Olympic Story

courtesy of Tish
Some people understand life better, And they call some of these people "retarded"...At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back......every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said,"This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course. If you pass this on, we may be able to change our hearts as well as someone else's. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"

boiler rooms

v.6 The Practice of Learning and Discipleship· All Boiler Rooms are learning communities committed to mutual discipleship, study and the ongoing spiritual formation of the community as a whole as well as its individual members. Some Boiler Rooms are recognised by 24-7 as Training Centres, thus benefiting from a regular influx of trainees. · Within the core team at the heart of every Boiler Room community, we expect there to be a climate of relational accountability and mutual submission. An abbot or abbess is appointed to lead this team lovingly and with recognised authority, accountable ultimately to God and temporarily to 24-7 alongside locally appointed structures. · Whenever Boiler Rooms multiply we would expect the sending community to offer strong initial support and oversight to these new communities they have planted (see later).

Excerpts from Gary Weins for contemplation

I spoke from Psalm 50 about the Lord "shining forth" from Zion, perfect in beauty. The words there refer to God's self-disclosure, His unveiling of His own beauty and character. We then went to Hebrews 4:16 and spoke about the Bride's response of coming "boldly" into His presence because of what Jesus has done. The boldness in that passage is the same concept of self-disclosure, coming to the Lord exactly as we are because He has embraced us in our weakness. God says to us "Here I am as I am," and desires us to say to Him "Here I am as I am." It's a lovely reality, and there was tender and gracious ministry afterwards

This morning I spoke from Ephesians 3 about being filled with all the fullness of God, the stunning reality that awaits us as the Bride of Jesus. It was not a normal "preach;" rather, I simply spoke as I felt moved in the moment about the destiny that each of us longs for - to feel significant, to know power and authority, to stand shame-free and know the fullness of what God had in mind when He created each of us.

. . . Jeremiah 33 about God's invitation to uncommon grace. What will it be like when we have the fear of the Lord over His determination to do good to us? Perhaps then we will know the Spirit of prayer, and will touch those things that God calls "great and mighty things." The observation came to me in the moment that Job 26 calls the sustaining of the universe "the mere edges of His ways." If that is so, what in heaven's name would God call "great and mighty things?" Wow!!

IHOP Indianapolis' Value Statement

I. INTERCESSIONa. Night and day prayer is a literal reality taught in scripture and it is a prerequisite for full scale revival. This is based upon the worship patterns of the Tabernacle of David, Jewish worship under Ezra and Nehemiah, worship around the throne of God (Rev 4), the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Lk 18), and the Lord's Prayer (Mt 6). b. We value solitude and quiet contemplation with Christ. It is the foundation of healthy community We believe in gazing upon the beauty of the Lord through nature (Ps 19), through the written word of God, and through quiet communion with the Holy Spirit within (II Cor 3:17, Eph 3:16). Solid and vibrant relationships with others are dependant upon a healthy and vibrant personal communion with Christ.c. The Bible prayers are our model for prayer Prayer is agreement with God. We know we are in agreement with Him when we are praying the prayers He wrote. The whole body of Christ can unify around the Bible prayers.d. Worship and prayer are two currents within one flow of the Fathers heart In heaven, the prayers of the saints are mingled with the music of God and the songs of the saints (Rev 4 & 5). In the heavenly model, the elders have a harp worship and a bowl prayer. Jesus prayed that the kingdom would come to earth as it is in heaven (Jn 17).II. HOLINESSa. First commandment first - We believe the first commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, must have first priority in our hearts, affecting how we spend our time and our money. b. Friendship with Jesus - the one necessary thing. We believe the inward satisfaction of a vibrant and intimate relationship with Christ is the fountain from which fruitful and lasting ministry spring forth.c. Lovers outwork workers - Without the flames of Divine romance awakening and fascinating our hearts, the work of ministry will burn us out. d. Superior Pleasures - The pleasures of sin can only be resisted when the greater pleasure of Gods love is satisfying the heart (Psalm 37). Our goal must be to make God our delight, He will complete the work of bringing forth our righteousness. - "Sin is what we do when our hearts arent satisfied in God" John Pipere. Our Beauty to God - In our immaturity, weakness and sin, we are lovely to God and he delights in us. Immaturity is different than rebellion. Immaturity says yes to God but struggles in carrying out the yes. God delights and enjoys the immature believer who has a willing spirit but weak flesh.f. Authenticity We can only export or reproduce what we are. We can only give away what we own. We must be sure that the things we are trying to reproduce are the things we have become. Our stated values must be our actual values. g. Unity of Believers - We can only see a complete picture of Gods love with all the saints Full revelation and full blessing will only occur in the context of full unity under the banner of Jesus. (Eph 3:18, Ps 133).III. OFFERINGS TO THE POORa. Simple lifestyles - We believe in living materially modest and simple lifestyles, and that everything over and above what we truly need is to be radically given to the poor and for the advancement of the gospel in the earthb. We embrace a fasted lifestyle - We believe that the routine forsaking of fleshly pleasures positions us to receive all that God freely and joyfully offers us, and it frees up more resource to give to the poor and to missions.IV. PROPHETICa. Divine strategy for ministry to people flows out of a lifestyle of ministry to the Lord - David entered the tabernacle as a worshipping priest. Inside, surrounded by musicians, songwriters, and singers ministering to the Lord day and night, David received divine revelation and instruction. He then went out from the tabernacle as a King, and with that divine information, defeated all the enemies of the Lord. b. The great commission will be accomplished through the Great Commandment - We will be only partially effective in evangelism and discipleship until we are consumed with love and adoration for our God.c. The Fullness of God. We will persistently contend for the fullness of God in our midst and in our city.

