Father, it is Your love we seek. Fill us with Your love. We are simple and hoping. We are reaching and touching. We are unworthy. You are worthy. You are love. Teach us to love.
Teach us to love the addict
Teach us to love the broken
Teach us to love the busted
Teach us to love the depressed
Teach us to love the suicidal
Teach us to love the angry
Teach us to love the violent
Teach us to love the adulterous
Teach us to love the ones trapped in sexual dysfunction
Teach us to love the anxious
Teach us to love the fearful
Teach us to love and desire the best of all possible for all with whom we come in contact
Teach us to leave our comfort and comfort the discomforted
Teach us to embrace the diseased and discouraged
Teach us to give attention to the lonely
Teach us to take of the resources You give us and share
Teach us to laugh with the brokenhearted
Teach us to dance with the crippled in soul
Teach us to love with no reserve
You promise to be with us in every act of love and mercy
You promise to receive us as we give a cup of cold water
You ask us to visit the prison and the sick room
You ask us to receive the little ones
Teach us to love when we think we have nothing left to give
Combined below are multiple prophetic words concerning this present revival going back to 2018. At the end is an hour long message of testimony and instruction of the Bible to see personal and community revival continuously from today and the rest of your life. Are you hungry? Read, listen, apply – see miracles in your heart and others.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
Romans 12:9 NLTto
Revival is not a church service. Get it? Please get it. It is not a facebook meme or a single spot event.
Revival is an individual heart change and commitment to Christ that results in behaviour conformed to Christ’s heart. Revival is about individuals who then commit not only to Christ but His family. When revival touches a heart, it moves into spiritual formation through becoming a disciple and follower of Christ.
My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. Ps 119:25 NKJV
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. Ps 119:37 NKJV
Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Ps 119:88 NKJV
Some refer to a large and visible move of God as revival. Most such moves begin in obscurity. It is hard for humility to prevail in our snap world. It is more likely for the Holy Spirit to build and develop a strong move in the alleys of a Pakistani city or a village of obscure Zimbabwe than a church building. For the last several days, the Holy Spirit selected an obscure campus in Kentucky to show Himself strong. From there, people have accepted the challenge to seek His presence and He is faithfully appearing strong in a variety of campuses in a variety of ways.
This present revival has been going on for over a year. A visible point popped up at Asbury recently. That’s great. Folks get excited about the snaps. It is in motion across many places but not any one is a birth point. It has be a joy of mine to be a part in Pakistan and Mexico. Hundreds have come to Christ in hard circumstance and radically changed lives. Faithful servants continue to press into hard fought beauty of God. I’ve walked alongside others in pray seeing supernatural expansion in India, Africa, Indonesia and more. There is certainly a worldwide struggle for revival to birth. Like an 8 month old baby in the womb, it wants to get out. At Asbury the head has crowned, but the baby has been in gestation for some time.
Get excited about a move of God in your heart, in an obscure place, across the world all at once. We don’t need another Azuza or Witchita or Kentucky or Wales or New England or New York or inception point. We need a worldwide breakout in a thousand locations at once. That is God’s heart. He will meet us in any way He can get our attention. He wants to invade millions of hearts in quiet prayer closets. He wants to erupt all at once everywhere.
Don’t schedule a trip to “the revival”. Lock in your prayer closet. Get involved in a home group. Bury your heart in His love and enjoy your personal revival alongside the saints with whom you fellowship.
The Holy Spirit is everywhere all at once in power. His word, His way, and His lovingkindness will revive.
Father, revive me according to your way, your word, your lovingkindness. Let deep expression of Your love in, through, and all around me in beautiful fellowship produce a revival.
Real Revival Comes in Many Forms
Step Into The Waters
More universities experience a tangible touch of the Holy Spirit. One common denominator is students hungry for God. Real hunger of this type is something the conviction of the Holy Spirit brings. We don’t make this happen he brings it to us. He awakens in us a hunger and fills it with faith and grace and mercy and love. The results will be the measure of how we respond. The results are not in the chapel room the results are in the dorm. The results will be how these students live their lives forward. The results will be how the world is changed.
Christians interested in revival should be looking at all aspects of the touch of the Holy Spirit. He does not limit himself to one style. How he will take this revival into the Mega churches will be different. How he takes his touch into the streets across the world is most different. We reported on some pieces of that yesterday. How he will impact our media and entertainment and political world is another thrust. How he will touch the business community is something different. All of these together become His revival.
The “he gets us” movement is a much a part of the revival as what is happening on the University campus. The Holy Spirit is convicting the world in significant undeniable ways. He is convicting this generation of leaders. He is convicting in the churches and things will be different.
All of us should be looking for personal touch. The steadfast love of the Lord never changes, his mercys never come to an end, he is new every morning, and his faithfulness is secure. Now is a great time for every Christian to seek the face of God’s love. It is a time to let judgment fall to the side. It is a time to open our hearts to ways he wants to show us that we have never seen. God showed his ways to Moses and his acts to the children of Israel. Don’t just learn his acts learn his ways. Deepen your personal connection with the Holy Spirit.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
Ps. 103:1-5, 7-8, 10, 13, 17 ESV
The Simple Message of Being Loved
Here’s a thought.. listen to the simple message of being loved and loving others. Respond. Let the Lord touch you.
