The key to living a blessed life rather than a cursed life is repairing the broken lines of communication between your heart and your father’s. Your father’s heart is your “telephone line” to the heart of Abba-God.
Remember who you are, who you belong to, and how much you’re loved. This does not change.
Your greatest loss is not that you’re not loved, or do not belong, or have no identity, but that you have simply forgotten. Or maybe it’s been years or decades of anger that has turned your heart bitter towards your father, which has caused your deafness to Heaven.
Heaven’s voice is closer than you think.
“We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance of those who belong there. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.” — Dwight L. Moody. . You only have to whisper to hear your name echoing from heaven. When you turn back to God, he will be found. Your pain and loneliness are not your punishment but your preparation for His presence. Don’t give up; God’s presence will come flooding back into your life.
Sometimes, we transfer our hurts and anger for our fathers to our Heavenly Father, so we shut our ears to God. I know it’s hard to forgive, but we can only hear our Heavenly Father’s voice again in forgiveness and repentance.
I know this, not just because I read it in the Bible, but because I’ve experienced this firsthand between me and my father. Just 4 days before my dad passed away, I forgave him for those years of silence, neglect, and abuse.
It took so much effort and courage to whisper in the darkness of my father’s death-filled VA hospital room in Martinez, California.
Dad?
“Yes, son?”
… Dad, I love you!
“… I love you too, son!”
I repeated my ‘I love you, Dad’ proclamations over and over again, basking in my father’s response of, “I love you too, son!”
From that day forward, heaven became wide open, and my new belief that my dad loves me convinced me that my Heavenly Father loves me, too. Until that day, my 39-year-old heart had never heard those precious words from my father.
You see, the Devil knows all too well that broken communication with our earthly fathers breaks and disrupts our communication to and from our Heavenly Father.
This is why the words of the Prophet, Malachi, are so significant:
“… And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” — Malachi 4:6
The key to living a blessed life, rather than a cursed life, is repairing the broken communication lines between your heart and your father’s. Your father’s heart is your “telephone line” to the heart of Abba-God.
“People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes, you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” — Isaiah 30: 19-21
When whispered to heaven, the words bottled up within your broken heart will change everything!
Suddenly, you’ll have the courage to forgive your father and others. On the day that happens, Heaven will become opened, and you’ll hear the voice of your Heavenly Father.
Because the Great Commission was not the Great Recommendation!
First, let me say that “end-time” prophecy does indeed matter, and having a clear understanding, at least as clear as possible, of end-time events is essential to healthy Christian living. In other words, future and near-future prophetic events should not cause fear but rather hope.
Also, our eschatological views, no matter the variance, should not cripple our testimony and mission of preaching the gospel to all people and at all times. Just as Paul charged Timothy:
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” – 2 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV)
Our end-time, prophetic views should purify us, not scare us, or for that matter, scare people into believing the truth of Jesus Christ. Also, our hope is not only in heaven, but in Christ, and it’s when He is the center and focus of our hope that we become pure, as he is pure.
“We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” – 1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)
So, in light of this, let’s discuss the impact of today’s end-time, prophetic views on Christianity, and our mission and influence.
It is quite possible that the premillennial dispensational view was a design, a philosophical invention, to neuter the effectiveness of the Gospel. Was it designed by men or demons?
Pre-tribulation rapture and premillennialism are a few of Christianity’s great deceptions, and it became popular at the turn of the 19th century and spread like a virus into the 20th century.
It began with a Jesuit Priest named Manuel Diaz Lacunza (1731–1801), whose false eschatological teaching influenced John Nelson Darby, (1800–1882), and others. Later, C.I. Scofield (1843–1921) popularized the premillennial and dispensational views, and Dr. Scofield’s notes, sermons, and commentaries were actually published on the pages of the Bible. Scofield’s Reference Bible is still available and in print today! The Scofield Reference Bible had sold over two million copies by the end of World War II.
I really encourage you to check these things out for yourselves. Please check out the following link, as well as the links and references at the end of this article:
The Apostles and the early Church Fathers did not teach this end-time interpretation and theory. In modern times, men like Charles C. Ryrie, born March 2, 1925, along with Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye, are but a few of the modern-day prognosticators and purveyors of end-time prophecy. They are responsible for the unintended consequence of Christianity’s focus on millennialism, and away from the Great Commission of Christ, and the preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in the here and now.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14 (ESV)
I have read a lot of these authors, teachers, and pastors, and I am not rejecting or denying their faith and belief in God. I am only pointing out how their focus of millennialism, whether it be pre, post or nonexistent, has distracted mainstream Christianity from the gospel mandate in reaching the lost world. If Christianity remains so focused on vacating earth and end-time theological theory, America will grow dark like Europe, as Christianity has left Europe’s shores years ago.
