I just took a vacation. It was my first vacation in over a year. My typical modus operandi at vacation time is to let my wife decide what she wants to do and tell me where to be, when to be there, and how to dress. This time, none of those rules applied.
We have a roommate. Some of you know that. Art is a really good guy who is working hard to get his life together. He is in his forties, from a small town in New Mexico, a guy who had some problems in his earlier years. He needed to return to Portales, New Mexico to settle a legal matter. It was going to take him about a week. We hatched a plan whereby I would take him to Portales and then tour a little bit of the country,with no particular agenda in mind, for a week while he took care of his business. I would then pick him up for the return trip home.
Portales is a hot, dusty town in eastern New Mexico, almost within spitting distance of the Texas border. The town has little going for it except that it is the home of Eastern New Mexico University and there is an Air Force base relatively nearby. I heard some accents in Wal Mart that definitely were not New Mexico or Texas. Oh, and someone has built an ethanol plant on the outskirts of the town. It is not one of those charming, little towns you would read about in a travel magazine. I doubt anyone goes there on purpose.
I am not going to give you the whole travelogue, but there were a few significant happenings, not all of which were expected. I have a lot of friends in Texas. I have not actually counted lately, but there are at least three of them in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. I left town undecided as to whether I would visit any of them. That was, after all, the whole point, no agenda, no plan, not needing to be anywhere at any particular time for the best part of a week, just driving where the highway led. Of course those kinds of non-plans never quite work out that well. I suppose they could, but remember, I am a total novice at that kind of non-planning. Every vacation I have ever taken has had a timeline and a destination.
I headed northeast from Portales toward Lawton, OK. The last time I was in Lawton, it was on a day pass from artillery school at Ft. Sill. I realized later it was within a week of 41 years ago that a group of us from the west coast had arrived there. Maybe it was nostalgia, or adventure, or lack of any real plan that got me there. The town had changed a little. Either that or my memory is a lot worse than I had thought it is. I remembered Lawton as a very, small town with nothing going for it except Ft. Sill. Now it is a semi-impressive town of over 100,000 people. Parts of it are very nice. It is even home to Cameron University. The campus was so beautiful I allowed my mind to wonder if there were any faculty positions in my field. I talked with a very nice lady who said the closest they could come is psychology. I do not think so. Imagine all my collegues speaking psycho-babble all the time. Besides that, it would also be very difficult to write about the spiritual battle in Santa Maria from Lawton.
The visit to Lawton definitely took a back seat to the getting there. I spent the day cruising along secondary highways in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, enjoying the scenery, and talking to God. It was a great day! It would have driven other people nuts. Imagine spending an entire day in the car with just me for company. Ask Art. He did it--twice. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I had considered heading north and maybe east from Lawton either to visit cousins in Kansas or to check out a couple of the more touristy places I had heard about, Branson, MO and Eureka Springs, AS. I had already committed to visit my uncle in Lubbock, TX on the way back to Portales. Those towns are only a couple hour's drive apart so that should have worked out well.
One of my friends in Texas is a Nigerian by birth. He is also a dentist. I had never met him in person. We met on the phone about fifteen years ago when I was selling professional, dental products and transitioning my life from nothing something. (Or something to something, or whatever.) In that time, he has gone through a divorce and remarriage, sold a dental practice, worked in another practice and is in the process of reestablishing his own again. He has been much better than I have at keeping in touch. I sometimes feel badly about that. So I called and asked if I could come for a visit. He was delighted to have me. I suggested we could go out for dinner. That was as far as I planned.
I had another great day following the Oklahoma and Texas highways--and learning some things I did not know about the GPS on the iphone. (That is another story!) I still arrived at Tayo's house before he got home from work with his two year old son and Chinese food. I got out of the car and he asked where my stuff was. I had not known what to expect from his hospitality, but he had already decided I would stay there as long as I liked. I decided just one night was as long as I could stay because I had about twelve hours to play with before I had to head for Lubbock.
Tayo, Nifemi (the two year old) and I had a great evening sharing our lives and the love of Jesus in his magnificant house. If I lived in that house I would probably never leave. It is a two-story, brick house with over 4,000 square feet of living space and and office. Unfortunately, the Queen of that domain, Mary, had a class that evening and was apparently only home about six hours before she had to be at work as a registered nurse at a local surgical center. I was asleep the whole time so I was not even able to meet her. Maybe next time. I am looking forward to it Mary.
