Drawn or Drifting

In life, we will either be drawn deeper into the heart of God by the wind of the Spirit or drift farther away by the influencing currents of personal preference or popular culture. At no time are we floating in a spiritual doldrum without movement in either direction. 

This drawing or drifting applies to all areas of life – our family relationships, our God-ordained identity, biblical truth, and a cultural interpretation of that truth. To be drawn by God is the by-product of Lordship. Those who live in the vessel of Lordship have their spiritual sails set to the wind of the Spirit. When we decide to be our own lord and set our sails based on our personal navigational skills, the drifting begins. We can drift away from God and still look religious and magnanimous to other drifters who share a similar worldview adrift from the truth. As a result, we become a flotilla of drifting error. 

All is not lost for drifters because God is always blowing fair winds across their souls to remind them of His love. His winds invite them to a better way forward. A great revival wind is blowing toward the drifters. Those who are adrift are not without hope. The wind of God’s love is always available no matter how far someone has drifted. Sails on the mast of personal lordship are about to be reset to receive the Lordship of Jesus. Expect to see individuals and entire segments of our culture make dramatic course corrections because they encountered the drawing winds of God’s presence. 

Shared Plunder

As God blesses you and your particular Kingdom assignment,  it will be important to not claim ownership of anything God has done as the result of your faithfulness. These moments are a test of our hearts, especially when those who abandoned us amid a conflict arrive after a battle has been waged to claim a share of the blessing, having shed no spiritual or emotional blood allowing them to make such a claim.

A section of scripture in II Samuel describes the mighty warriors of David, who accomplished unusual feats of heroism. One such warrior was a man named Eleazar. He stood beside David in a battle against the Philistine’s when the entire Israelite army fled in fear. The desertion left David and Eleazar alone to do the fighting. When the battle was finally over, the text says Eleazar had fought so long and so hard he could no longer lift his sword. 

One verse caught my attention, “The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder” (II Samuel 23:10). If we have been walking with the Lord for any length of time, we will have sad stories to tell. Some of these are stories are about those who deserted us at the moment of greatest need, and after we fought an intense battle alone, returned to claim a share in the victory. Seeing a deserter return can challenge the depth of character for those who stood and fought and did not run away.

David’s mighty warriors were mighty in battle, but they were also mighty in character. David and Eleazar allowed the deserters to return to claim their portion of plunder. Imagine what it felt like to receive such grace if you were one who ran away? That expression of grace is the evidence of a real warrior heart.

In a conflict, whether natural or spiritual, at some point, we have all been cowards in need of grace. True warriors understand human frailty. The next battle the deserters faced with David would allow them to follow the example of a real mighty warrior – a warrior who saw the bigger picture of someone's life than a one-time failure. The measure of true greatness happens when grace is offered to failed people instead of punishment and rejection. 

The Most Deadly Virus

While something like the coronavirus is nothing to take lightly, the fear it creates is what we must prepare for even more than the virus itself. Fear can cause good people to abandon goodness and begin to act in ways they would never have imagined before fear was allowed to guide their thoughts and actions. While it is wise to prepare for negative outcomes in life, never allow the fear of anything to become your primary motivation for preparation. When fear is allowed to infect us it creates spiritual blindness causing us to stumble through life unable to see the more important issues in play. Fear is the most deadly virus known to man. Avoid it at all costs.

A Time of Interpretation

This morning, I sensed the Lord saying that unusual and unexpected interpretations of private prayer in the Spirit are coming. These interpretations are similar to an understanding that occurs when a tongue is offered in a public assembly followed by an interpretation, but this particular manifestation will come from private prayer. 

For over 40 years, praying in the Spirit has been a significant part of my prayer life. I do have prayer lists of things I pray in my known language, but it is prayer in tongues that has occupied more and more of my prayer time. I remember as a young believer reading Paul’s words in I Corinthians 14, where he said, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you” (v. 18). He also placed a high priority on the gift, “I wish you could all speak in tongues” (v 5). I took Paul’s words and the example of his prayer life seriously.

If you are one who utilizes this power gift of prayer, expect there to come insight into areas of life and culture that will arrive not because of your experience or education, but because the Spirit found someone through whom Heaven could pray Spirit-inspired solutions into this world. God is increasing the tempo of these interpretations that will reveal His plan for individuals and culture. In some cases, the interpretations we receive today will come from prayers offered in decades past when our Spirit, not our mind, was engaged in prayer.

