​This week has been very frustrating! The week started with us opening the church in Mwitoti…and what a glorious day it was! There was dancing, singing, great rejoicing and great messages! Hon Bishop Titus Khamala spoke to the people and opened our celebration in prayer and dedicated the building. Then, Bishop Daron Kendrick from Nairobi (originally from California) spoke a great word regarding the church! After the service, there was more dancing and more rejoicing!

Monday was a challenging day. Once again, we saw the inequities in Kenya law. Although not directly involved, people we know have been taken advantaged of because of ignorance, fear, and wrong beliefs. We watched as a family was taken advantage of again and required to pay twice what was needed because of the greed of the authorities. It was grievous!

Tuesday, we watched from a distance as we watched a family get taken advantage of simply because they “walks with a white man”. A relative of theirs was beaten and injured severely. The family demanded this family take the man to hospital. The family out of compassion agreed. The hospital required them to be the ones to pay the bill for the treatment of the injuries. And this morning, the injured passed away.  The hospital did not have a mortuary, so they required the bill be paid and a hearse be hired to transport the body to mortuary. Since the mortuary was not affiliated with the hospital, they would not take the body without full payment of the preparation of the body for burial. And so the family was stuck in a town some distance from home. We stood in faith with them, and watched as God provided what was needed, only to find the mortuary would not receive the deceased without someone from the family giving their contact to them and claiming responsibility for the body, which they did not want to do. So now they wait, as the family argues and fights against going to take responsibility for their own father!

In addition, it is now the 2nd of the Month, and allowances are due – and we are short by some $1,200!! We KNOW God is faithful and has NEVER let us down. But we fight discouragement because of the circumstances. In addition to the need for allowances, we need to do some shopping for supplies for the clinic, and for our home and staff. We have debt that we are struggling to get paid off - $4,000 in ministry debt and around $10,000 in personal debt. We have been promised from two or three sources money to help us pay off our vehicle…but the money has not yet come. We are trying to start a new ministry but need desks and chairs for our offices to be effective.

I am not sharing these things because I am begging anyone for anything. It is my way of being transparent on what we face. We were really seeking God over these issues, when we felt the Lord saying it was HIS DESIRE to totally wipe the debt free, and we have a fresh start. Without adding extras, we needed $40,000 USD to do just that! My heart was overwhelmed. The largest offering we have ever received in this ministry at one time was $5,000! It looks totally impossible.

Then the Lord directed me to Romans 4:16-22, the story of Abraham. The scripture says, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’.”

Vs. 18-20 from the Mirror Bible says this: “Faith gave substance to hope when everything seemed hopeless; the words ‘So shall your seed be’ conceived in him the faith of fatherhood. 19Abraham’s faith would have been nullified if he were to take his own age and the deadness of Sarah’s womb into account. His hundred-year-old body and Sarah’s barren womb did not distract him in the least! He finally knew that no contribution from their side could possibly assist God in fulfilling his promise. 20While he had every reason to doubt the promise, he did not hesitate for a moment but instead empowered by faith confidence, he continued to communicate God’s opinion.” (Italics are mine.)

How powerful…Abraham realized he could do nothing to “help God” fulfill God’s promise! So he did not even give weight to the “apparent facts” of his age and the deadness of his wife’s womb! He continued to communicate (say with his mouth) God’s opinion – which was, “You shall be the father of nations!”

So, I have no idea how God will fulfill HIS promise – but I know HE is faithful! I know there is nothing I can do to help God fulfill that promise! But I will continue to communicate God’s opinion – it is finished! Thank you for standing in faith with us! It means so much to us!
 
Together, we really DO make the difference!
 

                Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank   from the brook.    1 Kings 17:1-6 (NLT)

In the early 80’s, I heard a message by John Osteen called “A Place Called There.” I heard the taped message during a difficult time early in my ministry, and it really made an impact on me. Over the years, I have come back to this story repeatedly and meditated on God’s Word. I wanted to share with you today a few gems I have found over the years.

