Who Is Jesus?

God’s Bouquet of Love

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:41:35 PST

“Call in! Your chance to throw a brick or a bouquet!”

The radio host was inviting his coast-to-coast listeners to air a grievance or grudge against someone—their chance to get even. Or they could call in and compliment someone. The choice was theirs!

Most were angry callers with a grudge and a beef to air. The disturbing thing was that they were taking fiendish delight in putting people down and flattening them before the public. The radio airwaves were thick with tension and hate.

Then came the call that changed things. A sweet lady was calling in to tell her teenage niece how much she loved her. “I want to throw her a bouquet tonight,” she said, “to express my love for her.”

The love coming through the airwaves with that call was so real that I felt it! It poured right into my heart. Then I felt something else—in the presence of this stranger’s love expressed for her niece, I was feeling the very presence of a loving God! It overtook the previous cold hate and tones of getting even and brought new warmth and encouragement!

The Word of God tells us “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Why then wouldn’t God be present when we show love to others? It also tells us that we are His ambassadors (see 2 Corinthians 5:20). As His ambassadors, we are called to walk in forgiveness and His compassion even if we walk away from the things that disturb us.

As followers of Jesus Christ, seek to become pleasing to Him as His ambassadors of kindness and encouragement, not just on Valentine’s Day but every day. Our hearts should be the very reflection of God’s heart in this lost and dying world.

Think of those who are alone or separated from loved ones and need to feel God’s awesome and unconditional love for them. Some are in the military and they and their families need to be comforted by God’s presence and the awareness of His love.

Many in hospitals feel alone and fearful of what lies ahead concerning their health. They need to know that a loving God is there 24/7 working through the doctors and medical professionals to meet their needs. Both patients and those serving the patients need to know God’s love and be encouraged by it.

This Valentine’s Day, perhaps one of the best bouquets we could give the complex world around us is to offer a smile, a kind word, an encouraging attitude. In such a bouquet will be a fragrance that goes beyond flowers—the very fragrance of the living and loving Jesus.

Learning to Love Him

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:02:50 PST

Among our friends in ministry is one who literally died, appeared before Jesus in heaven and was sent back to Earth to complete his service to our Lord. Now he touches untold thousands for Christ.

In relating his death experience, he says that he found himself in heaven in a line of people who were standing on a moving path. One by one, each person in the line appeared before Jesus. All those on the path were dressed in white and were exceedingly happy.

On a parallel path moving toward the Lord were people who were exceedingly unhappy. These were clothed in what they had devoted their lives to. Each was given the opportunity to look at Christ and He at them before the path turned downward.

When our friend appeared before Jesus, he was asked the one question that everyone in the line had been asked: "Did you learn to love?"

The Lord had not asked, "Did you 'do'?" or even "Did you 'go'?"—but "Did you love?" In other words, our friend was asked if, while he was on Earth, he had fulfilled the two greatest commandments: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength'" and "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mark 12:30-31).

Unable to Love
Until I heard the story of my friend's experience, I did not realize that I was to seek to fulfill these commandments above all else—and the first one above all. However, I knew I was not able to correctly answer the "test" question put to all believers when they appeared before Christ.

Not only was I aware of my failure in this area, but I knew that I was incapable of loving God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. I confessed to my husband that I was unable to obey this most important commandment.

"Of course you can't," he answered calmly. "God must fulfill this through you."

I sighed inwardly because I didn't understand his answer. I saw that I couldn't keep the first commandment, but I didn't know how God would accomplish it through me either.

One day I stumbled upon the answer. Christianity is a way of life of supernaturally receiving that which we do not have and will never have in ourselves. Our Lord and Savior is to "be" and "do" everything within and through His disciples (see John 15:5; Rom. 15:18-19).

Only the Father can love the Son completely. Only the Son can return that love fully to the Father. Neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit has His own love. They love the Father and each other with the one, divine love issuing from the Father.

Only God can love God. His love has no limits. It was before all time and will be forever.

We ask that this eternal love of the Father for His Son be brought forth in us. We cannot originate it. But we experience it as if we did. Such is the mystery of God.

Obstacles to Love
The heart is the spiritual organ that may be flooded with the love of God or be cold and distant toward Him. That is the reason it is named first in the greatest commandment: "'You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart'" (Mark 12:30, emphasis added).

Ultimately, God's love cannot be hindered. But we can slow the flow of it through us if we allow any of the three obstacles described below to prevent our hearts from being filled with love for Christ.

Unbelief. The beginning point of our falling in love with Jesus is to trust the Holy Spirit to put Christ's own faith within our hearts to believe the Scripture. The primary word Jesus spoke concerning our falling in love with Him is John 17:26: "'I [Jesus] have made You [Father] known to them [the disciples] and I will continue to do so, in order that the love You [Father] have for Me may be in them and so that I also may be in them'" (Good News Bible).

Faith must always be the first aspect in any spiritual advance. We cannot love Jesus until we trust Him to be in us what He requires of us (see 1 Cor. 1:30). Christianity is not a way of life in which we "do" more and more and therefore appear to be more Christlike. Christianity is a way of life in which we get out of the way more and more and allow Christ to manifest Himself through us (see 2 Cor. 4:10-11).

Faith and love are bound together in the Word. Faith works through love. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love" (Gal 5:6, NKJV, emphasis added). Fortunately faith and love are gifts given to us because we are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore we ask the Holy Spirit to bring forth Christ's faith in the Word concerning this divine love available to us, so "that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith; that [we], being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height [of ever-expanding divine love]—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19).

Unforgiveness. A second hindrance to Christ's love flowing through us is unforgiveness. We are always to remember the inestimable love of God in His forgiveness of our past sins through Christ Jesus.

For many Christians this mercy is the greatest motive for loving Jesus. The Lord said, "'Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little'" (Luke 7:47).

Which of us has not been forgiven much—for our sins are many? If we deceive ourselves that we do not have our old sin nature in us, we are self-righteous (see 1 John 1:8).

Extending full forgiveness to others who may have wronged us is a key to keeping our hearts open to allow the love of Christ to flow through them. Paul said we must be committed to "forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do" (Col. 3:13, emphasis added). Of ourselves, we are unable to forgive others as He forgave us—fully and forever. But Christ's divine love through us for others includes His forgiveness of them.

Many of us have sought to love our neighbors as ourselves. But a hidden truth is revealed when we follow the order the Lord has given to us in His Word.

We find that if we pursue the Lord with our whole heart, love for others becomes a blessed actuality. Jesus declared this fact when He said, "'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word [summed up in His new commandment to love one another as He does]'" (John 14:23, emphasis added; see also 13:34).

Divided heart. The Bible tells us that another major impediment to our loving Jesus as His Father does is a divided heart. In order for divine love to be effective, one's heart needs to be fully available for Christ to dwell there. We are to be strengthened with power through Jesus' spirit in our inner person, "so that Christ may finally settle down and feel completely at home in [our] hearts" (Eph. 3:17, Wuest).

But what if part of our hearts loves the things of this world? The Scriptures ask us: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4). God the Father cannot be satisfied with a heart that is only partially available to love His Son.

The apostle John warns us: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15, emphasis added). "The world" here is not the physical earth but a biblical term for Satan's kingdom—his gaudy faÁade—on this planet. He rules over a pseudo-culture where human beings are exalted above God.

The warning continues, "For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world" (v. 16). The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are trinkets, hollow rewards dangled before us like jewels by Satan to entice us to turn our eyes and our hearts from Jesus. But if we refuse to be tricked or distracted by "the world," the Holy Spirit can begin a work in our hearts.

When we are born again, we receive a new heart: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Ezek. 36:26). But our bodily desires and unregenerated mind, will and emotions (together known as "the flesh") can back up into this pristine heart, clogging it.

Therefore the Holy Spirit daily prepares for each disciple his "cross"—opportunities whereby he may choose God over his flesh (see Matt. 16:24). Each time we choose the Lord over gratification of our fallen nature, a chamber is cleansed within the heart. Into each cleansed chamber rushes the living God (see John 14:23).

Love like a torrent, like a swift cataract speeds to occupy every cleansed room. Love begets love until we can be satisfied with nothing but complete union with Christ. Only complete oneness satisfies our Father (see John 17:21-23). Therefore, only complete oneness will satisfy His children.

When we seek the Lord for His sake alone, longing to know Him as He knows us, we receive some surprising benefits. Without straining or trying, we find Him loving others through us. We begin seeing them as the Lord sees them: either helplessly lost without Christ or in various stages of growing up into Christ.

Another benefit is that we—in a sense—wake up. The world loses its allure. Nothing it has to offer—fame, fortune, power, position—can motivate or control us.

Why would we want any of these? We are in love with and loved by the most renowned, wealthy, powerful and loving person in existence. No mere human can be all that Jesus is. No mere human can do all that He does. No mere human can love as He loves.

There is a legend among the First Nations peoples about a beautiful Indian maiden who rejected every suitor. Her mother feared that she might ultimately overlook every eligible brave.

But one day, a handsome, shining admirer from a distant land visited her. He asked for her hand in marriage. She quickly accepted and left her home to live in that far-off country with him.

We are like that maiden. Our hearts hunger for One who is not like everyone else, who is more than merely human. No one can fill the longing we feel for Love Himself.

Like the maiden, we don't want to settle for less than the best. We don't want a passionless existence; we simply want to channel all our passion toward the right One. We were created to experience the best.

Mankind has searched this planet and beyond. We have followed every false god and every form of distraction and thrill. But there is only One who is eternal and who is a perpetual, ever-new delight: He is Jesus.

Therefore, set yourself to know Him—really know Him—and learn to love Him above all else. Do not let the enemy deceive you by telling you that there are equally glorious pursuits, equally great attainments. There are not. He is the Prize—and when you pursue Him, all things, all things, all things are added unto you (see Matt. 6:33; Rom. 8:32; 1 Cor. 3:21-23; Col. 2:10).

A True View of God

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:52:53 PST

Imagine this great tragedy: A woman walks with God for 40 years, fully saved, redeemed and following Christ. She comes before the throne at the resurrection, and for the first time, she realizes what she’s missed. She feels wave upon wave of pleasure flowing from the Son of God and says to herself, “I could have drunk from this well of spiritual delight every day on Earth. I just had to encounter Your heart and Your beauty. Life would have been so much better! Everything would have changed, and I would have accomplished so much more.”

Many Christians are like the woman I’ve described: They spend their days on Earth believing that Jesus is harsh instead of tender, mad instead of glad and distant instead of affectionate. When they finally see Him as He truly is, they will be filled with regret at not having spent their time on Earth radically pursuing His heart and reaping the amazing pleasures.

Beloved, we don’t have to wait to experience these deep pleasures! God has ordained for the human heart to experience them even in this life. I’ll go further and state that it’s not optional for us to go on as generations have, without a transforming revelation of God’s heart. In light of the mounting pressures at the end of the age, we can’t afford NOT to drink of the pleasures of His heart. Our lives must overflow with constant delighted cries of, “O God, this is too good to be true; it’s too magnificent to really be happening! But it IS true -- beyond what I could hope for!”

We want these testimonies of worship and adoration to flow from our spirits now and not just in eternity. We desperately need hearts anchored and sustained by an outrageous love that comes from another world.

The present crisis in the body of Christ, in which many people never experience the love of God, stems from a false view of God. Instead of a God who is full of tenderness, gladness and desire, believers imagine a God who is filled with animosity toward them. This affects every single aspect of how they approach Him.

Think of it in practical terms. When you are forced to meet with someone who openly dislikes you, considers you a hypocrite, or is full of blame toward you, your spirit is guarded and closed. You can’t relax. You count the minutes and look forward to leaving the person’s presence.

This is how many of God’s people live and worship. They lift hands and voices with guarded spirits and closed hearts. They try to live a devoted life of holiness while seeing God as harsh and menacing. They are unable to worship Him with open spirits because inside they feel rejected by Him as a hopeless hypocrite. They may use different words to describe this reality, but the pain is the same.

Perhaps you have felt it. You may sing, dance, speak in tongues, and pray for others, but you do it with your heart gate latched shut and a sign that reads, “Do not disturb” hung on your spirit. You come before God as you would come before someone who despises you.

This common view of God produces churches full of believers who feel condemned. They see themselves as prisoners on spiritual probation, and they try so hard to get their acts together. Even when they worship they silently negotiate with God, “Give me one more chance, and I promise I will never ask for anything else again. Forgive me one more time, and I will never again sin the way I did before.” They continuously try to create a loving motivation in God’s heart.

Beloved, you and I cannot produce an argument good enough to change God’s emotions toward us! His emotions are set and will not be altered. It’s foolish to think we can cause Him to love us, but that’s how many live – on the “wrong” side of God’s emotions.

