Now

It is time for the Church to return to its reliance on the Holy Spirit and get off of the idea that great strategies, creativity, and the "arm of the flesh" are going to bring eternal transformation. Strategy and creativity are good things, but they are no substitute for the power and Presence of God.

What's the Church to do in a day when a pastor can be shot down in his pulpit, people are losing hope in the face of the ever worsening economy, and church after church is unable to service their mortgage? What's the Church to do when leaders fall to immorality, members are addicted to internet pornography, and accountability is non-existent? What's the Church to do when the Body of Christ just shifts from one church to the next and call it "growth"? What's the church to do when the lost aren't being found, the sick aren't being healed, the poor are not being clothed, the afflicted are not being comforted, and few are interested in the return of the Christ?

Odd thing about troubling times...they present both challenges and opportunity. I see opportunity for God to be God. You see, I believe that the Church's finest days are ahead. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!

Its time to stop playing "church" and start being the Church, its time to be filled once again with the Holy Spirit until our lips quiver and our lives are transformed. Acts 1:8 tells us we will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, power to become witnesses, power to stand in difficult times, and power to be the Church.

The only way the Church can rise to meet the challenges of this day is to be filled and full of the Holy Spirit. I believe it as much now, if not more, than I ever have before.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Walk Straight

World changers walk in straight lines. I believe one of the reasons the church is without power in so many places and circumstances is because its people and leaders wink at inconsistencies in their own lives.

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about righteousness and right living in my own life. Yes, my life might be "holier" than average, but that isn't the issue. I must walk straight in every area of my life, I must choose the right with every decision, and I must live my life as an open book.

I am glad for the grace and forgiveness of God... but that isn't the point either. God forgives, but he calls us to walk straight. Too often we transgress thinking that God will cover up for us. Ephesians 5:15 (KJV) says, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise...".

What is done in secret will, sooner or later, be exposed for all to see. We must walk in humility or be humiliated. If we will see God be God in this generation we must be clean vessels for the habitation of the Holy Spirit. No part dark!

The Last Easter...

I was working on my long range calendar and I just realized I will probably never enjoy another Easter falling on my birthday. For me, its just another one of those mile markers on the highway of life reminding me I am mortal. Actually, it caught me by surprise that it even mattered to me.

I’ve had my birthday fall on Easter 4 times. The first time I was 11. All of the kids at Sunday school thought it was cool. Then when I was 22, 33, and 44… do you notice a pattern here. I assumed it would happen again at 55, but there is a gap in the continuum and it won’t happen again until I am 106. I really wasn’t planning on being here at 106! I would have celebrated big on my 44^th had I realized it might be the last time.

We do many things in life for the last time and most of those times we didn’t know it was the last time. I remember the last time we wrecked one of our cars, the last root canal, and the last pulled muscle. It would be nice if some things never happened again, but what about the last kiss, the last Christmas, the last smile, or the last words we say to someone we love.

The next time I start to say something unkind to someone or pass up an opportunity to let someone know I love them, I hope I remember there’ll likely be no more birthdays on Easter.

(blog post on http://aGoodDeposit.com)

If you look you'll find it

Have you ever “lost” something that really wasn’t lost, but through inattention you just lost track of where it was? Reminds me of my garage, a few years ago I packed everything in containers so I could finish the walls of my garage and I never reorganized. I’ll sometimes look for 30 minutes for something I know I have, I’ve just lost track of where it is.

Sometimes, in all of my activity, I lose my sense of intimacy with the Father. I have seasons when I began to realize my heart has grown lukewarm and other pursuits have diminished my most important pursuits. Right now, my heart is searching for a deep reconnect with the Father.

In the Song of Solomon, the beloved (me) looked for her king/lover (God) but could not find him. The intensity of her love for him compelled her to get up from the comfort and safety of her bed at a most inconvenient hour. She went into the streets and the squares of the city searching for her lover, but could not find him (Song 3:1-2). Finally, the beloved found her lover. She said, “I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…” (Song 3:4, NIV).

How hard I try (search) is in direct proportion to the intensity of my love or desire. Those who seek will find. God is never lost to me, but sometimes I “misplace” him in the necessary clutter of my life. The measure of my desire for intimacy with the Father will determine to what lengths I am willing to go to obtain that which already belongs to me.

(blog post: http://aGoodDeposit.com)

Two of me

I resign myself to the fact that there are two of me. I've often wished there were two of me so I could get more done, but that isn't what I'm talking about... only one set of hands, one brain, etc. ... but there are two parts of me that are often in conflict.

It is amazing how much of the New Testament is devoted to the struggle between our natural self and our spiritual person, yet we count it as common knowledge and don't spend a lot of time thinking or talking or teaching about it. Our sinful nature cannot be made good, it must be crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6, Galations 2:20, Galations 5:24). Our sinful nature has to be overcome through the power of the Spirit and the grace of God (Romans 8:13).

How can I overcome this part of me that is inclined to selfishness, slander, and evil? Here are three things that, through the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit I commit to in order to live an overcoming life:

1) I will deny myself daily (Matthew 16:24, Romans 8:12-13). We sometimes want things we shouldn't have, want to do things we shouldn't do, and not care about things we should care about because we are selfish. I deny selfish desires.

2) I will remove every hinderance (Hebrews 12:1). A lot of thing hold us back from who we want to be... I want those things out of the way.

3) I will resist temptation (Romans 13:14). We cannot stop temptations but we can resist them with the strength of God.

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit working in my spirit that I can overcome. We cannot just allow ourselves to be selfish and live double lives. To experience the overcoming victory God has for us we have to deny self, remove hinderances and sin, and resist temptation.