Really, the first point is that Elijah received a word from God. Many people stop right there. “I haven’t heard from God,” they say. Yet, we have been given the Bible – which is God’s Word to us! And many times, God speaks to us, but we aren’t listening, or ignore what He is saying. To find the Blessings of “There”, you must have a word from God! When we find our identity in Christ, we are open to hearing the voice of God in new and fresh ways…and that positions us to enter the blessings of “There”.

Secondly, Elijah went. This is an easy decision; but I know I have missed God at times because He has spoken, but I didn’t move! Elijah could have stayed right where he was, fasted and prayed and begged God to send him food, but it would have never come! God has said to go by Kerith Brook. There was a specific place for Elijah to be to receive his blessing “there.”  There used to be an old song that said, “I want to be under the spout, I want to be under the spout where the glory comes out!” So when we enter the place God has called, we are under the spout where the Blessings of “There” will come.

Thirdly, we must be true to the message God has given us! We read that Elijah went to the brook, but in verse 7 it says, But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. Seasons change! But God spoke again to Elijah (vs 8-15) and told him to Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you. God gave Elijah instructions, but had he not been true to the message, he may have missed his provision, and the widow would have missed hers! Sometimes we let the external circumstances – what things “look like” – to deter us from speaking what God wants us to say! Elijah could have looked at the widow and thought, “She is getting ready to die – she does not have enough to give me food, certainly she is not the one,” and kept silent. But he spoke God’s Word, and the results were full provision for the rest of the drought period for the widow, her family, and Elijah!

In summary, I believe the story of Elijah here gives us three things to consider.

1.)           God has a Word for you

2.)           Position yourself in agreement with that Word

3.)           Be faithful to speak what God has given you to say

​ We are then positioned to receive the blessings of the Place called “there.”

This past month, Donna and I have been doing a study on leadership. When I received Jesus over 45 years ago, I remember feeling the call of God for ministry. In those days, I had no desire to be a pastor or in pulpit ministry – I had come from a family of pastors! So I remember reading what Jesus said about ministry, and what the Epistles said about ministry.

One of the most memorable times I remember as a young high school student was reading Jesus’ account in Matthew 20. The mother of two disciples had come to Jesus asking that in His Kingdom her two sons would sit one on the left and the other on the right of Jesus. Jesus ended this discussion in verses 25 & 26, But Jesus called them to himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – 28Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

I think I knew from the beginning ministry was serving. Nothing more, nothing less. Ministry is not about preaching, although it may include that. It is about building people. These past few weeks, Donna and I are becoming stronger and more determined to build people over building a ministry. Through our work in East Africa we are putting into others the values and principles of the Word of God to build people in Kenya. Thank you for helping us do just that!

A few days ago, we read a passage from Philippians 1:9-10 in the Mirror Bible that really spoke to us.

It is my desire for each one of you, that the realization of love’s completeness in you will increasingly burst through all boundaries, and that every sphere of your relationship with others will be greatly impacted by your intimate acquaintance with love. I urge you to examine this agape-love with the utmost scrutiny, just like when a diamond is viewed in the full sunlight to prove its flawless perfection. I dare you to take love to its ultimate conclusion! There is no offense in love, as evidenced in Jesus Christ who is the light of day.

You know, we always talk, as Christians, the need we have to love one another and love people. Yet, most of us have real issues with that! It becomes work! I have to love – but Paul is praying here that the church at Philippi will come to the realization of Love’s completeness in them!

When we receive Jesus in our lives, LOVE comes to live in us – it is the truth of Redemption! God comes and lives in our lives! God IS love! We need to wake up to love’s completeness in us, and allow that love to burst through all the boundaries and the walls we have built to insulate ourselves! If we would come to see this, what a huge impact it would have on our lives!

Probably one of the most famous love quotations from the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13. For the sake of space, I won’t quote it all here – but you are familiar with it, I’m sure. Paul talks about the manifestation of living in God – God is love – and when we live in Him, that expression is what love is. Love is – not love does.  I used to read this passage thinking, this is what I must DO to love…not realizing that this is what I am because I am in HIM – and HE IS LOVE!