“Operation Rapture” has created a defeatist attitude, which has gripped mainstream Christianity and taken it off the task and messaging of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It abandons the present reality and proclamation of the Kingdom of God, pushing it off into the distant future, and rejects the here and now the presentation of the Kingdom of God, preached and taught by Jesus Christ himself, some two thousand years ago.
Furthermore, it repudiates and marginalizes the great tribulation and suffering, which most of our Christian brothers and sisters are, and have been undergoing presently, and for past decades. Please read the following letter excerpt, written by the late Corrie Ten Boom in 1974:
“In China, the Christians were told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes, you will be translated – raptured.” Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later, I heard a bishop from China say, sadly, “we have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution, rather than telling them Jesus would come first. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes, – to stand and not faint.” I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.” – Corrie Ten Boom (written 1974)
“Beam me up, Scottie!”
It really bothers me when I hear my Christian friends bemoan the trials of this life and their worries of apocalyptic doom, yet the only good news out of their mouths is that of the rapture, “Operation Rescue.” This defeatist attitude and their longing for ‘the airlift’ into the heavens has neutralized Christianity’s spiritual and cultural impact on the earth.
We want to be “beamed up to heaven” rather than impact the earth for the glory of God and for the sake of the Gospel. The Church benefits the believers, while the Kingdom of God benefits the world. The Church equips believers to expand the Kingdom of God rather than to expand Church buildings.
Now, we’ve all learned that Islamic-jihadist terrorists are beheading Christians, as well as other non-Islamic believers, and doing terrible atrocities, even to their own people. And this horror has touched and is touching our own shores and heartland.
If this were not hideous enough, we’ve recently learned that Planned Parenthood, right here, in the “good ole US of A,” is heinously dismantling and harvesting partially aborted babies for their organs, tissue, and limbs! Do they do this while the baby is still alive? But, don’t you worry about a thing, it’s useless tissue anyway.
Had enough?
Do you want to be “raptured,” or do you want to make a difference?
Jesus Prays for His Disciples:
“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is the truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” – John 17:15-19 (NKJV)
Make no mistake, I believe in a soon and coming appearing of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the taking up of the saints; his judgment and reward for his children, and eternal judgment towards those who’ve rejected the Gospel and the Only Living Truth, Jesus Christ. However, this should stir us towards preaching the Gospel, not whining and crying for the return of Christ and Operation Rescue.
While mainstream Christianity is preoccupied with the rapture, its mission and influence are disappearing from the earth! It certainly has in Europe and is now fast becoming invisible here in America.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” – John 4:35 (ESV)
Are we lazy Christians? Shouldn’t we understand by now that we are “Operation Rescue” to a dying world, which needs to hear about the only hope and message hidden within your hearts and souls?
Jesus Christ came to earth, born as a man, to redeem those born under the law of sin and death that he, through your testimony and preaching, may save those who are perishing. The sowers have been sowing the seed of Truth for centuries, and now the easy work of harvesting is yours.
Yes, your redemption is drawing nigh, but so is the condemnation and eternal judgment of those whom you’ve failed by not preaching and living the Gospel!
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” – 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
Saints are being murdered, beheaded, and imprisoned throughout the world. Yet, your belief of a pre-tribulation rapture and premillennial eschatology seems to have forgotten them, and they feel left behind and forgotten by the Western Churches! And the world, well, they’ve not seen hide nor hair of the present Kingdom of God, and the glorious economy of the Risen and ruling King of Kings. You’ve kept kicking the can of God’s Kingdom down the road instead of announcing, its existence and the power of His Kingdom!
Mainstream Christianity has corrupted herself in the prosperity messages of Heaven now, Kingdom later, and that persecution and tribulation are for those poor souls “left behind.” You’ve been duped and led astray by false shepherds; gathering to themselves many disciples and lining their pockets with loads of your money and celebrity acclaim. Don’t you see? Their perversion and the false messages are designed to appeal and to attract you; corralling you into their tents and away from your true calling and mission!
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” – 2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)
Are we foolish Christians? Have we become so weak in our understanding and faith that the suffering life of Christ is not good enough for us? Maybe our opposition and fear of tribulation and persecution are because we have refused to live the crucified life and preach the crucified and risen Savior. We have become addicted to the single attribute of love and have rejected the Wrath and Vengeance of God, His Justice, Holiness, and Righteousness.
The world needs to hear the truth of their condition before the arrival of The Righteous and Holy God. Salvation through repentance of sin and belief in the Son is their only access to the Father and everlasting life.
Our trivial handling of God’s grace and his love has produced a God, which requires no repentance or sorrowfulness of our sins. The only remedy against the wrath and anger of God is the belief in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Only believing in Christ Jesus will God’s righteous and holy anger be averted. The world, and yes, even your neighbor remains under God’s wrath unless you venture out from your comfortable living and abandon your distraction with your ex-filtration. You are the rescue, and your “Ops” is to infiltrate the world with the message of salvation.