There is a cure for this problem, but first we must get real about the state of the body of Christ. Across the world today, many of God’s people live in spiritual compromise. This is no secret to anyone who looks with honesty at the condition of the church. The crisis of backsliding stems from the false view of God’s heart. But into the darkness, the Lord sends His words through the prophet Jeremiah:

“’Return, O backsliding children,’ says the Lord; ‘for I am married to you….I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding’” (Jer. 3:14-15, NKJV).

What is God going to do to correct the backsliding? Beat everyone up? No, Jeremiah prophesied that in the end times, God would cause His people to return wholeheartedly by revealing our relationship to Him as a cherished bride. This heart-stopping truth will be enough to prod the church out of lethargy. The Lord will cry out through His prophets, saying, “Return…for I am married to you.”

This is the Lord’s highest way of empowering people to walk in wholehearted holiness with Jesus: He introduces us to our marriage relationship with the Godhead. He invites us to fill our spirits with the understanding of Him as our Husband, the One who is merciful, glad-hearted, affectionate and beautiful. He beckons us to go on a journey that we might experience the power of this reality in our own being. And then, as a result of our personal encounter with Him, we will stop our backsliding, proclaim what He is like to others and lead them into their own experience with this fascinating, intimacy-loving Bridegroom God.

How To Provoke Your Loved Ones To Pursue God

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:20:28 PST

What do you do when you have been radically touched by God, but your family hasn't? Maybe you have been to a few meetings at one of the revival fountainheads where God is manifesting His presence in mighty and supernatural ways. Maybe the glory cloud of God has fallen on your own church or prayer group. Or maybe you have just watched a video of a revival service and now the Holy Spirit is revealing Himself, working in you and moving you into dance and intercession.

Suddenly, you live for intimate moments with the Lord. Holiness is now the only air you want to breathe because you don't want to do anything that would offend the Holy Spirit.

You are bursting with exhilaration for the things of God, but your family just doesn't seem to get it. They say it's OK for you, but there's no need for it in their own lives.

Or perhaps they're claiming you've gone off the deep end and are determined to help you get a grip. Whatever their response, your heart is breaking because you are desperate to share this newfound splendor with those you love.

First of all, remember that God will not deny the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit (Ps. 51:17).You can find rest in the Lord in your place of brokenness, confident that God is at work. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NKJV).

Knowing that you can't change your loved ones is the first step toward generating spiritual hunger in them. John Kilpatrick, the pastor who has led the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Fla., for more than five years, gives a strong warning to wives who desire to see God radically impact their husbands: "If God has blessed you and touched you, wonderful.

"But don't go home and start making demands. Don't even start giving off unintentional signals of superiority or super spirituality because that is not the way your husband is going to be influenced to go after God!"

Kilpatrick says he would give the same counsel to a woman whose husband is not turned onto God that he would give to a church member who comes to the Brownsville Revival from somewhere else. A pastor or a husband who is not in the river of revival must see lasting change, he says.

"When your husband sees you are more in love with Jesus than ever before and that also translates into you loving your husband more than you have ever loved him before, then you are on [the] road to seeing spiritual hunger in him."

Because your husband may not be at the same level of hunger that led you to revival, you need to do what you can to make him more hungry, says Kilpatrick. "There has to be something there that will help to make him hungry for God to touch him. That's the only way he is going to be changed and powerfully impacted."

Kilpatrick's wife, Brenda, advises women to be like John the Baptist and decrease so that their families can see God. She says that just as Deborah saw Barak rise up when her spirit was awakened (see Judg. 5:12), women can have confidence that when God touches them, their husbands and other loved ones will be impacted, also.

AWAKE, DEBORAH! When all of Joann Lowell's business appointments in Mobile, Ala., were suddenly cancelled, she drove to the revival in Pensacola. She had been hearing about this move of God since it had broken out a few months earlier. She didn't go up to the altar to get saved because she was already a Christian, but she did get prayed for by church leaders.

The next morning she wailed and cried as God ministered to her by His Spirit. She knew He was healing her.

For five weeks, Joann just wanted to be with the Lord. "I was trying to do this with the Lord without my husband knowing. I would get up early, play Brownsville tapes and just drink in the presence of God.

"I was afraid my husband would ridicule, judge and not accept that it was of God. I was afraid of rejection. Our marriage was already shaky, and I was afraid to be a turn-off and end up losing my marriage."

Joann made another business trip detour and headed to Pensacola. A couple of days later she called Robert. He was furious when he learned that instead of being at the Mary Kay conference she was registered for in San Antonio, Texas, she had been at the revival in Pensacola for two days.

Joann begged him to come down to the revival for the weekend, and he agreed. In fact, not even the huge snowstorm that hit their Blairsville, Georgia, hometown was able to stop him. He told three different state troopers who tried to prevent him from going further into the storm, "No, sir, I've got to go down to Pensacola and get my wife out of a situation."

Robert arrived at the church early and saw that his wife's pink Cadillac was the only car in the parking lot. She had found a seat for them right up front. Robert ridiculed Joann and was critical of the revival service, but he later testified that the praise and worship began to melt his heart.

He did not respond to the altar call, but when Kilpatrick asked all the couples to come forward for prayer, Robert turned to Joann and said sarcastically, "I suppose you think we need to go up there."

Kilpatrick prayed for him, and he felt a thousand pounds of nastiness come off his shoulders. He even added, "Bless her, Lord," when Kilpatrick prayed for Joann.

As Robert headed for the exit door, evangelist Steve Hill put his hand on his shoulder. Robert immediately flew back 5-1/2 feet and was slammed against a wall. He sank to the floor, where he lay in a heap under the power of God for about two hours. During that time he was delivered from drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

On their way home to Georgia, the couple stopped at the beach, and Robert suddenly dropped to his knees and began to repent. He cried all the way back to Georgia. For three days and nights he continued to weep and repent before God. He also approached his family--including his mother-in-law--and asked each one for forgiveness.

Within a short time, the Lowells moved to Pensacola. Now Robert travels with Awake America, serving as an armor-bearer for Steve Hill and working in the crusades. Joann is deeply committed to intercession, and they regularly minister together in churches.

GOD, CHANGE ME! Robert's radical transformation is only one example of how God sets our loved ones on fire in response to our prayers. But it can serve as a model and an encouragement to all of us who are believing Him for a similar transformation in members of our own families.

One important point to note is that the transformation did not come about as quickly as it might have seemed from the account. Joann had been praying for Robert for many years. And in the process, God changed her.

In fact, she believes her own repentance was the key to the healing of her marriage and family. She says she became desperate for truth when the Lord told her to stop focusing on her circumstances and family and start focusing on Him. "It was as though the Lord took my face and said, 'Look at Me!' God was trying to do something in me. I had to take my focus off changing my husband and allow God to deal with the sin and areas of compromise in my own life."

Joann says she sees many people whose loved ones are unsaved, controlling or fearful of a new move of God. She tells them three things:

**Pursue holiness and say "no" to compromise in your own walk.

**Realize that you are not responsible for your loved ones; God is. Become radical for Him and trust Him to work in them.

**Be the godly woman you are called to be, but don't preach; your love and acceptance are all your family needs from you. Bless them and pray for them. Be your husband's friend, not his counselor.

In general, she says, "There is no easy road. Repentance and...prayer are key." So is persistence. If you want to see your loved ones in revival, "never give up or stop praying, but rest in the Lord, knowing that He has a plan."

Getting Angelic Assistance

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:54:52 PST

In Acts 27, the apostle Paul was a prisoner on a ship with 276 passengers onboard. Launching the voyage in the winter, the ship headed into a violent sea storm, called Euroclydon. The ship tossed like a leaf in the wind and was in danger of splitting into pieces. No stars or light from the moon was seen for many days, and because of the dangerous rocks and quicksand, it appeared that Paul and the passengers would drown in the murky waters.

Paul had been on an extended fast and was praying for God’s intervention. God released a heavenly messenger to bring Paul this encouraging Word:

“But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, ‘Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.”’” Acts 27:21-24

In the midst of a life-threatening storm, God sent assurance through an angelic messenger that the ship would be destroyed, but not one of the 276 passengers—many of whom were prisoners—would die in the process.

After Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan River, He was then directed by the Holy Spirit to spend days in solitude, fasting and praying (Matt. 4). After 40 days, the tempter (Satan) came and began to harass Christ, demanding He prove He was the Son of God. The temptation involved three aspects: Lust of the flesh— turn the stones into bread to eat; Lust of the eyes—throw yourself from the high point of the temple so angels can rescue You; Pride of Life—bow and worship Satan, and he will give you the world’s kingdoms.

Following the fast and the testing from Satan, Christ was physically weak, and the heavenly Father sent angels to personally minister to Him (see Matt. 4:11).

Toward the conclusion of Christ’s ministry, when He was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, we read that, “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (Luke 22:43). Thus, during the two most stressful moments in Christ’s life—His 40-day fast and prior to His crucifixion—angels were commissioned to personally minister to Him and strengthen Him. This would have included not only physical strength but emotional and spiritual strength as well.

During my earlier ministry, I lived what I call a “fasting life.” Instead of eating throughout the week and selecting a specific day to fast, I would often go days on end without eating, or eat only one time a day just to maintain strength. When fasting, my spiritual senses were sharper and keener, and I was able to discern both good and evil more clearly. I could also sense when there was a strategy of the enemy or some form of danger that lay ahead.

Early one morning, I departed from Northport, Ala., and was traveling by car on a four-hour drive to Mississippi. I recall being very tired, and several times I found my eyes becoming heavy. Without realizing it, I dozed off. Suddenly I was struck in the back of my shoulders by what felt like a man’s hand. The sudden slap did not hurt but it jerked me forward, awaking me. Unknowingly, I had already veered off the road and was driving head-on toward the corner of an interstate bridge. I had a split second to jerk the car away from the bridge and barely miss colliding head-on with the concrete support. I began to cry because there was no one else in the car, and I knew the Lord had sent a heavenly messenger on my behalf to protect me.

Fasting is like a magnet that attracts your soul and spirit closer to the heavenly realm. Isaiah wrote about the power of fasting and revealed that a fast would: “Loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and … break every yoke” (Isa. 58:6). In verse 8 Isaiah predicted: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward” (KJV, emphasis added). Notice that God will be thy “rereward.” Believers often read this as “thy reward,” but it is not reward but the word rereward.

When the word rereward is used in other passages it alludes to someone being in the rear guard of the army. When we fast and earnestly seek God, He has us covered from the backside. He can prevent the adversary from a “sneak attack” that would catch you off guard!

Protected!

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:26:47 PST

I was going to a birthday party. Like any great Pappy, I stopped on the way to the party to get my grandson, Elijah, a present for his first birthday. He was at the age where he mimicked sounds. If you asked him, “What does a doggie say?” His reply was “Arf.” How did he get to be so cute?

As I walked into the little toy area of a drug store, I spotted the perfect toy. A drug store doesn’t have a really big toy section I found out. But here it was: a cute, fuzzy, battery-operated puppy. A long cord was attached to the toy, with a small box on the other end. It had two buttons on it, to make the doggie bark and walk. Now this was a cool toy! It was well worth the $5.99 price tag.

A little while later, when Elijah opened it, he was so excited. Because he is a little genius, he learned how to push the correct buttons very quickly. He pushed one to make the puppy bark and one to make it walk. It was by far his favorite gift and he dragged it with him everywhere.

However, as I watched him play with the toy, I became concerned about the cord that attached the doggie to the little control box. Several times Elijah got tangled up in the cord. My immediate fear was that he could be harmed if the cord wrapped around his neck. I dug the box out of the trash and read the outside. It said, “Recommended for 3+ years of age.” Now I had a dilemma.

How could I take the toy away from the birthday boy? Simple. I waited until he took a nap, and I confiscated the dangerous toy. Protecting my grandson took precedence over his happiness with the toy. And the amazing thing is, he doesn’t even know I protected him. He may never know. He, in fact, never missed the toy. But regardless of how he would react, his protection from harm and trouble was paramount in my mind.

In Psalm 32, David declares to the Lord: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble” (v.7, NIV). Then in Psalm 61:7 he writes, “Appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.”

Dozens of times in the Psalms alone, David acknowledges God’s protection. Make no mistake about it. The Lord God is our protector. He goes before us to make the crooked places straight. He is our rock, our fortress and our deliverer. His shield surrounds us. “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9, emphasis added).

Please do not miss this: It is His love and faithfulness that protect us. Our happiness is not as important as our protection. His hand of protection is over us, even when we don’t realize it.

For instance, we may have had a flat tire, and that may have protected us from danger ahead. Or perhaps we missed an appointment, but that protected us from a bad situation. Even a broken relationship that we simply did not understand may have been a means of protecting us from what was to come. If we walk in the Light of His Word, our way is protected. We are covered in perfect love and covenant faithfulness.

This week as you walk the path of your Christ journey, acknowledge His protection. Thank Him for it, even if it is not readily visible. Trust that your times are in His hands. Continue steadfastly, praying and believing. If you sense trouble coming, run into His shadow. Find refuge in Him as your stronghold.