How does our daily lives change with this revelation? First, we stop trying! This morning we read a devotional by Pastor Joseph Prince – in it he shared about a church member who struggled with smoking. He asked for prayer, and Pastor Prince told him, “He can do it, you cannot do it.” The man agreed, and said, but if you pray for me, I will try harder to do it, and maybe with God’s help, I can. Pastor Prince said again, “He can, you cannot.” He said it a number of times – until finally the man saw it.  Later the man testified that every time he lit a cigarette, he would say, “He can do it, I cannot do it.” After a short time, he no longer desired to smoke.  When we realize that Love lives in me, even when I may not act very loving, I say, “God is love and God is in me…His love manifests in my life, not by my doing, but just because it is my new DNA.”

I agree with Paul – “I dare you to take love to its ultimate conclusion!” It will revolutionize your life!

Ephesians 1:15-23 says, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of Hi calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19andwhat is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

I remember in Bible School how we were taught to pray Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. I can’t say I ignored the advice, but I must be honest, I didn’t follow it too well either! Over the past few months, God has brought back to my remembrance these scriptures, and I have begun to pray them over my life, my wife, my family, and the ministry. I have begun to pray these prayers over our students, and those we minister to.

In the Mirror Bible, Ephesians 1:17 says, I desire that you will draw directly from the source; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory ignites the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in you in the unveiling of his Master Plan. I desire that you know by revelation what he has known about you all along! What amazing thoughts – this prayer is that we might learn to draw directly from the source – and we know the source is God! The prayer continues that this source will ignite the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in you in the unveiling of his Master Plan. God has a master plan for your life! The only way we find that master plan is to be drawing directly from the source!

Jesus tells us that He is vine, we are the branches. The branches draw the nutrients needed for healthy growth from the vine. As we stay connected and draw directly from the source, our fruit is also hearty and healthy. Paul is praying in Ephesians 1 that we draw directly from the source. And in that, the spirit of wisdom and the revelation of His Master Plan would ignite in you!

He goes on in vs 18; I pray that your thoughts will be flooded with light and inspired insight; that you will clearly picture His intent in identifying you in Him so that you may know how precious you are to him. The saints are is treasure and the glorious trophy of his portion! (We are God’s assets and the measure of his wealth!) There is a nugget here that I missed so many times as I read this passage – “that you will clearly picture His intent in identifying you in HIM so you may know how precious you are to Him.” I always read that to mean we needed to know about our calling – but it is to find our true identity in Him! WE are His treasure and the glorious trophy of Hiss portion!

You are precious to God. You are His treasure and the glorious trophy of His portion – you are His greatest asset, the measure of His wealth! My prayer for you is that this spirit of wisdom and the revelation of your value to Him will ignite in your heart by the Holy Spirit.

This weekend I was brought to remembrance of a song we would sing at the close of our services each Sunday while we had our church.  The song always brought a sense of closeness as we joined hands and sang together.  There was always a tangible presence of the Spirit when we sang this song.

So many times we forget that the body of Christ should act as a family that is centered on the Love of Christ.   We should be a family that encourages one another; one that does everything in our power to help each other succeed in life.  But often times we get so caught up in our own agenda we forget that there are those out there that need the love that comes from family.  We gossip, back bite, shun, and many other things all in the name of Christ.  When, in fact He is so saddened when we do these things to others.  He has given us a decree of love and compassion.  Not a decree of judgment and ridicule of others.

The song goes like this:

 Together hand in hand in unity we stand declaring war against the enemy.  Where never losing ground our strength in Him abound, to hold each other up we have agreed.

We are family, family bound together by our fathers love and through His Blood that covers all of us we are family, family. We are family we are one.

So many stand alone no place to call their own, they need the love that comes from family. To fulfill the Father reaching out every man, to hold each other up we do agree.

We are family, family bound together by our fathers love and through His Blood that covers all of us we are family, family.  We are family we are one. 

If we are walking in true Faith it will show our true identity, and when we are walking in a God identity we can love our fellow man without any issues.  We can truly become the family of God.  We come from such a great heritage so why not share that heritage as family.  I think James 2:5-6 state it so well in the Mirror Bible. (I know Peter will preach on this at a completely different angle, but that is alright J)

James 2:5 May I have your full attention on this issue my dear brothers, faith in who you really are according to your original identity is the real measure of your wealth; you might be poor according to the standards of this world but according to God you possess your allotted portion which is the kingdom of his promise to those who love him.

