A Beautiful Moment

Today a beautiful moment occurred. I had prepared lunch and called Jan to meet me at the table on our patio. It was a lunch like many we have experienced together over the last 48 years. This time it was somehow different. Knowing our years ahead are far less than those we have lived together as husband and wife, a reality and beautiful finality descended over our conversation. 

As a shared emotion arrived and displayed its intent, I said, “I love you, and I am so thankful for what we have had together.” Jan replied, “I feel the same.” In the next moment, tears formed in our eyes and began to release a moist trail of shared endearment. 

These are moments of gratitude that can only occur when a commitment to mutual love has led the way through failure and shortcoming in a relationship. Our tears were a gift from God reminding us once again of what truly matters.

God's Amazing and Unexpected Ways

I’m index finger typing these words on my iPhone because we lost power last night and our house Internet connection is down. Last night someone was fleeing from the police and took down a power pole.

At 4:00 am, I walked several blocks to the crash scene and spoke with the flagger who was monitoring the closed street. He said of all the poles to hit this was the one with all the neighborhood connections on it. A new pole is being installed. It will take several more hours for our power to return.

Walking back from the crash scene it was pitch black. When I got to our house, I turned off my flashlight, turned the bill of my baseball cap around, and looked up into the night sky. It was brilliant with stars. I stood there for several moments praying and taking in the beauty. Then a shooting star crossed the sky.

I made a wish that was more of a prayerful declaration. I said, “May the glory of the Lord fill the Earth today in amazing and unexpected ways.”

After an estimated 75,000-100,000 believers gathered in Washington DC yesterday to pray and worship, I am living in a greater expectation that those amazing and unexpected ways of God are closer to becoming a reality than we can imagine. This is a day to believe that God is about to do something beyond our wildest imaginations and most heartfelt prayers. The heavens are declaring His glory.

Something Has Been Birthed

This morning, Jan said to me, “Something has been birthed.” Around our house, that means the Spirit brought something into our realm that was not present before the birthing process took place.  This process has been very uncomfortable on many levels. Just like it is in the natural, a delivery is intense and fatiguing. At the height of the pain, it can also be disorienting. 

What you have been feeling for months was not the norm of your life pre-pregnancy. You have questioned yourself at times, wondering if something was wrong with you and how you have been feeling. While a pregnant mother can't forget that she is carrying a child in her womb, many of us can forget we are carrying a promise. We forget that a delivery requires a season of gestation and development. We may not have a physical belly bump, morning sickness, or crazy food cravings. However, we can manifest similar issues spiritually and assign our confused feelings to other areas of our life, especially if we have forgotten we are pregnant and carrying a developing promise. 

 

This reminds me of a movie I saw a long time ago. The title slips my mind. In the movie, a young woman was in a war zone nine months pregnant. In the heat of battle, with bombs going off and bullets flying everywhere, she had to stop and give birth to her child in the rubble of the conflict. Her context reminds me of what is taking place in our culture at this moment in our history. 

We all want the birthing of our promise to happen in a clean, calm, and secure environment, but that is not how things happen when conflict surrounds our lives. The promise God has destined for birthing in your life at this time may be delivered in the heat of battle, not in a place of peace and security. This is not a time to worry. Focus on the birthing. God was faithful to keep the promise alive and growing in your life even when you forgot it was there, and He will be faithful to see it through to its final delivery. Trust Him. He has been making these kinds of deliveries since Eden. 

Our Pursuing God

While pursuing God is of utmost value after we become aware of His presence and give our lives to Him, we need to remember it was His pursuit of us that initiated our relationship with Him in the first place. 

Scripture is filled with examples of God’s pursuit of people. Jesus met Paul on the Damascus Road. The Lord called out to young Samuel in the night. Moses heard his calling spoken from within a burning bush. Jesus asked 12 unlikely men to leave behind what was known to follow Him into an undefined future. 