I was off the next morning for the drive back across the western half of Texas. I made it to Lubbock in time for dinner (still not fully comprehending how the GPS works.) and a pleasant evening with my uncle and his wife whom I had not previously met. The next morning we had breakfast and I headed for Portales fully expecting Art to have finished his business by the time I got there.
Now before this post gets completely out of hand and all y'all (Texan for all of you, plural) wonder if there is really a point to this (there is, but it is going to be in Part 2), we will call this one a wrap and see you soon. God bless.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
More On Thinking Differently
My pastor and I view things differently. That is a good thing. Come to think of it almost everybody seems to view things differently than I do. I am not sure how good a thing that is. I still stand by my ability to hear from the Holy Spirit while admitting that anyone of us can lapse into deception at anytime.
This topic, difference of viewpoints, comes up because it occurred to me recently that is the greatest benefit I personally derive from attending church. Pastor Rob sees things differently that I do. Undoubtedly he is right as often as I am, but he is the one who does most of the talking in church. Frequently, he will say something in a way that I had not previously thought about. Hearing his perspective helps me refine my understanding of the topic under discussion. Well, not discussion in the case of his sermons, but you get the point.
In my own teaching, I have often gained insight from the Holy Spirit in the process of the teaching itself. I know a preacher a generation ahead of me whom I heard claim that he could get every bit as inspired in his study on Tuesday morning as he could in the pulpit on Sunday morning. Without being unkind here, I just never heard him sound all that inspired on Sunday morning. That brought the question to my mind of just how inspired he was on Tuesday morning.
Pastor Rob does not have a problem with lack of inspiration on Sunday morning. I have no idea where he gets his energy. Even accounting for the 20+ year difference in our ages (he is younger) he just seems as though he must be running on energizer batteries. I know I never had that much energy. In fact it wore me out typing that paragraph.
So what is the point anyway? We are all different. Obviously there is right and there is wrong. There is also a lot in between the two we just do not know. I am not talking about shades of gray here. I am talking about things we just do not know. I mean nobody knows. I am not sure we can know it all, especially where God is concerned. There are a lot of things we know. In fact the Bible tells us all that can be know about God. That is what it means that the Bible is the "word" of God. We have written about that previously in these pages. If you have forgotten, look up the word "logos" in the labels. I am not going to do all the work for you.
The ironic thing about ignorance is that we do not know what we do not know. Spiritual deception has the same irony. We do not know where we are deceived. In fact, the more ignorant we are, the less we know and the more deceived we are the more we think we are not. Selah. (Hebrew for "think about that".) God graciously gave us the concept of fellowship with one another because there is always someone who knows more, someone who has more experience, and someone who has better spiritual insight than we do. When we get the idea of Biblical fellowship down, we have access to those people. Maybe they also need some of that knowledge, experience or insight we have. We will never know that if we do not have fellowship with them. I feel a future post on fellowship coming on.
I could almost make a case for giving you my resume here, but I always hesitate to do that. I am not sure it matters anyway. Were I to do that, some would be tempted to misunderstand and think I was doing it simply to glorify myself and/or my accomplishments. There would also be those who would rightly conclude that all that study and experience and all those diplomas and certifications amount to a pile of, well, the apostle Paul called it "rubbish" in a more polite translation of Philippians 3:8. I am just a guy, a guy with a calling to be sure, but just a guy. I have written about that before too. (I tried to place that link here, but it did not want to work. It is the post from 9/20/09.)
Thank you for reading this far. My point is that education, diplomas, degrees, certifications, experience, titles, accolades, etc., like the mountains, melt like wax at the coming of the Lord. (Psalm 97:5) I might have started something at the end of the previous post when I did not comment on a verse of scripture. I probably should not comment further on that. God bless.
This topic, difference of viewpoints, comes up because it occurred to me recently that is the greatest benefit I personally derive from attending church. Pastor Rob sees things differently that I do. Undoubtedly he is right as often as I am, but he is the one who does most of the talking in church. Frequently, he will say something in a way that I had not previously thought about. Hearing his perspective helps me refine my understanding of the topic under discussion. Well, not discussion in the case of his sermons, but you get the point.
