"Holding the Line" by Garris Elkins

Awhile ago, I was with a group of pastors and leaders - a great group of people. As our conversation went on, one of the pastors commented, "Well, I know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life for me, but I can't say that for others." As I swallowed hard and tried to grasp what was just spoken, this person went on to affirm their remark by saying that there is no way to demand this belief of another person.

Prior to that gathering of pastors and leaders, I had another circumstance where someone who pastors a large and influential church, said much the same thing. This leader was questioned about his remark and affirmed that this was his position. Those that challenged him were called, "fundamentalists." If this is taking place within my limited sphere of influence, I wonder how widespread this line of reasoning might be within what was once defined as the "Bible-believing" American church.

I try not to get angry when I hear remarks like these. I even try to not redefine my personal anger as the anger of God, but something rose up in me when these two shepherds talked this way. If Jesus is only right for you, and you could never bring yourself to infer that He is right for another person - as in, "No one comes to the Father, but through Me", then someone has made a major departure from what we have known for 2,000 years as Truth. This is, and has become, a big deal.

Think about it, if someone were to adopt this line of thinking, "I know Jesus is right for me, but I could never require that of another person," then some realities need to be considered.

If Jesus is no longer the Way, the Truth and the Life for all humanity then Buddha is another option. If this is no longer true - why did Jesus not include an expiration date on what He said? If Jesus is no longer all that He said He was, then the Early Church martyrs wasted their lives. If He is only right for you and you could never suggest He is right for someone else, then stop sending money to missionaries because those in a distant land might find another option for salvation in their homeland that will work instead of Jesus.

The next great frontier for what was known as the Bible-believing American church, yours and mine included, will not be some obscure doctrine or worship preference. The next great frontier will be the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the re-affirmation of His exclusivity as the One and only Way of salvation for you, me, and our neighbor next door.

"The Burning Ones" by Garris Elkins

Each Tuesday morning I gather with a group of people in our sanctuary to pray. This time is open for everyone. For the first half hour we play worship music and bath ourselves in God's presence. The last half hour we pray, prophesy, confess or simply yield ourselves to God in silence.

This is a powerful time that I look forward to each week. Half of this group is under 25 years of age and the music reflects that demographic. At age 60 I could not imagine anything better. I enjoy being on the “edge” of the new sounds of God's Spirit in worship.

This morning, as worship music filled the sanctuary, I saw a picture in the Spirit. I saw a piece of paper and someone lighting the paper on fire with a match. As the flame began to move across the paper I noticed that it did not burn in a particular line. It burned as the flame decided its own direction. Behind the burning edge of paper the flame produced a crumbling black ash that fell to the floor.

As the vision of the burning paper continued I heard the Lord ask me, “Do you want to live in the ash or in the flame?” I said, “In the flame, Lord.”

The concept of “burning” was on my mind because the previous weekend I had taught about the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24. On the Road to Emmaus these two disciples walked with Jesus and discussed the events of Resurrection Week. At first they didn't realize who he was because the Lord kept them from recognizing him. After the Lord revealed himself to the disciples they said, “Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?”

I couldn't shake the word, “burn.” I needed to know what it meant so I pulled out my Greek lexicon. The word “burn”, used in the Emmaus text, doesn't mean the condition of something burning like a candle that burns and you observe it burning. This usage of this word means, “to set fire to something – to light it up.” The burning on the Road to Emmaus took place because God set the hearts of these two disciples on fire. They were ignited by God.

God is the one who lights us up. We don't self-ignite. His plan is for his people to become burning ones in his presence. To live a life without burning for God is not his plan. We are to live in the expectancy of this divine ignition.

The fire of God is a revealing fire. As we step into his presence those things that hold us back are revealed and consumed. This position is not stationary, but moving, always stepping deeper and deeper into his will for our lives. His will for his Church is always found on the leading edge of his consuming presence.

Each of us has a choice to make as to where we choose to stand in this life. One of the prophetic words given during our morning prayer time followed my sharing the image of the burning paper. The word said that we have a choice to make to step into the fire and become ignited by God or stand in the ash. As a group we were led to take a step of faith into his presence. This morning I was keenly aware that destinies were being released as people stepped deeper into the flame of his presence.

Living on Both Sides of "And" by Garris Elkins

Whenever the word “and” is used in the scriptures I pay attention. When God uses this word He is trying to connect things for our benefit.

