, we don't like having to be the ones who are responsible for stewarding the land and would really like to take some time off regularly from it. It's the story of every generation - except ... maybe this one. I believe that THIS is a praying generation and we pray "Awake, oh sleeper. Rise up from the dead and Christ will give you life." Ephesians 5:14 It would be nice to leave it in someone else's hands and turn our attentions to our comforts. But . . . here we are, being trained to reign with Christ and we have a wonderful husband in Him. Let's worship Him. Let's pray with Him and lets love on each other while it is still day.
(http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/6340 - something to discern through)
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "listserv@lists.studylight.org"
To: devotional-spurgeon@lists.studylight.org
Sent: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 3:05:01 AM
Subject: Spurgeon's Morning & Evening devotional for November 5
Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - November 5
--------------------------------
Morning Devotional
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper."
- Isaiah 54:17
This day is notable in English history for two great deliverances wrought
by God for us. On this day the plot of the Papists to destroy our Houses
of Parliament was discovered, 1605.
"While for our princes they prepare
In caverns deep a burning snare,
He shot from heaven a piercing ray,
And the dark treachery brought to day."
And secondly-to-day is the anniversary of the landing of King William III,
at Torbay, by which the hope of Popish ascendancy was quashed, and
religious liberty was secured, 1688.
This day ought to be celebrated, not by the saturnalia of striplings, but
by the songs of saints. Our Puritan forefathers most devoutly made it a
special time of thanksgiving. There is extant a record of the annual
sermons preached by Matthew Henry on this day. Our Protestant feeling, and
our love of liberty, should make us regard its anniversary with holy
gratitude. Let our hearts and lips exclaim, "We have heard with our ears,
and our fathers have told us the wondrous things which thou didst in their
day, and in the old time before them." Thou hast made this nation the home
of the gospel; and when the foe has risen against her, thou hast shielded
her. Help us to offer repeated songs for repeated deliverances.
Grant us more and more a hatred of Antichrist, and hasten on the day of
her entire extinction.
Till then and ever, we believe the promise, "No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper.
" Should it not be laid upon the heart of every lover of the gospel of
Jesus on this day to plead for the overturning of false doctrines and the
extension of divine truth? Would it not be well to search our own hearts,
and turn out any of the Popish lumber of self-righteousness which may lie
concealed therein?
--------------------------------
Evening Devotional
"Be thankful unto him, and bless his name."
- Psalm 100:4
Our Lord would have all his people rich in high and happy thoughts
concerning his blessed person. Jesus is not content that his brethren
should think meanly of him; it is his pleasure that his espoused ones
should be delighted with his beauty.
We are not to regard him as a bare necessary, like to bread and water,
but as a luxurious delicacy, as a rare and ravishing delight.
To this end he has revealed himself as the "pearl of great price" in its
peerless beauty, as the "bundle of myrrh" in its refreshing fragrance, as
the "rose of Sharon" in its lasting perfume, as the "lily" in its spotless
purity.
As a help to high thoughts of Christ, remember the estimation that Christ
is had in beyond the skies, where things are measured by the right
standard. Think how God esteems the Only Begotten, his unspeakable gift to
us. Consider what the angels think of him, as they count it their highest
honour to veil their faces at his feet. Consider what the blood-washed
think of him, as day without night they sing his well deserved praises.
High thoughts of Christ will enable us to act consistently with our
relations towards him. The more loftily we see Christ enthroned, and the
more lowly we are when bowing before the foot of the throne, the more
truly shall we be prepared to act our part towards him. Our Lord Jesus
desires us to think well of him, that we may submit cheerfully to his
authority. High thoughts of him increase our love. Love and esteem go
together.
Therefore, believer, think much of your Master's excellencies.
Study him in his primeval glory, before he took upon himself your nature!
Think of the mighty love which drew him from his throne to die upon the
cross! Admire him as he conquers all the powers of hell! See him risen,
crowned, glorified! Bow before him as the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the
mighty God, for only thus will your love to him be what it should.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional is public domain.
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