The terrible day had come.

For 19 years the small cat had been the constant companion of the man. But the ravages of old age and sickness had finally taken their toll. The time had come.

The cat lay motionless on the table as they prepared the injection. The fight had gone from him.

They asked the man, “Are you ready?”

The man nodded his head as he caressed the cat one last time.

With eyes stinging from the tears and a voice choked with emotion, he leaned forward and whispered – “Good bye old friend.”

“The coracle went more and more quickly, and beautifully it rushed up the wave’s side. For one split second they saw its shape and Reepicheep’s on the very top. Then it vanished, and since that moment no one can truly claim to have seen Reepicheep the Mouse. But my belief is that he came safe to Aslan’s country and is alive there to this day.”

— The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis —

And that night, the man had a dream. In the dream, he was transported to some far away place – a field with shimmering green grasses of such a color as to defy description. And a short distance away, a great forest.

It was then that the man saw him as he came out of the forest.

A great lion — with a huge mane billowing in the breeze. And the lion saw the man. Closer and closer he came, traveling across the ground with great strides.

Unafraid, the man said, “I know you.”

To his surprise, the lion answered, “Yes. And I know you as well.”

“You look magnificent,” said the man.

“It is a gift from the Creator that I might take on this form,” said the lion. “My soul has returned to be with the Creator and He has granted me this wish that I might see you. For the great love that we shared, He chose this form that you would know that I am alive and now dwell in this land forever.”

“I miss having you with me,” said the man.

“I know,” said the lion. “And I wanted to tell you to mourn me no more, for the day is coming when we will be together again — but not yet. It is the great gift of the Creator for those of us who have lived and shared in His love.”

At that, the man was returned to his world.

And that night, the man slept a great and peaceful sleep, for he knew that the day was coming when they would be together again.

But not yet.

Just a couple of updates for now. Be patient while I shake off the accumulated rust and try to re-engage the blogging gears.

For the RSS readers, there’s been (yet another) update to the site — so feel free to drop by and look over the new digs.

A big part of the reason for such a lengthy time between posts has been my trying to re-think the direction of the site.

By its nature, a personal blog tends to be just that — personal. And that’s where the rub comes in. That’s never been my motivation for having this site and the simple fact that the blog was becoming, well, a bit about me was creating some real conflicts.

It was never my intent for the blog to be about me. The new home page explains this a bit more. I want to shift the focus back to my original intent — the story.

Going forward, my intent is to try and honor that original purpose. Whenever I get off track (which is undoubtedly going to happen), you’re invited to call me on it. Preferably with something a bit more subtle than a 2 x 4 to the side of the head — but if that’s what it takes, swing away.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to bring you some useful stuff along with an occasional bit of encouragement for your journey.

There were a number of topics previously touched upon that I really wanted to expand and just never got around to it.

For those of you still around, drop by. It’ll be good to see you again.

Galatians 6:10 (ESV)

At the recent Westminster Seminary California faculty conference, Mike Horton said –

“God doesn’t need your good works, your neighbor does.”

In the spirit of this truth, I’m asking you to help a neighbor some of you have never met.  Michael Spencer (aka “the Internet Monk“) is a pastor and writer living in Kentucky.

While I’ve never met Michael personally, I call him friend. Our relationship began some time ago when I discovered his blog and then began to grow when he allowed me to do the re-design of his website.

Michael is an outstanding writer, devoting his blog to “dispatches from the post-evangelical wilderness” and writing eloquently on what he terms “the coming evangelical collapse.”

First and foremost, his writing is about developing a “Jesus-shaped spirituality.”

Michael and his family need our help. This past Thanksgiving, Michael suddenly became violently ill. On Christmas Eve, surgeons removed a small brain tumor.

Tests revealed that the source of the tumor was colon cancer. Michael has just completed a round of radiation therapy and is now facing a grueling regimen of chemotherapy.

Employed at a small Christian boarding school in Eastern Kentucky, his job was eliminated in late January. His employer-sponsored health insurance is due to expire this month.

His only hope of maintaining insurance coverage now rests upon the generosity and donations of his Christian family.

I encourage everyone to visit his website – the Internet Monk – and to make a donation of any amount. There is a PayPal donation button at the top of the page.

In addition, Michael’s publisher has announced that his forth-coming book is now available for pre-order. Michael has requested that all pre-orders be made through Amazon.com.

Michael’s blog is alive and well. During his absence, Mike Mercer is doing the heavy lifting by filling in with regular posts, updates on Michael’s condition and re-publishing many of the Internet Monk’s classic posts from the archives.

The Internet Monk has touched and influenced thousands of lives and his blog is among the most visited Christian blogs online.