False Finish Lines

The Lord is moving your finish line. What your weakness and the condemnation of others have declared as your ending will become your new beginning. Only the Lord has the right to define your life. He is inviting you to step over a false finish line. When you take this step of faith, a new way and a new beginning will appear. This work of God will become your testimony of His mercy and provision.

New Book Cover

I just gave my editor the final OK on the book cover for my new book, BEYOND. When you read the book, you will know why we chose a map of Oregon as the background. The content of the book is transferrable across all life-assignments. 

We hope to have the book ready for purchase in both print and Kindle formats sometime in March. I included the book’s back cover text to give you a feel for what’s coming.

“What is beyond all that we would dare to ask or think? What is it to believe in the beyond? You are invited to press into the realm of revelation, where God’s plans are bigger and better than anything you have imagined.”

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…  - (Ephesians 3:20).

Sad Battles

There are times when the environment of spiritual conflict is more deadly than the weapons wielded in actual battle. Environments, whether social, familial or work-related carry life and death potential.

In II Samuel 18, David’s army entered a battle in the forest of Ephraim against the army of Absalom. 20,000 soldiers died that day. The text reads, “The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword” (II Samuel 18:8 NLT).

The forest of Ephraim was thick with oak and terebinth trees limiting the ability of Absalom's army to retreat. If the trees were not enough, the forest was filled with bogs, thickets, and wild animals. It was a dense, hostile place. Perhaps the saddest part of the battle was the fact that the opposing army was David's own people who had rebelled and came under the command of Absalom, David’s son.  Absalom died in that battle when his hair was caught in the limbs of a tree while retreating on the back of a mule. As he dangled from the tree, he became easy prey.

The battle in the Ephraim forest weakened the kingdom. The conflict resembled a civil war. Civil wars are so negative in their outcome that the Romans would never allow a celebration of triumph for a victory in a civil war. They knew civil war only weakened the empire. 

Civil wars between Christians have a similar weakening impact on our relationship with each other and our testimony to the surrounding culture. This weakening takes place when we put each other in places of conflict where death, not life is the outcome. Our negative thoughts, words, and deeds become relational bogs and thickets that catch people and make them easy prey for a loveless expression of our faith.

Of late, the Lord has impressed upon me more and more the importance of the environment of my heart. Any toxic attitude or desire to punish an opposing opinion must be dealt with immediately, or my relationships with fellow believers will become a place of sorrow resembling the forest of Ephraim.  

Chasing After the Wind of Social Demographics

Chasing after ever-fluctuating social demographics is the work of a political spirit. State and national demographics will always change as people with differing social views move in and out of an area. We can try to redraw voting districts and even state lines, but in the end, these will be futile pursuits. In God’s Kingdom, the most important demographic is the human heart. The heart is where Jesus invested His time and energy. It is also where He wants us to focus our attention. The Great Commission will not be accomplished by adjusting natural demographic lines. It will happen when individual hearts are changed - one at a time. That is the most profound culture-altering demographic.

Blessing of Breakthrough

Jan sent this blessing to me this morning. If you need rest, read this and believe God has something better planned for you than the restrictions you are experiencing because of emotional and spiritual weariness.

_____________________________

Blessing of Breakthrough 

Isaiah 28:12, 20-22 & Psalm 31:7-8; 32; 118:25 & Hebrews 4:1-10

In response to Assyrian aggression, Isaiah’s message of rest in the promise of God’s deliverance triggers mockery. The political and religious leaders have trusted in foreign alliances for protection, but there will be no rest— like a bed too short to stretch out on, with a covering too narrow. Isaiah keeps pointing back to God’s invitation of refreshing rest (28:12).

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I bless your spirit with His refreshing rest,

especially in light of all that is shaking

around you—the wars and rumors of wars,

the radical assaults on the nations,

and the atrocities ravaging its citizens.

May you overcome the taunting spirit

of mockery and contempt of the day—

a tactic to delegitimize your influence

in culture—to shame you,

to demonize you, to justify shutting you up,

because of your simple belief in God’s promise

to break through for you.

To rely on human capabilities

is to be uncovered, cramped and cold—

trying to rest on illusions:

and if we don’t come clean with God,

our sorrows and frustrations will be many.