When Jesus walked on this earth He was modeling for the church what she would become after His death, resurrection and ascension. When Jesus walked on earth in His first body, before the Cross, He was modeling for us what we would look like when He was carried by His second Body, the Church, after the Cross.

A danger can exist in our lives when we read the word “and” in God's Word and then choose to live on either side of that word and feel OK with it.

It is interesting to see where the word “and” is used in the New Testament. In Matthew 4 the ministry of Jesus is being described and the word “and” appears.

“23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. AND he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24 News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed―he healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him wherever he went―people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.” (italics and capitalization are mine).

Jesus taught and announced the Good News and the Kingdom of God, AND, He healed every kind of disease and illness. The full expression of the ministry of Jesus was not an either-or situation. He was not either an Evangelical or Pentecostal expression of the Church – He was both.

In another text where the word “and” is used, John the Baptist is waiting in prison about to be served up as a macabre dinner gesture. This is the same man who was there at the Baptism of Jesus when the heavens opened up and the dove of God's presence descended and the very voice of God spoke to those present. It doesn't get more vivid than what took place that day. But John was now having some doubts about Jesus. Prisons, both in the natural and the spirit realm, can mess up our perception of reality.

John sends His disciples to ask Jesus the question, “Are you who you say you are or should we wait for someone else?” In Matthew 11 Jesus sends a response back to John's prison cell that allows John to die in peace knowing that Jesus was truly the Messiah.

“4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen―5 the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 6 AND tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’” (Again, the italics and capitalization are mine)

What does this mean? A balanced ministry will live on both sides of “and.” Some people are more comfortable simply preaching the salvation message. Jesus wasn't. Others feel like they should only press into signs and wonders. Jesus didn't. He did both and so should we. The expansion of God's Kingdom, through signs and wonders, has to walk hand in hand with populating heaven with new believers. If we assign either side of “and” to a less than visible position in our lives and ministries then we will not be walking in the fullness of His assignment for us as the Church.

Life and ministry is a constantly swinging pendulum that moves from one imbalance to another. Our pendulum moves over God's perfect will with each pass. The shorter the cycle of that pendulum swing the more mature the Church becomes. If the pendulum gets hung up on either side of “and” the Church can look like a one legged man trying to win the race by hopping down the race track instead of the well -trained and balanced athlete sprinting towards that for which we have been empowered to become.

"Hope is a Person" by Garris Elkins

My daughter Anna is a student at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, California. Our home is in Medford, Oregon just a few hours away by car. Recently, my daughter's new computer had a problem. Anna was home on a break from school when the computer problem took place, so she sent the computer in to the manufacturer who did a quick turn around for repairs. A problem emerged when Anna had to return to school without the computer. The delivery was left in the hands of mom and dad.

Several days later the computer arrived at our home in Medford so we sent it Next Day Delivery through the mail service. I got the tracking number and followed its overnight delivery and arrival at the post office nearest to our daughter's apartment. For 18 hours I tried to reach Anna via her cell phone to let her know her computer was waiting at her post office. Our daughter lives in a rural setting with limited cell phone coverage. Anna usually picks up her phone messages when she goes into town and has cell service. Anna was waiting, not knowing the needed computer was sitting at the local post office. Eventually Anna got the message and picked up her computer. Life returned to normal.

This is what hope is like. Many believers live their lives without the power of hope because they have failed to realize what is available and waiting for them. God has sent a message to us about hope. Hebrews 6 tells us that our hope is anchored in eternity, immovable by the events here on earth. This hope is not altered by our challenging circumstances. This hope is anchored in a Person – Jesus Christ

“Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone there for us.”

Hebrews 6: 18-20

Because we have Someone in our future directing our lives in the present moment, we do not have to live a life of desperation and hopeless. Our hope is not that life and circumstances will change. Hope is an unchanging Person. Jesus is not held prisoner to our present reality. He always brings hope when He arrives. Our hope comes to us directly from the hand of a good and loving God in the Person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus arrived on planet earth He revealed God to us. When we see and hear Jesus we are seeing and hearing a perfect representation of the heart of the Father.

Jesus arrives in our moment without any regret or fear because regret and fear are not part of God's nature. His arrival always carries with it the purity of something that cannot be altered by the brokenness of this realm. This is why our hope is unaffected by what takes place on earth. Our hope is in a Person living in timeless eternity Who alters our current reality with the arrival of His hope.

We live in an experience of time that unfolds along a linear and chronological time-line. Seconds become minutes and minutes become hours that become days and months and years. Time unfolds so that the human experience can be birthed and lived out in the framework of time. Seasons require time to develop as does a human body.