The Great Commission was not the Great Recommendation!
If God is all Love, then what did God pour out on Christ Jesus? And what is waiting for, and held in reserve for those whom you’ve failed to speak the only remedy against God’s wrath? Your “Love Card” only presents a tolerant God who winks and giggles at sin and compromise. Yes, God is love, but only to the believer, those who love God.
“The person who does not love does not know God because God is love.” – 1 John 4:8 (NET Bible)
“You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world, and never realizing that to be the world’s lover means becoming the enemy of God! Anyone who deliberately chooses to love the world is thereby making himself God’s enemy. Do you think what the scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality? Or do you imagine that this spirit of passionate jealousy is the Spirit he has caused to live in us? No, he gives us grace potent enough to meet this and every other evil spirit if we are humble enough to receive it. That is why he says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” – James 4:4
Through belief and teaching of Pre-Trib Rapture, Premillennial Eschatology, Dispensationalism, Prosperity Preaching, and the Love Card, we have turned the only Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ into a Golden Calf, and we call it Yahweh.
Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ throughout the world, who’ve been in great tribulation for years, and have been “Left Behind” by Christianity, preoccupied with leaving the world, rather than occupying and transforming it.
“But cowards who turn back from following me, and those who are unfaithful to me, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those conversing with demons, and idol worshipers and all liars—their doom is in the Lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This is the Second Death.” – Revelation 21:8 (TLB)
“Surely we are not going to be men who cower back and are lost, but men who maintain their faith until the salvation of their souls is complete!” – Hebrews 10:39
Please listen to the video message from Corrie Ten Boom: (You will have to confirm your age, do to the content of the video)
Dispensationalism – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dispensationalism is an evangelical, futurist, Biblical interpretation that understands God to have related to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants in a series of “dispensations,” or periods in history. – WIKIPEDIA
If ever there were a time to get your house in order, it’s now!
Every generation before us has been born into its own mediocrity and narcissism. But never has there been a generation as indifferent and self-absorbed as the present.
These carcinogenic attitudes have eaten away the underpinnings of the Republic. The Left has split our nation in two, and this was no accident.
We must be the generation that breaks this cycle. We can no longer be bored with complacency or be distracted by consumerism and wokeism. We must shake off the Corporate Mongrals that only see us as algorithms. We must deny them their marketing strategies of profiting from our blood and sweat.
We MUST pull our children from all governmental institutions of indoctrination, known as public schools and universities.
We must break free from the enslavement of debt and instead learn to be independent and live with less so that we can become more. They don’t want us to become more. Their power is in our becoming less human and woefully dependent.
Our greatest hour is quickly approaching – if we are to be the greatest generation, we must wake up from apathy. The ending of our way of living will require more from us than at its beginning. You will become either an Overcomer or a Deceiver. If you cling to the junk in your life, you’ll fall prey to their trickery and deception.
It will be much easier in the darkness as an Overcomer. The Truth already blinds a deceiver; light or darkness means nothing; he’s lost. Overcomers do not stumble in dark times; they are surefooted because Truth guides them and lights up their path.
Overcome your obstacles now. Waiting won’t afford you the time to untangle your bad choices. Correct decisions matter now more than at any other time in American history.
Get your house in order. It will be helpful for you and others that you are clearheaded and not a cluttered mess. In the coming months, you’ll need to act decisively and with purpose. Timing will be crucial and maybe the determinant factor of your survival.
Pray for wisdom, the kind of wisdom that only God the Father can give. You’ll need it to discern right from wrong and to avoid the great delusion that is coming and is already here being broadcasted over the airwaves and internet.
We’re headed into a time when sight won’t matter. Faith must become your eyes. Trusting in God’s Word and His promises will be the only surety left.
You might not be aware, but America has gone bye-bye.
Don’t rely on politics or politicians – We went from a Representative Republic to a Democracy and now to a Communist State, while you had your faces buried in your smartphones.
And now, a few recommendations:
Belief In the empty tomb will surely strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
Absorb the Holy Scriptures so that you may become a beacon of light.
Sweep out all that is unnecessary, as there will be an inspection. God wants you to be sharp, sure, and confident when the collapse begins.
So, get your body, mind, and heart in order, and not just your financial affairs. Unbelievers and doubters are going to need you clearheaded and hopeful.
America is soon to become either Америка or 美国这个名字 or perhaps both.
It matters which voice you listen to when you are weak and weary.
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The devil came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:2-4
It struck me recently that many times throughout my life, I’ve opted to turn stones into bread rather than wait for the word-by-word nourishment from the mouth of my Heavenly Father.
So much of my ego and masculinity is wrapped up in being independent and only asking and waiting for help as a last resort.
This is all about Sonship and resting and relying on the Father-heart of God. Anything short of this is living as an orphan and not as a true adopted son.
