The Holy Spirit Punches like Mike Tyson

The Holy Spirit punches like Mike Tyson

 How often do you pray for the leaders in your church? I don't mean prayer for guidance on leading the church in the direction of God's will, prayer for speaking God's word in such a way that people get saved, or strength in ministry. I mean prayer for them, personally, as a brother or sister.

 Recently I started reading the book, "The Holiness of God" by RC Sproul, and it didn't take long before God started to speak to me through this book. In chapter 2, Sproul breaks down Isaiah chapter 6...It is amazing! It is in this section that the Holy Spirit crippled me with compassion for the leaders in my church. When they are called to leadership they are given the weighty burden of caring for many people. Don't hear me wrong when I call it a burden. I don't mean that it's something they begrudgingly do but something that they do out of joy and love for the ones entrusted to them. Caring for many people takes a lot of time and energy. It can quickly turn into a job that is taken seriously and they will put aside their own care, to care for others. When that happens, burn out happens, relationships suffer, families suffer, and when that happens the church suffers.

 As a part of the church family and one body of Christ we need to also care for our elders, pastors and leaders. I have sought the counsel of my Pastor, but I have never counseled my Pastor. I have sought out prayer from the leaders, but I rarely pray for them for more than just Church business.

I think that it is easy to sit back, listen to them preach a sermon and look at them as holy, that they have this whole God thing figured out. What we fail to do is see them as human, brothers and sisters that struggle with the same things we do, need prayer for the same things we do or need the same care from us that we need from them.

 As I meditated on this the Holy Spirit was telling me, loud and clear to call my pastor. I kept putting it off because I was at work. I kept telling Him "I will, I will just let me finish this first, I'll call him later when I have time." It's a good thing that I was working alone because anybody watching would have thought I was crazy (you know that guy on the street corner, with the crazy eyes, arguing with an unseen adversary), but what they wouldn't have seen was what was going on inside of my heart. I was being selfish with my time, setting my own needs ahead of theirs. Needless to say I lost...  Dang God is powerful...  I don't know why I fight against Him, He's like Mike Tyson in a street fight and I never make it past the first round.

The Holy Spirit was crippling me. I cried uncle and grabbed my phone and gave my Pastor a call. I told him the story of what had just transpired and as he laughed with me I asked him how I could pray for him personally. He started naming off plenty of things but they were all church business.
I called B.S.!  I told him that I already pray for him as far as church business goes but I wanted to know how I can pray for him personally, as a brother, as a father, as a husband, as a friend, not as my Pastor.

 I could tell that this was something that isn't regularly asked of him. It doesn't take much to get my Pastor to tear up. It's not because he is a weak girly man, it's because he is passionate about Jesus and the church. The guy can bench press a horse for Christ sake! I could tell he was getting a little chocked up as he started naming ways that I could pray for him, his wife and his family. It didn't come easy at first. For a leader it's difficult to go from being the caregiver to being the one cared for. When I was content that I had gotten to his heart and gotten legitimate prayer requests, I prayed for him over the phone. It was immediate, it was heartfelt, it was spirit led.

It is something I will regularly do now.

I tell you this story hoping that you will do the same. Our leaders aren't holy. Our leaders are human. They struggle with sin, they live in the same fallen world that we do, they need Jesus just as much as we do. Reach out to your church leaders, care for them and watch what God does with that. God didn't send His only son to die the death that we deserved and give us new life so that we can stay the victim. He sent Jesus to redeem us back to Himself as one body of Christ. Let's start acting like it.

"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."
 1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV

Jason

Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,"

Men we were not made to live like most men, we were made to fight, we were made to strive, we were made to work, we were made to conquer, we were made to give ourselves for something eternal.

Now we live in a fallen world, that lives in darkness and death. The kingdom of the evil one is spread across the land. We were not called to give ourselves to trifles, we were called to advance God's kingdom. To live with a passion to fight for Him, and to only every once in awhile drop our swords and look up for a smile.

I want to Fight! I don't want comfort. Because the Kingdom of God is built, not by those who rest easily in the streets of Zion, but by those who go out into the streets and fight. The weapons of  our warfare are not carnal, they are mighty intercessory prayer, the proclamation of the Gospel, and sacrificial love.

Raise up men of God! Do what you were called to do, be valiant and strong, take your stand beside Jesus Christ and His cause, and watch the Devil come after you. Attacking you from the outside and the inside, but that's what war is about.

This is from an old sermon that I found on line the other day and i thought that I would share it. I don't know who it was that was speaking but I loved the message behind it.

1. Men step up and be strong men of God.
2. Everyday the spiritual battle around us is waging and real. Fight like your life depends on it, Fight like the lives of your family, friends and your children depend on it. Because it does!

Jason

Cover the Earth in the Blood of Christ

Have you ever seen the Sherwin Williams paint logo?

I was following a Sherwin Williams paint truck the other day and as I studied their logo (as a Graphic Designer that is the sort of thing I do),  I started to see the gospel in it.

In the logo, the earth represents the earth and the red paint represents the blood of Christ. The paint is even red, how fitting is that?