Interestingly, this is the daily prayer that consumes me during the last three weeks of my recovery. In the night hours when I cannot sleep, I have prayed consistently that the love of Christ consume me. It has been an interesting time.
The Jesus Gets Me campaign has similar voice to acknowledge the love of God.
What is the Lord doing in and through you?
Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Ps 119:88 NKJV
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.
Ps 119:37 NKJV
My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
Ps 119:25 NKJV
RenewalIn My Heart
Considering the expressions of the Holy Spirit on college campuses, I find myself less interested in what is happening “over there” and more interested in what is happening in my personal life and renewal. I’ve been chair and bed bound in recovery from a surgery for 4 weeks now and have a lot of time to just pray, listen, seek.
Morning Moment group post devotions daily for the worldwide church, I put the word “revive” in a search against the group posts and found a nugget from 2021 about ‘this present revival’.
Like many, I came to Christ in the last sweeping revival of the Charismatic renewal in the 70’s. I came into the kingdom speaking in tongues through a small group on a college campus. Miracles are a regular experience. The tangible presence of God is normal and maybe too common. In ministry I’ve watched many times the power of God sweep and touch every person in churches, living rooms, corporate meeting rooms, alleyways, and tents. Bur most of all I cry for personal reset.
I look for His renewal. I look to escape the fog and connect at a greater level than before. I don’t want to go back to any point. I look forward.
This present revival – RESET (Dec 2021)
In the early days of personal computers, the software provided a blue screen of death when the system crashed. It might give you a hint as to what was wrong or just frustrate the bejeebers out of of you. Either way, it told you that the system needed reset. Today, most computers just lock up and quit responding. You have to figure out on your own that it is hosed up. In the early days, it was simple. The systems were simpler. There was less happening. Today, there is so much going on in the background, it just locks up. Maybe your life is just locked up. The screen moves a little more slowly. The brightness is not there. A little rotating thingee tells you something is not right. Relationships are hung up. Financial future looks dim. You just never feel clean and ready for the next thing. You need a reset.
“My earthly life clings to the dust; Revive and refresh me according to Your word.”
Psalms 119:25 AMP
“I am greatly afflicted; Renew and revive me [giving me life], O Lord, according to Your word.”
Psalms 119:107 AMP
“Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me and give me life according to [the promise of] Your word.”
Psalms 119:154 AMP
“Great are Your tender mercies and steadfast love, O Lord; Revive me and give me life according to Your ordinances.”
Psalms 119:156 AMP
“Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me and give me life, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.”
Psalms 119:159 AMP
One theme of Psalm 119 is revival, refreshed life, increased understanding, blossoming power, improved love, comfort and consolation and new energy and anointing.
The writer does a great job providing word pictures. My life clings to the dust. I don’t seem to be going anywhere. The world is more real than God’s love and the hope of a better life forward. I am greatly afflicted. Depression has set in. My mind wanders and can’t make decisions. Anxiety holds me back and pushes aggression towards those I love and those I hate.
I need a reset.
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.”
Ephesians 5:18 AMP
“And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their hearts and souls] with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 13:52 AMP
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.”
Romans 15:13 AMP
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 AMP
One theme of the New Testament is a continual experience and infilling of the Holy Spirit. These two go together. The revival according to His word, His ordinances, and His lovingkindness is what the Holy Spirit does. He reaches into the heart of the Father and pours in and through us His Holy Spirit.
Like the writer in Psalm 119, we find connection points. We are hell bound to follow the path of media induced insanity wanting perfect physical beauty, governmental financial security, politics my way or the highway. We are drunk with the world and need the infilling of the Holy Spirit to break us free. We need His fellowship, His guidance, His refreshing. No one thing stands out but we are in a spin.
I need a reset.
In this present revival, the Lord point us to basics. The Bible, salvation through the sacrifice of Christ not our works, right living to bring about a right world of His kingdom in our personal and public lives, the continual infilling of His Holy Spirit that empowers and illuminates our path.
Be filled
Be revived
Be refreshed
Be renewed
Be reset
Father, I need a reset. I’ve bought into so many lies that I wonder about the truth. The press of media from all sides presents the world in constant battle. Yes, it is in constant battle. But You are in constant fellowship. Let me choose a reset. Let me get back to the basic message of salvation in Christ and the power to live a good life in the anointing of Your Holy Spirit. Let Your words of truth be a lamp in the darkness. Help me to push through the smoke and coffee klatch and fancy fine singing and charismatic crafted messaging. Reset me to see Your love, Your compassion, Your kindness ,Your freedom, Your hope, Your restoration, Your forgiveness. Push me past the emotional manipulation into a face to face encounter with Christ. I need a rest. The church needs a reset. We all need a reset.