The storms will blow. That is inevitable. Trials and temptations abound. Satan came to kill, steal and destroy. Remember this: Your protection is more important to your Heavenly Father than your happiness. Be strong and of good courage. The Lord your God is with you—everywhere you go. And you are protected; I promise.

Restoring the Feminine Soul

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:17:34 PST

Many women go through life wounded and broken. But no matter the source of the hurt, Christ can repair the damage.

I grew up around a lot of negative lifestyles. For years as a child, I experienced grief, abandonment, abuse and homelessness. Some people think that if you ignore past hurts, they will just go away. But the anger and the core feelings that are born in an abusive environment can strangle an individual's emotional and developmental growth.

Many women have had to deal with the kind of mistreatment that was intended to control and subjugate them. Abuse of any kind breeds fear and damages the soul, made up of the mind, will and emotions. Ill-treatment devalues a woman and wears down her self-respect.

Too many women who are believers in Jesus Christ are still unable to walk in authority and dominion. Instead they are struggling with depression, identity issues and diminished self-esteem.

God has predetermined that you and I are to be conformed to the image of His Son. We must receive our true identity from Christ.

The adjustments and changes that constitute your spiritual growth won't come about easily. But the more you affirm who you are in Him, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true nature and identity.

Your self-image is made up of what you think about your life—how you perceive your intellectual ability, emotional stability, temperament and ability to love. It includes your powerful imagination, reasoning skills and level of confidence in your ability to influence others.

A damaged self-image can set up a person to accept and expect abusive treatment from others. But this does not need to happen. The damaged soul can be repaired.

We can learn to take responsibility for dealing with the self-defeating habits, addictions and behaviors in our lives. These things do not have to stunt our psychological growth, arrest our personal development and sabotage our ability to successfully manage our lives as adults.

THE STARTING POINT
The psalmist David wrote: "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Ps. 23:3, NKJV). Deliverance from the power of darkness and the dominion of sin begins the restoration process. Reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ imparts to us forgiveness and freedom from guilt.

It was my relationship with God that opened the door for radical change in my life and in my understanding of the meaning of life itself. But choosing to take this first step and trust God was difficult for me. Before I discovered that I needed to deal with me first, I was looking for answers and seeking to understand what was wrong with everyone else.

I recognize the temptation to attribute every bad situation to demonic activity. But we have all had supernatural attacks against us that exploited our weaknesses. In my life, years of religious and emotional abuse eventually escalated to domestic violence.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not discussing the abuse with anyone. Demonic forces target our secrets. I had to admit there was a problem before God could break this cycle in my life. I chose to walk in His truth and made my emotional health a priority.

When we experience God's merciful forgiveness toward us, it demands that we forgive others. I had to forgive the hurtful people in my life. When I forgave them, I was released from their mental control. Then I became empowered to begin the process of confronting the lingering effects of abuse on my own emotions.

Blaming others for the problems we face won't resolve them. Neither will making light of them nor denying their existence. In order to cut to the core of your troubling situations, you must be equipped by the Holy Spirit to function with accurate and balanced discernment as you exercise your spiritual authority.

The things that happened to me were real. Yet, because of the reality of redemption, neither the sins that were committed against me nor the sins I've committed have any legal right to make demands on my mind, my will or my emotions today.

TAKE THOUGHTS CAPTIVE·
Women are most often considered to be highly intuitive and emotional. The adversary will use these attributes, along with everything else in his arsenal, to hinder you from coming into the full power of God.

Because your thoughts can be easily influenced, you must be discerning as to the source of them. Once thoughts are conceived, they can take on a life of their own.

Through Christ, we come to know the power of God and are able to begin using our spiritual authority to break the bondages over our souls. You and I have the responsibility and power to process our painful memories, control our emotions and purify our thoughts.

As the apostle Paul wrote: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:3-5, KJV).

We need only to reflect on the scene between Eve and the serpent in the garden in order to see how important it is to gain control over your thought life (see Gen. 3:1-24). Thinking precedes and determines conduct. Therefore, controlling your thinking is a choice you must make.

It is the power to choose that will keep us on course as individuals. The ability to make wise and proper choices requires prayer, reasoning and experience. Our rational, human nature includes our ability to judge, to deliberate and exercise our free will. But if the will is controlled by anyone other than the Holy Spirit, it is not free.

An intimate, ongoing relationship with the great Shepherd is vital to achieving restoration. To be restored requires faith and the willingness to act on God's Word. And it results in rest and refreshment for your mind and your body.

Some people think faith, wishing and hoping are all the same. But with this concept, we would be expected to muster up enough mental power to achieve the things we desire.

But true faith means faith in God. Since God is unlimited in His power, it eliminates our need to compromise or make excuses. Our faith is based on God's character and His truth not on our emotions or ourselves.

Nevertheless, you must be an active participant in your spiritual recovery. Since prayer is the expression of your faith, a committed prayer life is essential. Preparation for the warfare of life requires that you make a conscious decision to deal with self. Spiritual change will also require repentance and a continual renewing of the mind by the Word of God (see Rom. 12:2) and commitment to a consecrated lifestyle.

Restoration confronts your fears and feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. "Casting down imaginations" means invalidating those negative thoughts, images and disqualifying statements about yourself that are inconsistent with the Word of God—with who God says you are. In the process of restoration you learn to follow the Holy Spirit's direction and cooperate with Him.

When memories surface that may have caused you incredible emotional or physical damage, you can set boundaries that will enable you to maintain a sense of your true identity, which God has defined.

DESIRE THE WORD·
To have dominion over your mind requires unrelenting warfare. But you alone are responsible for your actions. I have made it a personal goal to challenge my mind, to continually learn new things and exercise discipline over my mind, will and emotions.

The apostle Peter tells us: "Desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow (1 Pet. 2:2, NKJV). Perpetual spiritual infancy is unnatural. But infancy must pass on into maturity by means of orderly development.

Renewing the mind by the Word is a spiritual discipline which, when practiced consistently, produces a certain mental attitude where the mind begins to rid itself of negative thinking patterns. Unless your mind is continually being renewed by the Word, your soul remains hostile to God, challenging His authority and engaging in open warfare against Him.

The battle for your mind, will and emotions is won by the Word of God. The extraordinary experience of revelation knowledge happens when the mind apprehends the will of God and allows the impartation of new spiritual principles, thereby, encouraging new desires, inspiring new hopes and establishing new goals.

God wants to demonstrate His power and presence in and through your life. With a mind renewed by the Word, you can learn how to release greater spiritual authority in the face of opposition.

A renewed mind is a major part of the soul's prosperity (see 3 John 2). God imparts His truth to us through His eternal decrees and brings to maturity the many components of the soul's expression under the authority of His Word.

REDISCOVER YOU
Isaiah characterizes a person who rightly exercises righteous authority as "the repairer of the breach" and "the restorer of paths to dwell in" (Is. 58:12, KJV). Taking back control means redefining and rebuilding your relationship with God so that your thoughts and beliefs are no longer being dominated by the memory of a traumatic event, by societal restraints or religious pressures.

It is always possible for a damaged life to become productive again. God is able to meet your needs and support you through your trials.

Don't be deceived about your dominion and authority in the spirit realm. Remember, God can take a woman with the worst possible background and use her for His glory. You have a battle to fight and a work to do in raising up the foundations for the generations to come.

God expects you to actively work toward your restoration, then work to rebuild the old waste places and bring others to a state of soundness as well. If you put off action, you will delay your progress.

This is your time to rediscover the real you. You are not a fabrication of someone else's reality. You are an authentic worshiper, a woman who is able to enter into the secret place of God's eternal counsel, where He will make known to you His prophetic purpose (see Ps. 91:1-16).

Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said: "'I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly'"(John 10:10, NKJV).

Anything that devalues a woman's worth impairs her soul. Unlike true, godly authority, which is protective, empowering and liberating, abusive authority is exploitative, manipulative and destructive.

What you accept is up to you. But negative consequences are not expressions of the God kind of life.

Attune your mind to think God's thoughts and speak His words. Negative thought patterns are the power base of demonic strongholds. Behind every stronghold is demonic oppression and corrupt thinking habits.

But change is possible. With practice, bad habits can give way to good ones. Paul wrote: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2).

"Transformation" means to change in form, appearance or structure; to change in condition, nature or character. The conversion experience is the beginning of learning to discern God's will over and against any opposing or imposing mind-set. This renovation takes place at the very center of our being.

Luke wrote: "By your patience possess your souls" (Luke 21:19). Make excellence your standard and take responsibility for the development of your soul in line with who God says you are. Seek the Lord. Cooperate with Him and train yourself to act on the truth of His Word.

MAKE NO EXCUSES
The application of the reality of redemption is part of the healing, the restoration, the growth process itself. Redemption reverses our alienation and isolation from God.

When we are active in our own spiritual growth, it increases our confidence level. We can take ownership of our spiritual lives and responsibility for our relationships with God. The reward for our growth is first the joy of obedience. When we know we are pleasing God and that our lives are in sync with Him, we can anticipate the release of great potential.

We have to be willing to radically obey God and leave the outcome to Him. In the Scriptures, Queen Esther remained teachable and respectful to her uncle Mordecai.

She was courageous in the face of fear and destruction, and driven to action by love for her people and a passion for their freedom. Through Esther's radical decision to go before the king, with the support of a national fast, the people of God were preserved and brought to the revelation and completion of their purpose (see Esth. 4:15-16).

Like Esther, we must be sober and alert. We also have the capacity to supernaturally bring forth the fruit of change in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Know that you are in a battle for your soul. But you are in God's hands, and the battle is His. The Word of God tells us He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him (see 2 Pet. 1:3).

It's time for redeemed women to confront the challenges of the human condition. We make no apologies for our femininity because we are His workmanship (see Eph. 2:10). We make no excuses because we have His Word and His Spirit. Restoration is God's desire for everyone. Because of His sufficient grace, not one of us is damaged beyond repair.

We Can Move Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:04:13 PST

We are a product of what we say. This is true even in the business realm. If you have ever been involved in sales of any type you will understand what I mean. You are taught to set a goal and then tell other salespeople in your district that you are going to sell a certain amount of goods during that period. As you say it with your mouth, a certain amount of truth will enter into the situation.

The reason is that we are created in God's image (see Gen. 1:27), and God has what He says! When He said, "Let there be light," there was light (v. 3). Since we are created in God's own image, we have the authority to open our mouths and put in motion what we desire for the future.

Sometimes people tell me: "Confession just does not work for me. I do not have what I say" or "I cannot say it if I do not have it." There is only one answer for this: JESUS SAID IT WOULD WORK!

He declared, "Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says" (Mark 11:23, NKJV).

This is the Word of God, and we must realize that God's Word is God speaking to us! In 1 Peter 2:24 He says, "By His stripes we were healed," so we can rightfully say, "That belongs to me, and I will fight for it." We can plan our futures with the words of our mouths and the faith in our hearts.

Take health, for example. If the doctor has diagnosed you with a physical problem, you have the authority through the name and blood of Jesus to apply the Word of God to the root cause. Just as a tree surgeon would apply Root Kill to a tree stump after a diseased tree has been cut down in order to arrest the disease, you can use God's Word like Root Kill to arrest the disease in your body.

Matthew 15:13 says, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted." Ask yourself, "Did God plant this disease in me?" He can't be your healer AND your destroyer.

God gave you power and authority over all the works of the devil. Sickness and disease is planted in you by the destroyer, Satan. Health and well-being are given to you by Jesus. Let your mouth dispense the "root killer" to the disease; use it to apply the Word of God!

Jesus said that the man who has faith "will have whatever he says." Without changing the meaning of that verse we can say, "I can have whatsoever I say." That will make it personal to us.

Now, let's think about the condition that Jesus said is necessary: "[Whoever] does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." What Jesus is saying is that you can have everything that comes forth from your mouth if you meet the conditions.

If you study the ministry of Christ you will find that He never used the words maybe, if, but or any other negative word of unbelief. When people came up to Him and said, "You can heal me if You will," He always said, "I will."

He always went about things positively. When He prayed for Lazarus to be raised from the dead, He spoke aloud--not for His sake, but for those present. He said, "Father, I know that You always hear me, but I pray that the people here may believe" (John 11:41-42, paraphrased).

I have examined how great men and women of faith prayed for healing for people in their prayer lines. The words of their prayers were often for the benefit of the people in the line, for their own faith was reaching to God already. The only thing necessary to say is, "Be healed," and the Word will come to pass.

We have every right as believers to walk up to a sick body and say, “In the Name of Jesus, I command you to be healed. Jesus said “believers” shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” As a believer we can have what we say if we what we say agrees with the Word and have no doubt in our hearts (Mark 16:17). We can move mountains.

Behold His Glory!