 2:6 But you insult the poor, in your effort to impress the rich; meanwhile you fail to realize that the rich have abused their influence against you. They have conned you into their prejudices and discriminatory judgments. They bought your vote with cheap currency. (Any value outside of the price God paid in Christ is an inferior value to human life)

So let us become a true family of God and show forth our identity in Him with others so our family can grow and grow.

 Grace and Peace Mama Donna.

Recently, I have been teaching from Mark 11 on faith. So many of us know the principles of faith, but it seems to be so easy to stray from the basics! We begin to mix works with faith, and frustrate the grace of God! I wanted to share just a bit of this teaching with you this month.

In Mark’s gospel, the eleventh chapter begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem we know as Palm Sunday.  The Bible says that Jesus after the triumphant entry, he went into the synagogue, and found the hour was late, so returned to his home in Bethany. The next day, he and his disciples were going to Jerusalem in the morning, and he was hungry. He saw a fig tree, and went to see if there was fruit for him to eat. However, there was none – and so Jesus spoke to that tree and cursed the tree and his disciples heard him. They then went into Jerusalem for the day. In the evening, they return to Bethany. As I mediated over the years on this, I thought about all that we do by routine. When I had my business, I would visit my client every day. Every day, I would basically drive the same way, taking the same route. It was the best way to get from my house to his business. In the same respect, I am sure that Jesus and his disciples had a route they took every day from Jerusalem to Bethany. And this day was no different. So, when they came from Jerusalem on that day, they passed the same fig tree on the way. Yet, nothing was said. However, on the next day, Peter saw the tree dried up from the roots.  He was amazed and mentioned to Jesus that tree was dead. Jesus then used this opportunity to teach on faith.

Mark 11:22-24 reads, So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly I say to you, 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 that he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

I remember when I first heard this passage of scripture. I was really excited! Whatever we say believing, we will receive! And we saw it happening in our lives! We were living in Des Moines, Iowa in those days, and we had no faith! We were poor, broke, about to lose our house and our vehicle, and we had no food left in the house! My father-in-law told me a few years after we had left Iowa that no one wanted to be around us in those days – we were negative and had nothing good to say about anything! We wrote this scripture on 3x5 cards and put them all over our house! One side read the scripture – the other side read, “I believe I will receive whatever I say.”

Now that was all good, and I am happy we did that – but that was not what changed us! The key to this scripture is not so much the saying as the believing! What do you really believe? What Jesus is teaching is having the faith of God is speaking what you really believe. It can be either positive or negative – but it is speaking your belief! So, over the next couple of years, while attending Bible School, God began to change our believing! When what we believed changed, what we were saying changed as well.

What do you believe? Do you believe that “by His stripes you were healed”? Do you believe “And my God shall supply your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”? I remember years ago hearing Brother Hagin say “I can tell what you believe after talking with you for just five minutes.” I understand now what he was saying. What you really believe will be what naturally comes from your lips.

Now, we have taken this simple truth and made works of it – “you have to say it to receive it…name it and claim it…blab it and grab it…” But the simple truth is whatever you say believing you will receive. So don’t focus on the “saying”, focus on the believing! Romans 12:2 says, And 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. It isn’t works that makes faith work – it is what you believe! When you believe “by his stripes you WERE healed,” you will say, “My body may act sick, but I know that by His stripes I have been healed!” When you believe our God meets our need, we will say “My bank account may be empty, but I know my God supplies every need I have!” Faith is really quite simple. The faith of God is quite simple. God simply speaks what he believes…and sees the result of what he says believing!

I am challenged as we face so much poverty and need in Western Kenya! What do I really believe? I have had to meditate on God’s word for hours and learn to keep quiet until I hear from heaven. Then, I know I can speak what I believe, and receive what God has for me!

Tina Turner once had a hit single, “What’s Love Got to do With it?” You know, honestly, I don’t even remember any other words!! But this morning as I was meditating on the subject of missions, that one line kept coming up in my heart. “What’s love got to do with it?” The answer is simple – EVERYTHING!