Tuesday revival notes.. consistent effort. Nov 2021
Forward focus… I just finished settling in a new office and training center. It looks cool. I needed a studio to do tapings and live groups and meet with folks and pray.
What is your vison?
As I sat down I opened a file from early ministry. A typed note and some pictures. The original vision and scriptures that have guided me since 1976. In all my boxes it is the only file that is here. So, the Lord must want my attention to it.
No matter where I minister this week, Gaineville Tx, Yukon Ok, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, India Matamoros Mx, Pakistan and more the focus is the same. “Bringing Spiritual Food for Strength”.
This week I am in all these places face to face in person, by phone, zoom, and skype. Teaching pastors, evangelizing, casting out demons, praying for the sick, working with folks on probation. “Bringing Spiritual Food for Strength”. Making disciples.
1983 the vision statement – groups in prison and at work
1984 flag float witnessing in Yukon with a house church
1985 warrior float Yukon house church
1986/87 old restaurant on 66 in El Reno – community group
This present revival belongs to the young and the old. Those that have kept the faith, prepare to see more than all you have seen. Those that are just starting, get busy, the adventure is great.
This present revival is marked by consistent effort.
Morning Moment: Staying Revived Feb 2020
The last few months have been intense. Death has taken too many friends. Disaster has attached too many friends. Disease plagues our globe. Yet, the word of the Lord is hidden in my heart that I might not sin with doubt.
Psalm 19 popped up in my Bible reader this morning. Do you start every day in the Bible? Your should. No matter if I am up early or late, I put on coffee and sit down with my Bible and the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday, the guiding thought of the day was to economize my efforts. Work only on what I feel the Holy Spirit will cause to grow strong. That is not how He always guides me, but it is His instruction to me this day. There is much in the Bible. I work on one idea at a time. The day before He spoke to be strong and courageous and reminded me that He personally was going in front of me to make my path successful. One thought, one day at a time.
Take the first line of this second half of Psalm 19. I have memorized and rememorized this section many times over the years. There is a lyric to it that is an amazing comfort. You can find it here. https://youtu.be/F-ykfw3-i7s
“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. “ The soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Want energy and vibrancy in your thoughts and attitudes and beliefs? Then meditate on God’s instructions daily. Now there are many portions of the Bible, but the instructions to me are areas like Psalms and Proverbs and the sermon on the mount and teachings of Jesus. Get some instruction daily and put it into action. You will think more clearly, act more distinctly, and see a better life unfold daily.
Sing with it. Tamp it into your souls. For years the last verse was printed and hanging at my desk so I would see it every day, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” If those who call on Christ prayed that every day our political landscape would clean up in 90 days, our families would settle into strength, and our friendships would be more full. It instructs me to guard my thoughts and take out junk, accusations, worry, blame shifting, awefullizing, whining, complaining, fear mongering, and get full of love, joy, peace, patience, hope, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control. It instructs me to come alongside whatever is pure and just and true and holy, it there be any praise, any excellency to think on these things. Instructs me to cast out fear for the Lord of all is with me. It instructs me to remember that everyone deserves the next chance to change not just a second chance.
Someone said, “Revival is coming.” Let me correct that, “Revival is here.” The word of the Lord is revival when applied. Revival is not a pink sign in the front yard of a church or an event to which we go and gawk or a facebook emotional moment. Revival is allowing the instructions of God to guide your next step one moment and one day at a time. And that option is available now and always, it does not come and go. He comes to stay. Keep your conversation with Him vibrant and obedient and thoughtful. Be revived.
This present revival. MOMENTUM January 2022
What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of human nature.
Galatians 5:16 GNT
Human nature is selfish, fearful, greedy, and pursues personal want and gains… The Holy Spirit is full of faith, hope, and love.
The contrast is as true in ministry as in business and family and friendships. Mostly we do what we do because we want to do it. Our human nature tells us what to pursue and off we go. And then we blame the result on God.
Consider this morning the momentum of God vs the momentum of human effort. Stop what you are doing. Just stop it. Then get in the momentum stream of the Holy Spirit.
In my darkest moments, when I want to quit the pursuit if God and return to my own energy and desires, I tell myself, “Someone prayed, and God sent me as a piece of the answer. Be faithful in this little and leave the big results to the Lord. I will do what I can and trust His bigger plan. Stay in the stream of His momentum.”
Where is the Lord carrying momentum in the streams of your life? Get in that flow. Get in His momentum.
Where is simple human energy carrying me forward? Is this a desire of the Lord for me? I am human so human is ok. But is this a part of human He wants for me? Commit the simple human flow into His hands along with the anointed God flow. Get in His momentum.
What is the momentum He is supporting?
You won’t get that answer in a book or a sermon. You will need to talk to Him every morning, noon, and night. Get in His momentum.
If you are at a country dance where the Texas two-step fit the music, it is not a suitable time to do ballet. Your momentum is off and uncoordinated with the band. What music is the Holy Spirit playing around you? Get in His momentum.