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:18:21 PST

Early one Sunday morning I found myself pacing back and forth in front of the altar in my church’s sanctuary, crying out to God. With a heavy heart I wept, asking God to send His glory to my church. “Please send Your glory to us,” I pleaded.

That was when the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me, “Fuchsia, what are you looking for?”

I replied emphatically, “The glory.”

He continued, “When the glory comes, what will it look like?”
“I don’t know,” I answered sheepishly.

Then He said, “If you don’t know what the glory looks like, how will you know when it gets here?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that question, but His communication was clear. We have heard for years that the glory is coming. We sing songs about God’s sending us His glory. We quote Bible verses such as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27, NKJV) and Jesus’ prayer, “‘Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory’” (John 17:24). But unless we study the Scriptures to understand how the Bible defines the glory of God, we may never experience the reality of it in our lives and churches.

What is the glory? “Glory” refers to a quality of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and authority and involves beauty, power and honor. It is used in three senses in the Bible. First, it may refer to God’s moral beauty and perfection of character, which is beyond man’s understanding (see Rom. 3:23). “Glory” may also refer to God’s beauty as a visible presence (see Ex. 13:21). And “glory” sometimes refers to the praise and honor that God’s creatures give to Him (see Ps. 115:1).

God wants to reveal His glory—in all its aspects—in and through the church today. For that reason it is vital that every Christian grasp the significance of what the glory of God is. Being filled with the glory of God is the priority of the Holy Spirit’s work in the church corporately and in our lives individually. Only as we focus our lives to become one with the priority of God will we position ourselves to be changed into His image “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

As we become glory-bearers, the glory of God reflected in our lives will ultimately bring the lost to Him. We will be part of the end-time revival and ingathering of souls that God will bring to those who are seeking His glory.

The Old Testament is filled with pictures, or types, that are meant to reveal to us the nature and character of the glory of God. But it is in the New Testament that we find the ultimate act of God to reveal His glory to mankind: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God Himself became man in order to perfectly reveal His glory to us and redeem mankind to Himself.

If you and I are to experience the glory of God revealed through our lives, we must relate properly to this incarnate glory of God manifested in Jesus Christ. Though He was God, Jesus walked as a man filled with the Spirit of God, having emptied Himself of His divine powers in order to fulfill the Father’s will of redemption. Because He walked this Earth in utter dependence on the Holy Spirit (see John 5:30), He can now ask us to do the same in order to manifest the glory of God in our lives.

We can’t look at Jesus’ victorious life and object, “Yes, but He was God.” As a complete man, Jesus taught us by example that the source of victory—the source of His glory in us—is being filled with, empowered by, and obedient to the Holy Spirit.

Yuletide Carols Not Sung by a Choir

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:03:10 PST

It was late afternoon on Christmas Eve. I was getting ready to pay a visit with my church cell group to The Meadows nursing home. Each of the five members of our group was to take a plate of cookies, to mingle a bit and to wish everybody “Merry Christmas.”

The phone rang and changed that. It was Miss Evelyn, our group leader, giving me short notice with a tall order that our little group was now to “sing like a choir” to the group at The Meadows. “Well, they asked us in good faith, so it’s up to us to have good faith that we can do it!” stated Miss Evelyn.

Did Miss Evelyn have any idea that she was throwing our little off-key non-choir into the lion’s den? Picking up on my lack of response, Miss Evelyn added as if praying, “Remember, our lack of carrying a tune is God’s opportunity to supply His singing angels! Well, toodle-loo!”

Miss Evelyn’s faith statement had me worried. God’s angels singing over us were badly needed, but would they show up within the hour and do so on a prayer that ended with “Toodle-loo!”

Funny how time speeds up when you are dreading something! In no time I was in the meeting hall at The Meadows. Normally a plain-Jane meeting room, it had been magically transformed with an array of twinkling white lights and evergreen swags that hung above the windows. A cheery fire in the fireplace offered toasty warm heat and a cozy light throughout the room. In the center of the room was a handsome Douglas fir tree that glowed brightly with multi-colored lights and hand-cut paper ornaments of bells and camels and Santas. On top of it sat a doily-made star that was precariously leaning to the right.

A loving voice cut in, “Our Miss Hilda made those!” The voice belonged to an elderly lady with crinkly blue eyes and a wide and friendly smile. She introduced herself as Glennie and added, “We are so proud of everything she does and proud of what all of our residents do!”

I noticed that the residents—our audience—were taking their seats. Many sat on folding chairs, while others arrived in wheelchairs.

Suddenly I began to see something new. Here was not a lynch-mob audience to fear, but instead a combined community of family’s loved ones … someone’s grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle!

“Lord,” I prayed privately, “Let your angels show up to make this a night of nights to bless the precious residents here!”

Without warning, Miss Evelyn tapped her pencil on the podium—and her Ticonderoga yellow #2 was magically transformed into the wand of the grand maestro, as she began to lead our little group in “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Soon, the entire room was filled with other voices joining in over ours! So much so, that this forced Miss Evelyn to grab the microphone. In an impromptu moment, sounding like Mitch Miller with a falsetto voice, Miss Evelyn made the announcement: “Welcome to our first annual Christmas Sing Along at The Meadows! Let’s ALL join in!”

Glory! The Lord had answered prayers—Miss Evelyn’s by sending His angels—and mine by making this a night of nights—as only He could do it in His mysterious and wonderful ways!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Toodle-loo!

by Sandra Clifton, D.Min.

Emergency Bible Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:41:22 PST

- When you are sad, call on John 14

- When you don’t feel loved, call on Romans 8:38-39

- When you have sinned, call on 1 John 1:8-9

- When you are facing danger, call on Psalm 91

- When people have failed you, call on Psalm 27

- When God feel far from you, call on Psalm 139

- When your faith needs encouraging, call on Hebrews 11

- When you are scared, call on Psalm 23

- When you are worried, call on Matthew 6:25-34

- When you are hurt, call on Colossians 3:12-17

- When you feel no one is on your side, call on Romans 8:31-39

- When you are seeking rest, call on Matthew 11:25-30

- When you are suffering, call on Romans 8:18-30

- When you feel you’re failing, call on Psalm 121

- When you pray, call on Matthew 6:9-13

- When you need courage, call on Joshua 1

- When you are in need, call on Philippians 4:19

- When you are hated because of your faith, call on John 15

- When you are losing hope, call on 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

- When you are seeking peace, call on John 14:27

- When you want to do good works, call on John 15

- When you want to live a happy life, call on Colossians 3:12-17

- When you don’t understand what God is doing, call on Isaiah 55:8-9

- When you want to get along with others, call on Romans 12:9-21

Jesus Broke the Curse

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:02:54 PST

We do not know her name. Usually we refer to her as "the woman with the issue of blood." But those words from the King James Bible seem archaic today and make her seem faceless and distant. She was a real person, and her pain was intense.

I sometimes imagine that this fragile shell of a woman was called "Mara"--the Hebrew word for bitter. Chronic sickness had disfigured her life. Yet Christ got so close to her pain that she dared to touch Him, and her healing has provided inspiration for countless sermons ever since.

You know the story. Her appearance in the Gospel of Mark is brief, but her encounter with Jesus, described in Mark 5:25-34, is one of the most poignant in the New Testament. I fear we miss the impact of this woman's story because we don't realize what she endured or what her healing truly signifies.

The Bible tells us that she had been bleeding for 12 years. We don't know the nature of her illness, but it is probable she had some type of female problem--almost like a 12-year-long menstrual period. She undoubtedly experienced chronic fatigue, lack of energy and crippling grief.

We don't know the cause of her illness, either. But it is likely she could not bear children because of it, and her childlessness would have brought even more of a stigma in a primitive Jewish society than the illness itself.

Perhaps she had suffered a painful miscarriage at one point. Perhaps her husband divorced her because she could not bear children. The Bible doesn't tell us the details.

However, we do know that she "endured much at the hands of many physicians" and that she "spent all that she had" on doctors (Mark 5:26, NASB)--meaning that she was destitute and may have been forced to beg. The gospel account also says that the questionable medical help made her physical condition worse, not better.

In the time of Jesus, medical care for women in Mara's condition was crude if not barbaric. All the doctors in Jerusalem were men, of course. And their "treatments" were nothing more than experiments based on superstition and flawed science.

The Talmud and other Jewish writings prescribed various cures for ailments--including one that called for ingesting dust mixed with human waste. Mara may have been forced to eat such toxic substances to find a cure. For her, doctor visits were torture.

Yet the Gospel account tells us that when she heard that Jesus was passing near her neighborhood, she mustered up the courage to press through the crowd to reach Him. Did she do this simply because she was desperate? I believe there is much more to this story. But we must read between the lines.

This anguished woman had been brushed aside by rabbis, abused by doctors and shunned by men on the street. Why then would she suddenly feel the confidence to approach the rabbi named Jesus?

I wonder if Mara had talked to others about Him. Surely she had heard the reports of His healing power. Perhaps she also had met Mary of Bethany in the marketplace or had talked to Mary Magdalene in an alley.

What set this Teacher apart from all the religious leaders in Israel? And why would Mara have dared to approach Him when she knew that all other rabbis would have rebuked her--and perhaps punished her publicly--for touching a holy man?

1. She knew Jesus was approachable. Rabbis in Israel were generally aloof and inaccessible--and they kept their distance from women. Ancient Jewish traditions instructed men to walk on the other side of the street when they saw a woman approaching. Superstition said that it was bad luck for a woman who was menstruating to pass between two men.

The rabbis viewed women as the source of all evil. They taught that because Eve was deceived in the Garden of Eden, all females were guilty of ruining Creation. (Ironically, they did not pass Adam's guilt on to all males.) Women were considered deceitful, lazy, fickle and ignorant--and prone to immorality and witchcraft.

Women in ancient Israel were required to stay veiled and silent. Under the best of circumstances they were not to be seen associating with a rabbi. A menstruating woman--who was considered ceremonially unclean--was expected to stay as far away as possible from a man of God.

Yet Mara touched Jesus. I wonder if she had heard from Mary of Bethany that this rabbi encouraged women to sit at His feet and learn from the Scriptures--when other rabbis in Israel did not allow women to participate in any form of religious instruction. Perhaps Mara met the Samaritan woman, who carried on a lively theological discussion with Jesus at Jacob's well.

Or maybe she talked with the old woman whose back was healed by Jesus in the Temple (see Luke 13:10-17). Jesus broke every religious rule of His day when he called that disfigured saint from the women's section in the back of the sanctuary and allowed her to come to the front--where she declared her praises to God.

Jesus created a scandal whenever He interacted with women. Why? He intentionally broke every religious rule about women because part of His mission on Earth was the dismantling of an ancient curse.

2. She knew that Jesus cared for her. Other rabbis in Israel would have shown no compassion for a woman in Mara's condition. Jewish men often recited this prayer: "Lord, I thank You that I am not a Gentile. I thank You that I am not a woman. I thank You that I am not a slave."

But Jesus didn't say that self-righteous prayer. He didn't view women with disdain. In fact, He had women followers (which was taboo in Israel), and he developed close friendships with some of those women. He even allowed them to see Him crying.

When a certain immoral woman poured expensive perfume on Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair, Jesus did not chastise her like other rabbis would have done (see Luke 7:36-50). He spoke to her tenderly and declared that her sins were forgiven. When a nameless woman was accused of adultery by a group of sanctimonious Jewish men (see John 8:1-11), Jesus rushed to her defense and rebuked her accusers.

Mara knew that Jesus was different!

3. She knew Jesus wasn't afraid of her condition. Mara risked her life when she stepped into the dusty street and pressed toward Jesus' entourage. People who knew her were probably dumbstruck by her forwardness. Some of the men escorting Jesus probably shouted at her, "Go away, sick woman!"

But Mara knew that her bleeding was not repulsive to Jesus. Something deep inside told her that this rabbi wasn't concerned about contagion. She said to herself, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well" (Mark 5:28). Staying low to the ground, unseen by Jesus' disciples, she reached through dozens of scurrying feet and grabbed the hem of Jesus' robe.

Her miracle came instantly. Her throbbing pain subsided. The hemorrhaging stopped, and the soreness that had crippled her body for more than a decade vanished. Perhaps she began to sob, but fear undoubtedly gripped her when she realized that Jesus had stopped to ask who had touched Him.

Would He rebuke her? Would He give her a stern lecture about Moses' laws of hygiene? Would He banish her to the edge of town and tell her never to come near Him again?

That would have been the reaction of any other rabbi in Jerusalem. But that is not what Jesus did.

His disciples were amazed by His question. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" when everyone was seeking His attention? But Jesus knew what had happened to Mara. When she reluctantly made eye contact with Him, all the compassion in the universe stared back at her.

As she knelt at His feet, trembling yet overwhelmed that her pain was gone, she heard Him speak. His tone was not angry. "'Daughter,'" He said, breaking yet another religious rule that forbade rabbis to address women in an endearing manner. "'Your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction'" (v. 34).

