When the Going Gets Tough...Get Jesus!

Looks to be a tough week ahead…we’ll say goodbye to a 40 year old mother from our congregation who died unexpectedly yesterday; there is a winter storm bearing down on us that is being called “historic”; and this morning another woman from our larger community passed away…yet in the face of all this, to know the life of Jesus is a great encouragement for us. No matter what challenges we face, He understands. He too has lived in this fallen, sinful world. He has endured much suffering in His body, just as we do. He lost loved ones, as we do. Jesus lived as a man who understands the harsh reality of life and sin. Yet, He lived with confidence and purpose. Jesus lived a victorious life because of His relationship with the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why when life is caving in all around us, His presence in our lives makes all the difference. But there’s much more for us in Jesus than being able to endure; there’s hope. Jesus learned how to bring glory to God in a physical body, even in the context of a fallen, sinful world. He found strength as He drew close to the Father and walked in the power of the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit allowed Him to endure, overcome, and conquer this world. And here’s the good news: the same gift Jesus received from the Father is now the gift He gives to all who put their trust in Him…with that knowledge and His power, we can face anything! This week please keep both the Fontanyi & Jackman families in your prayers.

You'll Know It!

“How do we know if we’ve been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” I will assume the question is generated because one feels inadequate or lacking power/authority…a powerful lie of satan. Nevertheless, there is fruit that will be evident when one is under the influence of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12 is the text I will start with, although it is too long to reprint here. Verse 3 says you will profess Jesus is Lord and not curse Jesus. Verses 4-7 tells us that we will receive a gift…each of us, though mine may be different than the gifts others receive, we will all be gifted to serve. Verse 11 tells us it is the Holy Spirit who decides how the baptism will manifest itself in each person…not us. Acts 1:8 tells us that when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we will receive power. It will be the power to effectively witness as verse 8 suggests, and it will be the power to fulfill your specific giftedness for the Kingdom. Acts 4:31 suggests to me this power is a boldness in testimony and service. The natural timidity of a person vanishes when he/she is filled with the Holy Spirit. It is with great boldness and liberty, with fearlessness of consequences one presses on for the Kingdom. In fact, being filled with the Holy Spirit causes one to be preoccupied with God and Christ and spiritual things…read thru Acts 2, Acts 4, Acts 9…we see in each of these (and in many other places) that people are fully consumed with the things of God…that is the change that has taken place in these men...not their Sabbath morning routines! Add to these texts Galatians 5:22-25 and you will see not only fruit, but also the absence of some things. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). I guess my answer to the question is, “Oh, you’ll know it!”

The Spirit's Baptism

So, in an ongoing conversation, I was asked if it was necessary for a believer to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. As I understand the questioner, it was not that he was opposed to it; he did not know if he had ever experienced it…which is really another question. Briefly let me say first of all, in Acts 1:4-5 as Jesus was preparing to leave the disciples, we read, “While he was still with them, he said: Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” I think it is clear the promise of the Father is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now, was he speaking to those original disciples or are we included in this promise? Their need to wait for the promise was tied directly to their commission in verse 8. This is the same commission we have been given, so do we not need this same promise and power to reach a lost world today? Absolutely…at least if we want to succeed…which may explain many failures the Church has experienced over the years! So, let me be clear: do you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to believe in Christ? No. Is the baptism necessary to carry out the Great Commission? Yes! Unfortunately, there are many believers who have been to college and seminary but not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit who are in positions of leadership and they are hindering the work of the Church! Please hear me correctly, I am not saying college and/or seminary are not necessary, quite the contrary, but there is another requirement that we rarely consider. Acts 6:3 tells us the Apostles chose leaders who were respected, wise, and filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Church today, we require the first two but ignore the third…fearing someone might think we are charismatic or Pentecostal if we even mention it. Still, the real question this person raised is, “How do I know if I’ve been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” Sounds like a good question to tackle tomorrow…

The Mom Song!

I received this from TAS and while I rarely repost stuff, I felt like everyone needed to see/hear this. God bless moms!