It can also be construed as one listening to the Father of Lies, succumbing to his temptation of denying my relationship and dependence on God, and therefore, turning stones into whatever I need.
So, when life, love, and the necessities of food, shelter, and clothing are exhausted, don’t turn your stones into bread and become self-sufficient. It is a test, and if you remain steadfast in your dependence on God and his Father-heart, you’ll not be disappointed nor dissatisfied. Our God is no deadbeat dad but a Faithful Father.
And the Devil, well, he is the Father of Lies and selfishness. Nothing good can come from him.
The Devil would have you become so self-sufficient that you wouldn’t need or want God; he’ll keep tricking you until you’re emotionally drained, spiritually dried up, and drifting in loneliness.
The reward is waiting and suffering through the loss or the lack until God comes through, as God is always faithful.
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.” – Psalms 37:25
“Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait, and he will help you.” – Psalms 27:14
Too much self-sufficiency can wreck your soul. Listen to the Father of Life and not the Father of Lies.
Is it just me, or does 21st Century Christianity need a second Reformation? Is it possible that the 16th Century Protestant Reformation didn’t go far enough?
Comparing Contemporary Christianity to Greco-Roman religious ritual of the 3rd century reveals some uncomfortable similarities. I believe it is those lingering similarities, which, to some degree, has neutered the Church’s testimony and witness to the nations.
The Under Reformed 21st Century Christianity has decentralized the message of the cross and resurrection as the focal point of preaching, teaching, and evangelism. The loss of these foundational doctrines as regular and consistent Church practice is why, for the most part, the Crucifixion has been replaced with Good Friday, the Resurrection replaced with Easter, and the Birth of Christ replaced with Christmas!
The Cross of Christ, the Resurrection, and the birth of Christ have become nothing more than religious holidays for churches to put on shows to capture new parishioners. These religious holidays are no different for Hallmark, Target, and Best Buy; they spruce up their stores and adds to attract consumers, just like many churches do.
Pastors and religious leaders may no longer be wearing long flowing robes loaded with phylacteries or the priestly liturgical vestments with golden threaded sleeves. These religious garbs were used in their day to separate the clergy from the laity to hold the learned in higher esteem than the unlearned, commoner, or laity class.
Today, the learned clergy rely on postnominals to separate themselves from the laity. Postnominals are letters placed following a person’s last name to indicate educational qualifications, the title of office, decoration, or honor. White wigs, long flowing robes, and liturgical vestments may be passe among evangelicals and fundamentalists, but postnominals are not; these letters and titles grant them hierarchy.
“Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don’t follow titles; they follow courage.” – William Wallace
Courage means action. It means to serve the interests of others. To risk. To venture. Titles separate us from one another, but courage, real courage is contagious. It makes us all brave and inspired.
Real courage and bravery is sharing Christ to a world that hates him. Being a true disciple of Jesus Christ is loaded with risk, but only outside of chapels and steeples. In reality, the call to discipleship is more like Jesus saying, “Come die with me for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom.” Heaven is where all things evil are vanquished and where the real potluck begins, not once a month at local Methodist Church!
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” – Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
We must break free from the religious trappings of safety, comfort, and convenience.
Too much of this “tradition” of orbiting the pulpit, the building, and the alter is to the detriment of local and world evangelism. To the equipping of the laity and the average believer. To the expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven. Frankly, the high expectation of the clergy doing all of the work of ministry leaves most parishioners disengaged with their faith, their calling, and the development of their spiritual gifts.
The offices gifted to the Church from Christ were not for the clergy to do all the ministry, but that they would equip and train the laity (saints) to do the work of ministry, so that all may reach maturity in Christ. Equipping the saints is for the maximum productivity in the body of Christ and the Gospel. (Eph. 4:11-16)
Being the audience once or twice a week does not forge men, women, and children into saints; but faith put into practice and action with one’s spiritual calling and giftedness does. Far too many well-seasoned believers are simply benchwarmers or spectators of a game they have no skin in.
Brothers and sisters, we don’t reach maturity in Christ Jesus as spectators or simply being faithful to a 90-minute program. Weekly services without the exercise of spiritual gifts and calling create weak Christians.
In many churches, people run out as soon as they hear the final amen. In less than five minutes, the parking lot empties. Just like at the movie theaters, as soon as the screen fades to black and the credits roll, the theater and parking lot empties. What about fellowship, relationship, and koinonia? This proves that the service or show is more important than true fellowship and serious connectedness.
We believers must have a vital connection and role within the local fellowships, whether in commercial buildings or homes. This is why there are so many transient believers; they’re searching for belonging, meaning, and purpose.
The more risk and challenge for believers to exercise their faith and practice their spiritual gifts, the more spiritual growth and maturity will be realized. If this is allowed, edification will become mutual among the laity and not exclusively within the clergy.
