Tag: Perseverance

Fresh Starts

  “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” — Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

The Lord has provided a lot of “fresh start” moments in creation. Out of Winter comes the fresh start of Spring. As the earth revolves once more around the sun, we get the fresh start of a new year. We get a fresh start each morning as the sun rises…. The same is true in sports, or purchasing a new item….

As we prepare our walk through The Story, His Story, I want us to look at this as an opportunity for a fresh start: 

  1. A fresh start in re-reading the Word as if it is the first time
  2.  A fresh start in encountering the Living Word, the Lord Jesus, remember the first time we meet and began to faithfully follow Him
  3. A fresh start with each other by offering not only forgiveness but grace to walk together in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace.

And the list of Fresh Starts can go on. Perhaps you can make your own “New Year’s” list of “Fresh Starts”. Why are Fresh Starts important? Because they offer us hope. This taste of hope reminds us that this is not the only life, but eternal life stretches out of time & space into Eternity. And this hope is the “Fresh Start” that gets us up each morning and gets us going. It keeps us going through the day, because we know that there is a marvelous, beautiful, unending Life after this one.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (NIV84)

Shalom In Hope,

Pastor Mike

“Genuine Labor Rewarded”

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”—1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV84 

At first glance, one would suspect this verse is only for ministers and missionaries, and those in “full-time” ministry. ‘Cuz they have the “time” to “always give [them]selves fully to the work of the Lord (emphasis added).”

And this may be a more reasonable understanding if this were to Titus, or Philemon, or Timothy…. But it is “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2 NIV84), which seems to me to be a much broader audience than just those “in full-time ministry.” 

So, if it is for all of us, what can we all harvest from this?

  1. We are all not to be moved from our faith in, focus on and Love for the Lord Jesus.
  2. We are all to “always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,” no matter what we are doing; we are doing it all for His glory (see 1 Cor. 13:31).
  3. We are all to “labor in the Lord” and not in our own strength. “Lord Jesus Christ, do “this” in me” and then—Go do it!
  4. We are all to “remember” our “Labor in the Lord is not in vain” or empty. We will receive our reward, the fruit of our labors.

Much can be said on each of these four points, but I want to encourage all to make sure we labor in the Lord and not for the Lord. And, I want us to not give up…. But keep on in true genuine Hope of genuine fruit from our genuine Labor in the Lord…. It. Is. Not. In. Vain!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” —Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV84)

Shalom,

Pastor Mike

Is the Josiah Revival Upon Us?

s and congressmen to call the nation to repentance. Alas, no response. Then I gave up praying for a Jonah Revival. Roughly ten years ago at a National Day of Prayer Observance, I mentioned this to a pastor friend, and he said, “Why did you stop praying?” Normally I would have an immediate retort, but the Lord gave me pause. And I deeply reflected on this question, leaving it unanswered.

I went home and entered into fervent prayer. It was a bit, but the Lord finally opened my ears to hear Him speak of a Josiah Revival that is coming. And it will start with the youth.

Why do I mention all this? Because in the mid-1970’s I received a prophecy: “There will be one more period of prosperity, then the Revival, and then the End.” Mind you, the inflation rate roughly 25% then. When Reagan’s “Prosperity” came, I thought this was it, or perhaps we have been in a rather long prosperity run since? But what ever the case, the Josiah Revival seems to be upon us. Not just on universities and college campuses, but on High School campus, and as I substitute teach throughout our school district, even in elementary schools. These young, excited followers of Jesus are talking more about Jesus and less about “god” and “religion,” and this is even in the face of some apparent insurmountable challenges; the Lord is faithfully strengthening them to make the right decisions in spite of the peer (and teacher) pressure!

Now, about the timing….

As I have been faithfully working out at home this last year and a half, I have been using timers a lot. Intriguingly, I keep checking on how close to the “end” my timer is getting. Well, it has taken me almost all this time to realize the parable hidden in this small exercise.

The LORD has been prompting me to relax and just wait for the timer to go off; all this long “hinting” that I need to relax because no matter how closely I watch the “timer,” it is going to go off when it is at its end!

Yes, this has a lot to do with the Josiah Revival which as been sweeping this nation and even our city for a little over a year now. Josiah’s revival lasted roughly 13 years give or take a year or two. (He foolishly didn’t obey the LORD and died needlessly and prematurely, at least from a human perspective.) But, my query is this: Have we just entered the roughly 12 years of the Josiah Revival?!?

I obviously do not know, and the LORD is not telling me. But I do know this: If we relax and possess a “conquest” mentality after this election, we are in for some deep kimchi! If, however, we continue the repentance, tearing down the strongholds and following roughly Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Josiah Manifest, we may get those 12 years…..

But whatever is on the horizon, the Church must stay vigilant, continuing to repent and live a life pleasing to the LORD Jesus:

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him

—2 Peter 3:11–14 (NIV84)

“Have a Hard Time Loving?”