This is an opportunity for all of us to show generosity to one of our own and to be faithful to scripture – “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Gal 6:2

I would ask you to visit Michael’s blog and to prayerfully consider making a donation or pre-ordering a copy of his book.

Crank up the volume.

Amazing Grace Techno – Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

After shooting the guard who stood at the entry to the women’s cafeteria, the only obstacle barring his entry into the room containing some 400 women was the janitor.

The janitor refused to let the gunman pass.

Maybe you’ve been experiencing a spiritual battle. Maybe some tough times. Possibly you’re wondering where God is right now.

I’ve been told on a number of occasions, by a fairly large number of my Christian friends, that there are times when they just don’t sense or feel the presence of God in their lives.

Perhaps you’ve experienced this as well. I know that I have.

I think it’s vital that we understand that these feelings are really pretty normal for all of us at one time or another. We find ourselves in some sort of crisis and we cry out for God.

And for whatever reason, we feel that we are really distant from His presence.

During those times, I take comfort in remembering a story I was once told whenever I brought this subject up to a good friend.

I’ve since retold the story to others, and now I’d like to share it with you.

There is a legend that tells the story of a young Indian brave as he goes through his final test of initiation as a warrior.

For this final test, the young brave is taken deep into a forest at night. Blindfolded, he is totally unaware of where he is.

He is directed to sit on the ground and to surrender all his weapons. He is then told that his final test is to sit in this one place with the blindfold on. He is told that he is not to remove the blindfold until he feels the warming rays of the morning sun.

He is instructed not to move or to cry out.

And then, he is left alone.

As the night passes, he can hear the sounds of wild animals as they come near to him. Trembling at the unknown, he maintains his posture and his silence. As the night hours seemingly extend without ending, he grows ever more fearful as the sounds of the unknown seem to come close upon him.

Yet he knows that he must not move or cry out. To do so would mean his failing to attain warrior status.

As the hours drag on, he wonders if his trembling is due to the sense of fear or the chill of the night air. His mind races as he tries to determine what the sounds are that seem to be incessant and ever closer.

At long last he feels the warming rays of the morning sun.

Slowly and deliberately, he removes the blindfold.

It is only then that he discovers that seated on the ground across from him is his father, who has watched over and guarded him throughout the night.

I am nourished by this story. It gives us an example, in parable, of how our Father is always there.

Sometimes, it seems that it is only in retrospect that we can know that God was there throughout the whole ordeal. Watching over us and guarding us.

I’ve since worked hard on changing my thinking. I’ve resolved to understand and to know that God is there, especially in those times that I don’t sense His presence.

For those times that cause you to wonder, know this – He is always there, whether we can feel His presence or not.

What started out as a short break suddenly mushroomed into an extended sabbatical and I just realized how lame that is.

The fort has not been deserted, I’ve just been at the outpost for a bit.

For the curious among you, a quick update on some of what’s been happening:

Hard to know where to start there’s been so much going on.

For starters, there’s been a higher than normal amount of warfare. Perhaps a sign of the times? I don’t know, really, just that it’s been ongoing and seemingly from every conceivable (and some not so) angle. More on that later.

Spent a considerable amount of time in designing and getting a new joint venture launched. Finally online, and seems to be drawing lots of viewers. One of the primary offerings is a series of mobile apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s been a fun time, but it’s also been extremely time-intensive.

If you own an iPhone, drop me a line and I’ll send you the code to download an app or two for free.

You can see the new site  here. Take a look over the apps and let me know which you’d like. (A quick disclaimer – we only get a limited number of download codes from the Apple store.)

Had the privilege of re-designing Michael Spencer’s website, better known as the Internet Monk.

Spent a fair amount of time reading some Tozer – one of my favorite authors.

Would definitely appreciate your prayer support. We have a family member that currently lives in another state with an addiction problem. He is going to come and stay with us to go through the detox and rehab here in Indy.

Along with all the physical and medical aspects we’re expecting a major spiritual battle. This enemy we face doesn’t give up his captives without a fight.

Even though we’re expecting that this could get ugly, we also know it is an answer to our prayers for another’s  salvation.

The parallels and comparisons to much of today’s western church are really quite remarkable – with one important exception.

Much of today’s western church is sleeping with the enemy, yet it has no interest in trying to escape. Rather, having come under the strong delusion predicted by Scripture, the church is content, comfortable and “has need of nothing.”

The “seeker-friendly” movement has, by all estimates, been adopted by an alarming number of churches. As a result, the church has willingly handed over its spiritual power and authority mandated by scripture. Recovering that which has been lost may prove to be extremely difficult, if not altogether impossible.

The original command given by Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations” has been updated and modernized to read “go and make members” so that the church can grow.

Churches that remain true to the original mandate are few and far between. Not only that, the process of making disciples usually results in a decline, rather than an increase, in members.

