Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. (Dt.6:5-6)

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  (Dt.10:12)

He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment.  (Mt.22:37-38)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mk.12:30)

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (Lk.10:27)

Most of the verses above are very familiar.  If you have been in Christian churches for any length of time you have heard them quoted.  I want you to notice something about these verses, however, that is almost counter-cultural to the American evangelical church. In every one of these verses we are told to love God with our hearts before we love him with our minds. The pattern is consistent throughout the Bible.

There are two ways to understand “the heart” is these passages.  One way is to understand that our emotions and affections, which flow from the heart, are to be turned toward God.  That would certainly be the way many of us would understand the passage.

The second way to understand the passage is that the heart is the place where revelation is given to us by the Holy Spirit and that love for God is going to be released in us by the Spirit through an act of revelation. In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul writes, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.            I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Eph.1:17-19)

Those of us who believe that salvation comes by grace believe that we could not even respond to the gospel without the Spirit giving us an understanding of spiritual things. Paul clearly states that the man without the Spirit cannot understand spiritual things but considers them to be foolishness (see 1 Cor. 2:14). To love God with all of our heart then means that we are to love God based on the revelation that is constantly released into our heart by the Holy Spirit.  You may have had that conversation about your faith and the  “insight” or “understanding” the Lord has given you about something.  That is a great definition of “revelation.”

But here is the counter-cultural part.  I was always taught to love God with my mind before loving him with my heart.  In the fellowship where I was first taught the word of God, the heart was considered to be the seat of our emotions and those emotions could lead us to deception.  I was taught that the mind (our intellect) was to be the guardian of truth in my spiritual life.  And yet biblically, the Holy Spirit is the guardian of truth for believers as he “leads us into all truth.” We are to love God with our hearts and even our soul before the mind is mentioned.  Most of us, however, are trained to develop our minds rather than our hearts. We are trained to think with our intellect rather than to hear and understand God first within our hearts. Paul also tells us that we if we confess Jesus with our mouth and believe in our hearts that he are Lord we shall be saved (Rom.10:9-10).  We are to accept and understand a truth in our hearts even before we understand it intellectually.

When God speaks about changing people he speaks about giving them a new heart rather than a new mind as the first step to transformation. Undoubtedly the mind is to be renewed but not by intellectual arguments.  It is to be renewed by revelation that comes from God’s Spirit to our spirit and then to our hearts and then to our minds. This chronology of belief is important because many pastors have been taught in seminaries to take a strictly intellectual approach to scripture and to discount the notion that God still speaks a fresh word to his people by his Spirit.  The result has been the rejection of many biblical truths by intellectuals because the intellect that is unsubmitted to the Spirit argues against the miraculous moves of God which seem irrational and illogical in the natural.

My point is not to throw out our intellect because we are to love God with our minds as well as our hearts.  But I want to encourage us to begin to focus even more on developing a heart that has eyes that have been opened to the move and the voice of God.  It is in our hearts that we will behold God and fix our eyes on Jesus. The heart trained by God to perceive and believe will then train the intellect to align itself with God rather than argue against what it cannot fully understand or control.

There has been a recent surge of criticism and warnings against the idea that the Holy Spirit still expresses himself through miraculous gifts and revelation.  Those who criticize the  “charasmatics” are brilliant men who love God with all their minds.  But without the revelation of God being fresh in their hearts, they will not know the Lord as Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know him.  Let me encourage you to constantly pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and for the eyes of your heart to be opened so that you may know God better and know the riches that are yours in Jesus Christ.  Let’s be as diligent in developing our spiritual hearts as we have been in developing our intellect.  Be blessed.

Have you ever noticed how often Jesus healed on the Sabbath?  In John 9, Jesus healed a man that was born blind.  He had been a beggar and was apparently a fairly well known figure in part of the city.  Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva and put it on the man’s eyes.  He then instructed the beggar to go the pool of Siloam and wash.  The man was obedient to the command and left the pool seeing for the first time.

Imagine how amazing sight would be for the first time. Suddenly, this man saw only what he had felt and heard all his life.  He had felt water on his skin but as soon as he washed the mud from his eyes he saw water rippling with sunlight sparkling across the surface of the pool.  He saw the faces of familiar voices he had only heard each day as he begged.  He was struck with the endless colors of clothing the crowds were wearing. He suddenly put form and color to the animals he had heard and touched in Jerusalem since childhood. Add to that the shape and colors of buildings, trees, grass, the sky, the sun, and the clouds. The immense amount of new images filling his mind must have been almost overwhelming.  It makes me wonder if part of the miracle was a download of understanding that was imparted to the beggars mind to make sense of what he was seeing.