What if the politician we have been told to hate or the violent rioter for whom we might have deep disgust, all of a sudden, were met by our pursuing God? Would we have the capacity in our faith to believe, or would we struggle as the Early Church did with Paul’s conversion?  Our problem is exacerbated when we continually listen to or read opinions from voices that do not believe in redemption, only condemnation. The sights and sounds coming through our computers, smartphones, and televisions are continually confirming and validating our limited understanding of God's love, especially as we move deeper into the current Presidential election cycle and the possible confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice.

 

God pursued all of us who now know Him. Without His pursuit, we would not have a relationship with Him. The Lord is actively pursuing all those we gave up on and those we might now call enemies of the good. Dismissal, in any form, is never the heart of God. It shuts the door on the possibility of hope and reveals that we do not fully understand the transforming power of God’s love. 

Only God has the final say on what is taking place in the heart of another person, no matter what the evidence of their life might display. His pursuing love is always greater than the dismissals and negative proclamations we issue when someone does not measure up to our standard of what is right.

God Will Help Us Succeed

We are in a time like that of Nehemiah, a man called by God to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem. Behind the scenes and without the permission of potential dissenters, Nehemiah rallied allies and began the project as doubting eyes looked on. 

When his plan was finally discovered,  Nehemiah explained why he was taking on the project and why it would be successful.

 

“Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king. They replied at once, 'Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!' So, they began the good work” (2:18). 

 

Like those who initially thought reconstructing the walls was an impossible task, it only took a single word of hope to turn the tide. All creative work begins with an expression of hope.

 

To the natural eye, our culture may appear headed for disaster and social collapse. Still, for those with ears to hear the word of the Lord and vision to see God’s plan for restoration, this is a season of tremendous opportunity.

 

Reformers and restorers do not work from consensus. They work from revelation. Put aside the doubt and fear that has been deposited in your heart and mind and open your thinking to the possibilities of Heaven's environment being expressed on Earth. 

Against impossible odds, Nehemiah carried with him a victorious word of hope. He spoke that word to the listening crowd, “The God of heaven will help us succeed” (2:20). That is our hope as we venture into our culture to rebuild the broken walls of our nation and the broken walls of human hearts. God will help us succeed.

 

Not Overwhelmed

Events are amassing on a global scale that could become a historic moment of transition. In August, I could sense a gathering of these events taking place. At that time, I wrote a blog post about something called Singularity. Singularity is a moment when seemingly disconnected events happen simultaneously with such rapidity; the human mind perceives them as a single event. As these events take place in unison, an unprepared mind could become overwhelmed.

In the middle of the wildfires, hurricanes, Covid-19 issues, and an upcoming election where in some quarters dire predictions of social unrest are predicted no matter who wins, we can forget that a broader global context is transpiring. Just this morning, I read a note from a friend who is a missionary in Asia. He said China is on the verge of famine. My friend said sources within the nation revealed the government is demanding its citizens to reduce food consumption by a third. Nervous countries take desperate actions to survive, not only with their citizens but with surrounding nations and beyond.

 

Perhaps at no point in my lifetime have I seen such a need to prepare the equivalent of a spiritual and emotional go-bag. Like a go-bag in the natural, that is light and mobile and only contains the very basics needed to live during short seasons of displacement due to a natural disaster, so it is with a spiritual go-bag. 

 

Today, before the possibility of a life-altering moment of global singularity could become a reality, gather with those you love and prepare your go-bag of faith. Keep it simple. If anything does not meet the standard of loving God and loving people, leave it behind. Any excess items will only slow you down when you need to move at the speed of faith while following the leading of the Spirit.

Sheltering in Place

At some point, in this over-heated social atmosphere, we have to bar the door and shelter in place. It is a sheltering just like teachers are advised to do when an active shooter is roaming through the halls of a school looking for victims. The sheltering in place is emotional and spiritual. 

Conflict, confrontation, and division are the current shooters roaming the halls of our culture looking for their next victim. They are armed with weapons designed to rip through the fabric of our being and destroy our soul if we offer them a target. 

