Get Outside The Reach @Christmas

December 19, 2012 by Phil Larson

Usual travels this week include a trip from OKC to Matamoros and back again. Sort of a Bilbo Baggins adventure. Though, I’m not sure which end is the Shire. Raul and I certainly don’t look like Hobbits even though we might have hairyness.

This year, I am staying home. Raul and Abdiel are in Matamoros. Fiero will take another load of toys today. I will watch the star from afar and trust the wise men to do the job.

Why do we do this? Why have we connected with this congregation in Matamoros called CAREVI? Why don’t we just stay home instead of drive for 12 hours one way? What is the purpose?

Get Outside Your Self…

A big reason is to stay outside of ourselves. It is easy to go downtown and deliver gifts to kids who have more on a poor day than some kids in Matamoros on a rich day. Ever watched a kid who has never opened a new box open a new toy? Used stuff really is not the focus. But getting a new toy in the box is an amazing experience for some of these kids. Sure, I’ve helped a little and my wife has helped a lot right here in OKC with families needing Christmas. Yet, they have so much even when they have little.

Get Outside Your Comfort

There is a need to be uncomfortable. Our lives have little real sacrifice. Try driving toys across an armed border knowing you will drive past military and cartel operations just to bless someone. A little unnerving. We need to be unnerved. We need to remember. We need to think about the chaos our comfortable, drugged, entertainment, make me happy culture in the US creates to sustain. All of those guns and threats exist to supply US entertainment and leisure. Hmmmm

Get Outside The Reach

Sometimes we need to see the miraculous. How in this world doe multiple churches and business professionals in OKC come together to support folks in Matamoros? Black and Latino and White churches here; Baptist and Nazarene and Full Gospel churches here; join and bless with gifts and gospel folks they will never meet.

Return

Then we come home. Then we live with memories and facebook connections in between. Sure I get to stay connected unlike missions works in the old days. But it doesn’t smell the same. It does not taste the same. It does not love the same. Sorry, I can’t hug a facebook post. I can hug a friend, a child, a cohort, a fellow human on the journey.

That is Christmas

There you go. That is Christmas.

Jesus went outside Himself and became an extension in humanity.

Jesus went outside His comfort zone in the throne room and stepped into an earth zone.

Jesus went outside the heavens and touched the earth, where we live in sin and destruction disturbing His intended peaceful creation.

Jesus returned to heaven; yet, He stays connected with us. He is more powerful than facebook. He takes up residence in hearts and stays even though He returned.

Guess That’s Why

I guess reliving that journey of Christ every year is what drives me and the team. Thanks for sending us. Thanks for allowing us.

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Raise Your Eyes

December 9, 2012 by Phil Larson

Watching a group approach God with heads bowed, a thought struck me. It is good to humble ourselves before a mighty God. It is also good to approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence as a received and favored child of God.

So, raise your face for a moment. Look into the kind and loving Father face of God.

We are not prideful, but we are purposeful.
We are not egotistic, but we are energized.
We are not overconfident, yet we are courageous.
We are the head and not the tail. We are the lender and not the borrower.
We are the leaders set in place of God.
What we do prospers.
What we think is established.
What we speak is encouragement.
God lives in us, with us, before us, and behind us.
Of one thing we are sure. He is our good and gracious and encouraging Father Forever.

Finding Energy For Living

November 21, 2012 by Phil Larson

In Ephesians 3 Paul breaks into prayer for those to whom he is writing. I get like that sometimes. When thinking about others and laying out plans for a next step, my mind and heart break into prayer. It is habit. It is a developed habit. Hopefully, it is a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being

In the middle of the chapter and a long thought sequence on the unity of believers in Christ, we find an enormously useful prayer encouragement. It is a pure power prayer meant to impact lives. This is not a wimpy prayer. This is power. I would love someone to pray this prayer for me on a regular basis.

The first part is all about health.

out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being

Every one of us needs energy to get our lives in motion. Every one of us needs energy to overcome lethargy of disappointments and discouragements and diseases. Every one of us needs energy.

Energy can come from the synergy of the Holy Spirit filling and activating us. In a service in Matamoros, a pastor asked for prayer. As I prayed for him and his wife, the energy of the Holy Spirit lifted me. Praying for him, I was energized. After three intensive days on my feet in the church and in the street, I was tired. That moment lifted me into a new realm of energy and the rest of the service went by rapidly.

Going to bed can be a laborious ritual for some of us. Not much energy in getting ready to sleep. But going to bed on a tough day saps expectation of joy for the new morning. I don’t like to sleep until I know I will wake with energy and expectation. Right before I go to sleep I am motivated to stir up the Holy Spirit within me with scripture and expectant prayer and some times defiant declarations. Somehow, I believe that is the Holy Spirit within me disturbing His power for protection and preservation and potential. Then I can rest for the evening. Confidence in His love is reassured and rest ensues.