In my own teaching, I have often gained insight from the Holy Spirit in the process of the teaching itself. I know a preacher a generation ahead of me whom I heard claim that he could get every bit as inspired in his study on Tuesday morning as he could in the pulpit on Sunday morning. Without being unkind here, I just never heard him sound all that inspired on Sunday morning. That brought the question to my mind of just how inspired he was on Tuesday morning.
Pastor Rob does not have a problem with lack of inspiration on Sunday morning. I have no idea where he gets his energy. Even accounting for the 20+ year difference in our ages (he is younger) he just seems as though he must be running on energizer batteries. I know I never had that much energy. In fact it wore me out typing that paragraph.
So what is the point anyway? We are all different. Obviously there is right and there is wrong. There is also a lot in between the two we just do not know. I am not talking about shades of gray here. I am talking about things we just do not know. I mean nobody knows. I am not sure we can know it all, especially where God is concerned. There are a lot of things we know. In fact the Bible tells us all that can be know about God. That is what it means that the Bible is the "word" of God. We have written about that previously in these pages. If you have forgotten, look up the word "logos" in the labels. I am not going to do all the work for you.
The ironic thing about ignorance is that we do not know what we do not know. Spiritual deception has the same irony. We do not know where we are deceived. In fact, the more ignorant we are, the less we know and the more deceived we are the more we think we are not. Selah. (Hebrew for "think about that".) God graciously gave us the concept of fellowship with one another because there is always someone who knows more, someone who has more experience, and someone who has better spiritual insight than we do. When we get the idea of Biblical fellowship down, we have access to those people. Maybe they also need some of that knowledge, experience or insight we have. We will never know that if we do not have fellowship with them. I feel a future post on fellowship coming on.
I could almost make a case for giving you my resume here, but I always hesitate to do that. I am not sure it matters anyway. Were I to do that, some would be tempted to misunderstand and think I was doing it simply to glorify myself and/or my accomplishments. There would also be those who would rightly conclude that all that study and experience and all those diplomas and certifications amount to a pile of, well, the apostle Paul called it "rubbish" in a more polite translation of Philippians 3:8. I am just a guy, a guy with a calling to be sure, but just a guy. I have written about that before too. (I tried to place that link here, but it did not want to work. It is the post from 9/20/09.)
Thank you for reading this far. My point is that education, diplomas, degrees, certifications, experience, titles, accolades, etc., like the mountains, melt like wax at the coming of the Lord. (Psalm 97:5) I might have started something at the end of the previous post when I did not comment on a verse of scripture. I probably should not comment further on that. God bless.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Something for Everyone
The sunrise is going to catch me at this keyboard. The annoying thing about that is it is Saturday. I am not entirely sure why I awakened so early, but then this mental/spiritual/I do not know what thing started rattling around in my head and I knew it was more likely that I would take a nap this afternoon than get back to sleep this morning.
This week has been more eventful than my weeks often are. I learned a couple things. I cannot remember them both although I expect them to come back before I complete this post. What do you expect from a sleep-deprived man my age anyway?
Oh yes, we were talking about the week. Tuesday morning I met with my chiropractor. You remember him, the high school classmate who seems larger than life as a person, a professional, and however else one can be larger than life. In any event, I asked him if we could meet because I had a couple things on my mind and I knew he was one of the few people who would hear me out without trying to interpret my motives. I like being right. I was this time.
We talked for a little over an hour. He did not really have any answers for me, but it helped tremendously that he listened and he cared. He also had some very nice things to say about this blog and my ability to teach. He told me once, a year or so ago, that maybe he was going to be my John the Baptist in some area. You know, prepare the way to somewhere, for someone, or something. I do not think I will be invited to be the keynote speaker at a chiropractors' convention so we will have to wait and see how that manifests.
Friday, I drove to Santa Barbara to meet with a labor attorney. She is a very nice, young lady and seems to be competent. She must be. She cannot be but about forty years old and is a partner in the oldest law firm in Santa Barbara. Yes, forty is young when you look as far back at it as I do. By the way, she says I have a good case. There is even something interesting about that. You know we have a new director at the mission right? I think I told you that. Forgive me, it is barely 5:00 AM. Anyway, my job seems to be becoming what the company is claiming it has been all along, a professional position. We, the new director and I, interviewed a prospective team member together yesterday. (Semi-competent help has been one of my pet peeves, but I had never been asked for my input during the hiring process before.) I have also been asked to completely rewrite our recovery program. I am pretty sure both of those would fall under the general category of "professional activities" according to the law.