In His mercy, God brings conviction

by uncovering self-determination

and self-reliance:

admit rebellion against Him,

confess what corrupts His truth,

and acknowledge any guilty actions:

all is washed away and all pain

disappears—you are forgiven!

When you trust in God’s forgiveness,

He wraps you all around with His love:

He is your Secret Hiding Place,

He protects you from these troubles,

He surrounds you with songs of gladness—

with shouts of rescue, He releases

your breakthrough.

Hear the word of the Lord:

I will stay close to you—

guiding you along the pathway for your life;

I will advise you along the way.

So don’t make it difficult—

don’t resist me when I take you

where you’ve not been before—

just come with me!

Receive His invitation:

I am your Quiet Place

I am your Comfort—

where you are weary,

I will cause you to rest:

This the Refreshing.

I bless you with breakthrough

into believing, refreshing rest.

Don't Forget Who You Are

In and around our lives, spiritual warfare is constantly being waged. While we fight from a place of victory that never gives us an excuse to live naively disengaged from these battles.  That choice will place us and our loved ones in great peril. Disengagement opens the door to things an engaged warrior would never consider.

One of the saddest stories in Scripture records the sin of King David with Bathsheba. One day, David is an honored king. The next day he becomes a rapist and murderer. How did that happen with such rapidity? II Samuel 11:1 gives us some insight, “In the spring of the year when kings normally go out to war…David stayed behind in Jerusalem.” David was supposed to be leading his troops but chose to abandon his role and remain behind at home while his men fought the battle. What followed was the forced sexual encounter with Bathsheba, her pregnancy, and the positioning of her husband, Uriah, to be killed in battle to cover up David’s sin.

David called Uriah back from the battlefront with an invitation for Uriah to  “Go on home and relax” and enjoy a night of intimacy with his wife.  It was David's hope Uriah's one night encounter with his wife would cause people to think it was Uriah who impregnated his wife, not David. Uriah refused to go to his home and slept instead at the palace entrance with the palace guard. David tried again to get Uriah to abandon his duty.  He invited Uriah to dinner and got him drunk, giving him another opportunity to sleep with his wife. Again, Uriah slept at the palace entrance with the palace guards. Uriah refused David’s offer saying, “My master’s men are camping in open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife?

David stayed home disengaged from battle. Uriah remained engaged as a warrior. Even when called back from the frontlines, Uriah slept with other warriors. He kept his battle-ready mindset intact. When warriors forget their rightful place in battle, it creates an opening for unnecessary death and destruction. As believers, we are never without spiritual conflict. If we stay spiritually active and battle-ready, fully armored in Christ, nothing will be able to take us down. An offer of compromise, no matter how appealing and well-crafted, will not have the power to disengage us from our assignment.

A Good Kind of Ornery

I have come to appreciate ornery people – ornery people with a good heart. For some of you who might not know what ornery means, the dictionary definition comes in two forms. One definition describes a person who is irritable, difficult to control, or combative. The other usage describes a person as “having a playful tendency to cause trouble, mischievous.” I am referring to the latter kind of ornery.

What is so appealing about this kind of person is the absence of emotional or relational camouflage. You really know what they think and where they stand.  They tell you the unvarnished truth no matter who is in the room. They do it with a wry smile on their face that lets you know they will still be standing with you no matter what happens. In that honesty, the last thing on their mind would be to abandon you by remaining silent when what you needed most was honesty. 

A Barren Message

A message of contempt will always create barrenness in the life of those who are swayed by its content. No matter how strong an opinion or well-researched a position might be, a message of contempt does not contain the seed of life. 

A barren epitaph was pronounced over David’s wife after she mocked with contempt how David worshipped the Lord when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem. “So, Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life” (II Samuel 6:23). Each time I read that verse, I cringe in sadness for Michal and gain a new measure of respect for the subtle power of unrestrained contempt.

A dictionary definition of contempt reads, “The feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless.” Contempt is manifested in anger, disgust, or scorn. Samuel Johnson, the English essayist and social commentator of the 18^th century, said this of contempt, “Contempt is a kind of gangrene, which if it seizes one part of a character, it corrupts all the rest by degrees.” Our culture is infected with contempt. The Church is not immune to this infection. 

God desires to plant seeds of life in our lives. We must offer him a healthy womb for those seeds to create life, not division, disgust, or death. Do not open your life up to the seductive spirit of contempt. What at first appears to be a welcomed union of shared emotion will, in the end, become a barren and sad place of stolen potential. 