Don’t fight it. The timing may be different than your customary human nature wants. The flow may seem stilted for a season as we adapt. Get in His momentum. He will carry us through when it is Him and not our human self-center. And He will carry us through even when we struggle as long as we stay connected, step on toes, trip up the dance floor, and give Him the lead as we learn. His momentum keeps us.
Father, I just want to dance Your dance and let momentum of the Holy Spirit carry me. Don’t let me step on too many toes as I learn. Keep me close. Thanks, Lord.
This present revival.. SUSTAIN Jan 2022
“But it is you, a man my equal and my counsel, My companion and my familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together, Who walked to the house of God in company. As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.”
Psalms 55:13-14, 16-18 AMP
Life gives us many opportunities to be refreshed and restrained. Sometimes they come together. A restraint imposed by one we love and serve can be an act of compassion and training or it can be malicious. In each situation, we are wise to call out to the Lord to distinguish. The Lord will refresh us in either should we trust and rely on Him. He will use hardship to bring us to peace. He sustains those that turn to Him.
This year, I enter the 40th year of commissioned ministry. There are restraints of compassion, ageing, and attack. Yet, no restraint can hold me back. They cannot hold back from the walk the Lord has designed. The influence and impact of my life is a culmination and grows greater with every step. Though the steps are slower they are not too slow. Though the steps are heavier, they are not too heavy. Though the steps are more painful, they are not too painful. He sustains those that turn to Him.
The steps are slower as they must consider the influence more. The steps are heavier because they have greater impact. The steps are more painful because they carry the burdens of more people. The steps are sustained because they rely more on Him. He sustains those that turn to Him.
When the Lord selected this psalm for us this morning, I wondered what He wanted to say. Each morning, my first habit is to open, listen to Him, and reflect to you. It is a prophetic prayer habit that is a portion of my call and commission. Many think of prayer as intercession for removal of situations. I consider prayer as a launch pad of immersion in His will. Where does He want us to go? What is He doing today so they we can walk alongside? How can I become stronger in Him? He sustains those that turn to Him.
Consider the surroundings of these promises. The psalmist has been attacked and restrained by someone he loves and has served. It is a malicious restraint and attack. He turns to the judge of the universe for relief. He goes to the Father for release. He opens the path of his life to the hands of the Lord for direction. And the Lord is on his side. The Lord is in motion. The Lord is the defender. He, the Lord, sustains those that turn to Him.
Consider the surroundings of your walk. This is the 46th year of my committed walk with the Lord and the 40th year of commissioned ministry. Whether you walk with Him for a month or 5 decades, He refreshes your soul. Whether you carry the burdens of mistaken living and imperfect obedience or just the weight of daily duties or the cross and cause of Christ or the attack of a friend, He refreshes your soul. And He will refresh you, release you, and renew you over and over and over that you may dance in the light of His love forever.
Let’s pray: Father, refresh our soul. Sparkle in our eyes. Cause the strength of our life to become greater with every step. Enable us to carry more weight with less effort. Send us into the world and keep us from becoming of this world. Separate us from those people and situations that are too heavy and are of a malicious intent. Deliver us from evil. Lead us not into temptation. Give us this day our daily bread. And, we will dance with refreshed hope, increased faith, and greater love. You, oh Lord, sustain those that turn to You.
Morning Moment : Revive Me Nov 2018
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things And revive me in Your way.
Psalms 119:37 NKJV
Revival does not happen in churches. Revival happens in hearts.
Consider the walk and way of Jesus. His miracles happened in the streets. Articles talk about revival as if it were something for a church meeting.
In this picture all eyes are turned to the one booth, where a child is playing. For a moment, Jesus has the attention of all. We invited hundreds to come meet Him that day. We were in the marketplace. He had people’s attention. No heads were bowed. No eyes were closed. Everyone was looking.
Pentecost happened in an outdoor courtyard. Should we look for revival at the farmer’s market?
The five thousand were fed on a hillside. Should we look for revival in a pumpkin patch?
The Gadarene demonizes were revived by gravestones. Should we seek revival in the cemetery?
The woman was met and revived by a water well. Should we look for revival in the coffee shop?
The man was healed as his friends let him down through the roof. Should we look for revival on our front porch?
Should we look in our hearts? We should pay attention to the one person in front of us and worry less about the many we do not know?
Be revived. He is near to all who call out.
Revival Tips Oct 2019
The first four actions birthed in prayer
1. People stir up the fire and action of the Holy Spirit in personal life and witness
2. Leaders release and enable the people and step to positions of empowerment not control.
3. All open to the voice of God announcing the fresh move. God is God.
4. Islands come together across lines to work jointly while honoring the distinctiveness of each.
Shortly after this message, we gathered in community prayer for 3 hours. A few months later COVID closed so much and antagonistic separation came across the nation. We went underground working with folks on probation and parole. Now the Holy Spirit is saying, “The windows of heaven are open. Engage”
Being a tad sensitive to pounding bass that vibrates my teeth and organs, I choose the vibrating chairs in the foyer.. last two attempts made me physically sick at the int3nsity of vibration.. I can control volume with my bionic ears, but not the vibration
this means I can’t enter into singing worship, which I thrive on. maybe if the turned the foyer screens toward the chairs
public water baptism is cool.. a key part of faith and community
the greeters were friendly and a a today. usually cold and taking to each other.. not as gauntlet intimidating but space to allow for people to enter without being blocked
good parking available today even with a good crowd in services
coffee and tea bar bustling
yuppieville
foyer is so loud, no ability to visit with a member, greeter, pastor, group leader
I’ve tried emailing a few times and never got a response ..