Of course, as the word of this notable miracle spread, the Pharisees showed up like investigative reporters snooping out a story for the National Inquirer. They remind us that religion devoid of relationship with the Father can be a dangerous thing.  Once again, the Pharisees did not deny the miracle but missed everything about it because it had occurred on the Sabbath. Their response to a blind man who now saw each of their faces was to state that, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

Some questioned the miracle and so his parents were brought forth to confirm that this was their son and that he had indeed been born blind. After doing so, the questions were not about the amazing healing and how it had touched the blind man’s heart and soul, but only were designed to discover whom the man was that had broken the Sabbath by healing someone.  To the formerly blind beggar they said, “Give glory to God, we know this man is a sinner.” His reply, of course, was on target.  “Whether he is a sinner or not I don’t know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.”  This blind beggar went on to state some fairly sound theology. “Now this is remarkable.  You don’t know where he comes from yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinner.  He listens to the godly man who does his will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”  The Pharisees responded with their usual grace and scholarship – “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.”

Miracles are signs.  They are realities that point to even greater realities.  A road sign pointing you to Interstate 20 is a reality but it points to something greater and more useful. The sign won’t take you where you want to go, it only points you to that which will.  Miracles are amazing things, but they point you to an even greater reality. Jesus himself said that his miracles testified to his identity as the Son of God and his identity as the Anointed One. The giver of the miracle is always a greater reality than the miracle itself. As we seek the gifts of the Spirit and the supernatural power of God, we should never see those things as an end in themselves but rather road signs that point us to the giver of the gifts which should always be out true pursuit.

Having said that, how did the Pharisees miss the point of the healings time after time?  These were learned men who had memorized the first five books of the Bible as a beginning step.  They discussed and debated the Torah over and over. These were men of prayer who had devoted themselves to the knowledge of God.  Jesus himself acknowledged that they searched the scriptures diligently but they missed him.  The scriptures were signs pointing to the greater reality but they missed the reality. Somehow they never grasped the onramp to a personal relationship with God the Father.

God is pouring out a great measure of power and miracles on his church today.  These miracles can again become a divide just as they were in the days of Jesus. The problem will not be in the miracles but in the hearts of those who witness the miracles or who refuse to witness the miracles.  Miracles will come because God is a God of miracles who is still pointing to his Son. He is also a God of compassion and his miracles for healing, freedom and provision still flow out of a heart that is burdened for the brokenness and suffering of his people.

As in the days of Jesus, there will be different responses to the miracles. The best, of course, is belief in Jesus as the one true Son of God.  Some will see the signs and understand the destination. They will absolutely know that Jesus is the singular road to the Father.  Others will get caught up in the gifts themselves and never conform to the image of Jesus Christ in spirit or character.  These men may abuse the gifts or use them for their own ends.  They will tend to discredit the faith.

Still others will deny the reality of the miracles or declare, as the Pharisees declared, that these contemporary miracles are deceptions from the enemy. I believe Jesus healed often on the Sabbath because the Sabbath laws had become a stronghold of religion.  Men had taken it on themselves to closely define the things that constituted “work” on the Sabbath and in doing so violated the spirit of the Sabbath all together.  Jesus declared that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  The very thing that God had given to bless man with rest and a focus on the love and faithfulness of God became an instrument of victimization.  To deny healing and deliverance on the Sabbath was to deny the powerful expression of God’s love on the Sabbath. In doing so, God was viewed as a God of rules rather than relationship.

Some will do the same today.  In the name of orthodoxy and biblical scholarship, some will deny the heart of God by denying that he still wants to intervene in the suffering of his people and the lost condition of men through displays of power. In the name of scholarship and intellect, men will declare that the signs that once pointed men to Jesus now point men to the devil.  Won’t there be counterfeit signs and wonders in the last days?  Yes, there will be the counterfeit but there will also be the authentic.  Those with the Spirit of Christ who ask the Spirit to lead them into all truth will know the difference.

As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.”  If miracles draw people to Jesus, promote righteousness, heal broken hearts and set captives free, they are from God by every biblical standard.  Those who deny that God still works in power and miracles will simply forfeit the field to the enemy.  People hunger for the miraculous because they hunger for heaven where the miracles of God flood the atmosphere.

When a holy church operates in the true power of God for healing and freedom, then there is a standard against which the counterfeit signs and wonders of the enemy can be measured. Without that, he will be fielding the only team.  The church must seek the gifts but seek the giver even more. Signs are important but point to a greater reality and although signs may be misread, it’s hard to find the interstate without them.  Be blessed.

John Bevere begins a chapter in his book. Drawing Near, by saying, “The fear of the Lord is the foundation of intimacy with God.”  He goes on to say that the church has lost the “fear of God” and so has lost the presence of God in much of what we do.

That statement launched an hour of great conversation in my Thursday morning men’s group that meets at 6:00 a.m. every week.  It usually takes us 15-20 minutes and at least two cups of coffee for things to get rolling but the idea of the fear of God and what that means seemed to energize us right away.

The truth of Bevere’s statement hinged on the meaning of “fear” for each of us. If we only meant that we shuddered at the voice of God as the Hebrews shuddered at the base of Mt. Sinai, then our fear of the Lord might hinder our intimacy rather than promote it.  As you recall, as God settled on the top of Sinai in smoke and fire and spoke with a thundering voice, the Hebrews began to question having a relationship with this God.