God's Jealous Love -SJ HILL

Over the years, many people—Christian and non—have stumbled over God’s anger and wrath. His judgments have been both misunderstood and maligned. What so many have failed to comprehend is the fact that the Lord has always burned with pure passion for the undivided love and devotion of His people. As the Hero and Husband in the love story called the Bible, the Lord has always been jealous for the affections of His bride. Although the Bible is full of references regarding the Lord’s attributes, such as love, mercy and kindness, it’s really eye-opening to discover how much it also has to say about His jealousy:
• “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)• “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24) • “They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.” (Psalm 78:58)But exactly what does the Bible mean when it speaks of God’s jealousy? How can He be the epitome of love and be jealous at the same time? To say that the Lord is jealous most certainly does not mean He is suspicious because of some insecurity on His part. Ungodly jealousy is the byproduct of wanting to control and possess what does not belong to us. It is always demanding and cares very little about the alleged object of its love. In contrast, holy jealousy is at the very core of who God is. Within the depths of His being burns an inextinguishable fire of love called jealousy. His jealousy is a blazing passion to protect a love relationship that is eternally precious to Him and to defend it when it is broken. The severity of God’s jealous anger is in direct proportion to the depths of His love for those who belong to Him. His anger is never irrational and unpredictable. God’s love for Israel was the source of His controllable anger and wrath. It was because He infinitely cared for His bride that He burned with holy anger against her. This is passionately portrayed through the language of Jeremiah: “I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made” (Jeremiah 1:16). God’s anger and mercy are not opposites of each other; in fact, they are actually related. This is why the prophet Habakkuk prayed: “In wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). It is inconceivable that the Lord’s love would ever end. This is why the psalmist asked: “Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (Psalm 77:9). The message of God’s anger included a call to His adulterous wife to return to Him and be saved. He promised her that if she changed her behavior, His anger would subside. The call of anger was actually a call to cancel anger. It was not an expression of irrational behavior but a deliberate response on God’s part to deal with what was evil. To understand God’s anger is to understand His care. In Scripture, God’s anger is always described as something temporary rather than something that lasts indefinitely. The psalmist David contrasted the difference between the Lord’s anger and His enduring love: “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). This Scripture vividly demonstrates that anger is not an emotion in which God delights. His anger, instead, is a tragic necessity. It was compassion that transcended the most intense, holy anger; it was a love that remained steadfast in the face of human sin and weakness. And this is the splendor of God’s love and concern that was revealed through the prophets. The greatest example of God’s unfailing love, despite human sin, was His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus epitomized the jealous love of God because of His sacrificial love and devotion for His people. In Matthew 10:37, He made a statement that clearly illustrated His jealous passion for His bride: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Jesus could just as easily have said, “I don’t mind you loving your father and mother or your son and daughter. In fact, I insist on it. But you can’t love them more than Me. You can’t love anyone or anything more than Me. I must be first place in your affections!” Jesus is emphatically telling us that He will not tolerate any rivals who try to steal our affections. The fire of His love will consume everything that tries to threaten our relationship with Him. This is why it is imperative we understand that “conviction” is really a manifestation of His burning jealousy for us, as He continually warns us of things that would seduce our hearts away from Him and destroy our lives. The Lord longs for our love and loyalty to such a degree that He will stop at nothing to keep us for Himself! May we all continue to grow in our understanding of just how spirited the Lord’s jealous love is for us. Let us renew our minds and free ourselves from attempting to serve God out of fear of punishment, and let us learn to live a life of obedience in response to His incredible love. S.J. Hill is a speaker and the author of Enjoying God and Burning Desire, available from Relevant Books.

Love Dream

I had a dream a few weeks ago that left a deep impression on me regarding a move of God in/on the Church. In short, "Love" invaded the Church. In the dream, I was dressed in white (as was everyone else) and lying down on the left, front pew of an old wooden church, talking with my sister. We were doing something that represented old, worldly comforts. I was a little bored. I looked around and realized that although the Church was gently illuminated (like candles in a dark room), the light came from each of the people in the building. There was a man behind me (second pew)that was, in reality, my Christianity Professor in College. He was illumined as well and covered lavishly in soft garments, but he had a stoic face - not happy, nor un-happy mmm . . . maybe slightly sad. I knew that Harry (his name) was jaded by the his experiences in life - particularly his experiences with the Church. Suddenly a Knight with beautiful flowing gold hair rode into the Church, up the aisle, circled behind the preacher and stopped- facing the congregation just to the left of the preacher. He was full of light and I immediately loved Him. He was "Love". I turned to Harry and said, "He is my gift to you Harry." The preacher's voice became audible and I realized that it was Charles Spurgeon (an 18th Century Preacher) speaking about "Love". I looked at Harry and knew that "Love" was being restored to the forefront for Him, myself, and the Church. "Love" captured my attention and I was no longer interested in old, worldly comforts. Suddenly a strong wind began to circle the Church and shake it violently. I spoke to my sister and said "We need to get to the lowest point possible." We ran down the stairs, out to a tunnel near the Church and got very low. I didn't want to go too far into the tunnel, but we did stay low and waited out the storm. The storm passed. When we peeked up through a rabbit hole, the sun was shining, the sky was sweetly blue and the grass was a wonderful green. The "mighty" wind had shaken the boards on the church off in some places, but the Church itself was intact and the people had not left, despite the storm. When I woke up I understood enough about the dream to know that "if we have not love . . ." applied and it was in God's heart to bring "Love" to the forefront. It's the balm for broken and jaded hearts. Getting to the lowest point, I think, refers to humility. I wonder, if "Love" is actually the hallmark of true revival and the hoped for move of God.