After 42 years of ministry, I am churchless. Really the whole chuch thang is not inviting. So join with me in a fresh search. I am going to be dropping in an odd assortment of places and looking for connection. All the stuff is stiff and has no appeal. Looking for real people worshipping a real God in community I can join as I am.
connection of people of all ages and all stages
worship that touches God’s heart
heart for local and remote missions
day one cc.. worship was good and gifted but nonparticipatory
communion..Communion… simple and heartfelt..
Biblically focused
calm and quiet congregation.. friendly faces, easy to approach
not full gospel but Spirit inspired.. you can find Jesus here
In prayer for you this morning. The impact of second chapter of Ephesians covers many areas. One of those is grace. Grace is greatly misunderstood among legalistic Christians. That results in many unanswered prayers and many illicit assumptions of others. The one who lives by grace has opportunities to love and enjoy.
In the book, BY GRACE: Passion for People in Community, we explore the varieties in the kingdom through stories based on experiences in outreach and fellowship. Kingdom living includes pain and progress and problems and power. All of that and all the types of people are for our joy. Only by grace do we enjoy them.
What does grace do? . Brings us the love of God . Raises us together . Seats us in the heavenlies alongside Jesus . Provides a future of hope and power . Overwhelms us with kindness . Rescues us from ourselves . Crafts us for usefulness in the kingdom . Makes us family And grace does all this through no earnings. We do not earn any of this. Our actions are useless in acquiring any of this.
Let’s list the things that are useless in the economy of grace . Church attendance out of duty and habit . Tithing because of the regulations . Serving in front of others for approval . Positions of power such as pastor, bishop, deacon, elder, apostle, prophet
Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! Really. Are not those the focus of the church? No, they are the focus of the flesh.
Let’s list the things that are wonderful in the economy of grace . Speaking words of encouragement to the downhearted . Visiting the sick and imprisoned and probationer with compassion . Church attendance for fellowship and sharing love and worship . Giving out of a heart of joy and thankfulness . Serving as a normal part of being in the family and loving others . The least of these . A life of Christian discipleship following Christ . Prayers that get answered and those that don’t . Fellowship with the Holy Spirit
Today, I speak GRACE over you. I remember when I failed another and failed offer grace. I remember the Lord continued to love and build me and so He does you.
Let’s Pray: Father, we come as sinners saved by grace. We are not ashamed. We are completed in Christ. We are competent in Christ. We are crowned in Christ. All by grace. Our money means nothing. Our position means nothing. Our accomplishments mean nothing. You have bestowed on us goodness and glory simply out of Your motivation of love. Thank you. Father, let us extend grace to others. Help us to see the one that is struggling and come alongside. Help us to extend forgiveness and trust and reconciliation to another that has no hope and no expectation of good. Help us remember we have earned nothing, will earn nothing, and have no value outside of Your grace. Help us remember our failure to live up to Your holiness when the one beside us falls and fails. Let us come alongside like You in the days of destruction and be instruments of grace.
We are family You are loved Jesus is Our Grace Giver
Pastor Phil Larson
“among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:3-4, 6-8, 10 NKJV
In my cup collection is one of annual cups for AFPRESS, a concept company extension of a larger insurance corporation. The cup and the year were titled Breaking Barriers. Other executives mocked us openly. The venture was not popular because it challenged the norm, it threatened mediocrity. And of course, because it worked. A small group of staff written off as failures went on to grow from falling to $4.5mm worth of retail digital print publishing in a falling industry. Indeed, they broke many barriers of customer service, production, quality, and quantity. Barriers mostly are mental impositions created by small vision. They can be broken.
Oh, the reason I wrote this article? I’ve been working with some pastors on getting that plateau busting in motion. As part of that, I put together a quick starter that takes about 30 minutes MINISTRY METRIC MATRIX OF GROWTH. The MMM is FREEEE. I like pastors. I like local churches.
Throughout my menagerie room are similar cups and momentos. Consider the “Year of The Plan” for C.R. Anthony corporation where we shocked the courts and pulled a company out of chapter 11 bankruptcy in 18 months and became profitable and lithe. That was a fun set of barriers to break. Then there is the “Best Place to Work in IT” award from ComputerWorld, where our director team led in outstanding recognition. A great memory was leading alongside others in a pastoral team to see a plateued non-profit move from 1500 membership to 5500 membership and move from being 99% white to completely multi-cultural where no one racial heritage was 51%.