Redeemed Failures

Recently, I was asked to write a contributing chapter to a book about prophecy. In my introductory remarks, I wanted to introduce the reader to the reality of my life in the Spirit. I wrote, “In this chapter, I have assembled some thoughts I hope will help you steward your prophetic life well. Most of these impressions and lessons were learned the hard way – through failure. In all the ups and downs of life and ministry, I have learned that redeemed failures can become the most cherished teachers.”

It can be hard to imagine how failure can be redeemed and become a cherished teacher when it is fresh, raw, and humiliating. In our pain, we try to ignore our failures and move on in an attempt to discover our strong points and linger in their illusion. That choice never produces good fruit. God has always done His best work in our weak and broken places if we embrace the responsibilities that go along with partnering with God in a redemptive work.

The older I get, the more meaningful the Lord’s words to Paul have become to me when I read how He addressed human frailty.   “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). If God’s supernatural power works best in our weakness, then our weakness becomes a learning environment where we are tutored by the Spirit how to encounter God’s grace and experience the power of His love. Don't waste your failures.

Discovering the Substance Behind Prophetic Predictions

Maybe it’s because I have been doing this for a long time, but I’m no longer impressed with stand-alone prophetic predictions no matter who gives them. What catches my attention is the heart and purpose of God behind the prophecy. If we are not careful, we can miss the deeper reason why a predictive revelation was given in the first place. 

The next time you hear someone make a prediction, ask the Lord to show you why He let you know something before it happens. That "why" is the most essential element in a prophetic word. A predictive prophetic word is simply a spiritual butler who opens the door of revelation and invites us inside the mansion of God’s heart. The Lord's reasoning behind a prophetic word, not the initial announcement itself, is where the real substance of a prophetic word is discovered.

The Power of Inquiry

What made King David such an effective leader and a man after God’s own heart was his willingness to inquire of the Lord for direction before he took action. On the few occasions when David did not inquire of the Lord, death, sorrow, and heartache took place. Each of us can be effective in our particular Kingdom assignment if we are willing to inquire of the Lord before we speak or act.  On the other hand, like David, we will sow death, sorrow, and heartache when we rely on our own wisdom or follow our unbridled passions without first inquiring of the Lord.

No Longer

A significant transition takes place in our relationship with God when we longer see ourselves as working FOR God, but WITH God.

That transition takes place when we no longer see ourselves a - 

sinners, but as saints fully redeemed

servants, but as friends of God

orphans, but as sons and daughters

This change of insight into our true identity will radically upset the spirit of religion that desires to control us with a lesser image of ourselves than how God sees us. It will also challenge our understanding of God's love and require that we step out of the cell of a broken identity into the freedom of a new creation.

Surviving Personal Earthquakes

When you are in the middle of a very erratic season of life where preferred outcomes and emotions rise and fall each day, that is not a good time to make life-altering decisions. If your life looks like a frenetic graph with up and down spikes resembling the needle marks left on a seismometer during an earthquake, step back and try to look at the big picture. The perspective gained from the larger image of chronological time will help you see what can be missed in the blinding emotion of the moment. 

The tremors you are experiencing will not be the final record of your life. They are only reporting what is happening now. There will come a time when the needle on your emotional seismometer will settle down and indicate calm and clarity once again. As devastating as these shakings can be, like natural earthquakes, they don’t last forever. 

When personal earthquakes take place, ride out the shaking with your hope placed firmly in the goodness of God. That is the only safe hope. It can survive any shaking no matter how much destruction takes place.

The Checkmate of God

This morning in prayer, I saw an image of the Lord seated at a chessboard. The chess pieces were ornate and represented the nations of the earth. I looked to see who His opponent was and realized he was so insignificant in comparison to God that I could not even see his head above the tabletop. It appeared as if no one was seated across from the Lord. The enemy’s lack of significance did not allow him to play the game with any hope of final victory.  Each move he made could not stand up against the wisdom and power of God’s strategy. Patiently and peacefully, the Lord continued to move each chess piece around the chessboard, according to a plan none of us can fully understand or comprehend the complexity of its design.

This life and the affairs of humanity are being orchestrated by the hand of God, not by evil. None of what we see taking place on the world stage is without a righteous and merciful outcome. When things make no sense or people issue warnings that the sky is falling, wait in expectation for the next move of God. His hand is always making a strategic play at just the right time that will checkmate the most elaborate plan of hell.