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. (Ex. 19:16-19)

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.  (Ex. 20:18-20)

In my men’s group we discussed the death of Nadab and Abihu for offering “strange fire” and the death of Uzzah who took hold of the Ark of the Covenant in David’s day. We also got around to Ananias and Saphira who died suddenly in the Jerusalem church for lying to the Holy Spirit.  Each of those events were sobering and if left alone would push us away from the presence of God rather than drawing us in for a moment of intimacy.

On the other hand, in scripture, God also called certain men his friends and often went out of his way to meet with them and even share his heart with them.  Jesus said that he no longer calls us servants but friends and the writer of Hebrews tells us that we can approach God’s throne of grace with boldness in time of need. We are called children of God and are affectionately called “his saints.”  So what do we make of these extreme positions?  On one side it seems that coming into the presence of God is a very fearful and risky thing while on the other side we are invited to “sit in his lap,” so to speak.

Bevere had made the point in his statement that the fear of God was foundational to intimacy.  Fear of God, then, is the beginning point for an intimate relationship, but it is not the end. More than anything, God relates to us as a Father.  Earthly fathers who love their children also seek a balance between respect and familiarity and often have to work to maintain the balance.  We never want our children to tremble when we enter the room, but we also want them to obey us when we get serious. If they do not “fear” us or at least fear our discipline, then they will play in the street whenever they feel like it and place their lives at risk.

We have all had the experience of playing with our children and in the midst of that intimacy (playing promotes intimacy), we find our children being disrespectful or ignoring some hard and fast safety rules that still apply even though we are playing.  In those moments, we have to call a timeout and remind our children that we are not just a playmate but we are still their father. That seems to be the tension in scripture that calls us to a middle ground between the fear of Sinai and the familiarity of “Abba” father.

To lose an awesome respect for God and the mindset that he his still holy can move us to a place of being cavalier about the commands of God.  We can begin to take advantage of his grace and treat him with a bit of disdain.  Not only is that offensive to a holy God but it also begins to place us at risk because we become careless with sin.  In a sense, we begin to play in the street.

Children initially obey fathers out of the fear of discipline. As they grow, they begin to obey out of love and respect which still stand on a foundation of healthy fear that was laid years earlier.  I have often thought that we can’t truly love a person we don’t respect – especially in marriages.  When we are mature that respect is built on the qualities of character of the other person, but when we are children it begins with a healthy fear that keeps us out of the street.

If we forget the holiness and the discipline of God, out intimacy will suffer.  Unrepented sin will creep in and create separation between us and the Father.  We will become careless with his commands, which says something about our hearts for we are told, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

As the perfect Father, God seeks a balance between fear (awesome respect for who he is and his authority) and familiarity and comfort in his presence. The Hebrew writer tells us that our God is a consuming fire while at the same time inviting us to approach his throne with absolute confidence.  We can do so because of Christ and his blood that washes away our sin. That sacrifice purchases a positional relationship with the Father, but God wants much more than that. He wants intimacy, friendship, and even playfulness.

However, in the midst of that let’s not forget that he is holy and the creator of the universe.  That balance keeps us in a place where we can enjoy the presence of God.  The more respect we maintain for the Father, the more familiar he can be with us because we will not take advantage of that familiarity or become careless with our lives.  It would seem to be a healthy regimen to regularly reflect not only on the love and grace of God but also his power, authority, and holiness.  Be blessed today.

I’m writing this morning for those who may be feeling that their God is far away even though they have faithfully loved and served Him. If you are part of that group you may be struggling with thoughts that you have served him and even sacrificed for him but there seems to be no reward for your faithfulness.  The desires of your heart have gone unanswered.  Your prayers seem to hit the ceiling and drop lifelessly to the floor.  Perhaps, tragedy has struck your life in such a profound way that you feel as if God has never taken notice of your love and service to him.  Otherwise, why would this terrible thing have happened?  As the holidays approach, some of these feelings risk being magnified and amplified, as others you know seem to walk in the joy and satisfaction that you long for.  Just this morning, I attended the funeral of a young man who took his own life, leaving a daughter and a beautiful wife. I’m not sure how they will feel as the holidays drift in and their holiday dreams and traditions highlight his terrible absence.

There is a recurring theme throughout scripture.  It is the cry of God’s faithful wondering why life seems to hard and empty for them when those who could care less about God seem to have everything that life offers.  The psalmist put it this way.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. (Ps.73:2-5, 12-14)

To serve God and not have the desires of our heart granted while others who don’t care for God flourish, offends our sense of justice and fairness.  I am certain that Satan loves to fuel those feelings and roll out his Eden strategy once again where he hinted that God was stingy and withholding good things from Adam and Eve – good things that would be released to them when they ate from the tree. So now he highlights the girl at the office who sleeps around and makes it to happy hour every day. She seems full of life. She has flirted her way into the good graces of the boss, her future seems bright and secure, and you seem hardly noticed.

