God Says, “I Do Not Remember”

Francis Frangipane shares a great reminder of the never ending mercy and loving kindness of the Lord. How many times we fall short of His perfect will because we fail to understand this basic truth? How many times have we considered ourselves, or others, disqualified because we did not trust in His forgiveness. Oh, we all know the scriptures, most of us can quote them by heart, but few of us have made them heart truth.

When we truly understand forgiveness, and the price our Lord paid to obtain that forgiveness for us, we will turn this world on it’s ear. Until then I pray that He would give each of us fresh revelation of this essential truth.

“For the Lord is good;His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:5

God Says, “I Do Not Remember”.

House Church: Skip the sermon, worship at home

An interesting article. This is a growing trend, and to be honest, on we are a part of. My wife and I currently participate in several home church gatherings on a regular basis. Every one is unique, and each one is a blessing. I would be VERY surprised to see us back in a traditional church setting on a regular basis. It’s just not a good fit (for us anyway) anymore.

House Church: Skip the sermon, worship at home (OneNewsNow.com).

Performance or Passion?

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“Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21-24

One does not have to look far these days to find a church that “has it together.” The worship team flows smoothly, flawless and professional in all they do. The choir can likewise be counted upon to provide beautiful, soaring harmonies guaranteed to lift the spirit. The AV department is professional and solid, providing clean sound and video, PowerPoint slides and lighting effects on cue. The pastor is smooth and polished, an accomplished presenter delivering a message sure to encourage and inspire. It all “clicks” flowing together in a service that lifts everyone, sending them forth ready to face the week ahead. God is glorified and pleased … or is He?

What is it that really pleases God? Is it a slick, professional service, or a sold out heart? Is it His will we be encouraged, lifted up, and recharged to withstand the week ahead, or would He rather we leave equipped, challenged, and released like an arrow to it’s mark to do damage to the enemy? Does He desire us entertained, or transformed? Does He desire we encourage and inspire, or preach the Kingdom?

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17

By now, you likely guessed where I am going. Some may not like this, but God is not seeking a professional performance, but heartfelt worship. He would rather have a barely competent musician truly worshiping Him out of heart consumed with love and desire for Him than a whole team of top flight professionals focused on a great performance. He would rather see an unpolished speaker willing to follow the Spirit and speak whatever He puts in his mouth than a great orator delivering a preplanned speech. Or better yet, a series of “regular” people speaking what he gave each of them to share, coming as they are, broken, vulnerable, trembling, undone … real.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Sam 16:7

Throughout the Bible we see God choosing not the skilled, nor the mighty, but the small, the weak, the vulnerable, but above all the humble and obedient. Jacob, the sneak, instead of Esau the man’s man. Gideon, hiding in the wine press, Moses, the stutterer, David, small, no account, adulterer, murderer, liar, man after God’s heart. Paul, murderer, Peter, Andrew and John, rough fishermen. Matthew, tax collector, cheat, swindler.

Even Jesus when He came to earth did not come as a king, but as a common man, worse yet, as the illegitimate child of a tradesman in a backwater town.

And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46

They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” John 7:52

There was nothing physically that drew others to Him, we are told that He was, at best, well … ordinary.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

What then drew others to Him and set the world on its ear? The anointing and authority He carried as He followed the Spirit and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide Him in all He said and did. But wait you say, “Jesus said He did only what He saw the Father do in heaven.” You are right, and I questioned that as well. When I did I heard, “Who do you think showed me what the Father was doing?”  Then I saw this verse in my spirit:

And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ^I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34

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That, my friend, is just what He desires for each of us. That we be consumed with desire for the Lover of Our Souls. That we follow His Holy Spirit in all that we say and do, that we worship Him, not professionally, but in Spirit and Truth. Let me be clear. I am not saying we should not give our best, rather that our best needs to be in its proper place. Let us follow the Spirit in all things, walking in truth as He reveals, so that like Jesus we may turn the world on its ear.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13

Selah

KHD 7/11/10

YouTube – I Fought For You By The Sound Tank

A great tribute. I pray we all respect and honor our armed forces. All too often we forget why they serve and what they have given up to do so. As a vet I remember those days, good times and bad, fun times and hard, times of rest and times of placing yourself in danger to keep others safe, or rescue others from danger. I hope you will take some time today (and every day) to honor the men and women who have sworn to protect you and your freedom with their very lives if necessary.

“…I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…” (Uniformed Services Oath of Office)

“Are You Entertained or Intertwined?”

Have you ever wondered why (for the most part) the church seemed bland and powerless? As I read this article I could not help but think that here was a part of the answer – a big part. I have  to confess I was and to a degree at least still “guilty as charged.”

No, we don’t go to church consciously seeking to be entertained, but how often do we judge the quality of the experience by how it made us feel – by how well we were entertained? Should our measurement of quality not be how many lives were touched and changed? How deeply we touched others and they touched us? How we were changed and conformed to His image?

I was challenged by this posting on the Elijah List and hope you will be as well.

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ^that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ^I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. The New King James Version. 1982 (John 17:20-23).

The ElijahList – Prophetic Words and Prophecies.

The Buying of Congress

I recently stumbled over the website for OpenSecrets.Org, and  found the information contained very interesting. I was astonished to learn that one of our candidates for the Senate (the incumbent) has raised 88% of his campaign funds from out of state. I suspect this is not unusual, although I have not checked every race it does seem to be the norm.Interestingly enough, this does not seem to be as big an issue with House candidates perhaps because there are more of them and they get elected for shorter terms.

All this raises the question “Who are they really representing?” It also makes me wonder if perhaps we were done a disservice by the 17th amendment which changed the selection of senators from: “…chosen by the Legislature thereof ….” to: “…elected by the people thereof ….“. The original idea was for the House to be elected for short terms by the people, sort of a populist/federal office, and the Senate to be appointed by the states themselves, thus protecting states rights, since the Senators would serve at the pleasure of the legislature. Is the answer to repeal the 17th amendment? I’m not sure, maybe. Perhaps the answer is in term limits. Again I am not sure. Food for thought though.

Could we just limit out of state spending? Perhaps, but it’s likely that the special interests and PACs would just find a way around the law. They always seem to in the end. Here is the link for those who wish to check this out for themselves. Just click on your state or select on in the box at the right top.

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/

Timing is Everything

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“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.  These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17: 10, 11

“…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” 1 Chronicles 12:32

We are in a day when it is not enough to be as the Bereans – searching and proving truth in the Word. Today we must also be as Issachar, recognizing the season, so we may position ourselves where we need to be.

Many times the timing and place we position ourselves determines “success or failure” both in the natural and in the supernatural. Did you ever wonder how those wide receivers make such spectacular plays? Well, many times it is simply a matter of timing, running to the right spot in the field in order to catch a ball thrown before they arrived. They spend hours practicing such plays so that they can execute them without flaw.

So too we must spend time practicing the presence of the Lord, knowing Him, Hearing Him, obeying Him so that we may learn to properly position ourselves to receive His favor, His miracles, His favor. His passes never miss their target. All we need to do is practice, learning His game plan. When we seek His ways and His timing, He’ll get the “ball” to us. Even if we are off a little, He will not miss the mark but put it right were we need it to “make the catch”.

So like the Bereans, study the playbook, and like Issachar, learn the timing (seasons) of the Lord.