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Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. That is God’s promise to His children in Psalm 37:4. The Hebrew behind “delight” literally means “to be soft”. Therefore, striving to be God’s pen (and nothing else), I often find myself writing from a desire or burden He has stirred in my heart.
That desire – the desire He has placed in my heart for this series of articles – is to participate with Him in raising up and fortifying houses that will stand in the storms of life; those houses being Christian people, families, and fellowships. Storms have always been indiscriminate; both good and evil people experience them more often than we would prefer. Storms can be devastating… and they can be opportunities.
Several significant storms are brewing over America and the world. They will likely continue into the rest of this decade. Many houses will fall under their pressure, including those of our sisters and brothers in Christ. These individuals, families, and fellowships will be looking around for a safe harbor. Jesus has promised that those who hear and do His sayings in the Sermon on the Mount will have well-founded and strong houses (i.e., places of refuge). From there, the wise builders will be positioned and purposed as God’s ministering agents.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to both learn Jesus’ sayings and to discover how to “do them”. Read the rest of this entry »
I pray this letter finds you and yours well, and well blessed. I hope it will leave you encouraged.
Encouragement – the act of putting courage in – is truly something we all need in this season. Courage is contagious; it can be drawn from others, and it can be shared.
Let’s begin with this:
Serving the King,
That you love and admire,
Is neither burden nor responsibility;
It is opportunity and privilege.
Instruments are useless,
Until they are put to good use.
They lay in the dark drawer,
Lonely,
Until the Master selects them,
For His good work.
The most useful tools,
Are the ones placed out,
Within easy reach.
They fit the Master’s hand,
And His hand fits them.
Perhaps the greatest courage we need in this hour is to commit our way to the LORD, trusting in Him to bring to pass whatever He desires. Our hope is to be used, but we must learn to wait patiently on Him.
As this pandemic began, sequestering most of us in our homes, many I spoke with believed God was trying to get our attention, that we would draw closer to Him, for rest, reset, and renewal, in preparation for opportunities to advance His kingdom in the coming storms of this decade. Since then, the chaos of economic crisis and the lawlessness that has gripped this country have threatened to distract and draw us from God’s presence and peace.
So, we offer you this encouragement: Read the rest of this entry »
Back in 2015, we wrote a series of articles based on the theme, A Storm is Coming, eventually collecting and publishing the series as an eBook. At the time, many were preparing physically for what they expected to be an economic storm (myself included). A Storm is Coming was written to redirect our attention to the spiritual preparation Christians should be making.
What follows is a reconstruction of one of the first articles in the series. It is offered as a reminder that preparation is necessary for those who will be used by God during the chaos that lies before us. As the chaos intensifies, we must be diligent to avoid worldly distractions (Colossian 3:2), that we might focus on participating with God as He works in us to will and to do to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
It’s the Same, but Different
We must recognize that the spiritual preparation we are talking about is something we, as Christians, should have been doing anyway. There is nothing new under the sun. The church today is suffering in many of the same ways it has suffered over the past 2000+ years (e.g., division, apathy, worldliness). The solutions, though daunting, are unchanged (e.g., surrender, die to self, love God and love others, sacrifice, serve).
However, there are least two things that are different for the church during this season. First, there is a growing urgency. Whether from those that sense a storm is coming, or from those that have experienced the slow but growing decline of the church’s influence in society, those that will take their heads out of the sand and truly consider the situation will sense the growing urgency. Read the rest of this entry »
This article is the third in a series based on the assumption that God is after something, He is doing something to get what He is after, and He is willing to tell us everything that we need to know for our participation. God is using this time of chaos (like so many others) to prepare His children for a season of opportunity that will be exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.
Conditions can be viewed in two opposing ways. We can consider them as responsibilities forced upon us for some desired outcome, or as opportunities for reward. Our mindset in this regard has a great deal to do with our relationship and interaction with the one setting the conditions, as well as our response to them.
A classic example is our view of labor for income. Those who appreciate labor as an opportunity to earn income enjoy their work and make better employees. Persons who feel their labor is forced on them are generally disgruntled workers, slaves to their jobs.
In regards to God’s conditions for His promised blessings, this is another battleground with our carnal mind. At enmity with God, the mind of our flesh would have us perceive and relate to God as oppressor. This is a mindset that must be cast down (2Corinthians 10:5).
The Father’s good pleasure is to give us His kingdom (Luke 12:32). His desire is for a people who will surrender to His reign, welcome His habitation, and enjoy the intimacy of His presence. Recognizing our weak estate, our loving Father has graciously and lavishly provided motivation for pursuing what He is after. Read the rest of this entry »
This and several subsequent articles are based on the assumption that God is after something, He is trying to do something to get what He is after, and He is willing to tell us all that we need to know for our participation. God is using this time of chaos (like so many others) to prepare His children for a season of opportunity that will be exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.
The purpose of this specific article is to direct our perspective and meditations beyond the current situation and our spiritual condition, even beyond what He is requiring of us, to what He is after in and through those who will join in His good work. At some point (perhaps next week), we will consider His conditions for our participation but, for now, we strongly encourage you to look ahead.
You might be wondering why we are starting with the future. For so many of us, it is difficult to shift our focus away from our current situation and condition. We become captivated by its comfort or its concern. In our attempt to maintain or manage the status quo, we forget that God desires to transform us from one level of glory to another (2Corinthians 3:18).
Furthermore, our first thoughts about joining God in His transformative work tend to be “what will it cost me?”. Believe me, we all do it. Counting the cost is both normal and encouraged by Jesus. The problem comes when we fail to weigh the cost against the return/reward. And that’s what looking to the promised future will help us to do. We will use Isaiah 58 as an example. Read the rest of this entry »
If we are not careful, chaos will drive us to carnal reasoning and the resultant carnal response. The best defense is a good offense. Our best offense against the wiles of our carnal mind is the process of faith. That process is dependent on an intimate relationship with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Luke 11:10
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20
As a bit of a side note, it is interesting that the door of intimacy with the Lord opens both ways. He desires our intimacy like a groom for his bride. Truly, nothing but our reluctance stands in the way.