Today, bar the door to your life and let nothing in that is not offered by God. Press close to those you love and embrace each of them. That shared embrace is the only safe place while the world is under assault. While pain and sorrow are rampant may our hope remain intact.

 

The Fair Wind of God's Spirit is Coming

We are in the middle of a climate change – a change in the climate of our culture. This climate change is stirring up winds that will move us past our current reality pushing aside the fog of deception. This wind is beginning to blow across our nation, steering us away from the headlands of false promises and the shallow waters of overreaction. The common sense of the common man and woman is about to take the helm of our vessel, aligning our course with the wind of God’s Spirit.  Under an adjusted course heading provided by the Master Mariner’s navigational map, we will steer away from the shoals of failure and despair and turn our course toward the wide-open sea of a flourishing future. Stand at Heaven’s helm alongside the Lord and look toward the horizon with hope. The climate is changing. Fair winds are coming.

Taking Time to Fill Up

When I was a kid, whenever my dad would drive our family to a distant destination, before he pulled into a relative’s driveway or a camping spot for the night, he would find a gas station and top off his gas tank. As an impatient and tired kid, that seemed like a waste of time. It was only later as an adult that I learned the importance of his decision. If an emergency took place during the night, he could get his family out safely while others were still looking for a place to fill up. Responsible parents prepare and protect. To this day, I continue to follow my father's example.

Yesterday, I went into town to top off my pickup just in case we needed to evacuate because of the wildfires. I still had over half a tank left, and that could take us a long way, but I wanted to be full just in case. When I got to the gas station, cars were lined up 10-15 deep for each pump. I turned around and went back home. Later in the day, I noticed the station was closed. They were out of gas.

Today, I rode my bicycle into town and, along the way, I stopped to ask the station attendant when gas would be available. He was not sure. He said other gas stations in the vicinity were also out of gas due to the need created by the wildfires and evacuation preparation. I’m glad I can still hear my father's voice about being prepared and had enough gas to make it somewhere if an unexpected evacuation were to take place during the night.

 

There are times when some of us run our lives too close to empty, emotionally, and spiritually. We seem to get by on vapors until a real life-emergency comes, and we have nothing left to offer ourselves or anyone else who might depend on our personal preparation. 

 

The circumstances of your life may have drained your tank. Before you get into a situation that requires enough soul fuel to get you out of a personal danger zone, stop and take time to refill. This refilling can take on various forms. It might be a moment of pause to appreciate the dawn of a new day or being awakened at night and stepping outside to ponder the expanse of space. A favorite verse of Scripture spoken out loud in the middle of a stressful situation can displace fear. At times it is looking into the eyes of someone you love and lingering just a moment longer to see what a hurried life can miss. 

 

We can run on empty and even get away with it for a while, but eventually, we will become stranded in disappointment and disillusionment. Take time to fill your life with goodness and hope each day, and when the time comes, you will be able to get out of danger - something a drained and stranded life will not be able to experience.

Out of the Ruins Hope Will Rise

Of recent date, many of the painful and fear-producing things we have experienced have become a shock treatment to our familiar and assumed reality. A pandemic made an entire culture fearful and jumpy. Anarchy seems to have been given free rein by those entrusted with our security. Our divided nation has become encampments of narrow and entrenched opinions. And now for those of us out West, entire cities have been wiped off the map in a day. The only thing things remaining in these devastated communities are smoldering ruins and people who have lost hope. 

These issues have filled our minds 24/7. The shallow and sometimes foolish interpretations we had in the past regarding the stability of life got a quick and shocking reality check. In that on-going reality check, I have noticed a change in perspective taking place.

 

- Life has taken on new meaning and value.

- Cops are our friends, not our enemy.

- Politics will never be the answer to what ails us.

- Protecting loved ones in tangible ways took on new meaning.

- Neighbors became friends, rebuilding a new life together.