For example, I moved from the Bay Area to a lake community in the Sierra Foothills. There is a substantial lack of spiritual urgency up here. It was a culture shock and frankly still is. Spiritual complacency is a real danger, and the 21 Century Western Church structure is responsible for it — sadly, it is what they are producing, spiritual complacency.
I have the privilege to speak with pastors and evangelists in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Do you know what they tell me?
They tell me they want to be like America’s big successful churches. This breaks my heart. We don’t risk our lives as they do, preaching the gospel or passing out bibles among Muslims and the Taliban. We aren’t threatened by Hindus, ISIS, or Boko Haram.
Here in America, we’re too scared to share the gospel with strangers, neighbors, or anyone shopping at Walmart. Our greatest threat here in America is getting jailed by Facebook, canceled by Twitter, and de-platformed or demonetized by Youtube. Our Americanized, homogenized, and pasteurized form of Christianity has been genetically modified to produce seedless fruit. We should not be in the exporting business.
I encourage them not to mimic Western Christianity and not to model their Churches and ministries after American mega-churches, TV evangelists, our wretched prosperity gospel pontificators, and the NAR movement.
I suggest they follow the authentic biblical model of Christian practice and the ecclesiastic men of Scripture. Christianity needs Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino believers and pastors to be themselves, not an Americanized version. I encourage them to study what the Holy Scriptures instruct and to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to their Churches. Follow Christ Jesus, not American pastors.
Perhaps the First World Churches need a Bible lesson from our brothers and sisters in the Third World. They are the courageous, bold, and faithfu onesl that we Westerners should be.
Be courageous, bold, and faithful like Jesus and bury the grave clothes of the religious order of men.
“The heart has arguments with which the logic of mind is not acquainted.” – Blaise Pascal
The greatest argument you must defeat is your indecision, not to decide. Letting your mind win all the arguments against your heart is no way to live – that’s how a coward lives, and you are no coward. Are you?
A brave soul follows their heart. You know, the place where God’s Spirit dwells.
Okay, I get it. It’s so much safer listening only to your mind. Logic and reason may be safe and comfy, but you weren’t made simply for a comfortable life. And I’m sure all your “what if this” and “what if that” are normal …
… Really?
… Are you just normal, or are you just afraid?
After all, your mind can conjure up excuse after excuse — heck, your mind is an excuse factory. But you know you can’t build a life on excuses. You’re beating down your own heart with excuses! Stop bullying yourself and ignoring God’s call to action, obedience, and adventure.
Following after God requires more than your mind; he also wants your body and heart. It’s a joint exercise of body, soul, and heart. Living that way will prepare you for life now and in the hereafter.
But, living a life stalled on “what ifs” will keep you from a life of what could be. You’ll simply be a person without legend, story, or belonging, which would be a tremendous waste of a life.
The mind lives for knowledge, but the heart, well, it soars on faith.
“There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so that you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. For this is your whole duty.” — Ecclesiastes 12:12-13
So, don’t! Don’t waste your life. Rather, lose your life with Jesus; your heart will finally win the argument. Oh, and do what He says with all your heart and gusto.
I love the exchange between Rocky Balboa and his son, Robert Balboa Jr., in the film “Rocky Balboa,” released in 2006.
Robert complains to his dad that he’s fed up living under his shadow. Well, in Rocky’s own style, he rocks his son’s world with a fatherly motivational speech:
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that, and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son, and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life.“ — Rocky Balboa.
Balboa’s advice is so universal! We all need a motivational “punch to the face” at least once or twice.
Back to reality…
… I’m writing this to you because you’ll need a brave heart and stout mind for what’s coming in the weeks and months ahead. No, it won’t be about you, so don’t worry. Nope, it will be about what you have to offer to others who’ll be confused and afraid. They’ll need your brave heart and clear mind. They’ll also need your motivational speech. So, be prepared.
Decide to be a brave person and lead with your heart and your mind filled with wisdom. Then, you’ll be the person who makes leaders and not followers. Leaders who’ll know how to win the argument and live from their heart.
Standing in the gap for our nation has nothing to do with complaining, talking, podcasting, or even simple prayers. The word “Intercessor” is made up of two words:
(Inter) meaning: “between” and (ced) meaning: “go.”
To intercede literally means to go and get between God and the need. It means to actually stand in the empty void until God steps in and fills the need.
It is real labor and a deep spiritual endeavor and undertaking of intense pleading, repenting, and even arguing before God on behalf of others, who are either unwilling or unaware for the need to repent or change. Sometimes, this means going to a logistical place and filling the breach in a wall until restoration and revival begins.
Several years ago, a pastor commented about his disappointment with the decision by the Supreme Court, which redefined marriage. His concern, as I’m sure is the concerns of many pastors across the nation, was lawsuits and possible jail time for refusing to officiate certain marriages.