There are a couple of specific instances that I want to reference before moving on to what I consider the more serious issue confronting us today – the disobedience of the church.

Appealing to the “itching ears” of the masses are a couple of movements that are generally viewed as being fairly modern concepts but in reality their roots are well described by Scripture.

First, we have the gospel of prosperity that preaches that Jesus came so that you could have Your Best Life Now – in other words, to make you wealthy, healthy and wise. Just a bit contrary to what Scripture tells us when we are told to “take up our cross daily” and “whoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

The other instance centers around the gospel of self-esteem. This particular movement tells us that Jesus came so that we could have a higher self-esteem. Further, should you question this particular interpretation you are considered to be a malcontent and you should be removed from the church.

This particular movement was effectively described by the title of an obscure book that I ran across – “Are You Purpose – Driven or Spirit Led?”

Take some time and do a little research on your own. If you’re a member of a church that is a part of either of these, you need to get enlightened while you still have time.

The Disobedience of the Church

Most churches today are pretty ineffective and powerless when it comes to spiritual matters. Every so often a movement comes along that seems to show “signs & wonders” and it captivates us, at least for a season.

Regrettably, most of these “movements” generally die off of their own accord as the real source of the spiritual forces behind them begin to show their true nature.

By and large, today’s church has either forgotten or chooses to ignore the mandates of Scripture. In some instances, the church leaders put a “spin” on these mandates by saying that the Scriptures don’t really apply to their church, or worse.

I’m referring here to Paul’s message in Ephesians. More specifically – Ephesians 3:10, which states:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, (KJV)

A couple of years ago I was led to this passage and just couldn’t get it out of my mind without doing some extensive study and heartfelt prayer in seeking just why this section of Scripture weighed so heavily upon me.

The result of this was a study that led to putting together a guide for those interested in exploring this topic further.

You can download the PDF version here.

The file contains three different versions of Ephesians, Chapter 3, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this chapter, excerpts from Wink’s Commentary, a number of quotes from Dr. Ed Murphy’s The Handbook For Spiritual Warfare and information gleaned from the teachings of Derek Prince.

In the interest of brevity, I’ll forgo a complete review of this subject here and just offer you the following from the study:

Here, in the ‘heavenlies’, the church has committed its most serious act of disobedience to the Lord. In choosing not to engage the powers and principalities, the church has, instead, fallen into collusion with the enemy. This is the major cause of powerlessness in the spiritual battle before us.

And, this excerpt:

Just as believers can take authority over demons through Christ’s authority, Paul here explains that the church, through Christ, is to do the same with powers and principalities in the heavenlies. Through this ongoing proclamation, the powers and principalities are weakened and ultimately brought into submission and defeat. The church’s role is not just to inform, but to enforce.

Now, please understand that I make no claim to being an expert in these matters. As I was led into this study, I merely drew upon the works of others that are far more knowedgable than me.

The resulting study was simply an exercise in bringing together these separate elements into a single (and, I’m sure – incomplete) document.

Upon completing this “assignment,” I shared the findings with a close friend that pastors a church in another area. With further study and prayer on his part, he began to embrace and then put into practice the message that these verses command.

The results of his leading the church in obedience to these commands were far more than we could envision or imagine – miraculous healings, an outpouring of deliverance and a continuing increase in the sincere conversion and salvation of those hearing the Gospel.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to download the file and read through it. Do some research and get the answers for yourself.

I know it changed my view of what this aspect of the “church” is supposed to be about.

So, in the interest of keeping things “fair and balanced,” I want to present you with one that falls at the other end of the spectrum.

Having been on the site for some six months now, this particular video has been viewed a rather paltry 2,000 times as compared to the previous video having received over 8 million views.

I think part of the reason for this less-than-popular showing is due in no small part to the scripture contained in 2 Peter: 6-8 where we learn that the message of the cross is an offense to the unbelieving.

And, it would seem, it is also an offense to many that claim to be believers.

This video, after all, deals specifically with that message – the message of the cross.

Does it present the entire story? No, not by a long shot.

But what it does present is a short, and powerful, message.

The video itself was put together by a professional editor and uses clips from a number of movies to get its message across – Jesus of Nazareth, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Passion of the Christ.

It may or may not be a video that you want your young children to watch – some of the scenes used from The Passion of the Christ are a bit graphic.

The purpose of the video, as presented on the site, is to encourage Christians in their faith and to nudge the un-believer into asking questions.

From sharing this video with friends and family, I can say that it accomplishes this purpose quite well. It has a way of giving us a renewed awareness of the work accomplished through the sacrifice Jesus made.

One final point, and then I’ll leave you to enjoy the video – continue watching the video until it comes to a complete stop. Just when you think it’s over – it launches into a new song and video segment (sort of like another story you may know).