In the past decade or so, it has become rather popular to say, “I love you,” when we part with Loved ones. I do not want to challenge the sincerity of the one saying this, but I do want us to challenge ourselves….

Do we? Do we Love them? Or are we just caught up in a culture of saying something we “kind of” mean? 

So in this Month of Love, I’d like us to truly inventory our Love for our Loved ones (and for Jesus, too, by the way). I would like us to see how much we are willing to Love our Lord Jesus and each other as He has Loved us.

I’d like us to Love as smooth as S.I.L.C.

Sacrifice, but don’t complain.

Initiate, but don’t impose.

Listen, but don’t assume.

Care, but don’t possess

 If we but yield to the Lord Jesus to have Him do these simple Love-Acts of Kindness in and through us, we would be more than modeling the Love we profess at each parting…, and we will be manifesting the Lord’s divine Love of  Grace….

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. –1 John 4:16-18 (NIV84)

Peace,

Pastor Mike

“Worth Celebrating?”

Far away the Third World War may be brewing. Nearer to home, inflation has eaten what little we did have. In the home, tension and challenges keep mounting up… and it’s Christmas Time!

Do we max out our already maxed-out credit cards to keep up with past celebrations of Christmas, buying gifts to place under the tree…?

Or do we shut ourselves in and pull the proverbial blanket over our heads hoping all this is nothing but a bad dream?

Or do we dig down deep, trust the Lord to provide our “daily bread” as our cup surely will overflow with His goodness, and creatively celebrate Christmas?

Which do you choose?

Perhaps our faith, “—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — [is being] proved genuine [so that it] may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:7 NIV84). As we engage these purifying trials during this Christmastime, I want to encourage you most sincerely that, “Yes, Christmas is worth celebrating!” The Lord is giving us ample opportunity to trust Him, especially during this celebration, challenging us to think in different ways, replacing the “old wineskins” (that are cracked and faded) with “new wineskins (that are soft and flexible).

We can join the prophet in rejoicing no matter what because, “God is Good All the Time No Matter What!”

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” — Habakkuk 3:17–18 (NIV84)

Join me in the Celebration because it is worth it,

Pastor Mike

“Thankful for Naming Our Rainbows?”

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thes. 5:18 (emphasis added, NIV84)

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Eph. 5:20 (emphasis added, NIV84)

Ah, yes, it is that time of year again to focus on being thankful. I am truly grateful for this time of year, as it calls us to reconsider and refocus on what we are truly grateful for. With thankfulness in mind, perhaps you have heard the above two verses, but never together? Perhaps you have heard it taught from 1 Thes. 5:18 that we are to be “thankful in all circumstances” but not for all circumstances. I heard it again about a year ago….

But if this is so, then how does Eph. 5:20 fit into the “thanksgiving” framework? As you can clearly see from the “emphasized” “for”, we are to be thankful for every “thing”, and this clearly is “everything”. We are to be thankful not just for our food, our clothes, and our families, etc., but we are to be thankful for our circumstances, too. “For” them….

Why do you suppose the Lord is teaching us this? Perhaps one suggestion is: “Since He is working all things out for the good, I can be thankful for this hard, unpleasant—and rather difficult—circumstance knowing that the Lord is working even this out for the Good”? What do you think? Is this a viable observation?

If so, then allow me to share a thought from Emily E. Ryan’s Devotion from September 3, 2023, in Mornings with Jesus. She writes this:

…I recently realized that I not only name my weather-related storms, but I also name the storms in my life. I’ve survived Hurricane Miscarriage, Tropical Storm Unemployment, and many others. But what if I stopped naming my storms and started naming my rainbows instead? The Bible Says that Jesus created the rainbow to be a reminder of His covenant with us. … Within that promise is also a reminder that the storms of life do not have the power to destroy us. They may cause damage but even in their destruction they leave room for Jesus to step in and provide, teach, comfort, or save. If I stay focused on Him, I will always find rainbows at the end of my storms.

Join me in naming our rainbows, even before the stormy circumstances are over, because I know I can always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus.”

Join me in the Naming Process,

Pastor Mike

“BAU???”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” — Luke 9:62 (NIV84)

In the last blog, I talked about the “still small voice,” compared to always expecting the big & dramatic, now I want to talk about not going back to the proverbial: BAU = “Business As Usually” mentality. Again, with the small vs. dramatic in mind….

I realize that the above verse is rather intense—a high bar set, for sure, but what I want to focus on is the “looks back” portion of this verse which culminates a dialogue our Lord Jesus is having with those wanting to follow Him but with contingencies…. And our Lord’s answer is basically: “Once you commit to Me, don’t look back at how ‘things’ “used to be,”—deeply desiring and yearning for them, but rather look ahead to the exciting ‘things’ I have planned for you.” Basically….

You remember when Lot’s wife looked back at the city, right (see Genesis 19:26)? You remember when Peter looked back at fishing, right (see John 21:3ff)? Both were looking back at the “good ol’ days” and didn’t remember the Scripture, “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” (Ecclesiastes 7:10 NIV84).