Satan shines a bright light on that disparity.  And what about the celebrities on television who are celebrating their third child out of wedlock?  They make millions, get arrested every week and excused every week.  These are the beautiful people who attend galas and sip Champaign on their yachts while never giving God a second thought.  At the same time, you cry out every night for your rent money, a companion, or healing in your life or the life of a loved one.  The book of Job summarizes it with the theme, “Why do the wicked prosper?”

I can’t answer every question about the “good fortunes” of the unsaved.  I know that the prince of this world can bless people too. I can also say that the kindness of God calls men to repentance. I can talk about free will and God’s timing, but in the middle of the night when you are feeling alone and unnoticed those things give little comfort.  The bible, however, speaks to what we can know and that is what we must hold on to.

First of all, an easy life is no definite indicator of God’s approval nor is a hard life a definite indicator of his disapproval.  Otherwise, he disapproved of his own Son who was acquainted with sorrow and had no place to lay his head.  Remember, Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble.

Secondly, you can know that God loves you desperately and died for you.  Graham Cooke put is this way.  “ When we could have cared less about God, He could not have cared more about us.”  We have to stand on that truth even when it doesn’t “feel” that way. He has given you himself as a sacrifice.  He is preparing a place for you now and in due time will surely come and take you to be with him. He has camped in your heart and made you his temple and the apple of his eye. His Spirit sets you apart from billions on this planet and declares that your are his and that he knows what is going on in every part of your life and cares deeply about it.  He is not indifferent to your pain or your prayers – regardless of how it feels.

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”  So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.  (Mal.3:16).

The passage above from Malachi says that God sees you, hears your conversations and writes your name in a book of remembrance so that you and your needs will never be forgotten.  The psalmist went on to say that as he worshipped in the temple, God revealed to him the final end of the wicked who will not repent and the final reward of those who serve him in this life without such luxuries. Justice will be served in the courts of heaven f not in the courts of men.

The truth is that the unmet longings that plague us in this world are the very things that drive us to God and that make us look beyond this natural realm to a heavenly home. It is our longing for a home we have never seen but a home for which we were created. Every longing that cries out in us now will be met there in abundance. But these unmet longings also drive us to the Father now and it is in Him that those longings can be met while on this side of eternity.

These longings will not be met in what he can do for us, but will be found in who he is. He is joy.  He is abundance.  He is peace. He is love.  He is friendship.  He is…. Our solution is not found in asking for more answered prayers but in asking for more of Him.  When life seems unfair and God seems far away remember that he promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you. Feelings can be deceptive. Satan can use them against us but God’s truth stands forever. His love in an unfailing love for you.

As Jesus walked on this earth, he was never rich in earthly terms but he never lacked for anything. He was a man acquainted with sorrow but his constant companion was joy. He was a man who was finally forsaken on a wooden cross so that we would never have to be.  In spite of your struggles and your longings and the good fortune of the wicked in this world, remember that God is always close to the brokenhearted and has written your name and your longings in his book of remembrance. You are not and will never be forgotten.

Remember to always focus on what he has done for you rather than on what he has not yet done.  The Lord says, “But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (Isa.49:14-16).  God feels that way about every child in his family and you are one of his sons or daughters. You name is always before Him and he will never forget.

When the world and life seem unfair, only the love of a Father can turn that pain to joy. When the world and life seem unfair, remember God for he will never forget you. Be Blessed.

I’ve just finished teaching a short series on the supernatural power of words in the life of a believer.  I need to teach on the power of our words from time to time because I need to be reminded.  As believers, we need to continually guard our hearts and minds so that we are not hijacked by our culture.

Right now, every time I turn on the news or a talk show, my blood pressure goes up almost instantaneously.  The constant war of words on the airways is irritating.  Solomon said, “Where there are many words, sin is not absent” (Prov.10:19).  That must be more true today that at any time in history.  Culturally, truth seems to have been put on the top shelf of the closet to be brought out only on very rare occasions.

It seems that everyone has become a “spin doctor”.  Everyone claims that the words they spoke clearly last week do not mean what you thought they meant.  In fact, they mean just the opposite even though the videotape contradicts the claim. It seems that the most responsibility anyone will take for the hugely inaccurate things spoken a week ago is that they were not as clear as they should have been. That’s like me telling you  (Col.3:9) that I want you to paint my living room “sage green” and after you do so, I tell you that what I said was “canary yellow” and I expect you to repaint it.  After you protest, I simply say that you misunderstood or, perhaps, I wasn’t as clear as I should have been but you still need to absorb the time and cost because you should have understood “sage green” to mean “canary yellow.”  That kind of communication makes us all crazy.

In a culture that decided decades ago that all truth is relative and that everyone has his or her own truth, this kind of double talk should probably be expected.  My concern is that we, as believers, might be infected with the same mind set that words really don’t matter and that we should never be held accountable for what we say.  But, as Christians, we don’t live in a kingdom where “truth is relative.”  We live in a kingdom where truth is absolute and unchanging. We live in a kingdom where we are to speak the truth in love (Eph.4:15),  put away all lying (Col.3:9), and let our “Yes” be “Yes” and our “No” be “No” (Mt.5:37).