I returned home from that meeting and checked a few things around the house. It was about lunch time and I was feeling a little hungry. Since the men would not be at the mission for lunch I decided to get a Costco hot dog on the way to work. I was minding my own business, eating alone, watching the ebb and flow of the crowd when in walked five of our superior court judges. (Since I have related that event to other people, I guess it is amusing they were having lunch at Costco, but I did not think about that at the time.) I had at least brushed up against each of them professionally at some point and I know one of them a little more personally. Of course I was out of context at Costco so I had to remind them who I am. To make a long story short, if it is not already too late, they ended up at the table with me. I began to excuse myself when I finished, but was invited to stay. I stayed and visited with them, even entertained them with a funny story about a deputy District Attorney. I have absolutely no idea how this story relates to anything except maybe that we had a very brief discussion about the need for more recovery facilities in our part of the world.
I did have something of an endorphin rush leaving that, chance meeting. I felt a little giddy. Costco hot dogs have never done that to me before so I am assuming it was the company and the conversation. Perhaps it was just that a nobody like me was recognized by some of the power elite in the county. My own analysis is that it showed me I really do have a place, in Santa Maria and in the recovery community. I know I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, but it is nice to have it confirmed from time to time.
When the rabbis of Jesus' time taught using parables they inserted different levels of meaning into them. In doing so, they were able to teach different people at different levels of mental, emotional, and spiritual understanding all at the same time. I am not smart enough to do that in these posts, but I just now realized I have done that in this one.
I will leave you with Proverbs 10:19. You will probably understand why. "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (hint: that is all I was supposed to write today.)
This week has been more eventful than my weeks often are. I learned a couple things. I cannot remember them both although I expect them to come back before I complete this post. What do you expect from a sleep-deprived man my age anyway?
Oh yes, we were talking about the week. Tuesday morning I met with my chiropractor. You remember him, the high school classmate who seems larger than life as a person, a professional, and however else one can be larger than life. In any event, I asked him if we could meet because I had a couple things on my mind and I knew he was one of the few people who would hear me out without trying to interpret my motives. I like being right. I was this time.
We talked for a little over an hour. He did not really have any answers for me, but it helped tremendously that he listened and he cared. He also had some very nice things to say about this blog and my ability to teach. He told me once, a year or so ago, that maybe he was going to be my John the Baptist in some area. You know, prepare the way to somewhere, for someone, or something. I do not think I will be invited to be the keynote speaker at a chiropractors' convention so we will have to wait and see how that manifests.
Friday, I drove to Santa Barbara to meet with a labor attorney. She is a very nice, young lady and seems to be competent. She must be. She cannot be but about forty years old and is a partner in the oldest law firm in Santa Barbara. Yes, forty is young when you look as far back at it as I do. By the way, she says I have a good case. There is even something interesting about that. You know we have a new director at the mission right? I think I told you that. Forgive me, it is barely 5:00 AM. Anyway, my job seems to be becoming what the company is claiming it has been all along, a professional position. We, the new director and I, interviewed a prospective team member together yesterday. (Semi-competent help has been one of my pet peeves, but I had never been asked for my input during the hiring process before.) I have also been asked to completely rewrite our recovery program. I am pretty sure both of those would fall under the general category of "professional activities" according to the law.
I returned home from that meeting and checked a few things around the house. It was about lunch time and I was feeling a little hungry. Since the men would not be at the mission for lunch I decided to get a Costco hot dog on the way to work. I was minding my own business, eating alone, watching the ebb and flow of the crowd when in walked five of our superior court judges. (Since I have related that event to other people, I guess it is amusing they were having lunch at Costco, but I did not think about that at the time.) I had at least brushed up against each of them professionally at some point and I know one of them a little more personally. Of course I was out of context at Costco so I had to remind them who I am. To make a long story short, if it is not already too late, they ended up at the table with me. I began to excuse myself when I finished, but was invited to stay. I stayed and visited with them, even entertained them with a funny story about a deputy District Attorney. I have absolutely no idea how this story relates to anything except maybe that we had a very brief discussion about the need for more recovery facilities in our part of the world.