That non-profit/church breakthrough took 3 years. In fact most breakthroughs in which I’ve participated took about 3 years. Whether it was retail, insurance, non-profit, or healthcare, the breakthroughs have a pattern. My fourth major book, STUMBLING INTO MIRACLES outlines personal progressions involved in those breakthroughs. It will take you to see many individual barrier breakthroughs that we see today in SOLUM working with folks struggling through the I’ve HAAAAD It! Hopelessness, anger, addiction, abuse, anxiety, and depression are horried barriers. Developing a systematic workshop to apply to those has been a great and fulfilling journey. It isn’t a book, but a personnally mentored workshop. But then the other three, TIME TO LEAD (community and culture), BY GRACE (churches) , and MANAGE WELL (corporate departments and entrepreneurial efforts) all have similar themes. Breaking barriers is not easy, but it has some commonalities in personal life and business and community endeavors. And if you are a person of prayer TRANSFORMER’S PRAYER is a good quick place to start.
So, why write so much about barrier breaking transformation? Why help others? Why take on giants instead of just living mundane? Because it can be done and you can do it. We are working on a huge barrier now that we have broken in one place and want to extend to many. It only took a few years to break the barrier, but now we are looking to break nationwide. SOLUM is the flagship of that breakthrough.
Are you ready for the commonalities? No matter the industry or endeavor, I’ve found a few.
Inventory What Is. Too often we apply change before we apply understanding. Covey tells us, “Seek first to understand before you seek to be understood.” Yes. Even better seek first to understand before you seek to pose a solution. You may be totally off base in what you know. A production group was off target by 14 hours a day. They were supposed to hit target at 7am daily and were hitting at 9pm. What a mess. Inventory and a little sorting and structuring took out the excess and put production on target consistently.
Determine the objective in measureable terms. How often I ‘ve gone into a corporate fix to find out the owners did not have a clear objective for the team attempting to perform the impossible task of hitting an invisible and moving target. Pshaw! Quit treating people that way. Get deep. Figure out the target and make it clear to everyone involved. Even in church work, we figured out the key metrics both tangible and intangible and watched them as they helped us reach our greater goal.
Inspect what you expect. Expect what you inspect. As you apply small changes implement tracking tools that require little effort. People spending time on tracking tools are not spending time on what they are attempting to accomplish. One team set impossible objectives for production and celebrated as percentages were clicked off on the way to the top goal that they did reach.
Enjoy the journey. Celebrate milestones. A team of printers had a great time when a customer, who had expressed disdain openly, awarded them a big party when they reached 100% of the customer’s business with joy. Cool, huh! My wife bought me a white cap with 100 on it. The naysayers just grumbled, but we celebrated.
That’s it. You can go read a book full of other markers and information by selecting any of those referenced or change your life by following the I’ve HAAAAD It! link. But working on these four major attention items will get you in quick and reliable motion.
Keep your eye peeled as we break through national barriers. Better than that, break through your own. If you’d like, I’d be happy to do a one-one coaching session with you for personal barrier breaking. I’m not free. But I’m good. No brag. Just fact.
Oh, the reason I wrote this article? I’ve been working with some pastors on getting that plateau busting in motion. As part of that, I put together a quick starter that takes about 30 minutes MINISTRY METRIC MATRIX OF GROWTH. The MMM is FREEEE. I like pastors. I like local churches.
For some odd reason for the last week, I have been carrying a wooden turtle given to me by Van, a coworker. Van immigrated from Vietnam and found it hard to get a job due to his struggling English. I gave Van a job in our digital print shop with the challenge to him and the team to find a way to work it out. He worked hard to adapt and became a stellar performer and team member. In his birth culture, the turtle is a sign of wisdom. I cherish the gift. Van merged and so did the team.
Finding joy can be one of the most frustrating journeys for any of us. Joy is not happiness. Joy is an abiding sense of security based on our condition of humanity. Yes, being human predisposes us to joy. Well then what happens?
What happens is the accumulation of negative influences in our environment coupled with our choices to participate in pain and angst. Our genetic predisposition to negative or positive plays a role. The examples from our core family and friends plays a role. Ultimately, with all of that together, we still own the final choice of joy or junk thinking and feeling and acting.
In Conquer Your Anger Take Back Control of Your Future, this week, our current team is studying CORE VALUE. Dr. Steven Stosney has done tremendous work with thousands of participants reversing incredible levels of unjoy and violence. The elements of CORE VALUE that are inherent in our creation as humans and distinguish us from every other animal sometimes get covered with dust and shadows and we forget of what we are made. Bring those to the front of your conscience and improve, appreciate, protect, and nurture them and you find an abiding joy has been there all along. From where does it come?
It comes from your DNA. You are designed for joy. Life gets in the way, but you were designed for joy. You are designed to press through hardship and discover that joy deep in the wells of life and in your spiritual quest. The balance of mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical brings you to discover joy. That spiritual quest is one we tend to ignore until we can no longer find solace in any other solution.