Let's say that Jerusalem is where the paint starts being poured. Just like Christianity the paint continues to spread across the earth until the whole earth is covered. As the Gospel is being spread throughout the world and the Kingdom of God advances more and more people enter into the body and are covered by the blood of Christ.

Jesus came to this earth to pay our debt owed, a payment that required blood and death. Because that sacrifice was perfect our sins are now covered. Jesus didn't stop at paying our debt though, He rose from the grave and conquered death and now anyone that believes given new life. Jesus paid my debt, covered my sins, gave me new life and now it is His blood that protects and seals my salvation.

So as I think about the SWP logo it reads "Cover the Earth" but I see "Cover the Earth with the Blood of Christ"

Romans 4:7  "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

Jason

Breath Deep

Have any of you ever almost drowned before? At the moment you were kicking , fighting to keep your head above water thinking this was the end, what was your biggest fear? Was it death, or something else?

I have almost drowned before and when I think back it wasn't death that I was most afraid of, it was what taking that first breath of water into my lungs was going to feel like. Was it going to be painful? Would death be instant or would it be slow and agonizing?

Isn't this how we all approach giving God control of our lives?

It's that intense moment as we sink just below the surface, exhausted, no longer having the strength to keep our head above water, lungs burning for a breath of air and crying out for mercy that we remember the promise that God makes to us. He says I AM the water of life, breathe me in.  

  As we read scripture God makes it very clear to us that He is in control of all things. He wants us to follow His will because He is the only one that truly knows what is best for us. When we try and keep control of our lives He will discipline us like the loving Father that He is, not because He is a cosmic killjoy, but because the love and plan He has for us is greater than we could image.

God is the creator of all things so why do we make Him small and think we can control our lives better than He can? Why do we have such a hard time trusting Him? God promises to provide for your needs, to give you strength, comfort, healing, love and life. All He asks for in return is that you believe and trust in Him.

The way I see it is there are two ways to trust God. We can stick our toes in and test the water or we can do a cannonball into the river of life. So take a deep breath, plug your nose and jump into the hands of God.

1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Jason   

From Inseparable Friends and Delinquent Teens to Brothers in Christ

Has God ever given you an opportunity to share the Gospel with somebody, but you didn't have the guts to speak it? I think that if we are honest the answer to that question would be a loud resounding "YES".

I recently got a great email from a friend and it went like this;

"Thanks for the blog. Somehow you decided to start writing the blog at a time in my life when I needed it. I really think the blog was the beginning for me realizing that I have so much more to give and so much more to let go of. I have also learned since my hospitalization that I have more friends than I ever knew that have the same beliefs in God that I do and we just somehow never talked about it. Such a sad thing that we never talked about it. Do you remember when I came to Sparks? I had very recently forged a relationship with God before coming to see you. I was very excited about it and was really living it. Actively going to church. Talking about it with friends. Reading the Bible daily. I was in a good place. When I cam and saw you, you were in a much different place at the time. I remember a rant at a bar we were at when you went off about Creed and their hidden agenda of talking about God. I think at the time you believed you were an atheist. I have always been disappointed in myself for not telling you what I thought that day. I wanted to tell you how wrong you were, but did not have the guts to do so. I am still a more than a little ashamed of that. Not surprisingly, we did not talk much after that. I can only think of a few times we spoke over the next several years. Funny to say that I sometimes thank God for Facebook. I may have never known that you have become a Christian and that everything is right with you now. We very well may have gone the rest of out lives not knowing that we walk in the same shoes. I thank God that you DO have the guts to put yourself out there and shamelessly let the world know that God is the answer. How ironic that it has worked out this way. I am as happy as I can be that we went from being inseparable friends and delinquent teens to brothers in Christ."

When Shawn came to Sparks, NV it was 10+ years ago and he's right, we were in very different places in our lives. I wouldn't say that I was an atheist, I would probably have identified myself as a Satanist. I lived for no one but myself and was more than happy to find my identity in that and get my power from him. Truth be told even if Shawn would have shared the Gospel with me I wouldn't have accepted it, it just wasn't my time God had plenty of work to do in my heart.

So why do we rely on Facebook to tell us that our friends and family have become Christians? Shawn and I have been friends for many years, but it's not like I called him up one day and said "Hey guess what happened to me today, I became a Christian, do you know Jesus?" It wasn't until I started writing this blog that I found out he had became a Christian years ago.

I guess what I'm trying to say is we should be SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF OUR LUNGS THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL! Jesus has pulled us out of the grave and breathed into us new life. Why wouldn't we want to share that with those around us? Is being accepted more important than their death? Pray for God to place people in your life to share the Gospel with and when He does seize the moment! The gift of Grace is too good to keep to yourself, share it with anybody and everybody. It's the seeds that we plant today that God springs forth life!

Shawn, I too thank God for Facebook, I thank God that He has saved the both of us, I thank God that we can say we went from being inseparable friends and delinquent teens to brothers in Christ. I love you brother!

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes'   

Jason

Act Now, for Tomorrow May Never Come!

This weekend I got an email from a longtime friend that rocked me to the core.