Words are extremely important.  In fact, Jesus tells us that on the Day of Judgment we will have to give account for every careless word (Mt.12:36).  We are ambassadors of Christ on an alien planet.  We should always reflect the culture of heaven and the character of our King in everything we say. In fact, in every circumstance we should try to sense what our King would say, if he were present, and speak only as he would speak.  Words have power.   As a believer, a priest, a king, and an ambassador of Christ in the earth, your words have authority and power. Jesus spoke, not as the Son of God but as the Son of Man and see what power his words carried.

Our words have amazing potential to create good or evil both in the natural and spiritual realms. God is very clear that he wants our lips to be a source of life not death to every person and every circumstance.  He is clear that fresh, life-giving water is to come forth from our hearts rather than salt water which brings death when given to often to living things. We are to be a constant source of blessing, rather than cursing, and we should speak clearly with integrity as a people who do what we say because our Father always does what he says.  May our words be pleasing to God (Ps.19:14) and may our speech be unique in our culture.  Peter called on us to speak as if we are speaking the very words of God (1 Pet. 4:11). In doing so we will be set apart from the world around us. May we be honest, kind, and yet direct in the things we say and may our words be full or grace and life to all those around us…and by the way, that includes the things we say to our spouse and children behind closed doors.   Be blessed.

In these last days, God will be pouring out more of his Spirit to match (actually overmatch) the counterfeit wonders and miracles of the enemy that are coming.  Within the church, we will see a continuing growth in gifts of healings, tongues, miracles and prophecy. That is a good thing and yet there will be growing pains as men and women will attempt to operate in these gifts without the benefit of being mentored by those who are mature in the use of these gifts. Many will begin to experience these gifts in fellowships where the miraculous gifts have been denied or simply ignored.  They will not have ready access to spiritual mentors in those areas.

If you are one of these individuals who hunger after these gifts or who is beginning to experience the activation of these gifts in your life, I encourage you to ask the Spirit to direct you to spiritual mentors in the community who are mature, godly, and experienced in the operation of these gifts.  Let me warn you that strong “giftings” do not necessarily indicate mature spirituality. There are some men and women who move powerfully in gifts of healing or deliverance or even prophecy whose gifts run ahead of their spiritual maturity.  We often see that phenomenon in the natural realm with athletes, musicians, and even politicians. There giftedness brings them riches, fame, and acclaim long before their character can handle those things.  It can happen in the spiritual realm as well.  Because of that, as you seek mentors look for longevity and character in the exercise of the spiritual gifts you are seeking or experiencing more that the flamboyant fruit of someone who is “wowing” everyone with their gifts.  The mature may also amaze people with their gifts but they will carry with them the mantle of humility as well.

As we move into this time frame of an increase in the miraculous gifts of the church we will also need to be cautious and gracious with those who are very gifted but not so experienced. This may be especially true in gifts of prophecy.  Mature prophets know that the gift is given for the comfort, encouragement, and strengthening of the person receiving the word.  They know that not everything they are shown by God is to be shared with the receiver.  Some knowledge they receive is simply to set the context for the rest of the message and is not to be shared – especially in a public setting.  For instance, a prophet may be shown a sin or a traumatic event in the life of a person to set the context for what God wants spoken over them to set them free from the sin or heal the trauma. However, the sin or the trauma is not to be revealed publically and maybe not even privately.

God is not in the business of shaming or re-traumatizing the people he loves. Those who are operating in the gift without maturity or mentoring may not realize that and some people may be hurt or embarrassed by the immature exercise of these gifts.  If so, we should not dismiss the gift and we will have to have grace toward the prophet.  We will all make mistakes as we grow and cannot grow without exercising the gifts.

Some prophetic words will be right on target and some may miss the target because we “know in part and we prophesy in part.”  We will need to test the prophecy and retain what the Spirit confirms with our spirit and hold the remainder loosely.  In this season of empowering, we will need to affirm the gifts and the gifted without requiring perfection or we will quench the Spirit in our churches or in our own hearts. We will certainly need to test the spirits and the prophecies but we must do so with grace and love rather than distrust and cynicism.

For those who are desiring the miraculous gifts or beginning to experience them, as I said before, I encourage you to seek mentors in your fellowship or in another part of the body of Christ in your community – balanced, gifted, humble and mature Christians operating in these gifts.  In addition to or in place of those mentors, God is also providing this mentoring through anointed books and teachings.  The prophet Isaiah spoke of the time when the knowledge of God would cover the earth.  The spread of that knowledge is being done, in part, right now by the writing of books, teachings on DVD’s, etc.  These can also be great mentoring tools.

Of course, the question becomes which of those can be reliable mentors?  I can’t give you a list, but let me say that you should look for or listen for several indicators of spiritual maturity in the writer or teacher.

• Does the author or teacher reflect the Spirit and character of Christ – love,  joy, peace, gentleness, patience, etc?
• Does the author or teacher point you to Jesus more than the gifts?
• Does the author or teacher quote scripture responsibly or does he/she misuse the Word to validate their own ministries and personal theology?
• Is there humility in their writing or teaching rather than pride and arrogance?
• Is there a critical spirit toward others or do they love the entire body of Christ?
• After asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into truth, does the writing or teaching resonate with your spirit or trouble you?
• Do other mature Christians who accept the full ministry of the Holy Spirit recommend the book?