The other solution is spiritual. Some choose to engage in spiritual quests in nature, the cosmos, various religions, and even humanism or worship of self. A spiritual quest happens outside of us. It is acknowledging that we are only a small part of this created order and the immensity beyond us.
“To move from one unselfish action to another with god in mind. Only there, delight and stillness.” (Marcus Aurelius)
Aurelius did not mean God in the sense that I mean God. His quest was spiritual. But he looked to an amorphous god with a little g that meant all that is in the universe compiled to give us sense and purpose and order. I look to the Creator of all that sense and purpose and order. Others have a different sense of spirituality. Nonetheless, modern psychology tells us you will be hard pressed to find any lasting joy with a spiritual quest. It will attach and detach based on circumstance instead of a solid foundation.
So the following is a part of my spiritual quest this morning. These quotes span a course of 3000 years of success in spiritual significance. Take it or leave it. Our condition of joy comes from what Dr. Ruby Payne points to the studies of Dr. Bandura, noted social psychologist, that our core internal cognitions (thinking) stem from a mix of the demands of environment, relationships and knowlege, and resources. And yes, she and those working with her point back to a need for the spiritual quest to become a part of that triad of influence to reach joy and fulfillment.
Joy is not some fleeting fleck of fickled fate feature. Joy is eternal. Joy is a deep and abiding substance that sustains surviving storms. You have joy. If you have Christ, you have joy. You have joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Let the words of those who have gone before in spirited by the Holy Spirit inspire joy to bubble up from within the well of salvation.
“Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.”
Certainly, the sun that warms and feeds life to plant and animal along with the shield of grace belong to us. In days of depression, let the light of joy shine through the dark shroud of deceit and denial.
“Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.”
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. These words were added to the core Serenity Prayer handed down through the ages in many forms until Reinhold Niebuhr placed them in legacy order. There is nothing new under the sun, but a crafting in a manner that touches us is wonderful. Take it to heart to give glory to God’s name and watch Him do the wonderful with the life in front of you so filled with pain and problems.
Excited to join wth you.. here is an invitation you can send to a friend also..Your mission – is to engage in a 12 week study of the job description of the Holy Spirit in order that you will get closer to God, hear the voice of the Holy Spirit with clarity for your life and ministry, and refresh your experience as a living temple of His power and grace The Job Description of the Holy Spirit – course has started and is open… Register and get started http://bit.ly/2021SpringHolySpirit The next zoom will be April 6th at 6pm CST… At that zoom we’ll discuss the first four week’s of study with each other. Rev Phil.. this is my digtial cell/text line
When I was a kid, I drank Clorox straight from the bottle. Yes, I did. Here I am alive to tell you. The fiery bleach seared my throat and left me mute. How did it happen?
Watching my older brothers in the back bedroom, I thought I saw them drinking from the bottle of Clorox on the counter. Everyone wants to be like the older brother, right? That is not always a good thing, but we do what we see and think we know.
So, I snuck into the room alone and drank the Clorox. Immediately, I knew I was in big trouble. I could not speak and wondered how long I would live. I took a full glass down. I swigged it.
All I could do was stand at the window, tears streaming, gasping to breath and make frantic motions to my family all gathered out back of the house outside. It took a few minutes of hand signs to explain what I had done and I was rushed to the hospital in our small rural town.
The doctor had me drinking milk. That was it. Drink milk. Counter the poison. Put out the fire of mistaken living.
There is a moral in this story. One: We do what we think we know by observation. Just because you think it doesn’t mean it is true. Two: Redemption is available with counter agents if we don’t die first. Three: Alone we are doomed.
What would have happened if my family responded the way counter culture and tech bullying and hard core nationalism responds today? I would have died. Simple. “Well, stupid, why did you think that? We are turning our backs on you and locking you out of our lives.”
And that is where we are in our human family today. We turn our backs, label, define life in black and white, either or, right and wrong, my way or the highway, and leave our neighbor to die.
Dr. Daniel Amen has done phenomenal work in identifying ANTs, automatic negative thoughts, and ways to stomp them. Thanks, Dr. You provide milk for the Clorox drinkers, love for hate, recovery for mistaken living and imperfect obedience. Check his approach out.
You see, I was just obeying the example observed and receiving of the cure provided. I think my higher than usual voice octaves date to that day. I can sing some pretty high notes. Maybe the Clorox helped me in my growth and abilities.
When one of my kids ate a poisonous toadstool from the backyard, the answer was charcoal not milk. When my granddaughter ate her wood popsicle stick, it took a wait and see solution. Every poison needs a different response, but ignoring and punishing for a simple mistake is insane. I like my kids. I want them to live and learn.
We are explorers. We test ideas and actions against our environment. Sometimes those tests are injurious to ourselves and others and need correction. I doubt if a doctor today would prescribe milk for Clorox, or maybe the solution still stands. But he or she would give a counter agent.