Securing Our Future

What is the importance of praying together as a congregation? Why should we all spend a month focused on specific requests? You’ll recall that Jesus said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17 & Isaiah 56:7). He never said it should merely be a house of preaching, or a house of worship, or a house of singing…but a house of prayer. There is certainly power in prayer, but the power of corporate prayer is exponential. That might also be why the apostles said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). They never said, Lord teach us to lead worship or teach us to preach…but to pray. I think even though they did not understand many things, I think they realized there was tremendous power in prayer. If we call upon the Lord, he has promised in his word to answer us…to heal, to bring the unsaved to himself, to pour out his Spirit upon us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, he has promised nothing…nothing at all. It’s really that simple. The future of our church depends not upon our programs, outreach, or worship services. The future will depend upon our times of prayer. Because I and others strongly believe that, beginning on Saturday, February 5, we are going to begin a Men’s prayer meeting each Saturday morning at 6:30…I also believe it is crucial that men practice the discipline of prayer. We will gather for a time to pray for our church…for its witness, worship, leadership, direction and impact on the surrounding communities. Mark your calendar and plan to join us if you can…if you can’t, join us in spirit where you are…the future depends on it!

Knowledge & Power Are Good Things!

As we begin the final full week of our month of prayer and fasting, I want to remind you that effective prayer is when you talk to God and listen to what God is saying to you. For your prayer life to be useful, it is imperative that you meet with God daily…if not hourly…and if at all possible at the beginning of your day. When you pray, it demonstrates that you depend on God in your life. When you do not pray, it demonstrates that you are depending upon yourself. If the first time you come before the Throne is at 12 noon, God has had no opportunity to influence your morning. God wants to use prayer to influence your life. How you ask? When prayer is prominent in your life, you will be able to influence other people and circumstances. Just remember that God is in charge of everything. Nothing happens without God’s knowledge and when we are in communication with God, his knowledge can be ours, along with his power. Prayer can change your marriage even if your spouse seems hopeless. Prayer can change your boss even if he’s a pagan. Prayer can change your child even if he is rebelling. Prayer can change a doctor’s diagnosis even if it is terminal. God responds to those who depend on him through prayer. It is my hope that some will come to realize this by the end of January and the practice we’ve begun together will become a discipline for you…a life changing discipline.

Burrr...I Am So Blessed!

Okay, I must say this out loud…I am ready for spring and summer! I am getting tired of winter. I am very tired of snow…I do not care how pretty it is, I do not like -4 degrees in the morning. Oh, and yes, I do know we are to give thanks in all circumstances, so…Praise God the wind wasn’t blowing 20 miles an hour this morning! Praise God we have a warm home to go to! Praise God our electric service hasn’t been disrupted! Praise God none in our house are currently sick! Praise God I’ll be going to Haiti in 30 days (the forecast high for today is 90 degrees with a 20% chance of rain…I don’t mind rain). Praise God we have not had a wreck, slid off the road, or had car problems. Now, when you take time to think about it, we have so much more to be thankful for. So here’s my question (at least to me). Why don’t we FIRST give praise to God for our many blessings instead of focusing on those things that we do not count as a blessing? Oh, I know the snow and cold is not a big deal…it will be gone soon. But regardless of the trial, why don’t we focus on our blessings? Wouldn’t that help us to give praise and look beyond the petty difficulties we face? Wouldn’t giving thanks cause us to realize our blessings far outweigh our troubles? You can say it’s just our human nature to complain and grumble, but if we are created in the image of God I want to believe that giving thanks is also part of our nature.

Relationships and Prayer

As we continue in our month of prayer and fasting, I was reminded there are many reasons that some prayers are not answered. While there can be many, I believe one of the main reasons is because of strained relationships. Each Christian has the responsibility to be in a right relationship with other people. In Romans 12:18, Paul instructs us, “…do your best to live at peace with everyone.” Not your friends, or co-workers, but everyone, and the burden is upon each of us. The blame game will not work here…regardless of fault, history, or problem. God clearly places the burden on us believers to be at peace with all people, and if you violate this spiritual law, your prayers will not be answered. Satan is so clever…he builds imaginary walls in our relationships with other people that effectively build walls between God and us, hindering our prayer life. Warren Wiersby writes that in ancient times "hinder" means to break up a road so the army cannot get through...to block the road with trees and rocks, anything to prevent the opposing army from advancing. This should not surprise us; satan’s only goal is to alienate us from God. Consider this: Your vertical relationship with God will determine your horizontal relationships with people AND your horizontal relationships with people will determine your vertical relationship with God. The two go hand in hand! Now, I don’t know who your struggles are with, but you might now reconsider taking actions toward reconciliation. And here’s a gift from God: the first move is always yours. There is no one who can take that opportunity away from you. We should want to do whatever it takes to make things right with other people…not tomorrow, but today! Our relationship with the Father depends on it!

Amazing Grace!

I was reading from “A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer” and felt compelled to share these profound words with you.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a person must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our life, and it is grace because it gives us the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of God’s Son: “you were bought with a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon God’s Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.

Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the loving Word, the Word of God, which God speaks as it pleases God. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus; it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Praise God for His amazing grace!

I Have A Dream

Today we observed the birth of a great American, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am not sure there is any way that we, black or white, can fully grasp the impact that he has made, not only on our country, but on our world. A man who loved the Lord, loved all people, and loved this nation in which he lived. Many will argue his motivation and character, but that does not negate his attempts to right the injustices he saw with non-violent tactics. I find him an inspiration. It was only a few years ago, while doing some reading on the life of Dr. King, I read that his “I Have a Dream” speech was largely spontaneous. Sure, he had prepared a text to read, but about halfway into the speech he closed the folder and began to preach! This 16+ minute speech was the closing event of the 1963 March on Washington, and was carried live on major television networks of the day. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King evoked the name of President Lincoln, and is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompting the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I am fully aware we still have racial issues and poverty in our country today, but to envision his impact, think what it might be like had Dr. King (or anyone) not stood up to the injustices of racism. A man thrust into the spotlight by his convictions and perseverence, he is perhaps what we desperately need in America today. I pray someday his dream is realized.

Hope You're Feeling (Really) Good!

I’ve been sidetracked this week…an all day meeting, no school because of snow, and well, the list could go on and on. However, in all of these distractions, God showed up…numerous times, but I think His most profound presence was in the words of a child. On Wednesday I took Anna and Bella with me to the Sign of the Kingdom…school was out and I couldn’t find a sitter…and it was food distribution day. Now they helped awhile and played awhile, even got on my nerves a time or two, but for the most part were really good. After we left and were on our way back to church, one of them said, “I am really glad God let us help people today.” Kind of caught me by surprise; I knew they would be glad to get out of the house…I knew they would be glad to see other people…I even knew they would be glad to do something new…but for her to be glad God let us help others surprised me. Not sure why, Jesus told us that we are to be servants of others. When I asked why it made her glad she replied, “It just feels good.” Now, I am not searching for some profound theological truth here, but something even a child can relate to…feeling good. If we would spend more of our time serving others, even in what seems insignificant way, rather than trying to fortify our personal kingdoms where the goal is to be served…it’s no telling how good we might feel or how many others might see Jesus in our acts of service.

Praise God for the Church!

I read this today, from Basil Pennington work, Living in the Question.

“(Jesus) has said: ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find. Unfortunately we ask for the ephemeral which isn’t really satisfying. We seek what is passing and will leave us empty—until we come to realize in truth we do not know what we truly want, where our true happiness lies. We need to seek a teacher, a prophetic voice—the guidance of one whom the Lord has sent, the Church who makes Jesus present to us today, Jesus who is all that our hearts seek. Until we seek and find the Truth we will in fact be in a desert chasing mirages, encountering delusions, finding all swaying and unstable.”

That is a wonderful description of what the Church is to be and do…a prophetic voice to help keep us from chasing mirages...because that is our tendency…to chase mirages. The preacher, the teachers, the leaders, the classmates who hold us accountable, the folks who sit beside us in the pew as we worship…all these make up the body that helps us discern Truth in a world that screams lies from every corner. In Proverbs 8:17 God offers us this promise: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” Praise God for the Church as God intended it to be; a congregation of pilgrims each seeking while guiding others to Jesus Christ.

God's at Work!

What a weekend! Saturday two others and I attended a meeting on our upcoming mission trip to Haiti (please begin praying for this trip)…enlightening and useful, except I was reminded of bucket showers…not looking forward to those again! Then on Sunday, about 4am, the flu bug bit me and I spent the rest of the day either in bed or in the bathroom…praise God for those who intercede on our behalf and for healing! On that note, how is your time of prayer and fasting going? Even though it is not the most exhaustive instrument, I hope you’re using the prayer calendar and finding some progression and sense to it as you claim these requests as your own. These are not my requests for you or my requests for the church…many are actually my requests for me in 2011 and I added some others requests aimed at the church. It was my intention that you make these requests your own as well. I further hope and pray this exercise is drawing you either closer to God or placing you in God's presence more often each day…we could all benefit from both. I must believe several of us have engaged in this process as the Spirit is moving here at Beulah…Jesus promises us in Matthew 18:19 that when we agree on something in prayer, the Father will answer that prayer! Too often we want to focus on 18:20 in which Jesus tells us where two or three are gathered together he will be with us…I know that is comforting to some, but I personally find more joy in knowing He will answer my prayer than be with me…the Spirit’s always with me! Regardless, here’s my question for you today, Is God answering your prayers? If so, praise Him! If not, why not?