The Next Generation of Revelation

While the faith once delivered to the Church is unchangeable and true, our ability to grasp the fullness of that faith may not happen in a single generation. What one generation considered either true or false based on personal or cultural interpretation might be challenged by the next generation. The interpretation of matters of faith carries both risk and reward. 

There is something called Meta Induction Theory that suggests our accepted scientific theory can change over time. Pesticides once declared safe are now known to cause cancer. The earth was considered flat until proved otherwise. Germs were unknown because they remained unseen.

Every area of life goes through a process of discovery where our current level of knowledge experiences a process of turnover called “half-life knowledge.” Ideas or our interpretation of those ideas can become obsolete or disproven over time. Some of what our great-grandparents considered as scientific reality is no longer considered true.

A spiritual form of Meta Induction Theory can apply to our faith. In my generation, we have seen the role of women in ministry return to the original intent of God and not be isolated to a few corrective verses that had a specific cultural application. We realized the gifts of the Spirit were for today and not to be left behind in the dusty pages of history. The role of apostle and prophet has stepped back into their rightful place alongside the other equipping gifts.

God is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The rest of what was once delivered to the Church might require many generations to unpack its fullness. We are in a moment of tremendous reset where some of what we thought to be true and unchanging was only the first generation of a much larger revelation. Remain teachable. Hold everything with an open hand. God is placing fresh revelation in the hands of those who are willing. 

Creating a Healthy Prophetic Environment

A prophetic ministry requires two elements if it is to remain healthy and endure over time. It requires revelation and an environment. Some good people put out word after word without considering the environment where a prophecy has the best chance to live and thrive and express the character of God's Kingdom. If you are beginning your prophetic journey or you have been doing it for a long time, make sure that you nurture the environment where your words take root as much as you desire to speak the word of the Lord.  Future generations will thank God for both the content of your words and the healthy environment you left behind.  

Surviving a Spiritual Free-for-all

I was talking to someone recently and shared with them whenever God begins to move, there will always be a mixture of opposing spiritual forces. This is what took place in Acts 16 between Paul and a fortune teller. Paul confronted the demon speaking through the woman, and she was set free. As a result of their actions and the cultural turmoil created by their obedience, Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison. 

God is all-powerful, but that does not mean when He first steps onto the stage of a circumstance, all the dark performers will automatically depart. They must be confronted, or they will continue to speak just like the fortune teller did in Paul's day. When God begins to bring wholeness to an individual, a family, or a nation, His presence will expose and dislodge embedded deceptions. It can look like a spiritual free-for-all until a matter is settled by a demonstration of God's power. 

If you find yourself in the middle of a spiritual free-for-all, find out where the Spirit is moving and follow Him. He will be faithful to show you the way forward through the debris field. 

Losing Credibility

If the primary motivator of what we do is the maintenance of credibility among our peers, we will not take our place on the expanding frontier of revelation. Each explorer in history, whether it was the exploration of new geography or a new way of thinking, left their credibility behind with those still trapped in fear of the unknown. Credibility has value when it is sourced in our character. It loses value if it becomes an anchor of fear that keeps us from moving forward into places not yet explored. 

The Purpose of New Wineskins

When Jesus taught about new wineskins, He wasn’t referring to the latest model of ministry. He was talking about the condition of our hearts. From a repurposed heart will flow new ways of relating to a culture that creates models of ministry to serve the purposes of God. When we equate and restrict the purpose of new wine to the creation of a new model of ministry, we will miss the purpose of new wineskins. New wineskin models of ministry are the byproduct of a changed heart.

Spiritual Diversions

A spiritual diversion can look and sound righteous. In its appeal, a diversion will attempt to keep you from a deeper work of God. A diversion must carry enough truth to draw the naïve into the flow of its deception. We will always have a mixture of truth and error whenever the Spirit of God moves against the spirit of the age. Discernment is required to discover the deeper issues hidden under human emotion and misguided allegiance. Not all that appears right on the surface is right in the heart of God. 

Beyond an Emotional Response

Hell accomplishes its most significant work in times of confusion. Make sure, at every point, you are responding to what is taking place around you with a word from the Lord, not an emotional response to external stimuli. This point of tactical wisdom kept me alive as a SWAT cop, and it is what keeps spiritual warriors alive in times of spiritual warfare.