Some folks drank the Clorox and never got the milk. Pouring more Clorox down their throat with cancel culture, tech bullying, and hard core nationalism won’t help anyone. Some folks are still drinking Clorox and think that if they kill 99.9% of what they don’t like it will somehow make life sweeter. It will just make life less appealing to our children’s children and kill us in the process. We need a little milk of human kindness.
This morning I read from the notes of Reinhold Niebuhr, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus. For Jesus, I read Matthew 5. A strange realization hit me when I read in this context of Niebuhr in the 1920s looking into the face of industrialization and war’s aftermath and the poverty of our souls. At the same time reading King in the 1950s and the face of a wealthy nation and war’s aftermath and a new war on the horizon. At the same time reading Jesus in the 0000s looking into the face of the prosperous Roman Empire brought on by war and rancid religion that ignored the plight of the people. All three seemed to face the same factors and proposed similar solutions.
What is evident in all three is their consistent demand that in confrontation with evils of injustice and unnecessary poverty they demand we love our enemies into redemption and never settle for status quo. Justice is an eternal pursuit that must be engaged with passion.
For decades I read Matthew chapter five with the filtered glasses of evangelical gospel expansion. This morning the pundits plaster on social media, “The nation needs God. That is the only answer.” Yet, they claim they have God and it is providing no answer. Ouch. No one is more convinced that our answer lies in God’s grace extended through us into the world. But finger pointing people to a godless God, a vacuous entity is not an answer, but a fund raising technique. God gets involved. God requires justice. God looks the hoarding rich politicians with their burgeoning incomes and lifelong pensions and healthcare and large business owners receiving 500 times the remuneration of a worker and says, “You are out of line. You pursue sinfulness and greed and gain and power and leave the lonely and the lost and the languishing in the street.” He isn’t happy with all this mess. Do we really want Him to step into it and sort it out? Maybe not.
But for Niebuhr and King and Jesus, they want God to step into us and sort it out. Yes, they want God to step into us and act out through us. You see in Matthew 5 Jesus was a drill sergeant at boot camp not a glassy eyed pacifist. His instructions set the tone for these two others to come along later and put it into 1920s and 1950s context. What Jesus is saying is “Get out there and resist the hell that lives in your streets. Demand right treatment of all in the name of the Father. Don’t force it on others, but never relax your demand. When you are persecuted, and you will be persecuted, then fight back with love that so wants the enemy to become a friend, he is thwarted in his hate.” Go and read it and let me know if that is not what He is saying. He is preparing a team that will later stand in the streets empowered by His Holy Spirit and take beatings while demanding justice with a clear light shining in darkness.
Our world is dark. We need a Niebuhr, a King, a Jesus follower to give clarity. We are far from it. The pontificating religious voice reeks of let me keep my money and power and you can have yours when I am gone. It does not speak of serving or sacrificing as is commanded by the life of Christ. It speaks of hoarding and rightness and pride. The protesting voice speaks of taking and stealing from others with anger and aggression. It does not serve its way into change. The political voice slithers and stacks up power and money while throwing out high sounding changes that have little to no effect on the disenfranchised and downcast. The prosperous business capital voice speaks of freedom for itself but an unjust and unrighteous distribution of benefit from enterprise. And God would love to do some sorting if we let Him. But He will do it through us. That is the message of Jesus. God came down in man and said, “Go get it done. My kingdom come. My will be done. On earth through you as it is in heaven through the angels.”
So, yes, we need God. We need to live His life into our streets. We need to sacrifice and serve against the force of evil greed and gain and glory. We need to overcome evil with good. We need to love the enemies of justice and mercy into lives of justice and mercy. It is just treatment of our brothers and sisters we seek. It is merciful attention of our brothers and sisters we seek. And that means resistance to unjust and unmerciful systems, while loving the ones that hold the reins.
That is a tall order, Jesus. Martin and Reinhold, do you really think it can work to the next level? We are further in the journey, but mankind has a sinful and immoral heart that keeps coming back to the same stuff over and over.
We clamor with climate change while drug addictions plague a more heinous future impact. We banter over schools while the family front is torn with tension and violence and desperation and lack of attention. We promise payments when meaningful work and a respectful environment of fair remuneration is avoided and leaves dignity in the ditch. We hoard great wealth into the accounts of protest and rights organization while payday loans strip the meat off the bones of the poor and anxiety and depression escalate to epidemic. We wail over walls while imprisoning our sons and daughters for generations in the most incarcerated nation on the planet for no more than a bad Friday night of escape.
What will we do? How will we serve and sacrifice our way into a more just and merciful community?
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus was not calling for us to sit on the sidelines and pray for those that live injustice and an onerous overlording of the people. He was calling us to confront with a deep concern for their souls. For if they do not come to a knowledge of truth, they damn their own souls. He is calling for us to come together in community with all concerned for all.
“To the degree I harm my brother, no matter what he is doing to me, to that extent I harm myself.” Martin Luther King, Jr 1958
“The church does not seem to realize how unethical a conventionally respectable life may be.” Reinhold Niebuhr 1926
“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus, the Christ 0032
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