1 John 4:8 tells us, “…God is love.” That is nothing new – we talk about how God is love all the time. But what I am beginning to see more and more is God does not have love – HE IS LOVE. God is the very definition of love. Our motivation for service must be love. Then, our motivation for service is truly God.

Jesus was “moved by compassion” to do many works. Matthew 9:36 says, “But when He (Jesus) saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them…” That compassion was love – that compassion was God.

I recently read 1 Corinthians 13 from the Mirror Bible – and want to share that with you in its entirety.

Speaking in tongues is not the point; love is. It is neither angelic eloquence, nor the mastery of human language that persuades. It doesn’t matter how poetic, prophetic, or profound I may sound; my conversation is reduced to the hollow noise of clanging brass cymbals if love’s echo is absent. I could predict the future in detail and have a word of knowledge for everyone. I could possess amazing faith, and prove it by moving mountains! It doesn't make me any more important than anyone else. Love is who you are! You are not defined by your gifts or deeds. Love is not about defending a point of view; even if I am prepared to give away everything I have and die a martyr’s death; love does not have to prove itself by acts of supreme devotion or self-sacrifice! Love is large in being passionate about life and relentlessly patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others with kindness. Love is completely content and strives for nothing. Love has no desire to make other feel inferior and has no need to sing its own praises.Love is predictable and does not behave out of character. Love is not ambitious. Love is not spiteful and gets no mileage out of another’s mistakes. Love sees no joy in injustice. Love’s delight is in everything that truth celebrates. Love is a fortress where everyone feels protected rather than exposed! Love’s persuasion is persistent! Love believes. Love never loses hope and always remains constant in contradiction.Love never loses its altitude! Prophecies will cease. Tongues will pause. The quest for knowledge will be inappropriate wen perfection is grasped. What we perceived in prophetic glimpses is now concluded in completeness! When I was an infant I spoke with infant gibberish with the mind of an infant; my reasoning also was typical of an infant; how it all changed when I became a man! I am an infant no more! There was a time of suspense, when everything we saw was merely mirrored in the prophetic word, like in an enigma; but then I gaze face-to-face; behold I am in Him! I may know even as I have always been known! Now persuasion and every pleasurable expectation is completed in agape (love). Agape is the superlative of everything faith and hope always knew to be true about me! Love defines my eternal moment!” (I Corinthians 13, Mirror Bible)

I just wanted to share a few thoughts about the characteristics of love – the characteristics of God.

Love is large on being passionate about life and relentlessly patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others with kindness. Love is completely content and strives for nothing. Love has no desire to make others feel inferior and has no need to sing its own praises.” (1 Corinthians 13:4)

 2 Peter 1:3 says, “God’s powerful intervention gifted us with all that it takes to live life to the full…” A major characteristic about God is being passionate about life. The more I understand God is love, the more passionate I find myself becoming about life in general, and my life in particular! A major part of this being passionate about life is being relentlessly patient in bearing offenses and injuries of others with kindness. Love’s passion for life extends beyond tha passion for a good life for ourselves, and wants to see that God life in others as well! Being motivated by love means you have come to a place where you are content – resting in the security of God’s provision for you! Love makes you the one who is always building up other people – and has no place for bragging on the good deeds you have done. Remember verse 2? “…Love is who you are! You are not defined by your gifts or deeds.”

Love is predictable and does not behave out of character. Love is not ambitious. Love is not spiteful and gets no mileage out of another’s mistakes. (I Corinthians 13:5)

When we are motivated by love, we are predictable. That is to say, we will always act the same way! We always stay within the character of love. This is really a key to living out holiness in our lives. Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment – and his response was to love God, and to love one another – why? Love is consistent. Love never behaves out of character – but always acts as God acts! Paul says that love is not ambitious – I don’t believe for a minute that this means we don’t strive to move forward and become better in our lives. It means that our motivating force for living life to the full is not advancement, but love. Love is not spiteful, and gets no pleasure from other’s mistakes. The Greek word for spiteful here means, “having no sharp edges.” Love is not into holding grudges or looking for the mistakes of others. There is no joy in other’s failures or short-comings.