I did have something of an endorphin rush leaving that, chance meeting. I felt a little giddy. Costco hot dogs have never done that to me before so I am assuming it was the company and the conversation. Perhaps it was just that a nobody like me was recognized by some of the power elite in the county. My own analysis is that it showed me I really do have a place, in Santa Maria and in the recovery community. I know I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, but it is nice to have it confirmed from time to time.
When the rabbis of Jesus' time taught using parables they inserted different levels of meaning into them. In doing so, they were able to teach different people at different levels of mental, emotional, and spiritual understanding all at the same time. I am not smart enough to do that in these posts, but I just now realized I have done that in this one.
I will leave you with Proverbs 10:19. You will probably understand why. "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (hint: that is all I was supposed to write today.)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Business As Usual Is Not Always
Glenn Beck is on television Saturday afternoons. I did not know that. I had to ice my back because I had been to the chiropractor and the adjustment caused some spasming. The best place to do that is in my recliner which just happens to be placed directly in front of the television. I took that as a sign I should turn on the television while I sat for twenty minutes.
All that is to say, Glenn Beck was on. He was talking about civil rights and the struggles in this country in the 1950's and '60's. I do not really remember much about that since there were probably fewer than 100 black people in Santa Maria at the time. We lived outside of town in the '60's and I recall about 5 black students in our high school of 1,700. Racial tensions simply were not a big deal. Well, maybe they were the day a group of Hispanic students barricaded themselves in the band room for fear of the ranchers' kids. Or maybe I was just clueless, but in any event, I hardly noticed any racial tensions.
There are a lot of people in the Santa Maria valley who have no idea there is a religious spirit keeping a lid on God's people. Unfortunately that includes most of the people in most of the churches. The problem with that is that traditional models of ministry will only go so far until that spirit is removed or at least muted. We mentioned that in passing in the previous post.
When we returned to southern California in 1987, we ultimately landed in Santa Maria where I had grown up. For those of you who do not know the story, moving here was the beginning of God doing the things He had shown me over a couple years. Those things culminated in a very specific word from the Holy Spirit's mouth to my ears, so to speak, that I needed to be in Santa Maria. You might want to revisit some of the very early posts if that is not quite enough of an explanation.
When we moved here, people were naturally curious and asked where we had come from. We told them we had been in Davis, California for seven years, but had just recently moved from the San Fernando valley. Several people commented the spiritual warfare in Davis must have been intense. We used to chuckle at that--not because they were wrong, but because they were right--about Davis. What they failed to realize was that everyone in Davis who knew about spiritual warfare knew what the battle involved. The newspaper regularly carried stories about gay rights, the pro-choice movement in town, and similar things.
During the time we were in Davis, we saw some significant victories. At some point in the future we may even find out what part we had to play in those victories. We saw the Scientologists move away because they could not afford to stay. We helped with the formation of a crisis pregnancy center which ultimately led to the end of Planned Parenthood in Davis. We saw more than a few people come to faith in Jesus. We had a part in the first annual, community, Easter, sunrise service organized with the cooperative efforts of the evangelical churches in the city. Some of those accomplishments are more significant than others, but all are verifiable. They really happened. No one can debate them.
When we recognize spiritual victories, or seek to find the causes of those things happening, the reasons are not usually obvious. In other words, why did the Scientologists run out of money when it seems Scientologists never run out of money? Why was the Crisis Pregnancy Center able to replace Planned Parenthood? We know the spirits behind those organizations had to go first. The spirits always have to be dealt with first.
I clearly remember my prayer when I realized the Lord was calling us to leave Davis and head south. I kind of half questioned, half complained that it seemed we really had not accomplished much. The Holy Spirit responded, "I did not send you here for the sake of Davis. I sent you here for the sake of David." I realized those seven years were just continuing education. In addition to the victories mentioned above, there are people from the church we started there who are in various forms of ministry in several different places. Sometimes the things that appear to be wasted motion to us are all part of God's well thought out plan.