Here I Am, Lord Use Me!

Have you felt God move yet? Has He spoken to you since we began this month of prayer and fasting? I’ve heard reports already from some that He has spoken! You know God wants to…He’s just waiting for you to come along side His will. Wednesday evening at Bible study we got off on the subject of prayer…actually it wasn’t “off the subject”…it was where God led us. Anyway, I made the statement that most of the time our prayers are not what God wants to hear from us. Sure, we are to intercede for others, but I believe we should spend more of our prayer time asking God what He would have us do for someone rather than praying that they are “fixed.” Now, I am not a physician, and I cannot go offer someone a remedy or healing by my hands, but what if God wants me to go to that person and pray for them or anoint them? Perhaps God is waiting for ME to share the Good News with someone I know who is lost? Or that person who has dropped out of church, that person you’ve invited so many times to come back to church, maybe God just wants YOU to go and sit with them and hear their pains. Rather than asking God to “fix” them or their problems, I think God is waiting for us to make ourselves available to help. If we would just listen as much as we talk to God…once we begin exploring the mind and will of God…we might just see a mighty movement of God’s hand. I have no doubt He wants to move in our lives…in the life of Beulah…but will we allow it? I hope the Prayer Calendar will help.

Fasting and Abstinence

As some of us are fasting this January, it is my hope that all of us will eventually become convicted of the notion that we need to fast. Now, first let me say again that for medical reasons not everyone should fast from food…but we should all practice the discipline of fasting or abstinence (which is doing without other luxuries, but commonly referred to as fasting). Jentezen Franklin says there are three duties of every Christian: Giving, Praying, and Fasting. If that is so, and recalling Matthew 6 I think Jentezen is correct, then what is fasting? Biblical fasting is refraining from food for a spiritual purpose. Fasting is not dieting or starving. It is doing without something to focus on the God who gives all such gifts. The goal of fasting is to bring one into a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with God. But why in January? Well, it seems like an appropriate time to me. First, we have experienced may indulgences in November and December as we celebrate the harvest and Christ’s birth. Secondly, it seems biblical to me. Matthew 6:33 NIV says “But seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (emphasis added). Seems to me that seeking “first” naturally points to January…then we have the rest of the year to do as God speaks to us and to receive the blessings he wants to give us. Yeah, it could also be interpreted as first each week, or first thing each morning, but I also think it applies to our year. So, won’t you join me in intentionally seeking God’s face…there are blessings that await us!

Shaken, not Stirred (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

As we continue in our journey here at Beulah of prayer and fasting during the month of January, I came across this from a book called Ever Increasing Faith by Smith Wigglesworth.

“Note the words of Acts 4:31, ‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken.’ There are many churches where they never pray the kind of prayer that you read of here. A church that does not know how to pray and to shout will never be shaken. If you attend a place like that you may as well write ‘Ichabod—the glory of the Lord has departed,’ over the threshold. It is only when men have learned the secret of prayer, of power, and of praise, that God comes forth. Some people say, ‘Well, I praise God inwardly,’ but if there is an abundance of praise in your heart, your mouth cannot help speaking it.”
Seems to me like Smith is on to something here…there is great power in our prayer and our praise, when done correctly for the glory of God. My hope is that everyone at Beulah might truly learn the secret of prayer, power, and praise and we might be shaken…not for the sake of being shaken, but for the end result: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and bravely spoke God’s message.”

No Other Way!

“I learned as never before that persistent calling upon the Lord breaks through every stronghold of the devil, for nothing is impossible with God. For Christians in these troubled times, there is simply no other way.” - Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, from Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.

As an extension of Sunday’s message I offer the above quote. Church, our battle is against the powers and principalities of this dark world, (Eph. 6:4) and prayer is the only way to break the stronghold. Do you believe that? If you do not, you have no hope…I would wonder why you bother to read my blog. If you do, you know that nothing this side of heaven can stop a praying child of God. I pray you will engage with the prayer calendar this January. If you don’t attend Beulah, you can access it on our website (visitbeulahumc.org). I hope you’ll seriously consider my call for us to pray for the lost in 2011. If each of us would develop a “10 Most Wanted List” and fervently pray for those individuals on our list, I think we would see the hand of God move in a mighty way in the lives of folks around here. But remember, it’s not about building up Beulah; it’s about building up the Kingdom. If we will focus on Kingdom work, God will take care of Beulah. May the Spirit guide you as we fast and pray through January together…there is simply no other way!