“Maybe I’ll just refuse to do any marriages,” the pastor sadly opined.
Standing in the gap, or becoming a true intercessor is not to abandon culture or society, or to abandon marriage rites altogether, but is to “go between,” even if it means lawsuit or jail time.
Standing in the gap is costly, and true intercession is not a quiet and passive endeavor, but stepping in and between the offenses of men, or even the offenses of a nation and the God of justice, righteousness, and holiness. It is indeed costly!
Daniel was such a man, which bravely stood in the gap of his time.
If you recall, prayer and worship, in public or in private to Jehovah, or any other god for that matter, was outlawed by King Darius. Unscrupulous men of the King’s court had encouraged the King to enact a law (sounds familiar) forbidding any prayer or worship for thirty days.
Daniel, being a continual intercessor for the return of his banished people to Israel, refused to cease his prayers to God. He faithfully prayed three times a day towards Jerusalem near his window, as he had regularly done. But these crafty men had set up surveillance, waiting for the man of God to violate the King’s edict. Having arrested Daniel, they brought him before the King.
Regrettably, as the King had been unknowingly coerced by these evil men to enact the law, the King had no other option but to pass judgment on Daniel, sentencing him to death by caged ferocious lions.
Even in this, Daniel did not waiver in his commitment to intercede or to even apologize for his violation of the new law.
Spoiler alert — When Daniel was tossed into the lion’s den, the lions acted like kittens. When King Darius saw that Daniel’s God had saved him, the King realized that he was duped by the men in his court, and so orders the immediate release of Daniel. The King, now being furious with the men of his court, orders them to be immediately tossed into the lion’s den, where they were instantly torn apart and devoured by the lions.
God saves and protects his intercessors! Did you hear that? God saves his intercessors!
WHERE ARE THE DANIELS OF OUR DAY!?!
Where are the pastors who are willing to go to jail because they stood in the gap against the gods of our culture?
Where are the everyday men and women who’ll stand in the gap for the dismembered unborn!?!
Where are the men and women who will stand in the gap for the fatherless, homeless, or alien, illegal or not in need of salvation?
Where are the evangelists and preachers proclaiming God’s redemptive word in the streets and marketplaces?
Where are the voices of 70.6% of 318 million Christians in America!?!
The darkness is so vivid that even the smallness of true faith can brighten a single city!
WHERE ARE THE FAITHFUL OF THE LAND?
Where is the authority of the believer?
Our silence and passivity have reached heaven. The cries of the unborn and the blood of their partially born dismembered bodies have reached the eyes and ears of the God of Creation. The lost and abandoned children of our cities and towns have reached the courts of God. America’s sins will not go unpunished.
If the sinners will not repent, it is time for the people of God to repent in their stead and stand in the gap, even for the unrighteous acts of our great land!
In all of this, God is still looking for men and women to stand in the gap; to risk time, treasure, and talent; and, if necessary, blood, sweat, and tears for the Good News of the Kingdom.
Diabolic means to “divide” (di) and “abolish” (abolic) – di-abolic. To divide and abolish. It is literally the opposite of the word intercessor!
Can you not see what is happening before our very eyes? Every sector of our culture and society is being divided and abolished, including history, children, family, marriage, sex/gender, education, justice; race, religion, etc.
The evil in our nation is diabolic and is a serious spiritual virus, spreading like an airborne pathogen, infecting the very soul and foundations of our nation and people.
Intercessors in our nation, cities, towns, and villages must stand in this gap and reestablish what darkness has divided and abolished. Fill in the gaps of the moral and spiritual holes in our nation’s walls.
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30
Can one man make a difference? According to Ezekiel, one man or woman can!
Christ made the difference by his standing in the gap between the just wrath of God against the sins of mankind. Christ was hung on a vertical alter, pointing all people towards the God of Heaven.
Because of what Christ achieved, God exalted his Son to the highest honor and now sits on the right side of God’s throne.
You, too, are seated in heavenly places with Christ and because of Christ.
Do you know how much authority you have in Christ at this very moment?
Be that man or woman, young or old, and stand in the gap on behalf of the lost and our land.
Silence the diabolic and divider with the heart of an intercessor and stand in the gap! AMEN
My wife, Toni, and I had a short but great conversation about the subtlety of compromise.
The story of the wayward prophet, Balaam, son of Beor, came to mind during our conversation from the book of Numbers, Chapters 22-25.
I truly believe this story of how a wayward prophet was able to cause God’s blessing to be removed from the Israelite Nation is so relevant for today.
It is happening right before our eyes!
Some would say, “but that’s Old Testament. There’s no contemporary relevance.”
Well, the unfortunate actions of Balaam, son of Beor, is herald, not only in several other Old Testament books, from Numbers to Psalms, and from Psalms to Micah, but also in the New Testament; in 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and the Book of Revelations, 2:14.