True Freedom

Historically, the most culture-shaping moves of God took place when the Church was marginalized and without a position of influence in secular culture. China and Iran are currently experiencing two of the greatest revivals in modern times. Both of those oppressive governments have tried to kill, imprison, and limit the influence of the Church to no avail. 

At our inception on the Day of Pentecost, 120 believers huddled together in an upper room living under the thumb of Rome’s power and the disdain of religious leaders who worked in concert with the government to crucify Jesus. No oppressive thumb of government restriction or any misguided judgment from people who purport a preferred faith could contain the message of Jesus Christ.

Our freedom in Christ is not given to us by any earthly institution. It comes from the hand of God. In seasons of heated social debate, it is wise to maintain a historical perspective on the faithfulness of God across time. He has never failed those who place their trust in Him, and Him alone.  

Heaven's Concierge

We are the keeper of the keys of heaven. The phrase “the keeper of the keys” has been used to describe someone who maintains, watches over and defends the interest of their employer. A modern-day hotel concierge - the keeper of the keys -  can trace the roots of their role back to France in the Middle Ages where the word was originally used. A concierge was given authority to lock and unlock the castle of the person they served.  

In Matthew 16: 13-20, an interesting dialogue takes place between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples gave a variety of responses revealing how the religious culture of the day viewed Jesus. Then the Lord pressed the disciples personally and asked, “But who do you say that I am?" In typical Peter fashion, he answered for the group, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said to him 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

Jesus then told the disciples upon that revelation, He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not be able to stand against the advance of God’s Kingdom. To empower us to accomplish this task, Jesus went on to say “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

The revelation of Jesus Christ, who is seated above all things in a place of ultimate authority, is the Kingdom key that can unlock all gates of deception. The keys of our authority are cut to the profile of Jesus Christ. Only the revelation of Jesus has the power and authority to unlock doors of opportunity or opposition. We are not the source of that authority. We are the concierge of Jesus' authority. We open and close doors as directed by the Spirit.

Today, if you are called by God to advance, and you are confronted by a gate of hell, insert the revelation of Jesus Christ into the lock and turn the key by faith.  The tumblers of deception that formed the mechanism of hell's lock will give way to the authority of the Lord. This is the duty of someone who is employed as heaven's concierge on earth. 

Prophecy, Critics, and Comfort Zones

A prophecy was delivered by the late Bob Jones, noting that when the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl, it will mark the beginning of a revival. For some, prophetic words spark a negative knee-jerk response. No matter how accurate a prophet might be, there will always be those who are determined to find something they do not like about either the prophet or the message they deliver.  

The world and, unfortunately, some in the Church have adopted a spirit a denial choosing as their first response to discredit a prophet or prophetic word that does not align with their narrow interpretation of life. Don’t be one of those people. These nit-picking responses are disguised under a false label called “discernment” or a dismissive wait-and-see attitude that is a form religion-speak used to reject anything outside the critic’s narrow interpretation of spiritual reality. 

The Bereans noted in Acts 17 are frequently cited by these critics as their motivation for rejection. In their defense, they quote, “They (Bereans) searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” These critics fail to mention the first part of that same verse that says, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message.” 

An open mind and the wise use of Scripture is a healthy combination if we are at least willing to listen to the message bearer before rejecting what they speak. The Bereans "listened eagerly," and so should we.

A Week of Convergence

This is a week of converging and turning. Multiple events will take place in our culture to create a convergence revealing the will of the Father. This convergence will become an announcement of a new season in our history. Guard your heart and your words. Those not blinded by cynicism, mockery, and slander will be able to see these converging events and hear their announcements.

A New Book

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the edge of the ever-expanding frontier of God’s revelation on Earth? Our place on that frontier is where we partner with God’s Spirit to accomplish the goal of the Great Commission -  to make disciples of all nations. 

You have a Kingdom assignment in one of the seven spheres of cultural influence, Government, Religion, Economy, Education, Arts & Entertainment, Media, or Family. I have written a book that will help you discover that assignment and your role in its implementation.                                                                                                          

For the last several months, I have been writing a new book titled, “BEYOND – Exploring the Frontier of God’s Expanding Revelation.” It should be ready for purchase around April 1 in both print and Kindle formats on Amazon.

I’m letting you know about the book because today my editor takes possession of the manuscript to begin the editing process. Your prayers would be appreciated. Thank you.