 

When this painful season ends, a new community ethic will emerge. People will have experienced God as a faithful and tender Father, not a complicated theology known only to an elite few. Simplicity will have retaken its rightful place as one of our most valued possessions because everything else will have failed the test. The brightness of our future will be reflected off that simplicity much like a veteran returning from conflict on foreign soil to embrace family, home, and friends in a new way. God will not waste the painful impact of these recent days if we choose to not waste our sorrows.

 

 

The Focus of Our Hope

Habakkuk, the small book of prophecy seems to address where a believer can find themselves today as our culture continues to struggle. I read Habakkuk this morning and overlayed its content over the current season. It is a beginning-to-end portrait of faith in times of difficulty.

Regarding what we are seeing and feeling:

 

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! ‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted” (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

 

Regarding what God has planned that we do not yet see:

 

“For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it” (1:5).

 

Regarding the delay of a promise and what to do in the waiting:

 

“If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not delay” (2:3).

 

Regarding what attitude we should possess as life unfolds:

 

I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (3:18).

 

Regarding the end of all things:

 

“For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord” (2:14).

 

All of this, the pain, sorrow, and division we see taking place will be drowned by the increasing glory of the Lord. Everything will eventually be submerged in His presence. That should be the focus of our faith and where we place our trust.

 

A Consensus of Fear or a Word of Hope

A consensus of fear that gathers a large following is not the result of a word from the Lord.  Fear is the product of an undiscerned lie interpreted through emotion and irrationality. Be careful who or what you allow to form your worldview. While fear will take people to new depths of despair in the coming days, hope will remain and offer to take us to a higher place if we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. He has been the same yesterday, today, and forever through each crisis event of humanity for the last 2,000 years, including the one through which we are currently navigating.

Writing a Letter to Your Future

This morning while arranging some books and correspondence, I came across my daughter’s 50-Year Letter. It is a letter I asked her and her then-fiancé to write in preparation for their wedding last month. The letter would define what they hoped their marriage would become. In the letter, there was no mention of bank accounts, fast cars, opulent houses, or social status. It was filled with expressions of faith, relationship integrity, and lives yielded to the purposes of God.

When I was a pastor, each time I was asked to officiate a wedding, I had the couple write out a letter outlining their hopes and dreams. I used that letter to counsel them before their marriage and drew from its contents to craft my message during their ceremony. I also asked them to pull out that letter each anniversary and ask the question, “Are we still moving towards these goals and aspirations?” If not, I asked the couple to get some help from trusted friends and counselors so that none of their hopes and dreams would fall by the wayside and become unfulfilled.

 

As I held Anna’s letter in my hand, I felt a nudge to ask some of you, “Have written a letter defining the prophetic promises God has made over your life, your marriage, business, ministry, or your children’s or grandchildren’s future? If not, it may be time to write such a letter. The letter will become a promise-anchor that will keep you from drifting in times of fear and despair when your life and dreams seem to be wandering away from fulfillment.

 

When you write and read your letter in the years to come, you will be prophesying to the original promises made about your future. Just as someone might read God’s word to gain hope, so it is when we have allowed the desires of our hearts to be infused with promises made by God to become a statement of faith that will lead our unfulfilled desires to a place of fulfillment. 

 

Soon To Savor God's Goodness

Tonight, I did a bit of dinner prep for tomorrow. I prepared chicken and coated it in kale pesto and garlic. Then cut a bed of scallions and thin-sliced potatoes. The ingredients are resting overnight, blending their goodness in olive oil. When I finished the dinner preparation and cleaned, the kitchen the Lord spoke a word. Some of you are going to bed tonight, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. There are some significant issues you are processing. You don't have a precise word or direction. As you prayed and pondered, God was preparing a meal of revelation for you. He has formed that word and the place in your life for it to reside and prosper once delivered. Go to sleep tonight and choose not to worry. The Lord has prepared a meal of His goodness that you will soon savor with joy.

Keep Your Eye on California

As a native Californian having lived in Oregon now for more years than I spent in the state growing up, I have watched California's life and politics with interest. Yesterday, Kamala Harris was selected as Joe Biden’s running mate. Again, my focus was directed to California. 

