When Life is Always a Crisis

On both sides of the political spectrum, we are continually being told by talking heads what we are to be alarmed by. If you have no crisis in your life just tune into your favorite flavor of news commentary and before the first commercial break you will be knee deep in conflict with people you never met.  If you want to step into the arena of political opinion you must have enemies and agree with a list of crisis points in order to enter the conversation. In the Church-world there are entire movements created by and dedicated to the latest crisis in theology or how the Church is supposed to relate to culture. Some families have lived an on-going crisis mode in their family line for so many generations that a life of peace, when described to them, seems alien. Crisis and enemies sell. They also pollute the emotional and spiritual air we breathe.

In southern Oregon where I live, we are surrounded by forest fires. Our air quality has been listed as the worst in the nation. Week after week of smoke-filled skies has become a real health hazard. There appears to be no immediate relief in sight. The presence of smoke also begins to affect your psyche and how you see life. To look out where blues skies and green forests once dominated the landscape and now only see the muted colors of a brown and persistent haze can begin to affect a person on many levels. At some point, this can change a person’s perspective on life.

If you want a breath of fresh air in southern Oregon you have to get out of the area. Several of my friends have gone to the coast to breathe in some fresh air.  Some have looked at wind current maps and changed vacation plans based on the air quality. A change of location is the only hope of taking in a lung full of clean air. Fresh air has become the new vacation destination.

The prophetic voice of the Church in culture is under assault. The entities that continually create the next crisis have no power to steal our voice.  We have to give permission for this theft to take place. The thief is smart. He will simply bring in wave after wave of smoky air fueled by the latest crisis-fire of fear and despair and cause some to believe this is our unchangeable reality. He wants us to stay put in this hazardous air thinking we only have a single option. 

There will always be the presence of a never-ending supply of hazardous spiritual air fueled by the next burning crisis. We can get so surrounded by this deceptive smoke that we assume it is our lot in life. That is the masked lie we are being led to believe. That deception takes hold of us when we allow anyone but God to define our reality. 

It is time to change our emotional and spiritual location. The clean air of prophetic hope is waiting to fill our lungs. That fresh breath will fuel the sound and quality of our voice to those coughing in the unhealthy air of hopelessness. That sound will announce to a suffocating culture that hope is possible and available even in the middle of all the smoke.

The Steel of Healthy Relationships

One of my favorite movies is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In the film, Morgan Freeman plays Azeem a Moorish warrior who is a companion to Robin Hood played by Kevin Costner. In one scene attention is drawn to the sword carried by Azeem. He comments it was made from the finest Toledo steel, referring to Toledo, Spain. For centuries the small city of Toledo produced some of the most battle-worthy swords in the world. They were known for their strength and durability in combat. “Toledo steel” meant a sword made of layered steel with an iron core. This gave the sword flexibility without breaking in battle.

When Jan and I lived in Europe, we traveled through Spain several times. On one trip, we visited Toledo. A goal of mine was to purchase a chef’s knife made by the craftsmen in one of the Toledo cutlery shops. The knife in the attached photo is that knife. I have been using it for over twenty years. It is of such quality that it appears to never have been sharpened though it has many times. It will last the rest of my life because of the quality of material and craftsmanship.

I shared the history and photo because they remind me of healthy relationships that last over time. There is a unique quality about these relationships, whether as friends or spouses. These relationships are not cheap stainless steel serrated edge junk masquerading as a quality chef’s knife. There is a quality in the materials of these relationships that give them strength over time and durability in seasons of intense use. They last a lifetime because they were crafted by people who honor each other and offer the gift of forgiveness and mercy repeatedly over a lifetime. Those relationships will be able to cut through any challenge that comes their way because they were forged with the steel of two hearts yielded to the will of God. Choose to be that kind of steel.

Mirrors of God's Glory

In the middle of all that is swirling around you – your emotions, your challenges and your doubt, and all that is taking place in the world – the sorrow, the suffering and the despair, you are reflecting the glory of God. You are mirroring the image of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. This reflection is offering to the world a glimpse of a future not imagined with natural sight and imagination.

The largest telescope in the world is the Magellan Telescope. Once completed, it will be positioned in the Chilean Andes. This will be a perfect location for the telescope offering clear skies, a dry climate, and almost no pollution from artificial light. The Magellan will be able to produce images 10X sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. 

At the heart of the Magellan Telescope is an arrangement of 7 large mirrors. To make each mirror requires individual pieces of clear glass be positioned by hand atop a circular plate where the finished mirror will rest. Once all the glass is placed on the plate, it will be put in an oven to melt the glass forming the smooth face of the mirror. Each mirror will weigh 17 tons and span 24 feet across. 

When the melting process is complete, the mirror will need to cool for 6 months before the polishing process begins. It will take another 2-3 years of precision grinding to prepare the reflective surface of each mirror to make it ready for the telescope. Each of the mirrors will take 7 years to produce from start to finish. There is another kind of mirror that is infinitely more powerful than the Magellan and that mirror is currently in operation on Earth. 

Each follower of Christ is a mirror reflecting the glory of God to the world. We are mirrors who reflect a witness. The word “witness” in Scripture does not only mean a verbal witness of our faith. It can also mean, “to show forth”, “to display” like the reflective surface of a mirror. At the beginning of the expired old covenant, Moses came down from the mountaintop reflecting the glory of God to such a degree the people could not bear to look at his face. Consider the superior reflecting power of the new covenant we have with God in Jesus?