Comfort? Security? Familiarity? Whatever they were feeling and/or thinking when looking back, walking by faith with the Lord Jesus into the “unknown” future leaves all these behind only to find them in the Lord Jesus Himself…. He is our Comfort. He is our Security! He is our Family….

So, after our month of praying and fasting, what has the Lord prompted us as a church to step out in faith and do? Be it small & quiet or big & dramatic, let us step out and step forward, securely putting our hand to the plow; let us not gaze back, but look unto Jesus and follow Him into the future, where life is not “BAU”; but “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5 NABU95).

Confident of His Moving,

Pastor Mike

“Careful of Expectations”

11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

 — 1 Kings 19:11–13 (NIV84)

Reading this account of Elijah’s encounter with the Holy One, I am awestruck at what is happening. I dare not minimize the “destructive” power of the wind, the earthquake, and the fire. Was Elijah terrified as the Israelites were in days of old when the fire was on the mountain (cf. Ex. 20:18-21)? I would suppose so.

 But let us not get lost in this. For the LORD was not in any of these as He was in days of yore. No…, and remember, Elijah had just participated in calling fire down from heaven, so perhaps his expectations were similar: The LORD is going to show up in some dramatic, awesome way….

But He didn’t; not once, not twice, but three times He didn’t show up. HIS point? I think one aspect He was trying to teach us is: “Don’t miss me by expecting how I AM going to show up.”

All this to say, as we enter this month of Prayer and Fasting with our goal to seek the LORD’s Face, let us not have set or fixed expectation as to how the Holy One is going to “show up”. Now if you do not need this reminder, the pretend you are reading a page out of my personal journal because I do. Nevertheless, I am praying that I am alert to the LORD’s presence whether it is through His Word, through His People, through His “gentle whisper,” that “still small voice.” Or even through others we may not even know. But if we are alert, we will sense His presence. And our response? Perhaps as Elijah did: We will humbly pull our cloaks over our faces and stand at attention, “Yes, LORD, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening’” (1 Samuel 3:10 NIV84).

Hope in His Appearing,

Pastor Mike

“Which Came First?”

13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” … 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, … So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

. — Joshua 3:13–17 (NIV84)

As we read this account of Israel’s history entering the promise land to attack Jericho, we see an intriguing miracle: The waters “parted” and “the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground” (v. 17). This is the LORD’s obvious “allusion” to the parting of the Red Sea, and He used it to remind both the Israelites and the residents of Jericho, that He still has the power! (cf. Joshua 2:10)

Some “silly” questions: Which came first (1) Did the waters part before the first priest dipped his foot into the river; (2) or did his foot get wet and then the river “heaped up”? I ask this because they later stood on dry ground—not moist, not damp, not mushy; but dry! Ground. If his foot was wet, well, could the ground be dry…?

Silly as these questions are, the point I’m making is this: We get so easily distracted with the minutia of some life episode or Scripture passage that we miss the main point. In this case, the first two priests had to go first, and by faith they lifted up their feet and stepped into the river. Remember, as the Colorado is now as I write this, the River Jordan was a flood stage (v. 15), flowing deep and rapid! No easy step of faith. But they took it!

So, I am asking you to join me in realizing that what came “first” was the priests’ faith to lift their feet and step; what happens after this is the LORD’s “business”. So let us also realize that as we prepare our hearts for the Month of July’s fasting, this is our “lifting our feet” to step into a flood stage river, and trust to see what the LORD will do next.

Hope in the Resurrection Power,

Pastor Mike

“Rise Above the Noise of Joy-Stealers”

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:22 NIV84)

Has the hurry, bustle and rush of this season risen to such a loud roar that it has squeezed the joy out of life?

Our Lord Jesus promised that when we see Him (again), “no one will take away [our] joy.” But it has been said, we can give it away. Or perhaps, let the world squeeze Joy out of us…. What do you think?

If Joy is a part and parcel to the Fruit of the Spirit (ranking second in order); and if “the Joy of the LORD is our strength” (Neh. 8:10); and if we are to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers & sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2), it seems somehow we have a role to play in preparing our hearts for the fruit of Joy to be “born” in our lives; wouldn’t you agree?

So as the noise of the Joy-stealers rises to a “feeding frenzy” hoping to devour all remnant of Joy in our lives, let us quiet our souls, turning a deaf ear to the shouts and screams of worry, doubt, insult and harm, and let us confess that “the Joy of the LORD is our strength,” and firmly believe that no matter what we are going through right now, “God is Good all the time no matter what,” because I am considering “it pure joy” as I face all these noisy trials of various kinds. Will you join me in quieting our hearts, preparing the “soil” to bear forth much fruit—especially the Fruit of Joy?

Let the silence in our souls drowned out the noise of the Joy-Stealers.

Peace,

Pastor Mike