When prophets, as they are doing today, align themselves with divination, the occult, etc; when they are touted and listened to; when they cause God’s people to act and worship as the pagans do, God’s blessing is removed from our Churches and Nation. Evil will then run rampant, as it so obviously is today.
When we are reluctant to do what honors God, our reluctance is a dishonor to his Name. It’s a dishonor to Jesus!
When we place the pleasure (feelings) for others above the holiness and righteousness of God, we’ll experience his displeasure and disfavor.
God’s favor is on the one, or the many, whose zealous but humble actions bring honor to his Name, even in the small things.
Take Sydney McLaughlin, for instance. She sets a new world record and wins the gold metal for the USA in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
“Records come and go, but the glory of God is eternal. And, I no longer run for self-recognition, but to reflect His perfect will that is already set in stone. I don’t deserve anything. But by grace, through faith, Jesus has given me everything.” – Sydney McLaughlin
Do not align yourself to the subtle compromises of others or the rantings of false prophets, If you do, you’ll share their horrible fate. It is a dangerous thing to rob God of his glory and sovereignty.
Haven’t we compromised far too much as individuals, and especially as a nation?
Haven’t far too many Churches lowered their standards of Godliness and righteousness?
Evil runs rampant, but not because evil is powerful but because we lack the zeal of the Lord. God is all powerful, and evil is not. Complacency and passivity however empowers evil by weakening holiness and righteousness. The Church is to be a radiant expression of Christ and not a redundancy of worldly compromise and passivity.
It only took one man, named Balaam, a wayward Prophet, to cause a nation to compromise. It only took one man, Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the grandson of Aaron, whose zealous act turned away God’s wrath.
Where are the Phinehas’ of our day?
Where are the Sydney McLaughlin’s of our time that without compromise, give glory and honor to God?
“Courage, dear, heart…” … defy reluctance! Be zealous and passionate for our Father’s house!
“Here lies a faithful parishioner that never missed a Sunday morning service.”
Matthew 18:19-20
Amplified Bible
“Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”
When the Church comes together in perfect unity, we form an abode or a habitation for the presence of God. It is our connecting and unity that creates the Church and not a building. What fills the Church is, therefore, not sinners but saints. Each is filled with the Holy Spirit and the likeness of Christ. We know we have achieved this when we have unconditional love for one another and respect and honor for those who are our servant-leaders.
This is not about the perfection of both the saints and those who lead. It’s about perfect love and devotion to Christ and his teaching. When we are devoted to Christ and his ways, grace, mercy, and love prevails. When we focus on the failings of one another, and especially those who must give an account to the Lord for their servant-leadership, there is no abiding presence of God. Unity is thwarted, the glory of God departs, and we simply become a building of brick and mortar.
Christ will not fill a building, no matter how pretty or architecturally pleasing it may be. He fills his people and, in a special way, when they gather in unity of faith, love, and sound teaching.
When we have unconditional love and forgiveness towards one another, and when we honor those in authority over us who must give an account to God, Christ dwells in our midst. Even when our gatherings are as few as two or three and have no building to gather in—we are the Church.
The concept and identity of the Church, which, by the way, is living and active, is not summed up by Sunday services. The reason why Christ said, “where two or three are gathered in my name there am I in their midst,” is not meant to be concealed by a building or regulated by a 90 minute service, but to become a mobile spiritual habitation of the glorious presence of God. Therefore, we are to be missional, just as Christ was during his earthly ministry. Right? Jesus didn’t set up shop at some local corner with a sign on the window, advertising, “open for business.” No! He went to where people gathered!
Stop “going” to Church and become the Church! Start loving, honoring, and preferring one another. Keep forgiving and loving one another as Christ has forgiven and loved you. Serve one another, as actually serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Do everything out of love and respect for the Lord. Devote yourselves to studying and reading the scriptures and practicing the presence of God within your own hearts and souls so that you may become a whole and a holy people when you gather. When the world sees your love for one another, they will believe your message!
Ministry is not meant for the minister. Rather, ministers are to teach the Church to minister first to one another and then to the world. Our individual and corporate maturity depends on each person operating in the spiritual gift given them by the Holy Spirit. The gifts given by Christ to the Church are offices, such as apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. These offices are to train and equip the Church to do the work of ministry.
The officers are not meant to do all the work but to empower the church to carry out the work of ministry so that we all may reach maturity. An immature Church is one who produces spectators, which only increase from transient, church hopping attendees that are only devoted to themselves, and introverted church programs.
To the immature church, tithes, gifts, and offerings are only needed for self-sufficiency and to sustain the ministry strictly for the ministered. The tragic reality is that many churches simply send 10% of their revenue from tithes to missionaries rather than sending out people on a mission. Jesus Christ didn’t die to create token churches. Churches are not meant to become cemeteries of dead saints, scattered in the landscape, or sitting in church pews disengaged from ministry.