When God influences our lives with hope the reality of Heaven invades our earthly reality. As we live on this linear line of unfolding time we are captured in the moment. A mentor of mine once said, "Our present moment is only a memory of our most recent past." In other words, no matter how hard we try, we will never arrive at a place called “the future” because when we get there it is still just the moment we are living. This is why intimacy with God is not a future event. Intimacy with God is to be experienced now. Our moment, our only reality in the earthly realm, is a capsule of time that migrates with us through life. When we arrive at tomorrow it is only a present moment, not a future event.

When God reveals Himself to His people, this revelation is not from the future, but from eternity. Eternity is a realm without time – it has no past, present or future. The arrival of hope in our lives comes from a realm not limited by time and space.

From God's perspective He views our linear time-line as happening all at once and at the same time, fully complete. He sees the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea and Columbus sailing in 1492, all happening at once. He sees Abraham sacrificing Isaac and the Apollo astronauts landing on the moon, all happening at once. He makes His decisions about our lives from this eternal perspective. He sees the beginning and the end of all things. He sees us as we are in union with the Father and the Son. From the perspective of hope we are, and are becoming who we already are.

How we view God will influence how we relate to the existence of hope in our daily lives. If, in our future there exists an angry and unapproachable God, then our present moment will draw from that fearful image. If, in our future there exists a loving and good God, then we will begin to view our life and circumstances through that lens of love and acceptance.

The gift of prophecy is a ministry of hope. When we hear a word from God, and then bring that word of hope into this realm, that word of hope will alter how people view God and their relationship with Him. As we prophesy we speak words of hope and the responsibilities that align a life with hope so that people can make adjustments in how they live in order to better reflect a life of hope.

A repeated theme in Paul's ministry was his strengthening and encouraging the churches wherever he traveled. He strengthened the Church because at times she felt weak. He encouraged the Church because at times she felt discouraged. Paul brought words of encouragement that linked weakened and discouraged saints to the hope that is anchored in eternity out of the reach of chronological time and its accompanying pain and sorrow. This hope changed the world because words of hope step onto the unfolding line of natural time and divert people and events into the flow of God's will for their lives.

"Living in a Judgement-Free Zone" by Garris Elkins

In a recent meeting with pastors a prophetic word was given in the form of an image. The image was of a person who was trying to stand in the midst of opposition. As the hand of accusation pressed on the chest of this person, their heart was so tender and open to God that the accusing hand passed through without finding anything solid upon which to push. An offense of the heart gives the enemy something to push against. Because this person's heart was so tender and open to God, they were not pushed over. A tender heart allowed them to stand. A hardened and judgmental heart would have caused them to fall. Our effectiveness in God's Kingdom is determined by the condition of our hearts.

We have all heard the statement, "Who are you to judge?" This statement is usually made against someone who stands for holiness in the public arena. Sometimes those asking this question have a valid point. At times the Church has been good at pointing fingers at others while our own house is in need of repair. But, there is a righteous judgment we must know how to make. Sin is still sin and we need to deal with it honestly or we will not move into the higher levels of anointing God has planned.

We are coming into a season of an outpouring of God's presence that will not abide with unrighteous judgment. What God is about to do will be a revival that will be released through hearts of mercy.

The Presence of Mercy Over Judgment

There are two kinds of judgment. The first judgment is a judgment of quality—a discerning. We are free to look at the fruit of a person's life and discern whether their actions are holy or not. If there is a trail of sin following a life, then something is wrong. This evidence is given to us to help us pray and help when needed and to even be cautious, but never to demean and destroy another person.

The other kind of judgment is one that we don't get to make. We can't assume that we fully know the heart and motives of someone and we never get to judge the eternal destiny of another human being. These kinds of judgment belong to God alone. We judge fruit—God judges hearts.

Jesus spoke in a strong and clear voice in Matthew 7 regarding unrighteous judgment:

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, "Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye," when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.—Matthew 7:1-5

The word "judge" used in Matthew 7:1 means "to pass judgment." This kind of judgment declares that a failed life and ministry is over because of what has taken place. In the eyes of the one doing the judging, the failed person is now viewed as stuck in their sin and nailed in a place of judgment. The accuser then begins to view the one who has been judged by their failures alone and not in the light of God's transforming power.