Not only was Mara healed but also Jesus affirmed His love for her in front of everyone else. The doctors who had taken her money may have witnessed the scene. The rabbis who smugly avoided her may have been there to hear Jesus encourage her. The men who had spat on her and called her names probably hung their heads in shame.

Rabbi Jesus had spoken. He had changed all the rules.

THE POWER OF REDEMPTION
Mara's healing is significant because it was a prophetic sign of what Jesus came to do for all women. We miss the full meaning when we view the story as a mere display of the Messiah's power over sickness.

Mara's chronic pain represents the state of all women under the curse of sin. No doubt she was familiar with the story of mankind's rebellion in the Garden of Eden. She had heard the local rabbi read the story from the scrolls of Moses.

After Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, God described to Eve how the curse of sin would affect her. He said: "'I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you'" (Gen. 3:16).

Mara certainly knew the pain of Genesis 3:16. She probably winced when she heard those words as she listened from the back of the synagogue, where all women were sequestered in Jesus' day. Mara had lived that verse. It described her existence.

Genesis 3:16 is a clear, prophetic description of how women would suffer in a fallen world without a Savior. The pain it describes is not limited to that of childbirth. It embodies all forms of feminine pain: miscarriage, infertility, rape, abuse, incest, sexual slavery, domestic violence, economic prejudice and even religious chauvinism.

Genesis 3:16 is not God's perfect plan for women. On the contrary, it is the reason women in Islamic countries are stoned in broad daylight by their own husbands. It is the reason the genitals of African girls are brutally mutilated. It is the reason Latino women suffer under the power of machismo. It is the reason women around the world still do not have access to education, health care or civil freedom.

Yet there is good news. When Jesus the Messiah came to Earth, He did not come to set only men free. He came to touch all the Maras of the world. He liberated women from the power of sin's curse. He defended them, bound up their wounds, stopped their internal bleeding, removed their chronic pain and restored their lost dignity.

Jesus was not afraid to identify with women, and He did not refuse when God laid the essence of that feminine pain on Him at Calvary. John 3:16 says He came because God "so loved the world." I like to remind women that John 3:16 has nullified Genesis 3:16!

Mara experienced this redemption 2,000 years ago. I pray that in our lifetime millions of women around the world will come to understand that the rabbi named Jesus is like no other.

Hope, Peace and Joy

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:46:50 PST

By Leonard Davidso
What a value! Last year, a colleague related an interesting story. Evidently, his daughter needed some new Christmas plates. Those of us who are men should be very grateful that God created women to live our lives with us. Otherwise, we would use the same plates all year—even at holiday times.

Now, you can even decorate with a larger plate to go underneath the regular plate. The larger plate (called a charger) is available in a multitude of colors, one for each season and/or holiday. And of course, they can’t go in the dishwasher because they are too delicate and must be washed by hand. But, I digress.

His daughter found wonderful Christmas plates at Wal-Mart. There was a different Christmas word on each plate. “Peace” on one. “Hope” on another. And of course “Joy.” Even as I typed this story, I realized that my wife would read it, and there was a really good chance we would end up with some of these same plates. Especially because when my friend’s daughter got to the checkout, they were on sale. She watched as the register screen read, “’Hope’… $2.99, ‘Joy’… $2.99, ‘Peace’. . . $2.99.” They were discounted. Money saved.

What if Wal-Mart really could sell hope, joy and peace for $ 2.99? Would folks line up hours before the store opened with lines that stretched all around the building? Would they? But has not God already offered hope, peace and joy to mankind? In Romans 15:13 the apostle Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NIV, emphasis added).

God, at exactly the right time, sent forth His Son, Jesus, so that He might redeem us and we might receive adoption as sons. Jesus—God in the flesh. He was born, and lived, and even while we were still sinners, died for us. Why? To make the Kingdom of God available to all who make the decision to accept Him. Paul continues with the “kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy” (Romans 14:17, emphasis added).

Jesus declared that He came so that we might have life, and not just life—abundant life (see John 10:10). Life filled with hope, peace and joy. But providing this life to us cost Him His own life.

Yes, it is probably true that if Wal-Mart could sell these gifts for $2.99 each, the masses would flock to buy them. And yet, God already provided them through His Son. This is how God loved the world—He gave His only Son to pay the price for us so that we might have this Hope…Peace…Joy.

The price was costly. It was His shed blood for you and for me. He paid it so that we might experience eternal salvation and abundant hope, joy and peace filled lives. And this is not just when we get to heaven, but even right now! We can experience this now in this life that we live here on this earth.

During this Christmas season, as you reflect on His birth, remember why He was born. Read over the Christmas story. Enjoy it. Meditate on it. Remember that He was born of a virgin, at exactly the right time, so that He could later die. And it was only because He rose again, that His death has any meaning or power. Here’s the power to fill your life with hope…and peace…and joy.

Sure life is tough. The evil one came to steal from us. He came to steal our hope, our peace, our joy—and even our very lives. Simply refuse to let him. Resist him—he will flee from you. Take time to soak in God’s Word. Spend time with your Father. Thank Him for His gift. Your heart, mind and soul will be filled with hope…with peace…and with joy. I promise.

God's Supernatural Door to Joy

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:00:50 PST

Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope lens to see a picture form, only to turn the base and experience an entirely new picture form before your very eyes? I had this kaleidoscope effect happen to me one day—surprisingly, at a time when I least expected it.

I was sitting on the couch, feeling overwhelmed by some challenges, and feeling less than up to facing any of them. This is when I prayed. And this is when the kaleidoscope thing began to happen in a way that I could only describe as supernatural of God.

As I prayed, I was suddenly led to thank the Lord, not for my problems and challenges, but for His greatness and goodness. The more I began to thank Him, the more it felt as if I was moving through a great door into His very presence—a special door that gave me access to the very throne of God…that intimate place in Him where there was a joy beyond words, hope beyond limitations, help for every need.

In that precise moment of thanking the Lord for His goodness and greatness and His love, I began to see myself with new eyes— I saw myself through His unconditional loving eyes…eyes that spoke beyond words His love for me, eyes that shone brightly with the promise of brighter days ahead.

I was reminded of God’s Word that promises us that in His presence is the fullness of joy (see Psalm 16:11). I was now living this promise! His joy was greater than any down mood or sorrow I could possibly experience! I was also comforted that His joy was available to me 24/7. It is available to us all!

The mere act of giving thanks to the Lord was an invisible but powerful door in the Spirit that could usher any of us into His awesome presence—bringing with it, the miracles of His love and His joy and His strength for us to walk in!

This Thanksgiving, I invite you to walk through this miraculous door in the Spirit of God—His door to the great love and joy that awaits you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Prepare the Way of the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:58:05 PST

By Maureen D. Eha
In some liturgical circles, last Sunday, November 27, marked the beginning of the season of Advent for the year 2011. This, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, is the time of year during which we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Lord. On a natural plane, we decorate our homes and buy gifts for family and friends; on a spiritual plane, we purify our hearts.

The spiritual tradition dates back to the days of John the Baptist, a man who was appointed by God to announce the coming of Christ and "prepare [His] way" (see Mal. 3:1) by encouraging the people to repent of their sins. The Bible tells us, "The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight" ' " (Luke 3:2-4, NKJV).

When the people responded to John's call to repent and be baptized, the evangelist discerned that many of them had not experienced a true change of heart; they were simply trying to escape judgment. So he exhorted them to show evidence of their salvation by bearing "fruits worthy of repentance" (vv. 7-8)—in other words, by living differently than they had before. He warned them, " 'Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire' " (v. 9).

The people were so convicted by John's warning that they implored him to tell them how to demonstrate that they were truly changed. " 'What shall we do then?' " they asked him (v. 10). Fear of God's "ax" made them want to become fruit-bearing trees!

The answers John gave them were keys to "preparing the way of the Lord" that I believe apply to our lives today—keys we can use during this season of Advent to prepare our hearts to receive Him in a fresh way.

The first key is to share what we have with those who are less fortunate. " 'He who has two tunics,' " John said, " 'let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise' " (v. 11).

Throughout the Scriptures we are admonished to give; what better way is there to show that we are Christ's disciples? Jesus gave the ultimate offering—His own life—for our benefit. Throughout the year, but during this season in particular, we should be encouraged to sacrifice so that others will be blessed.

The second key is to avoid greed. When the tax collectors asked John what they could do to bear fruit "worthy of repentance," he told them, " 'Collect no more than what is appointed for you' " (v. 13). Many of them were in the habit of extorting more money from the citizens for taxes than was required by law and pocketing the extra so that they could live well at others' expense.

Most of us are not in a position to extort money; however, we are often guilty of continually seeking more in the way of material goods. This is the sin of greed--the excessive acquisition of "things." It is frequently evidenced at Christmastime, when we purchase more than is needful, sometimes with money we don't have, simply because we want it—or because someone we love has put it on his or her wish list. Parents who inundate their children with gifts at the holidays are in danger not only of committing the sin themselves but also of planting the seed for it in their offspring.

But we don't have to give in to our buying impulses and our constant quest for "more." There is a better way—a way that will help us prepare HIS way. And that is to be led by the Holy Spirit in all our purchasing. He will tell us WHEN to get WHAT and HOW MUCH, if we take the time to listen to His direction.

The third and final key is to walk in love in our relationships with others. John told the soldiers who asked him, " 'And what shall we do?' " not to " 'intimidate anyone or accuse falsely' " (v. 14).

Obviously, the soldiers had authority over the citizens and were in a perfect position to lord it over them—even to arrest them under false charges if they wanted to. But John admonished them not to exercise their authority in harmful ways. To bear fruit worthy of repentance, they had to treat the people fairly.

Not many of us are soldiers. But we are definitely prone to developing a pecking order and to looking down on those we consider lower in the social (or spiritual) structure than ourselves. When we set ourselves up on a self-constructed pedestal, we intimidate those around us. Yet the Bible says we are to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit"; instead, we are to "in humility consider others better than [ourselves]" (Phil. 2:3, NIV). This is part of what it means to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39).

John the Baptist's message is still current. Let's respond to it today by repenting of our sins and giving evidence that we have turned away from them by sharing with others, avoiding greed in all its forms and walking in love—in essence, doing the opposite of whatever sinful behavior we have been exhibiting. What a great way to "prepare the way of the Lord" in our own hearts!

Seeing the Invisible

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:44:18 PST

By Shirley Arnold
In the Scriptures, Abraham's territory was limited only by what he could envision. When it comes to your spiritual inheritance, how far can you see?

Every new season from God seems to have a theme, catch phrase or byword that characterizes it. In the most recent season, that catch phrase has expressed a particular hunger in our hearts and has become the theme of many of our prayer lives: "Increase our territory."

The widespread appeal of that phrase and its message—that God wants to increase the territory of those who call out to Him—has been apparent in the almost frenzied popularity of a slim, simple little book by Bruce Wilkinson called The Prayer of Jabez. The book expounds on Jabez's prayer, recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, which included a cry for an increase in territory. The Bible says that God granted his request.

LIFT UP YOUR EYES
God wants to grant our requests, too. But before He can increase our territory, He wants us to have a clear vision of what that territory is.

We can learn a great deal from the story of Lot and Abram in Genesis 12 and 13. When God called Abram to leave his homeland and begin a faith-journey to "a land that I will show you" (Gen. 12:1), Abram obeyed, taking his family—including his nephew, Lot—with him.

But at some point, God made it obvious that the two men needed to go their own ways. "Please separate from me," Abram said to Lot in Genesis 13:9. "If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

The Bible says that Lot looked out over the land and "chose for himself" what appeared to be the best part: the fertile, well-watered plain of Jordan to the east (vv. 10-11). He left Abram and headed for the plain, taking his family, flocks and herds with him.

Lot probably thought he'd gotten the better end of the deal. After all, he'd had first choice. But he was mistaken.

His land, it turned out, contained the hedonistic city of Sodom. And ultimately his decision cost him his family and all the blessings God wanted to pour out on him.

Lot made his choice based on what he could see in the natural. His sight was limited by what he could see with his eyes. He had a vision problem!

In contrast, when Abram staked out his territory, he did not survey the land, check the demographics or conduct a poll. He allowed God to show him the land that was right for him.

"Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward," God told him, "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever" (vv. 14-15).

Abram's only requirement was to look. God had already given him everything he could see!

How do you find your territory? The real question is: How far can you see?

Abram's territory was determined by what he saw. He looked where God told him to look, and he saw what God wanted him to possess. Of course, he could not physically see all the land or all the descendants still to come; but through faith he knew the extent of his territory.

Like Abram, your territory is limited only by your eyesight—your spiritual vision. When God tells you to look, you must do so with eyes of faith.

The nature of faith is to believe the impossible and see the invisible. That's why visionaries are often misunderstood: They see what isn't there—yet!