Love sees no joy in injustice. Love’s delight is in everything that truth celebrates. (I Corinthians 13:6)

I believe this speaks to God’s attitude about injustice. God’s heart does not rejoice when his people suffer. There is no joy when people are used or abused; when people hurt because of prejudice or inequality. There is not joy in God’s heart when his people suffer sickness or disease; or when His people hurt with economic hardships. God delights in everything truth celebrates. What does truth celebrate? I believe this truth is the truth of the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Jesus came to bear our sin, sickness and poverty. Now, in Him, truth celebrates that we are free from sin, healed, and prosperous! In the same respect, this speaks powerfully to me on my motivating force to being in service for God. I do not celebrate injustice in the world – blame people for their condition, or condemn them for not walking in the light of truth. Instead, I am sent to be the bearer of glad tidings to those who have yet to year the truth, that there is a celebration to join!

Love is a fortress where everyone feels protected rather than exposed! Love’s persuasion is persistent! Love believes. Love never loses hope and always remains constant in contradiction (1 Corinthians 13:7)

Love is a fortress…God always provides a fortress where His people can feel safe and protected. Unfortunately, the Christian Faith has not really been known for this. I read a blog recently that stated, “…Christians are an army that kills its own wounded.” What a sad thing. Yet, I have seen it happen so much. I recently was chatting with a friend of mine at church who told me about an incident with his brother. He told me his brother was a faithful member of a local church in his community. At the end of a service one time, he began to cough quite uncontrollably. He got up from his seat to excuse himself from the service, so as to not be disruptive during their altar call. When he came from the bathroom, he was met by three of the church security personnel. He was told that he single handedly ruined the anointing of that service, was asked to sign a confession of that and told if he ever did it again he would be “excommunicated” from the church. When my friend told me this story, I almost laughed – certainly this was not happening! Love is a fortress where everyone feels protected rather than exposed! Yet for something he could not control he was being thrown out of the church! This is not love.

In the Old Testament is the story of Noah and his ark. That ark represented the love of God – a fortress where Noah, his family, the animals and all who would believe could feel protected and safe from the storms outside. When we are constantly interested in exposing the sins and shortcomings of others, we are not operating in LOVE. Love’s persuasion is persistent – it always believes in what has been completed for us at Calvary!

And love never loses hope – but remains constant! Hope is not wishful thinking – it is a confident expectation of a desired result. Because our expectation is confident (hope), we remain constant, even when things contradict that expectation. This is love!

Love never loses its altitude! (I Corinthians 13:8)

I love this last part – love never loses its altitude. Love locks into the truth and soars above the mountains, the valleys, the raging seas, and the storms of life. There will be mountain highs and valley lows in our lives. We will find ourselves on raging seas. Certainly all of us will experience storms in our lives. But love – God – locks into the truth of the Word and allows us to soar and never lose our altitude!

Our prayer is that we begin to get a deeper revelation of God’s unconditional, everlasting love! We love you so much – we appreciate your commitment to His love!

Together we really DO make the difference!

Back in 2004, I ministered a series of messages on Hardness of Heart. Recently, I was reminded of this human condition! In Mark 6, Jesus was teaching in a deserted place. When it got late, the disciples said to him, “send the people away so they may find food.” But Jesus told his disciples, “You feed them.” The disciples said they only had five loaves and two fish – and Jesus said bring them to me. You know the story. Jesus blessed what they brought, and with that they fed 5,000 men, besides the women and children, and they had 12 baskets full of left-overs! What a great miracle!

Now as I was meditating on this lately, I was thinking about the logistics of feeding around 15,000 people! If one person was dishing all the food, it would take a VERY long time to serve all. In fact, it would have been impossible for Jesus to feed all of those people alone. So others were involved in the multiplication of the loaves and fish.

After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and instructed them to go to the other side of the lake and he would disperse the people and spend time with God. When Evening had come, Jesus saw the disciples in the boat straining against a storm – the sea was raging. Jesus began walking on the water and when the disciples saw him coming, they cried out in fear. So Jesus came to them in the boat, and the winds ceased and the waters calmed. Now here, to me, was the most interesting commentary. Verses 51 and 52 says, “Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52) For they had NOT UNDERSTOOD about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”

Hardness of heart comes from a number of avenues. One is when we are active participants in miracles, yet continue to question God’s favor on our lives.  I know about hardness of heart! I honestly struggle with this condition. I can be an active participant in God’s miracle healing, yet when attacked with sinus troubles, doubt the finished work of Jesus concerning my healing! I watch how God supernaturally provides a ticket for me to get to Kenya, then begin to stew and worry about how I can fix the ceiling in my house when I arrive. I know very well about hardness of heart.