My friend, Shawn woke up one morning to an intense pain in his lower leg. As he started to put all of the symptoms into a website it came back as DVT (blood clots in the deep veins of his leg). Knowing this wasn't something to blow off, he hopped into his car and headed to the ER.

He described the picture perfect ER visit, he got right in, was diagnosed with DVT, given medications, a care plan and then sent on his way. Once he got to his car is where it gets scary. He says " As soon as my butt hit the seat it feels like someone grabbed both of his lungs in their hands."  In less than three seconds, he went from chest pain, to Oh crap, to unconsciousness. According to the doctors he should have died where he sat, but by God's Grace he woke up, disoriented knowing he need to get back inside of the hospital. He pulled himself out of the car and only made it halfway before he felt himself going out again, so he laid down in the roadway of the parking lot, thinking someone would find him. No one did and again by God's Amazing Grace he woke up again determined to get into the hospital. In pure survival mode, he made his way back into the hospital and yelled for help. I'm so happy to announce that after a 5 day stay in the hospital and what could be a lifetime of medications he is doing well. I can't help but think that God had His hands on him that day, and at times picking Shawn up and carrying him to safety.       

Bigger than what had happed to him physically, was what had happened to him spiritually and emotionally.  Shawn says "as a man, father, husband, Marine, and Police Officer, I always felt like I was in control. I talk about God and saying that everything happens for a reason and that life is in God's hands, but I don't think I really believe that until now."  Shawn's overwhelming thought since that day is how fast this all happened. He had no time to think of his wife and children or his relationship with God. It brings him to tears every time he thinks about it.

Before this happened he had been struggling with the feeling that he wasn't close enough to God, or that he wasn't doing enough as a Christian man to really call himself a Christian. He says with absolute truth that several times he thought "I will get to that later, I'm just too busy with everything else."

To this I say, Shawn, it's not what YOU DO that makes you a Christian, it's what Jesus DID that makes you a Christian. God reminds us of that often and sometimes that discipline hurts...a lot! God wants 100% of our hearts, that is where we start, making God central in our lives and let everything else flow from that.

Shawn's point: Don't wait for one day get yourself right, let God redeem your relationships with friends, family and more importantly Himself. God is in control and only He knows which day will be your last and you have to be ok with that.

This email was sent to his family and friends as a call to action, to stop putting the important things off until tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come.

Matthew 24:36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

Jason

I am a New Creation

 I have fought for some pretty stupid causes in my life. Causes that had no eternal value at all. I identified myself as a warrior, a solider for what I believed in. I have destroyed lives. I have destroyed relationships. I have caused pain. I have caused sorrow. I was an instrument of the Devil, believing his lies that I would somehow be rewarded and my life would finally be complete. But all of the things I once found my identity in, was just a smokescreen for my own anger, hatred and pain. I was angry so I took it out on those around me. I hated myself, so I hated those different from me. I was in pain, so caused pain to anyone I could, thinking that it would somehow take my pain away.

 In the midst of the life I was leading I would get glimpses of God and I would hear Him calling my name, but I never answered Him. I fought against Him, thinking, God is for the weak. "I can do this myself" I would say. But God is more persistent than I am, God is stronger than I am, and God is stronger than my sin and the sins committed against me.

 God grabbed a hold of me so tight one day, and this time He wasn't going to let go. By the Grace of God he put my wife into my life. I went to "Living Stones Church" with her one Sunday and it was a day that would drastically change my life. On that day I heard God audibly speak to me, and physically felt Him with his arms around me. He told me to follow Him, that he would heal my pain and fill the hole in my heart and make me complete. I wanted all that God was promising, but as I started thinking of the evil I had committed I had an overwhelming sense of doom. "How could God forgive me?" All that I had ever searched for was placed into my hands and then snatched away...or so I thought.

 I went months trying to work my way to this salvation that was preached every Sunday until I had exhausted my own power. I was at the end of myself,  ready to admit defeat and accept my punishment of eternal damnation. That is the point that I cornered one of our pastors after the service and told him all of the things I have done and that I was ready to accept what was coming to me. The answer I got from him wasn't the one that I was expecting though. He went through scriptures with me and showed me  that I hadn't gone too far, I hadn't done too much and that what God wants for me is greater than I could have ever imagined.

  My salvation wasn't based on me forgiving myself or by my own power. It is based on the work of Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the Cross. It was Jesus that bore my sins and the sins committed against me on the Cross. The wrath that I thought God had against me, Jesus took upon himself...for my sake. He lived the perfect life that I never could, died the death that I deserved and then resurrected from death to give me new life. He came to this earth to be the perfect sacrifice that paid my debt in full, but here was the kicker for me...Jesus' righteousness was passed onto me. Upon accepting Christ as my King and Savior I was made a new creation, God took my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh and He now sees me as blameless in his eyes. All of the sins I have committed, commit and will commit are paid for. All of the sins that have been committed against me, that caused my anger and hatred against myself, that I then took out on others, were taken away in an instant. The chains that had made me a slave were shed that day and I never want to look back.  My past is now hidden in the body of Christ, and it is now through that power, that I am free to live the life, and be the man that he created me to be.    

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Jason