The greater danger is not for the one who sinned and was judged—the greater danger lies with the one making the judgment because they are now walking in spiritual blindness because of the log in their eye. The one whom they judged can actually experience transformation in their place of brokenness and move on, but the judger can only see them as nailed in a place of judgment. The one making the judgment cannot move forward because they have linked themselves to unrighteous judgment. Our ability to see any situation clearly stops at the place of unrighteous judgment. We can actually become what we judge because that is all we see.

When we pass judgment on another person, by assuming we know their heart, according to Jesus, we will be judged by that same standard of judgment. This doesn't mean God lowers His standard of judgment to our level—it means my judgment will become like a vicious dog I turn loose upon the guilty party. When my judgment and accusation mauls the victim, it will turn and come back and bite me. We get to choose the standard of judgment that will be used against us based on the kingdom we choose to partner with.

When Jesus said the one making the judgment had a log in their eye, the word used for a log can be translated to describe a piece of lumber the size of a ceiling joist. It is a large piece of wood. What is unique in this illustration is the speck in the eye of the one being judged, and the log in the accusers eye, are of the same substance—both are wood. This verse is telling us that the one being accused and the accuser both have the same sin, but the one making the accusation is in greater danger than the one who actually sinned openly.

God made all His judgments against sin when Jesus hung on the Cross. The Cross was an act of mercy. This is why the Scripture says, "Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). Mercy triumphs over judgment because the judgment of God was not the end but the means to express mercy. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a visible representation of God's mercy when Jesus rose from the grave and in resurrection power triumphed over the judgment that was meant for us. The evidence the Holy Spirit is at work in the people of God is the presence of mercy, not judgment.

The Cross and the Tomb of Christ are both empty for a reason. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. We are seated in Him as a visible representation of what God's mercy can do. Mercy changes our position. We can forget that the ones we judge unrighteously are now seated with us in Christ at the right hand of the Father.

There are some practical reasons why we should choose to live in a judgment-free-zone.

None of Us Have All the Facts

When the story broke awhile back that professional baseball player Mark McGwire might have used steroids, I got upset at him. I didn't say anything; it was something that took place in my heart. Here is a man who was always the best hitter on his team, even as a kid. He didn't need any enhancement to be great. He was destined for greatness from his birth. God gave him a gift that had always enabled him to hit a baseball out of the ballpark. Mark McGwire is like many of us who see our personal dreams in the distance and we want to hurry things up. For McGwire, his destiny accelerant was steroids. In the ministry, our destiny accelerant can be self-promotion.

I watched a recent television interview with Bob Costas and Mark McGwire. Costas was asking McGwire about his now admitted steroid use. Mark was no longer denying his use of steroids. As I watched the interview I saw a genuinely broken man trying to hold back true sobs of regret. He was broken over what he had done to his family, the sport of baseball, his fans and his legacy. As I watched the interview I was reminded of my own judgment against him when the news first broke. In my heart I harbored the word, "Cheater." I had passed judgment on him and nailed him in the place of my judgment. My heart broke when I realized this because I knew, in my own way, that I had added to his pain. During the emotional interview I was now hearing a man's heart and wanted the mercy of God to be extended to him. I asked God to forgive me and I let Mark McGwire go. I had stepped into a judgment-free zone.

During the sad events of the late 1980s when the Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker scandals were taking place, a wise man told me, "Believe the best and never be surprised by the worst." Over the years there have been times when some of us have chosen just the opposite and believed the worst and were then surprised, and eventually ashamed, when the best showed up.

None of Us are Impartial

We all have personal agendas. Part of growing in Christ is bringing these agendas to the Cross and putting them to death so that the will of God will rise and have preeminence. Our personal agendas can become the only lens through which we view life and other people. If we are not careful we can begin to think we actually see the bigger picture with clarity.

In the Greek culture when the courts had to hear a controversial case, the judge, jury and witnesses would convene court at night in the dark. They would hear the evidence in the blackness of night—in order to not to be influenced by anything but the evidence. One of the symbols in our court system is a statue of Lady Justice who has her origins in Greek culture. Lady Justice stands with a blindfold upon her eyes as she holds a set of scales. She weighs evidence in the purity that only blind justice can provide.

I wonder how it would work in the Church if we couldn't see each other's tattoos, designer clothes, bank ledgers, cars, recreational toys, nose rings or the homeless person's rags. What if we could only hear the evidence of the heart? The evidence is not fully presented until we have heard the heart of another person. Sin and failure is never all the evidence of a life. A single point of failure is not the total definition of a person. God always has something more planned and His plan is filled with goodness.