Did you know that recent studies have shown that sitting is more deadlier than smoking? Sitting around as Christians and as a church community is deadly to our testimony and our future glory.
An alive church is one that reproduces apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. An alive church recognizes the expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven rather than the expansion of their sanctuaries. The alive Church sends people out and evangelizes new converts to take their place.
Time, talent, and treasure are outwardly focused on inwardly spirit-filled saints, gathered with an outward, unified conscience of obedience, and a call to “mission impossible,” rather than a mission for dead saints.
Letters in Red (said by Jesus): “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:18-20 (NKJV)
Become alive in Christ. Live life to the fullest in Christ. Aid and pray for your pastors. Pastors, train your congregations, and do not just preach at them.
Could you imagine if all churches became equipping, training, and sending churches?
I think Christ died outside the Temple, so the entire world would see his atonement and would know of his sacrifice.
I think Jesus wants the whole world to see his Church, also outside the Temple, outside of brick and mortar buildings, so all the world would see and know of his love.
We must become more than a location, more than a building on East 3rd and West. 4th Street. We must become a living body.
If not an active and living body, we’ll become nothing more and a pretty building with a tired minister of perpetual ministering to over-ministered people with no mission; landscaped with clusters of graves and headstones. The epitaphs will read:
“Here lies a faithful parishioner that never missed a Sunday morning service.”
That sounds a little, like the servant, who buried his master’s talent into the earth because he was afraid and so risked nothing. Matthew 25:14-30
Be a living body and not a tired old minister preaching to the chior.
I think what has actually occurred these past few years is that God has pulled back the curtains. He has done this to show us all how evil our Nation has become, and how perverse our political and corporate leaders actually are on both sides of the political spectrum. God has shined the light on you and me too, to convict us of our own personal wickedness and unfaithfulness.
We should not expect God to bless America until we turn from our personal, corporate, and national sins.
What can the Righteous do when it’s the “Righteous” that are practicing unrighteousness?
It is not the unbeliever or the pagan that is to set the moral standard, but the believer. When a nation loses its moral standing, it is not the fault of unbelievers, NO! We, God’s people, bear the responsibility before God and the country.
The Church has failed to honor Jesus’ Great Commission. It’s the Gospel of the Kingdom, which changes the hearts of men and women, and which preserves a nation. The prosperity gospel, “Christian fads,” Christian this, and Christian that, heavenizing everything we touch is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s conformity to the world standards, and unfaithfulness to Christ Jesus, which has neutralized and besmirched our testimony and witness.
We were supposed to take on the same attitude and humility of Christ Jesus. We were supposed to do the good deeds of Jesus, and even surpass them because he has gone to the Father. We were supposed to be filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered with God’s grace to move mountains and to bring Good News. But instead, we built buildings and hid behind walls and stained glass windows.
Jesus hired fishermen, and the Church hires celebrities and the mighty. We’ve become the Church Impotent of the 21st Century. Let me repeat that:
We have become the Church Impotent, not the Church Important of the 21st Century. If we had been the Important Church, our culture, society, and politics would be reflective of righteousness, fairness, and justice.
Amos 5:23-27
23-27 “I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans, and goals. I’m sick of your fundraising schemes, your public relations, and image-making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”
Didn’t you, dear family of Israel, worship me faithfully for forty years in the wilderness, bringing the sacrifices and offerings I commanded? How is it you’ve stooped to dragging gimcrack statues of your so-called rulers around, hauling the cheap images of all your star-gods here and there? Since you like them so much, you can take them with you when I drive you into exile beyond Damascus.” God’s Message, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”
Do you see what happens when we make our Kings our idols [president], and Hollywood type stars our religious gods [pastors, prophets, and priests]?
Tens of thousands of people, families, and businesses have left oppressive governors and states. To where will you go under a Biden/Harris administration? Beyond Damascus?
We have long since abdicated our religious duties and responsibilities to the State, and the State has willingly taken the place of the Church in society.
Authority in a vacuum is always replaced with another authority. In this case, the “New Authority” will not rule according to the Church’s values or ethics. We gave it up willingly for a 501-C3 tax break!
Judgment always begins with the House of God. And, my dear brothers and sisters, this is not the kind of judgment that a rapture will save you from. We did this, and it’s our robes which we have soiled.
Prepare for a season of purification and trials. Not to destroy us, but to bring us back to God that we may take our place in this age and the age to come. That we may once again be the Light and Salt of the earth. That we may preach the true Gospel of the Kingdom, which is actually the real Good News, which the world needs and yearns for. That we may make true disciples.
Turn back to God Churchgoer. Repent Pastor, prophet, and priest. Pour out your lament for yours and our sins. Put ash upon our own heads, and pray that God will grant all of us contrite hearts and godly repentance.
Call To Courage 