Your territory may not look like much in the natural—perhaps nothing more than a steamy valley full of sand and old bones. But appearances can be deceiving. Just as God blew into Elijah's valley of dry bones and brought a resurrection of life, so God can move through the barren areas of your territory and bring life and increase.

In Abram's (Abraham's) case, his territory was an actual, physical location. Even today, the city of Jerusalem is in conflict because it is part of the land that God promised to Abraham. His descendants must continue to fight to possess the territory that he saw with spiritual eyes so long ago.

For most of us, however, our territory is not land as much as it is our sphere of influence—the place and ministry God has chosen for each of us. Perhaps your territory is your home, your family, your church. Perhaps it's the homeless shelter where you volunteer or the country God has prompted you to pray for.

Essentially, your territory is the call of God on your life. But your territory is not limited to your lifetime. Just as Abraham did, you must look beyond "right now" into the land of your descendants. You must occupy your land for the sake of your children and your children's children. You cannot see the full extent of your inheritance unless you develop your spiritual sense of sight.

HOW'S YOUR VISION?
Recently, after a lifetime of perfect vision, I began wearing reading glasses. I have no problem seeing distances; it's the little details that are hazy for me.

Our spiritual eyes are like our natural eyes in many ways. They both can suffer from a number of vision problems.

1. Spiritual farsightedness. According to my optometrist, I am farsighted. On a spiritual level, people can be farsighted too.

Those with this vision problem can see the big picture—the ministry, the calling, the sphere of influence God wants to give them—but they struggle with little details such as truthfulness, integrity, patience and so on. They see the landscape of future fulfillments and promises, but they stumble on the simple, close-up, day-to-day things that are necessary for success.

I know a number of wonderful, anointed ministers who will never see their visions come to pass because they suffer from spiritual farsightedness. I call these men and women empty dreamers.

Such people are always dreaming of the great possibilities ahead. But they fail to practice the unexciting, daily disciplines that bring about the fulfillment of those possibilities.

When we get a word of promise from the Lord, we are right to receive it with joy! But then we must begin to fine-tune that vision and walk out the process that is required to fulfill it.

2. Spiritual nearsightedness. The opposite of farsightedness is nearsightedness—the ability to see only the objects closest to you. The big, beautiful, panoramic views are lost on those who can't see more than 10 feet in front of their noses!

People who are spiritually nearsighted focus on every tiny detail of life and ministry. Unable to look upward and outward, they miss the grand scope of all that God is doing and all that He wants to do in their lives.

When we allow the temporal details of daily living to dominate our attention, we fail to see the wonderful future God has planned for us. The result is that we become discouraged and lose hope. Yes, we must attend to the little things—but we must never lose sight of the big picture.

3. Spiritual astigmatism. For some time my husband was almost legally blind due to a condition known as astigmatism. Light did not refract properly through his eyes, making it difficult for him to see even with glasses. He was miserable.

But last year he underwent laser surgery. A very precise laser was used to surgically correct the structure and alignment of his eyes.

Now his eyes work the way they were meant to work. He has never seen better!

Astigmatism can be a problem on a spiritual level, too. When God reveals something to a person with spiritual astigmatism, they may not "get it" right away. They may need someone from outside their set of circumstances to bring alignment and clarity.

Sometimes spiritual astigmatism is caused by old hurts or wounds that act as filters through which every new vision passes. Because the spiritual light is refracted improperly, sight and understanding are hindered.

I know a woman who was raised in an abusive home. She often saw her father physically hurt her mother. Then she'd see him sober up, bring flowers to her mother and beg for forgiveness.

This woman survived her difficult childhood and grew up to marry a wonderful, godly man. Her husband would often bring her a bouquet to show his love. But every time she saw the flowers, she could see only a manipulating man trying to appease her.

She was suffering with a vision problem! Thankfully, with God's help, she received healing, and she and her husband are happily married today.

4. Spiritually weak or lazy eyes. As a young child, my oldest daughter, Stephanie, loved to read. She was actually reading by kindergarten!

But a problem surfaced when she was in first grade. Her teacher called us one day and said that Stephanie had failed a sight test that had been given to all the students that afternoon.

Stephanie had a lazy eye, we were told. Unless something drastic was done to correct it, she would grow up to be blind in one eye. So for some time she had to wear a patch, like a pirate, to force the lazy eye to work.

You see, Stephanie could read, play, learn and do everything the other children were doing. But when she was faced with a test, she failed.

Isn't that the way life often is—everything is fine until we are faced with a test? The question then becomes, is our spiritual eyesight strong enough to see beyond the test to the promise God made to us?

People get around every day with impaired spiritual sight, thinking that if they can see enough to avoid getting hurt, they have successfully navigated life. But with only one good eye, they have no depth perception.

They can only guess at distance. They are never able to know with confidence how far they have come and how far they must go in their walk with God.

OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
Most of us have learned how to operate at some level of spiritual blindness. We hear the voice of God, but we cannot see His promises clearly. We feel our way along because we fail to see the plan and purpose He has set before us.

Unfortunately, we will never see the full extent of the territory God wants to give us—we will never experience increase—until our spiritual vision is corrected and our eyes of faith are opened.

Caleb was one man who saw with spiritual eyes. He and Joshua, along with 10 other Israelites, were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. (You can read the story in Numbers 13 and 14.)

Upon their return, Caleb and Joshua gave an optimistic report based on what they saw through the eyes of faith. They looked past the giants and other significant obstacles to the generations to come that would one day possess a promised land of milk and honey.

The 10 other spies, however, reported what they saw with their physical eyes through the filter of fear. Even though they carried in their hands evidence of the bounty of the territory God had placed before them, their report described only the physical limitations that the land presented.

Unfortunately, the Israelites chose to accept the report of the 10 fearful men over the report of Caleb and Joshua. As a result, an entire generation ended up wandering blindly through the wilderness, never setting eyes on the territory God had promised to give them.

But Caleb never forgot what he saw. Forty years later, when he finally re-entered the promised land with a new generation of Israelites, he claimed his territory. The rest of the Israelites received their parcels through the drawing of lots.

Caleb had already seen the land. He already knew where he wanted to stake his claim and raise his descendants. He didn't care that the biggest giants lived smack in the middle of his territory; he knew that with God's help, he would drive them out.

He saw!

Caleb's land became known as Hebron once he finally took possession of it. God will change the name of your territory, too, once you set your borders and drive out whatever giants are there.

Maybe you've nicknamed your land "Hatred" or "Depression." Maybe you've known your territory simply as "the kids" or "the job." That's because your spiritual vision has been impaired, and you have yet to see the wonderful plan God has for you.

God wants to heal your spiritual vision and show you the full extent of the territory He has marked out for you. He wants to open your eyes of faith to see the increase He desires to bring into every area of your life.

Your territory is limited only by your eyesight. How far can you see?

Encountering Jesus Through Your Pain

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:56:33 PST

By Shelly Hundley
In the Bible, we see God dignifying those who suffer and sharing in their pain. He points us to the joy that is to come and gives us supernatural grace to triumph over our suffering. One of the most helpful skills we can develop as believers is the ability to meet Jesus in our own pain, therefore being able to lead others to Him in theirs.

When we meet the Lord through our heartache and the blindfold of our own fallen understanding is removed, we will experience what we can now only hope for in faith.

God uses pain to bring us back to our first love. As believers, God shakes our lives at times to answer the very prayers we have prayed. He uses the least severe means to remove what is hindering our intimacy with Him.
God uses suffering to prepare His deliverers for His work. Remembering Joseph's journey (Gen. 37-45) God used the very thing his brothers meant for his harm as the tool to position him to save thousands of lives, including his family.
God uses suffering to reveal His glory. The Bible's best-known example of suffering is Job. Much like he did with Peter in Luke 22:31-32, Satan asked God for permission to sift Job. God allowed Satan access to His friend, putting Job on display and ultimately revealing His great glory.
God uses pain to prepare God's people to reign. In Daniel 7:27, we learn that the kingdom will ultimately be given to the saints of the Most High God. Yet in light of all of this triumph there is suffering. The book of Revelation shows that God raises up an adversary (the Anti-Christ) and allows His people to endure unprecedented persecution as a means of preparing them to rule and reign with Him.
Suffering gives God access to the deepest places of our hearts. God's presence is always with us, but we can't always feel it. It is in the moment of greatest darkness, when we are barraged with every reason not to believe and trust, that Jesus gives us a simple command that is the most difficult thing for a suffering heart to do. He simply says, "Open for me" (Song of Sol. 5:2). When His bride is suffering, Christ has only one request—that she responds to His knocking and opens the deepest places of her heart to Him.

Comfort seems most elusive when we are in the midst of our own suffering. The promises we read in Scripture can seem like empty words when our hearts are racked with pain and there seems to be no end in sight. When we are in the midst of our suffering, we must lift up our eyes and receive comfort by seeing who Jesus truly is. See Jesus as your Bridegroom, longing and weeping for you.

See Jesus as your Judge who will fight for you. Commit your cause to Him and demand that every bit of pain bear fruit. Let it draw you into deeper intimacy with Him and equip you for His purpose.

See God as your Father. The Father records the movements of your heart toward Him. That is how deeply He cares for you. Surrender to His wisdom and sovereignty when you don't understand.

See God as your Deliverer. We don't have to choose between intimacy and deliverance. We can have both in their glorious paradox. We can say yes to God in the midst of our pain and believe God for the deliverance He will bring as the righteous Judge.

I challenge you right now to open your heart and allow God to bring you comfort. He promises to comfort all who mourn. I pray that you will be strengthened by the hope that the King is coming. No matter what you are facing, behold your God. He will come with a strong hand.

Magnify!

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:05:40 PST

Magnify. Growing up, we never had PlayStation, Wii or Xbox. We lived on a small ranch in Colorado and had a lot of work to do. Cleaning stalls, painting fences, irrigating the pasture and picking up rocks (Colorado soil grows rocks) were necessities of the life we lived.

My brother and I are only 17 months apart in age, and we were really each other’s entertainment. We spent a lot of our spare time riding our bikes and creating adventures. Our imaginations worked overtime to invent new games. Cowboys and Indians was a favorite, as well as building forts and hideouts. We even had a secret place in the hayloft of the barn.

Kids today simply have no idea what fun can be had without a remote control in your hand. When we did get a gift, it was usually educational. It was not unusual for us to get boxes of books to read. Every young boy should read the Sugar Creek Gang series.

One Christmas, I received one of my favorite presents ever—a microscope. It was probably my fascination with a magnifying glass that led to the microscope. A magnifying glass is so very cool. If you angle it just right with the sun, you can start a leaf on fire (which is of course not what it was designed for). Better yet, you can inspect something tiny like an ant, and see all of the details: Eyes, antennae, legs, even miniscule hairs.

The microscope takes that exploration to a whole new level. A blade of grass or a drop of pond water has a dimension that you could never see without magnification. Discoveries are unearthed, which give you a totally different perspective from what you have experienced with the naked eye.

Psalm 34:3 says, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me” (emphasis added). Many times in the Psalms, David expresses a desire to magnify the Lord. His relationship with God was so meaningful that he wanted to magnify it. David was not satisfied with the God that he could “see” with the naked eye. He wanted to know the intimate details of God—the entity and substance of the Holy One that could only be known through magnification.

His soul thirsted for God. He longed for intimacy. It was not enough to dwell in the shelter of the Most High; David wanted to abide in the very shadow of the Almighty. Hear this: If a person does not have that kind of longing to know God, there is a very good chance he has never met Him. He has never become a child of Jehovah. The longing has been set within us. So, how do we magnify the LORD?

Of course, God’s Word, fasting and prayer are critical to an understanding of the minutia of God. However, David adds another facet in Psalm 69:30. He says, “I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving” (emphasis added). He added worship. Worship that is a lifestyle.

My dear friend Charles Billingsley is an anointed vessel, gifted to move believers into a Holy realm—a realm of worship where you are ushered into the presence of God and the worship is so powerful and fervent that God Almighty becomes very vivid. God’s character and virtues are literally magnified in your mind, soul and spirit.

This week in your Christ walk, magnify the Lord. Go to the deep places with Him. Don’t be satisfied with a Sunday morning snack. Dig into His Word. Spend time in His presence. Look at Him through the magnification of scripture and prayer. You might even try fasting. Put the flesh aside.

Allow your mind and spirit to discover things about God that are intimate. Personal. Don’t be satisfied with the outer courts. Worship Him in the Holy of Holies. It is there that you will see God magnified. It is there that you will sense a nearness that will leave your soul longing for more. And remember, God wants to know you as well. He is the Great Pursuer. Seek Him, as He is seeking you. Magnify Him. You will discover things that you never knew. New things. Profound things. Life-changing things. I promise.