In case it doesn’t play for you, here’s the direct link .

The video is entitled: Via Dolorosa/Revelation Song.

My original intent was to present you with a single post and highlight a few sacred cows that seem to be fairly commonplace in churches, however, it grew to be such a large article that I’ve decided to split it up.

Today we’re going to take a look at one of the videos from tangle.com. You may be familiar with the site’s previous name – Godtube. This site has become really popular in the Christian community as it really is a great resource for Christian music videos and messages.

Like any popular movement, it is also subject to infiltration.

Before discussing this particular video, I want to point out that if you haven’t read the first installment of this series, Spiritual or Soulish, I suggest you do so now. It provides the foundation for today’s discussion by dealing with our natural tendency to slide from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic.

This particular video is one of the site’s all-time favorites, having recorded over 8 million viewings and over 8 thousand comments, most of which are complimentary.

Without further ado, here’s the video. We’ll take up the discussion after you watch it.

(If, for some reason it doesn’t play for you, here’s the direct link)

One of the site’s favorites, I’ll also mention that the church I attend put on a similar version of the skit not too long ago.

In general, most of the comments on the video site, and the reception that the skit received in my church, were almost identical.

Fawning and gushing out phrases like “powerful,” “wonderful,” “excellent,” the skit, in general gets nothing but rave reviews.

So, just exactly what’s wrong with it?

First of all, let me say that yes, God has the power to use anything for good. And this is one instance where the word anything really applies.

You may need to take a second look at the video. Pay close attention to what actually takes place – specifically look at how the skit portrays Jesus as being pushed around by demonic forces and then having to struggle with them.

This particular skit serves to illustrate the lesson from the last installment about our tendency to view things from an earthly and soulish perspective.

This skit is some person’s worldly (earthly)  idea of trying to re-make the Christ into what people can relate to (soulish) and then to invoke our  (earthly, soulish) emotions on the outcome of the skit.

The danger, as I see it, is this:

Such a portrayal is not spirit-inspired (then again, maybe it is – but what spirit?) and it certainly doesn’t follow what scripture tells us about Jesus Christ.

From scripture, we learn that “even the demons believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). In other words, they shake because of their fear of the LORD.

Now, if they are so afraid of the LORD that they tremble in their fear, what makes you think that they can push HIM around and then fight with HIM?

Am I being too nit-picky about this? I don’t think so.

If you’ve ever had occasion to confront evil directly, then you already know, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that evil can’t leave fast enough in HIS presence, much less stick around and try to fight.

While the originators of this skit, and all who would seek to imitate it, may have good intentions, the bottom line is this:

It is a really sorry attempt by someone to “let us make GOD in our image.”

It dishonors the power and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It forgets that we are talking about the Lord of Hosts, the Lion of Judah, the Ancient of Days, the great I AM that has the power to part the Red Sea, whose enemies melt before HIM like wax in HIS consuming fire.

And it is an affront, an insult, to the Spirit whenever we paint such a false picture.

In our feeble man-made attempts to entertain rather than preach the true Gospel, we violate Paul’s warning when he told us “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30). When we grieve the Spirit, rest assured that he will withdraw from us.

The Spirit-led preaching of the true Gospel has the power of God behind it. The message of the cross is offensive to the unrepentant (1 Peter 2: 6-8) and has the power to convict, to transform and lead to salvation.

In our (earthly, soulish) justification that “some good has come from it,” once again we fail in our obedience to Paul’s admonition that “this persuasion is not from Him who calls you, ” and  that “a little leaven leavens all the lump” (Galatians 5: 8-9).

Our acceptance and allowing “a little leaven” is nothing less than welcoming in the Trojan horse of the dumbing-down of the Gospel.

As we welcome in  this “leaven” with open arms, we will truly see the scriptures come alive, for “they are vanity, the work of delusion; in the time of their judgment they shall perish” (Jeremiah 10:15) “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, so that all those who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness, might be condemned” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

My personal suggestion would be for us to stop this (earthly, soulish) worshipping at the false altar of entertainment (idolatry)  and start preaching the unaldulterated truth of the scriptures.

Satan fears the Word of God. From a personal perspective, I’ve been blessed to have seen the power of the Word of God change lives, heal the sick, cast out demons and to set people’s hearts on fire with purpose and power.

In the early church, people were drawn to the Lord because they witnessed

• the power of God

• miracles

• plain truth, cutting through men’s hearts

• urgency of the message

• the authority of those who preached

• the call to abandon all for Him

Today’s church draws people because of:

• gimmicks

• movies, media & more!

• convenience of the message

• you don’t have to change to belong

Is it just me, or do you see something wrong with this picture?

The Word of God really doesn’t need our feeble and mis-directed embellishments.