I was born and raised in California. I love the state’s diversity of geography, climate, and culture. The state is now large enough economically to represent the status of a nation. It is also a state in trouble. Some of its cities are revealing deep despair. People are leaving California in droves. It is not the state of my youth. California has been described as a national indicator of the future direction of the nation. At this moment, it is indicating trouble. It is also destined by the Lord to become a spiritual indicator exhibiting potential for revival and transformation. God loves California, and its people and He has something good planned for the future of the state. 

Four months ago, I wrote a blog article titled, “Out From the Shadow” (linked below). At the time, I knew what the Lord was saying to me, but did not have permission to write in detail. My words appeared like a riddle by design. At the time, I told Jan I felt Kamala Harris would be selected as Biden’s running mate. In the brief article, I said, “One will come forth and walk in the shadow of another. This shadowed one is the primary, not the secondary.”

 

Like some have already expressed they believe Mr. Biden may not have an extended stay in office if elected, for whatever reason. Behind Vice-President Biden now stands Kamala Harris and behind Harris in the shadows, stands the Governor of California, Gavin Newsome. Harris and Newsome both came from the seedbed of the San Francisco political arena. Harris was the city’s District Attorney and later became the state’s Attorney General, and was eventually elected to the state Senate. Newsome was the mayor of San Francisco and later ascended to state politics as Governor. Newsome has been seen by some political observers as a person with presidential aspirations. Also hailing from San Francisco is Speaker Nancy Pelosi. San Francisco is a powerful and well-funded political machine that has produced state and national leaders.

 

What California is revealing to us is the course of a nation’s future in natural terms. Politics, whether you like them or not, do not accurately reveal a nation's spiritual future. Keep your eye on California, not for its politics, but for its spiritual potential. Politics are only natural indicators, not the future spiritual potential of a nation. People in office from any party are not an enemy. They are people loved by God who deserve our prayers. Look past the personalities and platforms to see what God is doing in the state. Begin to pray for those in power and those aspiring to power. Don’t limit your prayers to simply a change of those in office or a particular policy with which you disagree. Keep praying for the hearts of the state’s leaders to experience God’s love. Also, keep praying for God's justice to be revealed so that real change can take place.

 

I am believing in something beautiful and transformative to happen in my home state. God wants to show us that those we might deem as enemies of the good can actually become partners in righteousness. For some, this will be a leap of faith to believe it could be possible because they only know and have been led to believe a negative narrative, not a Kingdom narrative.

 

God is creating a new narrative for California, and that sound is being heard by those with ears to hear. That is the narrative we need to pray into and its where we should invest our resources and energy. Keep God’s heart for California in the forefront of your thinking and call to remembrance the prophecies of goodness spoken over her. 

www.prophetichorizons.com/2020/03/out-from-shadow.html

Walking Away

You have wondered if there was a purpose for your life in this time of unusual cultural transition. Yes, there is a purpose. The Lord has allowed you to become frustrated with an angry and contentious expression of faith. The constant social discord has wearied you. A change is now required if you are to emerge from this time a whole person. 

The Lord is taking you back to something simple. He is inviting you to return to a place of simplicity where you can endure and prosper in His presence and not be drained of your emotional and spiritual energy by the constant turmoil created by a religious spirit. Arguments about religion and the defensive camps they produce no longer hold your attention or devotion. They are spiritual death camps where faith and hope are put to death. You now see them for what they are - a thin vine of bickering and backbiting that creates the fruit of another kingdom. It is time to walk away. 

You are walking away to return to your first love – a simple faith expressed by loving God and loving people, no matter who they are or what they believe.  This kind of love is not a noisy or contentious way of living, but one of solitude, invitation, and trust. It is the only kind of faith that will endure over time, ever-increasing in hope and joy.