Church

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:32:44 PDT

The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly". It appears in 2 verses of the canonical Gospel of Matthew, 24 verses of the Acts of the Apostles, 58 verses of the letters of Paul the Apostle (including therefore the earliest instances of its use in relation to a Christian body), 2 of the Letter to the Hebrews, 1 of the Epistle of James, 3 of the Third Epistle of John, and 19 of the Book of Revelation.
The four traditional "notes of the Christian Church" are unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. In the phenomenological sense, there are many associations that call themselves Christian churches.
The New Testament the term ἐκκλησία (church or assembly) is used for local communities and in a universal sense to mean all believers. Traditionally, only orthodox believers are considered part of the true Church, but convictions of what is orthodox vary.

Church Building
n the Christian religion, a church building is a building or structure whose primary purpose is to facilitate the meeting of a church. Originally, Jewish Christians met in synagogues, such as the Cenacle, and in one another's homes, known as house churches. As Christianity grew and became more accepted by governments, notably with the Edict of Milan, rooms and, eventually, entire buildings were set aside for the explicit purpose of Christian worship, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Traditional church buildings are often in the shape of a cross and frequently have a tower or dome. More modern church buildings have a variety of architectural styles and layouts; many buildings that were designed for other purposes have now been converted for church use, and, similarly, many original church buildings have been put to other uses.
Church Services
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be taught the "Word of God" (the Christian Bible) and encouraged in their faith. Technically, the "church" in "church service" refers to the gathering of the faithful rather than to the building in which it takes place.
Church Music
Church music may be defined as music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclestiacal liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. This article covers music in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. For sacred music outside this tradition, see Religious music.
Local Church
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status. Local churches often relate or affiliate with denominations, connecting them with a specific tradition within the Christian religion, sharing in a broad sense a history, culture and doctrinal heritage with other church bodies of the same tradition.

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Where is God

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:11:58 PDT

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions (and other belief systems) who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism.
God is most often conceived of as the supernatural creator and overseer of the universe. In theology they ascribed a variety of attributes to the many different conceptions of God. The most common among these include omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence.
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent". These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian orphilosophers, including Maimonides, Augustine of Hippo, and Al-Ghazali, respectively. Many notable medieval philosophers and modern philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.
- Does God exist?
- Is there a heaven and hell?
- If so, how does one go to heaven?
- Why are there so many religions and which one is right?
- Is the Bible really true?
- Why is Israel a focal point in history?
Some Bible references about the personality of God:

Abba - Romans 8:15 (Aramaic)
Adonai - (Hebrew)
Advocate - 1 John 2:1
Almighty - Revelation 1:8, Job 22:23-25
Alpha and the Omega - Revelation 1:8, Revelation 22:13
Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:9
Angel of God - Exodus 14:19
Angel of the Lord - Exodus 3:2
author and finisher of our faith - Hebrews 12:2
author of our faith - Hebrews 12:2
avenger - 1 Thessalonians 4:6
Beginning and the End - Revelation 3:14
Beginning of the creation of God - Revelation 19:11
Beloved - Matthew 12:18
Bishop - 1 Peter 2:25 KJV
Branch - Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 6:12
bread of life - John 6:48
Bright and Morning Star - Revelation 22:16
chief cornerstone - Ephesians 2:20, Luke 20:17
Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4
Christ - John 6:69
Commander of the army of the Lord - Joshua 5:14
Counselor - Isaiah 9:6
Creator - 1 Peter 4:19, Isaiah 40:28
Dayspring - Luke 1:78
deliverer - Psalm 40:17
El - (Hebrew)
El-elyon - Genesis 14:18 (Hebrew)
Elohim - Genesis 1:1 (Hebrew)
Eloi - Mark 15:34
El-shaddai - Exodus 6:3 (Hebrew)
Faithful and True - Revelation 19:11
Faithful and True Witness - Revelation 3:14
Father - Romans 8:15
Father of lights - James 1:17
First and the Last - Revelation 2:8
gardener - John 15:1 NIV
God - Galations 3:20
God with us - Matthew 1:23
Governor - Matthew 2:6 KJV
head of the church - Ephesians 5:23
Helper - John 14:16
High Priest - Hebrews 2:17
Holy Ghost - 1 John 5:7 KJV
Holy One - Proverbs 9:10
Holy One of God - John 6:69
Holy One of Israel - 2 Kings 19:22
Holy Spirit - 1 John 5:7
Hope of Israel - Jeremiah 14:8
horn of salvation - Luke 1:69
Hosanna - John 12:13
husband - Isaiah 54:5
husbandman - John 15:1 KJV
I AM WHO I AM - Exodus 3:14
Immanuel - Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23
Jealous - Exodus 34:14
Jehovah - Exodus 6:3 KJV
Jesus of Nazareth - John 19:19
Judge - Isaiah 33:22, 2 Timothy 4:8
King - Luke 19:38, Isaiah 33:22
King of Kings and Lord of Lords - Revelation 19:16, 1 Timothy 6:15
King of the Jews - John 19:19
Lamb of God - John 1:29
Lawgiver - Isaiah 33:22, James 4:12
light of the world - John 8:12
Lion of the tribe of Judah - Revelation 5:5
Lord God Almighty - Revelation 4:8
Lord God Omnipotent - Revelation 19:6
Lord of Hosts - 2 Samuel 6:2
Lord of Sabaoth - Romans 9:29, James 5:4
love - 1 John 4:8
Man - Genesis 32:24
Man of sorrows - Isaiah 53:3
Maker - Isaiah 54:5
Master - Colossians 4:1
Mediator - 1 Timothy 2:5
Melchizedek - Genesis 14:18
Messiah the Prince - Daniel 9:25
Mighty God - Isaiah 9:6
Offspring of David - Revelation 22:16
Potentate - 1 Timothy 6:15
potter - Isaiah 64:8
Power - Matthew 26:64
Prince of Peace - Isaiah 9:6
Rabbi - John 1:49
Redeemer - Isaiah 54:5
resurrection - John 11:25
Rock - Psalm 95:1
rock of offense - Romans 9:33
Root of David - Revelation 5:5
Ruler - Matthew 2:6
Savior - Luke 1:47, Jude 1:25
Saviour - Luke 1:47 KJV, Jude 1:25 KJV
Seed - Genesis 3:15, Galations 3:16
Servant - Zechariah 3:8, Matthew 12:18
Shepherd and Overseer - 1 Peter 2:25
Shiloh - Genesis 49:10
Son - John 3:16

Son of God - Galations 2:20, Revelation 2:18
Son of the living God - Matthew 16:16, John 6:69
Sovereign - 1 Timothy 6:15 NASB
Sun of Righteousness - Malachi 4:2
Spirit of adoption - Romans 8:15
Spirit of truth - John 14:17
stumbling stone - Romans 9:33
Teacher - Matthew 23:8, John 3:2
the Amen - Revelation 3:14
the Name - 2 Samuel 6:2
the way and the truth and the life - John 14:6
the Word - John 1:1
The Word of God - Revelation 19:13
true vine - John 15:1
True Witness - Revelation 3:14
vinedresser - John 15:1
Wonderful - Isaiah 9:6
Yahweh - Exodus 6:3 (Hebrew)
Yeshua - (Hebrew)
YHVH - Exodus 6:3 (Hebrew)

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Becoming One with God

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:47:59 PDT

God's purpose for every soul involves bringing that soul into oneness with Himself. As we willingly yield our lives to God, He brings us into perfect union with Christ.

READ: Matt. 19:4-6; John 17:20-24; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:25-32; Phil. 3:8-14; 1 John 3:1-3
HEART ISSUE: Have you surrendered yourself fully to God? What, if anything, is holding you back?
PRAYER FOCUS: Father, I want to be brought completely into oneness with You. Show me where my will is opposing Your will in my life. Amen.

In Ephesians 5:32, Paul calls our union with Christ a "profound mystery." Through His indwelling Spirit, God enables us to communicate intimately with Him.

READ: Ezek. 36:24-28; Ezek. 37:12-14; Joel 2:28-29; John 3:1-6; Rom. 8:5-17; James 4:1-6.
HEART ISSUE: Do you know how to communicate with God's Spirit inside you? What could help you interact with Him even better than you currently do?
PRAYER FOCUS: Father, thank You for the gift of Your Spirit. Sensitize me to experience and respond to Him as You will. Amen.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:23:59 PDT

By Perry Stone
One of life’s most perplexing mysteries is why bad things happen to good people. We have all heard the stories of how the most dedicated teenager in the church was abruptly killed in an automobile accident, or how the beautiful young mother with three children is stricken with cancer and suddenly passes, leaving her infants to be raised by loving family members. Why the righteous suffer has always been an enigma.

There is no one set reason or explanation as to why bad things happen. However, after years of ministry, I have some observations as to what may, at times, help prevent bad things from occurring:

Avoid making wrong choices. A shortcut through a dangerous part of the city is not a wise choice. Leaving your wallet or purse on the seat of your car while you stop at a convenience store for a restroom break is foolish. Mowing the grass on a riding mower on a steep hill can get you killed. The barrel of a gun is not a small telescope to look through. When people make unwise choices, they can open the door to difficulty or tragedy.
Don’t override better judgment. Years ago, a noted pastor was ministering in Kentucky and wanted to return to his church in Ohio for the next morning. The weather was bad so he was advised against it, but his personal desire overruled his better judgment. The plane crashed into the trees. When numerous individuals advise us not to do something, it is wise to pay attention since “in a multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 24:6).
Do your job properly. Years ago, my wife and I were having Sunday dinner with one of our spiritual sons. He had mentioned a few days prior that his brakes were going bad and he had to get them fixed. He either forgot or didn’t take the time to fix the problem. Bad brakes are like a loose electrical wire in a house—something bad could happen if they are not repaired. He had an accident, which took his life.
Don’t be in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time. Whomever you rub shoulders with will rub off on you. Many teens find themselves in dangerous, life-threatening situations—especially with drugs and alcohol—because of their friends, like magnets pulling them into sin.

All of the above examples were the results of people not paying attention, not listening or not following wisdom, but there are many times in life that circumstances occur over which we have no control. Some examples are the effects of hurricanes, tornadoes, armed robbery, crime and accidents caused by drunk drivers. In these and countless other examples, believers feel helpless to defend themselves or their families. For this reason we need to know and understand God’s ability, willingness and promises to protect His people.

The Scriptures show that He has made covenant agreements with His people that continue to impact us today (see Gen. 9:13-15; Gen. 13:15). For many years I have taught on the covenants of the Bible, emphasizing the new covenant that was ratified by the blood of Christ. After further research I observed that there was one covenant made between a father-in-law and his son-in-law that I knew existed in the Old Testament, but I had never identified it as a pattern for a practical covenant for believers until doing detailed research. It is called the Mizpah covenant. This covenant has supernatural power to establish the gate of heaven in your family’s life—just as it did in Jacob’s, which will enable God’s angels to ascend and descend from heaven as they provide protection to your family.

God’s angels are on assignment from God Himself. As you walk humbly and obediently before your God, His angels will protect and defend you and your family members. Christ Himself stands before our heavenly Father to intercede on your behalf, as the Holy Spirit comes alongside to comfort you and to pray through you, even though you are uncertain of what to pray.

Fasting forms a supernatural hedge of protection around you and your family, and your prayers activate the angels as guardians of your home. The power of your intercession overcomes the barriers of distance, and the angels hear your call and rush to your assistance. Remember that God Himself has given you access to His angels through your diligent fasting and praying,

Bad things do happen to good people, but you can establish this remarkable covenant in your life today, and begin to experience the blessings of a covenant relationship with God. You and your loved ones are in good hands!

The Therapy of Forgiveness

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:09:47 PDT

By Barbara Dycus
When I first met my husband, Jim, he was a man with a past. For the prior 15 years he had been a heroin addict on the streets of Chicago, involved in every kind of sin imaginable. He had been an alcoholic as well, and to support his addictive lifestyle he had become a criminal, spending much time in jail. He had married and divorced not once, but four times.

On January 21, 1972, Jim knelt before the Lord and prayed a very simple prayer: “God, I don’t know much about you, but if you’ll make me happy like these Christians here [at Chicago Teen Challenge], I’ll do anything you want me to do.”

God administered His therapy of forgiveness, and when we said our vows on June 2, 1972, I married a brand-new creature in Christ.

I thank God that I don’t have to get up every morning in fear of finding used hypodermic needles in my sink. I don’t have to check the garbage for empty whiskey bottles. I have never walked into my living room to find stolen goods, nor have I, even once, felt condemned by the sin of adultery for marrying a divorced man.

Because I didn’t. I didn’t marry a heroin addict. I didn’t marry an alcoholic. I didn’t marry a criminal. I didn’t marry a divorced man. I married a brand-new baby saint. All God remembered about Jim Dycus is what he has done since January 21, 1972. He is a man with no past.

One of the greatest gifts God ever gave to humankind is His therapy of forgiveness. Without it we would live in a constant state of guilt that could never be removed.