Your reflection of God’s glory infinitely dwarfs the most powerful technology that will ever be created by the most brilliant human innovation. Never underestimate the significance of the One who lives within in you and is reflecting His glory to the world through you. You are God’s mirror upon the Earth. Always live with that reflection in mind. It will change how you see the world.

^“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (II Corinthians 3:18).

Embrace the Change

Every season of life has an expiration date. Don’t fear the closure of a relationship, a ministry assignment or a season of life that has come to an end. Fully embracing our God-assigned reality requires courage and faith. As you face the challenge of change, never forget that God is able to open a new door into your future just as faithfully as He did when the doorway to this expired season first appeared. Trust Him. Let go and move forward. Your future is anticipating your arrival. 

Winning the West - A Fresh Move of God

This month, Jan and I will celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. Today, as we typically do each day, we took communion. Between passing the bread and the wine, I heard the Spirit speak the words, “Colt 45.” Immediately, I saw the image of a Colt 45 revolver. For those of you not familiar, the Colt 45 Peacemaker has been dubbed “The gun that won the West.” When Samuel Colt created his single-action masterpiece he could not have imagined the impact his revolver would have in the taming of the Wild West of the American frontier. I have always admired the Colt .45 for its beauty and power, though I have never had the privilege of owning one of these treasured revolvers.

When I first heard the Lord speak the words, “Colt .45”, I realized He was talking to Jan and me about the 45th year of our relationship and what our future holds. I got the sense that just like Samuel Colt’s revolver won the West in the natural something in the Spirit is about to be released to win the West to God. So much is taking place spiritually in this region of our nation. Revivalists are relocating here. National and international leaders in the Church are holding citywide meetings. God is stirring our region. 37 years ago, Jan and I planted our first church in Kalispell, Montana in the Colt 45 room of the Outlaw Inn. God was getting my attention about the number 45.

As I continued to ponder the number “45”, the Lord said, “45th Parallel.” When I did some research, I almost fell out of my proverbial chair. The 45th parallel on the Earth crosses the State of Oregon. I recalled seeing a marker along Interstate 5 near Salem, Oregon that states the following, “45th Parallel – Half Way Between the Equator and North Pole.”

2018 will mark the beginning of the winning of the West for Jesus Christ. A unique move of God’s Spirit is beginning to take place. Pay attention to the “small” things God whispers. Follow those whispers to a place of unexpected revelation where your faith will be strengthened as mine was just a few minutes ago during communion. God is on the move in the West!

When The Mean Dogs Come Running

Bicyclists who ride along country roads have a saying, “The biggest and meanest dogs are always waiting at the top of the steepest hills.” In essence, when a bicycle rider is tired and slowed down near the top of a steep climb, the biggest and meanest dogs will appear. At this point, the rider feels trapped and unable to escape and as a result, they are an easy target.

Some of you are in a long and steep climb into a new season of life, business or family relationship. You know that if you slow down, or worse, quit, the situation will chew you up. There is a problem. You are out of steam. Your natural abilities have been exhausted. 

There is a way over this steep section of the road without being consumed by what is lying in wait for your arrival. As you enter this steep and most challenging section of your journey, ask God for a second wind of His Spirit. Ask Him for a strength you do not naturally possess. In faith, once you ask, believe that you possess what you asked for and then place your trust in God. Faith coupled with trust will allow you to speed past the dogs of your defeat and eventually crest this daunting section of life’s road. Once you make it over the top you will be rewarded with a joyful descent filled with praise and worship for what God has accomplished.

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

A Season of Sifting

A sifting is taking place in the Church, especially among those who walk in the gift of prophecy. The voice of a prophet must be clear and refined by the Spirit free from too much personality or a pre-planned ministry agenda. It must be sifted of any corrupting presence able to pour freely into the mold of what God desires to reveal.

Bakers will sift flour to discover lumps. Sifting refines and aerates the flour. As a result, it is easier to mix with other ingredients. The more delicate the baked goods, the more necessary the sifting process becomes. The presence of unrefined lumps will affect the quality of the end product. This is not a problem for those who bake a cake from a prepared box of ingredients, but it is a problem for those who desire to bake exquisite creations. 

When God sifts the thinking of His prophets, He is sifting us to find out where our thoughts and methods have not yet been refined enough to be used fully and freely for His purposes. There are times when we might withdraw our permission for God to continue the sifting process. In fear or because of an assumption that we already operate at prophetic depth, we stop the process and withdraw our consent for God to take us deeper to a new level of personal refinement. 

The sifting can be so radical it may change the tone, content, and style of our prophetic delivery. Some fear this depth of sifting because those who are accustomed to the familiar sound of their voice and the style of their ministry will be put off by the change.  This becomes a turning point for a prophet. Unless we give God this permission, the prophetic gift we carry will become hi-jacked and compromised if it remains unsifted and unrefined in its present form. 

Let God have His way when He invites you into a sifting process. God sifts us in love. If you serve Him over the span of a lifetime, you will encounter His sifting on several occasions, usually just before a season of breakthrough. When the sifting is complete, the attitude of your heart and the sound of your voice will have experienced a transformation. It will not be easy, but it will be worth every shaking you experience during the sifting process. A new refinement and clarity are coming. Embrace the sift.