In the coming months and years, God will continue to pour out more and more power on his church if his church is willing to receive it and become a faithful steward of the gifts. I encourage you to be in that part of his church that does so.  These gifts will not just be healing, prophecy or miracles but amazing gifts of mercy, generosity, teaching, administration, music, wisdom, and so forth. They will be required to face the last great assaults of the enemy on planet earth. Each of us will be on a growth curve in learning how to operate in our respective gifts. Be wise but also give yourself and others grace as we growth.

Sometime before Thanksgiving I will post the recommended books you have commented on.  I would still like to continue to hear from you about the most transformative books in your life so that others can drink from the same pool.  Be blessed.

A group I’m leading was exploring the concepts of blessing and cursing in scripture just a few days ago.  Whenever the topic of curses comes up I like to take a look at Balaam in Numbers 22.  Balaam was the guy whose donkey spoke to him while Balaam spoke back as if nothing unusual was going on.  Our conversation went to an odd part of the story.  Here is the gist of the story and the question that came up in our group study.

As Israel moved towards the promised land of Canaan, they camped in Moab along the Jordon River.  When Balak, the king of Moab, saw Israel camped on his border he “freaked.” Imagine waking up to a million or more people camped along your border knowing that these people had just defeated the neighboring Amorites.  With that in mind, Moab in conjunction with Midian, determined to seek the help of a man named Balaam who was known to place both blessings and curses on people with significant effect.  They sent a delegation to him with a fee for divination and asked him to curse the Israelites so that they might defeat them in war.

Interestingly, Balaam said that he would have to seek the Lord about cursing these folks who were new to the neighborhood.  Balaam did so and God responded.  He told Balaam not to go with the men because he was not to curse what God had blessed (Israel).  Balaam told the delegation, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”  The delegation returned and reported to Balak what Balaam had said.  Balak responded by sending a more distinguished delegation and more money for the divination fee. So Balaam sought the Lord again on behalf of Balak to see if he could now declare a curse on Israel.  This time the Lord told him to go with the delegation but when he did, the text says, “But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him.”

So what’s the deal?  God tells him to go and when he does, God gets angry?  Is God playing games?  Did he change his mind at the last minute or what?  That was the crux of our group conversation.  What does that part of the story teach us about our relationship with God or God’s relationship with us?

Let’s just begin by saying that God often surprises us.  Balaam was not a prophet of God as far as we know and he was no priest. Yet, he enquired of God and heard from him clearly. Perhaps, he had been a prophet at one time but had misused his gift and drifted off into divination. We really don’t know.  What we do know is that God was very clear about not cursing what he had blessed. He was very clear that Balaam was to have nothing to do with that.  And yet, when offered more money and more honor by the enemy, Balaam pressed in again.  Balaam was an idolater.  His idols were money and the praise of men. He wanted that more than he feared God.

The story reveals that God basically told him that he knew what God’s will was in the matter. If he insisted on pursuing those material desires then go for it, but beware of the consequences.  I believe God was angry because Balaam chose to pursue the money even though he knew what the heart of God truly was. He had told Balaam to go with the delegation but to do only what God told him.  I’m speculating, but I believe that while going Balaam was still arguing with God in his spirit.  He was formulating another approach to get God to give him permission or he had decided to do what he wanted regardless of what God told him.  In essence, he was going to rationalize his situation so that he could get the money regardless of God’s command.

We are told later than Balaam dabbled in sorcery and that, although he didn’t speak a curse on Israel, he counseled their enemies to draw them into idolatry and sexual immorality so that their own actions would bring a curse on them.

Here is the point.  We often know what God’s will is on a subject and yet our flesh longs to do or have what God has forbidden.  And yet we look for loopholes and ways to convince God that he should make an exception for us.  Sometimes, we simply determine to do what we want to satisfy our craving with a mind to count on God’s grace later – the spiritual version of asking forgiveness rather than permission.

There may come a time when we have pressed God and pressed God to allow us to enjoy sin or pursue our version of idolatry and then he says, “Go ahead.”  He says it because we are bound to do it anyway.  In that moment he honors our free will without approving of what we are pursuing, knowing that the consequences will be hard teachers, but those are the teachers we have chosen.  It’s almost as if God says to us, “Then go ahead if you are determined, but you’ll be sorry.”  Then we go ahead and when we end up in the ditch we blame God.

How many of us have known Christians who chose to marry an unbeliever against everyone’s counsel or a couple who has chosen to live together even though scripture clearly forbids it?  At some point when we have counseled and plead long enough without being heard, we simply say,” God ahead, but remember when you asked me, I said, “No.”

This story serves as a warning against knowing God’s clear will on a subject while we press ahead trying to convince him that his commands don’t fit our personal situation or while looking for some legalistic loophole to justify our disobedience. The warning is that God may well honor our free will by backing off which we may then take as permission because that is what you have been looking for.