A load of guilt bound Jim to a 15-year drug addiction. Hospitals and rehabilitation programs couldn’t remove it. Countless psychologists and psychiatrists couldn’t point the way to clear conscience. It was a bondage that only God’s therapy of forgiveness could eradicate from his life.

You know Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of Jekyll and Hyde. Dr. Jekyll stood at his laboratory table one evening, holding a vial of a chemical that he had created. He believed it had a potential for good. Since both his assistant and his dog had made a mad dash for the door when they saw the vial, no one was there to test it. So he decided to test it on himself.

Almost immediately Dr. Jekyll turned into the raging Mr. Hyde and went out into the street creating havoc. When the effects of the drug began to wear off, he stumbled back into his laboratory and once again grasped that vial of chemical in his hand.

At that moment he was faced with the most important decision he would ever make. He could dash the vial against the wall and destroy its potential for evil; or he could experiment further to see if he could find a good use for the chemical it contained.

Dr. Jekyll chose foolishly. He kept the vial. Each time he experimented he became a more violent Mr. Hyde. Finally he lost the ability to turn back into the intelligent and humane Dr. Jekyll.

We have the same choice to make about our pasts. No good thing will ever come of hanging on to the record we have of former sins. Doing so will only hinder us and destroy our potential for fulfilling God’s design for us. We must choose to turn our backs on the past and stretch forth to the bright, new future that God has for us through His therapy of forgiveness. This is the way the apostle Paul approached his imperfection: “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:3-13-14, NKJV).

Paul had received the therapy of forgiveness for some of the most heinous crimes we can imagine. He knew the truth of Jesus’ words, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36, KJV).

Marriage Is Not a Dictatorship

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:50:13 PDT

By J. Lee Grady

As a Bible-believing Christian, Mike* was the spiritual leader of his home. He believed that in order to be a faithful man of God he must always "be in charge." His wife, Jill*, and their four children graciously submitted to his authority.

Mike insisted on controlling every aspect of home life. Jill was not allowed to handle any aspect of the family finances.

Jill felt God wouldn't be pleased if she didn't respect Mike's headship, so she eventually became numb to her husband's demands. Mike was never physically abusive, but his constant criticism made Jill feel like a worthless spiritual zombie.

It all erupted one day when their 5-year-old son, Tyler*, got the flu. Usually Mike and Jill tried natural remedies before seeing a doctor, but in this instance Tyler didn't seem to be responding to the natural products. After he'd had a high fever for several days, Jill took the boy to the doctor, who told her Tyler had a respiratory infection that required antibiotics.

Jill had a prescription filled and intended to give a dose to Tyler immediately. But when Mike learned about the doctor's report, he told Jill not to give Tyler the medicine.

No matter how much Jill pleaded, he refused—saying that the antibiotics might have negative side effects. Jill was so concerned for her son's safety that she threatened to give the medicine to Tyler anyway. Mike then shot back: "I am the head of this house! You have to do what I say!"

Jill felt she'd been pushed into a corner by her husband's ironclad demands. Finally she placed the matter in God's hands.

The next morning Tyler was so sick he couldn't get up to the table to eat. Jill was desperate and dared to express her concerns. "Is it right to withhold something from him that you know will alleviate his symptoms and help him get well?" she asked.

Mike finally gave in. Within 24 hours Tyler had improved, and in only a few days he was well.

Mike and Jill, meanwhile, were nursing the wounds that had resulted from this quarrel. Mike's pride was hurt because he felt his leadership had been challenged.

Jill felt exhausted from having to push so hard to help her son. Their marriage was frayed in the process—and they eventually had to seek counseling.

These kinds of disagreements occur in Christian homes every day. In many cases, husbands and wives who argue over an issue agree to sit down, listen to each other, try to understand the other spouse's perspective and then decide on a resolution. That's the way conflict management is supposed to work.

But domestic strife can't be resolved if the husband believes: (1) that he is always right; (2) that it is wrong for him to defer to his wife; or (3) that his masculinity is weakened if he admits a mistake. If he believes all three of these fallacies, he qualifies as a first-degree tyrant.

Patriarchs Don't Live Here Anymore
When I preach about gender equality in the church, many women come to me and say, "But I have been taught that my husband is the priest of the home." I challenge them to look up that phrase in the Bible. Show me one scripture that says husbands should serve as priests for their wives!

Many Christian traditionalists maintain that women should live in the background and allow their husbands to represent them to the church and to God. They also teach that the husband is responsible for the wife's behavior, as if she were some kind of puppet on a string whom he must manipulate.

They have the audacity to use this unbiblical concept of the priestly husband to justify abusive, authoritarian behavior. This is emotionally crippling to women—and it is heresy!

The Bible tells us that under the old covenant, before the redemptive work of Christ and the advent of the Holy Spirit, God dealt with men through priests. But now that Jesus has secured our access into the presence of God, we all have been qualified to be priests unto God.

Peter says we are part of a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9, NKJV). He does not say that this priesthood is exclusively male or that it refers to husbands. There is no reference to gender because "there is neither male nor female...in Christ" (Gal. 3:28).

Women have been clothed with the priestly garments of holiness, and they have been commissioned to exercise His authority. No husband has the biblical right to stand in his wife's way, and no wife should use "male headship" to excuse herself from fulfilling God's call on her life.

"Headship" is another popular word thrown around in conservative religious circles. Many Christian men believe their spirituality is measured by the level of control they exert over their wives through "male headship."

These guys think they are being "real men of God" if they refuse to listen to their wives' counsel. Where did we get the idea that an authoritarian style of leadership is even remotely Christlike?

The rigid view of the Christian family says that men have been placed in the God-ordained role of full-time boss. The husband's role, according to the conservative religious model, is to lead and protect his wife, while her role is to trust him and submit to his authority at all times without question. Since he is supposedly smarter, stronger and more spiritually capable, the woman has no option but to accept this arrangement.

This view has been derived by misreading the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:23–24: "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."

We must remember that at the time Paul penned these words (probably A.D. 60), women had no rights and were viewed as the property of either their fathers or their husbands. In Ephesus during New Testament times, a man's idea of "ruling the family" was to keep his wife shut away in the house to do backbreaking chores, tend the family farm, provide sexual gratification and bear as many children as possible.

If she died in childbirth, he found another wife. If she didn't please him in bed, he paid a younger woman outside the home to meet his sexual needs. If his wife shamed him, he beat her.

Historian Ruth Tucker notes that in ancient Greek society, most men considered their homebound wives boring—so they typically sought the companionship of heterae, or professional female escorts. Yet when Paul introduced the Christian message to the Ephesians, he came with a radically new model of family that went to the very core of what was wrong with the world: "Husbands, love your wives" (Eph. 5:25).

Perhaps we don't realize what a revolutionary concept these four words were in the first century! It was even more radical when Paul told the men of Ephesus to love their wives "as their own bodies" (v. 28).

This meant that men and women were equals. It meant that Christian men would have to break out of their pagan Middle Eastern mind-set and stop looking down on the wives as if they were brainless, inferior animals. Paul's simple words shattered gender prejudice at its core.

And when Paul told the men to love their wives "as Christ also loved the church" (v. 25), he implied something even more revolutionary: Women are just as deserving of the grace of God as men are. We find in these tender verses the bedrock foundation for the Christian idea of gender equality.

Two Kinds of Christian Husbands
Paul's words to the Ephesians blatantly contradicted the worldly philosophy of the ancient world, which taught that men and women live in two different social strata. In the kingdom of God, Paul declared, men don't beat their wives, rule their homes like despots or threaten divorce as a means to manipulate or control. In God's kingdom, husbands treat their wives with respect—yes, even as equals.

Paul was declaring in this passage that men are no longer "over" women. Husbands can no longer dominate their wives or treat them like chattel.

Now that Jesus Christ has come, the curse of male domination over females that began in the Garden of Eden has been broken. Women have been restored to a place of respect and dignity! This was good news for the women of Ephesus; it is good news for all women today.

But if this is true, then why does Paul still say the husband should function as the "head" of his wife? (See Eph. 5:23.) Does this not give him the right to dominate her? That depends on whether we want a Christian model of leadership or a worldly one.

The husband does function as a leader. But the gospel of Jesus Christ—who was the ultimate example of the compassionate "servant leader"—does not allow men to impose leadership in an authoritarian way, nor can men view their role as "head" as part of a God-sanctioned hierarchy that places them over their wives to domineer them or to deny their rights.

Ephesians 5 is not about hierarchy; it is about equality. But if we read Paul's words through a warped lens, it's easy to impose our own misconceptions about male-female relationships on the text. That's why we need the Holy Spirit to help us when we read the Scriptures.

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, in her book, Good News for Women (Baker), explains that there are really two kinds of male headship from which to choose. One is what she calls "life-giving headship," which was instituted by God in the Garden of Eden when He took Eve out of Adam's side.

The opposing model is what she refers to as "ruling headship," which began with the fall, when man and woman came under the curse of sin. Christian men today often view ruling headship as the godly way to lead a family—but it is the wrong model.

Writes Groothuis: "The biblical headship of the husband described in Ephesians 5 is redemptive, in that it mitigates the effect of the fall which places the woman under male rule, and it helps to reinstate woman in her creational place of cultural responsibility alongside man. In life-giving headship, the social privilege and power of maleness is shared by the husband with the wife, and utilized by him according to the terms of love rather than of male conquest and demand."

Some Christian husbands have made a lifestyle out of being benevolent dictators—and they quote portions of Ephesians 5 to defend their behavior. Tragically, many women have embraced the idea of being Christian doormats, and they have made their subservience such a part of their identity as women that it has become a place of security for them that they cannot abandon.

Find God!

noreply@blogger.com (okwusman1) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:53:10 PDT

What could be more important than finding God? Take a day, a week or a month and do nothing but seek Him, persisting until you find Him. He has promised, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

If we truly find Him, no one will have to tell us to be humble. No one need convince us our old natures are as filthy rags. As we truly find God, the things that are so highly esteemed among men will become detestable in our sight (Luke 16:15).
As you touch Him, something will come alive in you: something eternal, Someone Almighty! Instead of looking down on people, you will seek to lift them up. You will dwell in the presence of God. And you will be holy, for He is holy.

There are certain times when the Lord calls us out of the routine of our daily lives. These are special seasons where His only command is, “Seek My face.” He has something precious and vitally important to give us that the familiar pattern of our daily devotions cannot accommodate. During such times people are often delivered of sins that have plagued them for years; others discover a depth in their walk with God that leads to greater effectiveness in ministry and prayer; still others experience breakthroughs in their families and are used by God to see loved ones brought into the kingdom.

Yet we are not seeking God for things or even for other people. We are seeking God for Himself. Maturity starts as we break the cycle of seeking God only during hardship; holiness begins the moment we seek God for Himself. A touch from God is wonderful, but we are in pursuit of more than just an experience—more than “goose bumps and tears.” We are seeking to abide with Christ, where we are continually aware of His fullness within us, where His presence dwells in us in glory.

How do we enter this sacred place? If we study the life of Moses (and Jesus), we will see how he sought God and lived in fellowship with Him. He pitched a tent outside the camp and he and everyone who sought the Lord went outside the camp to the tent of meeting. (Ex. 33:7). We must pitch our tent a “good distance from the camp.” What camp is this? For Moses, as well as for us, it is the “camp of familiarity.”

Is there anything inherently wrong or sinful with the things that are familiar? No, not in themselves, but you will remember that when Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, He called them to leave the familiar pattern of their lives for extended periods and be alone with him (Matt. 19:27; Luke 14:33). Why? Because He knew that men, by nature, are unconsciously governed by the familiar. If He would expand us to receive the eternal, He must rescue us from the limitations of the temporal.

This is not to say we neglect our families or that we become irresponsible as we seek God. No, God has given everyone enough time to seek Him. It is there, having done what love would have us do for our families, we simply say no to every other voice but God’s. We must redeem the time: Cancel hobbies, forsake television, and put away the newspaper and magazines. Those who would find God find time.

Sadly, many Christians have no higher goal, no greater aspiration, than to become “normal.” Paul rebuked the church of Corinth because they walked “like mere men” (1 Cor. 3:3). God has more for us than merely becoming better people; He wants to flood our lives with the same power that raised Christ from the dead. We must understand: God does not merely want us “normal.” He wants us Christ-like.

For the Holy Spirit to facilitate God’s purposes in our lives, He must redefine both our definition of reality and our priorities in life. Christ-likeness must become our singular goal.

When we work all day only to come home, watch television, then collapse in bed, our lifestyle becomes a chain of bondage. These things may not necessarily trap us in sin as much as they keep us from God. Moses would leave what was familiar and pitch his tent “outside the camp,” where he would then seek the Lord. So also must we, at times, leave the camp of what seems normal and predictable and begin to seek after God.

This is one reason why Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray” (Matt. 6:6, NASB). Christ desires us to leave the familiar, distracting world of our senses and abide in the world of our hearts, bearing in mind that the highest goal of prayer is to find God.