How do we deal with hardness of heart? First, we have to consider the loaves and the fish. We have walked in the supernatural! Yet, when facing need of any kind, we fail to consider the miracles and the manifestations of God’s favor. In Romans 4, Paul speaks of the faith of Abraham. In verses 19-21, he writes “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20) He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21) and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform”.  Here we see that Abraham “did not consider” his body. When you look at the original Greek, you find the literal actually says that Abraham had fully understood his body was dead, but was fully convinced of God’s promise! In the Mirror Bible, this passage reads, “Abraham’s faith would have been nullified if he were to take his own age and the deadness of Sarah’s womb into account. His hundred year old body and Sarah’s barren womb did not distract him in the least! He finally knew that no contribution from their side could possibly assist God in fulfilling his promise! 20) While he had every reason to doubt the promise, he did not hesitate for a moment but instead empowered by faith confidence, he continued to communicate God’s opinion. 21) Abraham’s confidence was his dress-code; he knew beyond doubt that the power of God to perform was equal to his promise.”

This is powerful! Hardness of heart persists when we think we have to assist God in fulfilling His covenant to us! When God gave the promise to Abram, He changed his name to Abraham. Abraham was not a nice name – it was a meaningful sentence! It was a confession of faith authority, against all odds! Every time he introduced himself, it was a bold declaration of God’s promise – calling him “the father of the multitudes.” Abraham understood his body was dead – he was too old to have kids! But, he considered God’s promise did not require any assistance from him to come to pass! GLORY!

What has God promised you? We need to know beyond all doubt that the power of God to perform is equal to his promise! There is nothing we can do to make it happen – we need to enter into the rest of faith, that outside of our ability or assistance, God will take care of His Word to perform it!

Years ago, we used to sing a song, “Bigger than all my problems, bigger than all my fears, my God is bigger than any mountain that I can and cannot see. Bigger than all my questions, bigger than any thing. God is bigger than any mountain that I can and cannot see.”  We would get so excited and dance all over the church as we would sing that chorus! Then, we’d go home. Our Monday mornings often proved we really didn’t believe “God is bigger than all my problems!”

Luke 6:45 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” We give lip service to the greatness of God – and how much He loves us and cares for us – but when the rubber meets the road, what we speak from the abundance of our hearts reveals what we really believe!  What do you believe?

Romans 5:17 reads, For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.”  Do we really believe that the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness is greater than sin? One version of this verse reads, If (spiritual) death saw the gap in one sin, and grabbed the opportunity to dominate mankind in Adam, how much more may we now seize the advantage to reign in righteousness in this life through that one act of Christ, who declared us innocent by His grace. Grace is out of all proportion in superiority to the transgression.

Here is the truth. Light is always greater than darkness. John 1:5 says, And the light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]. If you are in a very dark room and light a match, light dispels the darkness. If you are walking anywhere with a light, darkness can never over power you. But, do we really believe that the light of God is greater than the darkness?

What would be your response to sin if you knew the light of God inside of you was really bigger than sin? Romans tells us For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [ as subjects of God’s favor and mercy]. Another version says it this way: Sin was your master while the law was your measure; now grace rules. (The law revealed your slavery to sin, now grace reveals your freedom from it.) We need to realize that grace reveals to us our freedom from sin! Sin is NOT bigger than grace! God’s grace empowers us to live free from sin!

For the past few years, we have been on a quest to stand in grace and walk free in every area of our lives.  One of the biggest challenges we have faced is having a change of mind regarding sin. Before, sin always was quite ominous.  It was bigger than me, and overpowered me. But when we begin to see that grace empowers us, sin doesn’t look so ominous…I understood the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:6, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Another version ends by saying, “Our slavery to sin has come to an end.”  Grace brings our slavery to sin to an end. I praise God for His gift to us!