None of Us is Without Fault

Only the faultless One can find fault. In John 5:22, Jesus said this of Himself,In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, He has given the Son absolute authority to judge.

The reason Jesus has absolute authority to judge is because only He was completely pure and only He paid the full price for our sin. He went to the Cross having lived in a body like ours, subject to all our temptations and brokenness, and yet He remained pure to the end. The Word says that Jesus was the second Adam accomplishing what the first Adam failed to do (see 1 Corinthians 15:45-47).

We are not called to defend each others' words and actions. Each of us is responsible before God for what we say and do. What we are responsible for as the Body of Christ is to provide cover for each other. To cover another Believer is not a place where we white-wash sin. To cover means that I stand between the fallen person and their accuser to provide a place of protection. Jesus is doing this right now as the accuser of the Church is hurling accusations about us.

In this judgment-free zone, the fallen ones are free to hear the transforming words of God they missed the first time around. A judgment-free zone is where both the accused and the accusers can find wholeness. A judgment-free zone is where the power of God is manifested.

"God Doesn't Tease" by Garris Elkins

When I first moved into the Rogue Valley ten years ago people told me that in the month of February we would have a "false spring." It was explained to me that we usually got a few days of really warm weather and then we would go back to the normal cold and wet of winter. This information proved to be true most of the time. The problem was this false spring was just a tease. Some of us got our motorcycles out and took a ride. Others began to dream of shorts and sandals.

I can't help but think many Christians believe God is like a false spring - He gives us just enough to tease us and then life goes back to what it was before. This mindset produces a fear of loss in God's people that hinders our faith. When God does something new in our lives He builds upon that newness and doesn't pull the blessing back.

As spring comes in the natural realm ask God where in your spiritual life you might be living with the anticipation of loss. God wants to take that way of thinking out of our minds and replace it with the hope that John 10:10 reveals - He came that we might have life and life more abundantly.

Wishing you an early and continual spring in His presence.

"Entering the Realm of Miracles" by Garris Elkins

It has been over a week since the devastating earthquake took place in Haiti. I have wept as the scenes of sorrow flashed across the screen of my television. The suffering is unimaginable. Our church in Medford, Oregon has begun to receive offerings for relief work. We will gather needed supplies to send. We have a team in the works to go to this crushed nation and help them rebuild. We want to be involved.

Yesterday, it was reported that an five year-old child had been recovered from the rubble after being buried alive for 8 days. There was no food and no water, yet this child was still alive. Another report came in about a seventy year-old woman who was discovered in the ruins of a church.

As these reports were coming in a reporter from CNN made the following observation, “We have entered into the realm of miracles.” The reporter's words were affirming the reality that according to normal bodily functions, coming out alive after 8 days is beyond what is normal or natural. These kinds of survival stories have the word, “miracle”, attached to them and bring these kinds of recoveries into the realm of the supernatural.

I thought of Luke's words in Acts 19:11 describing the ministry of Paul. Luke wrote, “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.” (NLT) I went after that verse in other translations and here is what I found regarding the word “unusual” as it describes the miraculous:

“Extraordinary” - New International Version

“Quite out of the ordinary” - The Message

“Not common” - Young's Literal Translation

Miracles are all of the above definitions and more. As I processed Haiti, the CNN comment, and the miraculous rescues, I went to church last night resolved to have our church pray differently for Haiti.

As I said earlier, we are sending money and aid to help in the relief effort. We will send some of our people to be boots on the ground. All of this is desperately needed. But, if I was still alive and trapped under tons of rubble, and out of the reach of what is being sent as relief, I would want my life to enter into the realm of the miraculous. I would want to be seen on CNN coming out of the rubble alive. I would want the church around the world praying for the realm of the miraculous to be experienced in my situation.

Last night, as the church assembled, I asked the people to pray wonderfully wild and crazy kinds of prayers – prayers that send angels to feed people. Prayers that find people alive three weeks later when all hope has vanished. Prayers, that when answered, will leave the world astonished at the power of God and affirm the statement made by the reporter, “We have entered the realm of miracles.”

It can become all too easy for the Church to respond like the world when God does a miracle. Our astonishment at the miracles of God can reveal that we might have stopped believing for God to do something infinitely beyond all that we would ever dare to ask or think. When more miracles take place in Haiti, and I believe they will, I want to rise up here in the security of my comfortable home in America and say, “That is my God at work!”