Once you know what God has to say about a matter, it is better to obey him rather than trying to find a way around God’s clear commandments.  Just as it was in the Garden, God’s commandments are not given to deprive us but to protect us.  Balaam did not curse Israel when it was all said and done, but it took a talking donkey and an angel with a drawn sword to settle the matter.  Ultimately, his heart was far from God and he helped the enemies of Israel overcome them. Ultimately, he came to a bad end.

Maybe you have been flirting with the idea of ignoring God’s clear commands because you want something so badly.  I can tell you from personal experience that when I have done it God’s way, I have never regretted it. When I have done it my way, I have often regretted it. Be wiser than Balaam.  Surrender to God and whatever that surrender costs you in the short run, God will more than match in the long run.  Choose God and be blessed.

I’m still wanting to hear about your “best spiritual reads” so others can discover what you were given through those books.  Comment that information to me!

Great books with spiritual themes are like teachers that open up the Word of God to us in ways that we had not seen before.  Often you discover a sentence or a phrase that becomes a “seed thought” for you that takes you to pockets of God’s truth that the author never had in mind, but it was a truth God opened to you. Sometimes the author speaks about a truth or a concept that you had sensed or experienced but didn’t know how to articulate.  After reading the book or the chapter you now have words to talk about what you had experienced.  Other books give us practical ways to pursue more of God and more of his Spirit or an understanding of certain people so that we might share our faith with them more effectively.  Others rekindle a passion in us that once burned brightly but had somehow lost its flame.  The Bible, of course, remains our primary source of light and truth, but books can be like sitting at the feet of teachers who accelerate our understanding and growth in spiritual matters.

Having said that, I am always asking people what books have been transformational for them.  Others ask me the same question.  Some books are classics and some have just recently pooped up on Amazon.  I would like to hear from you about books that were not just an interesting read but that impacted you. Maybe that book created paradigm shifts for you or just blessed your soul in tangible ways.

Would you simply comment on the best books you have read through the years and I will compile that list and post it on this blog soon.  With the holidays coming up, you may be looking for your next great read to snuggle up with in front of the fire. Maybe your small group is looking for their next study. Just give me the title and author of the book(s).  Keep your list to no more than five please.  Be sure the title is accurate so the rest of us can find it in the bookstore or on Amazon. I will add my four or five most favorite books as well.  You might also add a one-sentence descriptor telling us what the primary focus of the book was in case we are not familiar with it!  Thanks and be blessed today. I look forward to hearing from you!

In the fifth chapter of his gospel, John tells us a story that has been told so often that we tend to hurry through it without looking for fresh insights into Jesus.  It’s the story of the man that Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda.  This was a pool that was known for miraculous healings.  John tells us that a great number of disable people  – the blind, the lame and the paralyzed – would lie around this pool each day. Their belief was that from time to time an angel of the Lord would stir the water and whoever got into the pool first, after the stirring, would be healed.

Jesus visited this pool.  Perhaps, he was simply walking by on his way to another destination in Jerusalem and simply by chance noticed the pool and the people around it.  More than likely, however, his visit was intentional and directed by the Father.  Immediately after this healing, Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing of himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.”

This statement reveals that Jesus was highly attuned to the movement and purposes of his Father.  This quality suggests that Jesus was so focused on living out the Father’s agenda that he had developed a spiritual discernment to clearly sense the leading of the Spirit and the heart of the Father in every situation.  This longing to partner with his Father and to put the Father’s agenda ahead of his own, prompted the Father to show him what we was doing so that Jesus could, in fact, join him in those purposes.

Jesus shows us that a hunger to be totally obedient to the Father and to be lead by the Spirit every minute of the day prompts the Father to gives us eyes to see and ears to hear what he is doing.  One of the reasons Jesus performed so many miracles is that he was never operating outside of God’s purposes for that moment. When Jesus ministered healing to a person or a village, it seems that he was simply joining God in what God had already purposed to do. Since God had already determined to do those things, all of heaven was lined up to move when Jesus declared what the Father had already determined.  Jesus heard the Father, recognized the spiritual activity of the Father, spoke what the Father would have him speak and power flowed.

In this case, the Father apparently directed Jesus to the man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  Dozens of others surrounded the pool who were also in need of healing but Jesus focused on one.  Finding him at the pool, Jesus asked what seemed to be a question with an obvious answer, “Do you want to get well?”  That question was an important question. As we all know, not everyone truly wants to be healed. Healing in this man’s life would have changed his identity, his routines, his responsibilities, and even the expectations that other’s had for him.  After thirty-eight years he had learned to be totally dependent on others. His entire life revolved around others meeting his needs and spending each day at the pool waiting for the miraculous stir of waters, knowing full well that someone else would always reach the water ahead of him.

After all those years of being “the invalid” he probably wasn’t sure if he could make it in a world where he would be expected to work and meet his own needs. Like a convict who has been in prison so long that he has become “institutionalized,” he wasn’t sure that he could make it on the “outside.”