When Corny is Good

Last night, Jan and I watched a movie that was different from our typical fare of drama, action, and intrigue. It was a western. At first, I thought it might be too corny to endure, but it grew on us as the minutes rolled on. The theme of the movie was redemption, honor, and integrity. After the movie was over, I turned to Jan and said, “That was refreshing. I’m glad we watched it.” Jan agreed. Perhaps we are all at that place emotionally when filling our eyes with simplicity, authenticity and a bit of corny emotional input is just what we need. A detour into the simple and pure things of life in these complicated times will offer us an intermission of peace and a moment of rest when life becomes heavy and dark, polluted with a never-ending broadcast of evil and wrongdoing. 

Chasing After God

There has been only one principle that Jan and I followed when needing to discover our next step in life. That principle has been to follow the Lord at all costs. We had a few times when we stumbled, but when we finally stepped out in faith, that single principle has led us without fail in the last 47 years of marriage and 40 years of service in God’s Kingdom.

At times chasing after God made no sense financially or logically. It created challenging times with good friends who did not understand. It changed how people viewed us, and in some cases, radically altered the trajectory of our lives.

As someone on the last lap or two of life, I can look back over the previous four decades of life and say, following the leading of the Lord has been the single most important decision we have ever made. It has been our key to fulfillment in all areas of our life. Today, Jan and I have no needs, but if tomorrow should a need arise, we know that in Christ, we lack no good thing. 

If you want to know your next step in life - chase after the Lord. His is the calling of your life, not what you do to express that calling. Follow Him wherever He leads no matter the cost or the jeopardy that choice creates. The place where God is leading you and how you will execute that calling will be the by-products of obeying His voice. That choice will challenge your faith when your doubts and the counsel of others tell you to take a safe and predictable course. 

Each day, Jan and I wake up and thank God for our life together, knowing we did not get here on our own or by our wisdom. We were brought to this place by a faithful Lord who invited us to follow Him. He is waiting to take your hand and show you how to move forward to something you could not imagine. Take Him up on His invitation, and you will never live with regret.

Cities Surrounded by Angels

Evil, like water, will find seek the course of least resistance. In my state of residence, Oregon, evil manifestations of a spirit of rebellion, have found that place of least resistance in some of our cities. Evil will continue to manifest if not challenged. It has now moved its activities from civic structures in the heart of our cities to suburban neighborhoods and has even threatened to destroy a cross that sits in the midst of a Christian college.

 

What I just described are the obvious realities of how evil works. Anyone can see and understand what is happening on a natural and visible level. A rational person knows evil must be confronted with all resources available, both spiritual and natural. What we can miss, as our fear and corresponding anger rises, is what God is doing out of sight as an answer to our prayers. If our faith is too practical and earthbound, we will not consider that angels are being commissioned and assigned by the Lord to stand between us and the forces of darkness. These are not nice or polite angels. They are powerful warriors who will aggressively slice through the works of darkness at the command of the Lord.

There are more angelic forces present in Oregon at this moment than we could imagine. Their numbers would boggle our minds. I have friends who will be prayer-walking today in the streets of Portland and Eugene. For every believer who walks in prayer and worship in opposition to these demonic forces, 10,000 angels will be at your side fighting an unseen battle. The evidence of that victory of that battle will be seen in the transformation of hearts and lives.

The reason why these evil spirits are appearing more volatile and demonstrative is that they can see what many of us have failed to see in the realm of the Spirit. They know their time is short and Heaven’s resistance to their activities will be swift and overwhelming.

Making a Righteous Sound

Speaking the truth in love requires sound. A silent church that hopes to get back to “normal” without addressing the elephants in the room will have missed an opportunity to express the sound of truth in this time of growing anarchy and censorship. Yes, we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but we are also to be His voice. An honorable protest is part of our rich cultural history. Violent riots are the work of a spirit of anarchy and never lead to righteous outcomes. Civic leaders who have abdicated their assignment to protect a community will have to answer to a higher authority for their compromise and complicity. Evil taking place even within the smallest part of a city is like leaven. A tiny bit of leaven left unchallenged will eventually corrupt the larger host. We need to find our voice as believers, or someday our descendants will ask why we were silent. The fear of man will not be an excuse that will stand the test of integrity.