Energy is needed. The Holy Spirit inside of you is a source of powerful energy. His action inside of you brings synergistic impact on reality. Reality changes to conform to God’s will and creativity. You take out of the abundance of His storehouse of all that is needed for life and Godliness and apply it to you action and day.

In Malachai there is a promise. The Son of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. You will leap forward out of a dormant position like a well fed calf jumping from the stall. That is energy. Anyone who has been to a rodeo knows that roping a calf is tough business. They are full of moving energy. Darting and dashing, they elude the rope and delay timing of the best. That can be you. You can be darting and dashing and eluding the drag of life. You can be full of energy.

Spend some time in the scripture. Spend some time listening in prayer. Spend some time developing a forecast of the future that fits the design of God. Be energized.

Energy can overcome every discouragement and disease. It has a way of making them of no effect.

Acts

October 9, 2012 by Phil Larson

In Acts 2 we are encouraged to enjoy the power of the Holy Spirit. This person of power brings life and health. This person of God brings righteousness, joy, and peace that passes all understanding. This person of love brings restoration and vibrancy.
He is a promised gift.
The promise is for all.
The promise is strength.
The promise is for power.

Powerful Healing: In The Dark

August 12, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16:7 I praise you, Lord, for being my guide.
Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind. CEV

Psalm 16:7 I praise the Lord, because he guides me,
and in the night my conscience warns me. GNT

In the night:

Waking from a fretful rest, this excerpt from the Psalm of healing, breaks through with truth. Over and over my dreams spoke of being robbed of precious items in life. As I woke and pondered the meaning, it impressed me how often that has happened.

Over life and time all of us build. We build families. We build homes. We build playhouses in the woods. We build businesses. We build outreaches. We build. It is our nature and commission of God. When what we build is taken from us due to greed or natural destruction or lack of attention or any other corruption or theft, we grieve the loss. A good man or woman goes on and builds again. A wounded soul pulls into them and wonders why they never prosper.

Lesson of Conscience

This is a lesson from the conscience speaking in the night hours. The conscience is a good source of healing. God speaks into the depths of our heart and minds goodness for our souls. Many times, it is in rest that we take down our defenses and let Him speak the loudest.

For this moment, God is instructing me to insure that I enjoy along the path of what I build and not worry too much about the end. At the same time, He is instructing me to build paths of ownership that allow the prosperity to roll over on my family. There is healing in those instructions. There is relief from confusion over past living and loss. There is hope for the future and there is new strength for today. What was disturbing as I slept was washed in wisdom and a future hope and understanding.

Darkest Night

The Perseid meteor belt lights up our skies at the lake tonight. Watching brilliant meteors hit the atmosphere and burn with broad and long tails is soothing. Not many get to see such life in the night. Most were asleep. Many live around so much bright light of the city that they will never see the show of God’s handiwork in such loveliness. It is there. We just don’t see it. It took me 56 years to stop and watch and my memory will never be the same. There is beauty painted in my mental storage.

A legislator from Louisiana sent me this note. “I believe that God is always there. It is me that sometimes is not.” When He is most brilliant, our busyness and distraction keeps us from seeing Him. When we are in the darkest parts of life, we most often will stop and see His hand. Why do we wait?

Healing?

Want to be healed? Put yourself in quietness and solitude. Listen to your sleeping moments. God is speaking loudly with healthy instruction. You will gain wisdoms to share with your soul and with others.

It is these lessons taught into our conscience and soul that come out when needed in daily living. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak in confident faith and expectant expression of the goodness of God. Healing comes from the deep. It exudes by the touch and hand of the Holy Spirit from vast storehouses into which we plunge our thoughts and pains during the quiet and the dark.

Shortly our lessons will turn to engage power healing. Please understand the path to power is paved with patience and persistence and perception. Rushing into power is damaging in the long run and will cause a more fretful life than the one you already have.

Pray:

Father, talk to me. Talk to my soul. Talk to my conscience.

Allow Your words of life and loveliness to imbed deep into my sleeping and waking thoughts.

All Your insights application to my life.

Help me to see You speak in the dark.

Help me to see You always speak.

It is the dark that allows me to discern the subtleties of Your wisdom and counsel and might.

Holy Spirit, guide me. Speak to me in quietness and solitude as I respect Your gentleness and lovingkindness. Then empower me as a lion to go forth in victory expanding the kingdom of God within my soul and without the expanse of my called influence in this life.