Even so, Jesus healed him with a command to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”  After a moment of spontaneous healing the man walked. Amazingly the Jewish religious leaders pushed back against this healing because it had been done on the Sabbath.  Religion misses the heart of God and so misses the goodness of God as well.  As a man stood before them who had been healed from nearly forty years of lameness, all they could see was that he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath and, thus, was violating the “rules” established by the religious elite. He had been lame but they were still blind.  Of course, the conversation quickly turned to the one who had done the healing, after all he has also had violated the Sabbath laws.  The healed man had no idea who he was and Jesus had quietly slipped away in the crowd.

Then comes a curious ending to the story.  Jesus found the man he had healed in the temple courts and warned him to stop sinning or else something worse than his lameness might happen to him. Suddenly, the story shifts from a healing theme to a redemption theme.  The man’s biggest problem had not been his inability to walk but a sinfulness that had placed his soul in jeopardy. We are told that the kindness of God leads us to repentance (Rom.2:4).  This intentional healing seems to have been an expression of God’s kindness designed to lead this man to repentance.

The warning issued later by Jesus suggests that the man had not been touched by God’s goodness sufficiently to lead him to repentance, so Jesus nudged him a little more in that direction.  It is possible that his now functioning legs had been used to pursue more of the sin in his life rather than thanksgiving to God.  The hardness of the man’s heart is suggested by the fact that after receiving the warning or rebuke of Jesus, the man hurried to turn him in to the authorities. Because Jesus had confronted him about his sin, even though it was out of concern for his well being, it seems that the healed man sought to punish the very one who had healed him.

So why even heal this man in the first place?  Weren’t there others at the pool more deserving and potentially more responsive to God’s kindness?  Undoubtedly.  But God loves the stubborn, the sinner, and the hard of heart as well.  God wanted to give this man every opportunity to say “yes” to Jesus. Perhaps, he was the one singled out at the pool because he was the one in greatest need of a spiritual healing.  Perhaps, he was singled out because he was right at the tipping point of developing a heart so hard that he would be beyond repentance.

We don’t know what the final response of this man was to God’s kindness.  What we do know is that the heart of the Father and the heart of Christ do not just pursue only those who are wide open to the kingdom of God but they pursue also those whose hearts are hardened by sin and beaten down by the world. Keep praying for the one whose heart you fear is closed to God.  God will seek him out anyway and draw him with both kindness and warning.  It is what love does even for those who don’t love in return.  If that hardened heart and sinful life has belonged to you, be sure that God still believes you are worth saving and is looking for you in the crowd even now.

Did you ever have the feeling that someone envied you? Maybe they just simply came out and told you that they envied you, your lifestyle, your faith, your marriage, your talent, your stunning good looks, etc. It’s likely that they were giving you a compliment.  They were sincere and it was meant in a positive way rather than an “I wish I had what you have and I wish you didn’t” way.

To know that someone envies what you have or what you are often allows us to see those things through fresh eyes and to reassign value to some things we had come to take for granted or simply ignore. If a struggling person or a much younger person tells us about the envy the feel in our direction, we may feel a bit flattered but we aren’t blown away.  After all, value is relative. If someone without a car at all envies you because you drive a ’79 Ford Pinto, you still won’t feel that great about taking your girl to the prom in the Pinto.  You still know it’s an old beater.

But what if the rich, the famous, and the powerful began to sincerely indicate that they envied you for certain things?  You might begin to see whatever that was in a much different light. You would begin to sense the value, the uniqueness, or the special qualities of whatever they saw in you or in your possession that they longed for themselves.  Realizing that, you might begin to feel a little more significant, walk a little taller, and expect a little more out of life.

Consider these two verses:

               Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.  (Eph.3:8-10)

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. (1 Pet. 1:10-12)

These are interesting verses. In summary, they tell us that there were mysteries that rested in the vaults of heaven for ages.  There were rumors and hints about God’s plan for redeeming Israel and, perhaps, even others.  The great prophets of Israel sensed that something was up and asked God to show them.  He would not.  Angels themselves longed to look into the plans of God regarding man.  God kept the files shut. But in the fullness of time, he chose the church and he chose you to announce the mysteries surrounding Christ, not just to the world but also to powers, authorities and angels in the heavenly realms.

This unveiling of God’s secrets began at Pentecost but continue through today.  The Spirit of God now reveals the mysteries of God to God’s people as they pour over the Word, seek him in prayer, or operate in the grace-filled gifts of the Spirit.  As they do, they announce these revealed mysteries not just to the rest of the body of Christ, but even to the angels who long to look into such things but must wait to hear them from us.

If we could only grasp the honor and the privilege that God has given us as his children we might feel more significant, walk a little taller and expect a little more out of life.  It really is amazing.  There is a real sense in which you are envied by the angels for he has entrusted to you and to every believer true riches that must be distributed by you even to those amazing creatures who stand in the presence of God.  Consider that privilege today.  Dig a little deeper in the Word.  Pray a little longer.  Ask God for a greater revelation of Jesus every day.  When you get it, share it with others and when you do you will be sharing with the angels as well.  Blessings.