Recognizing that intimacy requires conversation, let me suggest three conversation starters:
Lord, what are you saying?
Lord, what are you doing?
Lord, what are you after?
There is an assumption behind these questions: God is after something; He is trying to do something to get what He is after, and; He is willing to tell us all that we need to know. God is using this season of chaos (like so many others) to prepare His children for a season of opportunity that is likely beyond our imagination. Read the rest of this entry »
As it is with many who will read this article, God is working graciously and persistently to prepare me for the opportunities this pandemic will create – opportunities to advance His kingdom and hasten the day of His Son’s return. I pray the following will both encourage and edify you in your participation in the good work He is doing to prepare you.
In pursuing God’s intention for the coming season, I determined to search out the matter of overcoming – particularly in relation to the seven Revelation churches. What were they required to overcome? What were His promises for those that were able? I fasted sleep in the mornings to make time for the Bible study and time on social media at night to mediate on what I had learned.
Initially, this seemed to go well. I developed a spreadsheet of the church, requirement, and promise for overcoming, using this as an exercise to hear which of the churches I was to consider further. This turned out to be the churches at Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea. From there, I developed four questions I hoped God would answer.
It was at this point that my troubles began; God was not answering my questions. Increasing the frequency of my prayer and fasting each day did not help. Neither did putting the questions on a 3×5 card (to remember to meditate on them and lift them to God’s attention). My process of analysis was getting me nowhere.
Fortunately, I have been around the mountain enough times to know that when God is not speaking, it is because I am on the wrong trail. It became clear that God had something else in mind, and He was not going to accommodate my attempts to figure Him out in this way. In my defense, I must say that He has allowed this in the past. However, hindsight being twenty-twenty, He was looking for a more mature approach. Read the rest of this entry »
When the message of The Map Maker was coming into focus, several well-meaning workplace ministers counseled me to lead with something other than surrender, sacrifice, and submission. Had I been the pen, the book – and the ministry of inLight Consulting – might have followed their advice. To their credit, they were right in a way. The call to sacrifice has been a particularly difficult message for workplace leaders to hear.
But God would not have it. As The Map Maker, He insisted on the truth: Christian leadership requires counter-cultural sacrifice. At no other time is this more evident than in the midst of crisis and chaos. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point.
Perhaps a bit of context would be helpful. The Map Maker was written to help Christian leaders find joyful, Spirit-filled ministry in the workplace, by becoming disciple-making transformation agents. Of course, becoming a transformation agent first requires transformation. From The Map Maker perspective, transformation begins with surrender to the desires God has deposited into our hearts. It ends with the good work He created for us to supernaturally walk in, as we submit to the Holy Spirit.1
The preparatory journey from desire to good work requires sacrifice and includes chaos; the two go hand in hand. We know this from at least two perspectives. First, consider the Greek word translated as “transformed” in 2Corinthians 3:18 and Romans 12:2: Metamorphoo. Do you get the picture? How would you describe what’s going on inside that cocoon? Is it not the messy chaos of a caterpillar sacrificing some part of its previous life to become what God intended it to be?
God created the Greek language to help us understand the process He uses to make us into the instruments of His good work. Then He sent His Son to walk through the process with us. Read the rest of this entry »
Is it possible that the Church at Laodicea has been given an unfairly bad reputation? Sure, being rejected by the Lord is probably the worse thing that could happen to anyone. Being deceived about one’s wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked condition is a sobering reminder of the Great Apostasy (see 2Thessalonians 2:9-12). And it probably doesn’t help that critical observation of the Western Church reminds us of Laodicea’s lukewarm state.
Indeed, it is difficult to look beyond Jesus’ rebuke and chastening of the Church at Laodicea. It is hard to get past the King’s displeasure and the frightening consequences. Still, there is hope.
The Lord himself seems to have considerable hope for this much maligned church… and much to offer her. Let’s take a look.
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:18-21
It is truly amazing what the Lord offers the Church at Laodicea:
- His kind and godly counsel;
- To sell them what they need;
- Loving rebuke and chastening;
- Encouragement that they are still capable of zealous repentance;
- To dine with them; and,
- A place with Him on His throne.
In short, our King offers restoration. How can we neglect so great a salvation, or so kind a King? What must we do to restore our relationship with Him? How do we turn this thing around? Read the rest of this entry »
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
Knowing God is sovereign, we can confidently say that He creates or allows the chaos that finds its way into our lives. We also know that He works all things to the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose (Romans 8:28). How we respond to chaos makes more difference in our lives, and the lives of those in our spheres of influence, than we might think or imagine.
Generally speaking, chaos either draws us away from the truth or it serves to focus our attention on what is fundamentally real (i.e., the heavenly perspective). The greater the chaos, the greater the impact in one of these two directions.
Chaos tests the set of our mind. Chaos also gives us the opportunity to practice our resistance to the enemy’s distraction and deception. By the way, the enemy I am referring to is our carnal mind – our number one enemy. Scripture makes it clear that neither Satan nor the world can influence a child of God (James 4:7, Galatians 6:14) … unless they are allowed to do so. Our carnal mind opens that door.
Most of us have been trained for much of our lives to turn to our carnal mind when chaos invades our lives. This is directly and exactly the opposite of God’s intention. When chaos comes, He would have us choose the influence and direction of Christ’s mind. Make no mistake about it: We are responsible for that choice. Read the rest of this entry »
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