At least a part of God's well thought out plan in Santa Maria right now is preparing people, and calling people he has already prepared to be part of bringing down the religious spirit. The first step in that is awareness of the problem, i.e., the existence of a religious spirit. There does not seem to be much else to say except to encourage us all to ask if we are part of the solution or if we even understand this is not business as usual.
All that is to say, Glenn Beck was on. He was talking about civil rights and the struggles in this country in the 1950's and '60's. I do not really remember much about that since there were probably fewer than 100 black people in Santa Maria at the time. We lived outside of town in the '60's and I recall about 5 black students in our high school of 1,700. Racial tensions simply were not a big deal. Well, maybe they were the day a group of Hispanic students barricaded themselves in the band room for fear of the ranchers' kids. Or maybe I was just clueless, but in any event, I hardly noticed any racial tensions.
There are a lot of people in the Santa Maria valley who have no idea there is a religious spirit keeping a lid on God's people. Unfortunately that includes most of the people in most of the churches. The problem with that is that traditional models of ministry will only go so far until that spirit is removed or at least muted. We mentioned that in passing in the previous post.
When we returned to southern California in 1987, we ultimately landed in Santa Maria where I had grown up. For those of you who do not know the story, moving here was the beginning of God doing the things He had shown me over a couple years. Those things culminated in a very specific word from the Holy Spirit's mouth to my ears, so to speak, that I needed to be in Santa Maria. You might want to revisit some of the very early posts if that is not quite enough of an explanation.
When we moved here, people were naturally curious and asked where we had come from. We told them we had been in Davis, California for seven years, but had just recently moved from the San Fernando valley. Several people commented the spiritual warfare in Davis must have been intense. We used to chuckle at that--not because they were wrong, but because they were right--about Davis. What they failed to realize was that everyone in Davis who knew about spiritual warfare knew what the battle involved. The newspaper regularly carried stories about gay rights, the pro-choice movement in town, and similar things.
During the time we were in Davis, we saw some significant victories. At some point in the future we may even find out what part we had to play in those victories. We saw the Scientologists move away because they could not afford to stay. We helped with the formation of a crisis pregnancy center which ultimately led to the end of Planned Parenthood in Davis. We saw more than a few people come to faith in Jesus. We had a part in the first annual, community, Easter, sunrise service organized with the cooperative efforts of the evangelical churches in the city. Some of those accomplishments are more significant than others, but all are verifiable. They really happened. No one can debate them.
When we recognize spiritual victories, or seek to find the causes of those things happening, the reasons are not usually obvious. In other words, why did the Scientologists run out of money when it seems Scientologists never run out of money? Why was the Crisis Pregnancy Center able to replace Planned Parenthood? We know the spirits behind those organizations had to go first. The spirits always have to be dealt with first.
I clearly remember my prayer when I realized the Lord was calling us to leave Davis and head south. I kind of half questioned, half complained that it seemed we really had not accomplished much. The Holy Spirit responded, "I did not send you here for the sake of Davis. I sent you here for the sake of David." I realized those seven years were just continuing education. In addition to the victories mentioned above, there are people from the church we started there who are in various forms of ministry in several different places. Sometimes the things that appear to be wasted motion to us are all part of God's well thought out plan.
At least a part of God's well thought out plan in Santa Maria right now is preparing people, and calling people he has already prepared to be part of bringing down the religious spirit. The first step in that is awareness of the problem, i.e., the existence of a religious spirit. There does not seem to be much else to say except to encourage us all to ask if we are part of the solution or if we even understand this is not business as usual.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Troubler of Israel
I was in the shower this morning, kind of running over current events in my mind when I recalled an event from almost 23 years ago. I am not entirely sure I have not mentioned it in these pages before, but since I recalled it, you get to recall it too.
The family had moved to Santa Maria, but my job transfer had not come through so I was still in the San Fernando valley during the week. The workdays went from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM or thereabouts much of the time. Probably the last thing I wanted to do on Wednesday evenings was go to a church service. I am really not sure why I went that night. It was probably a divine appointment, at least it turned out to be. There ended up being about five people in the service after the children and their teachers had gone to do whatever it is children do at such times. The pastor suggested we each take some time to pray individually and then come back together for a time of corporate prayer. I guess five people is some kind of corporate.
The Holy Spirit was in the back of the church waiting for me. I had almost found a place to get on my knees and pray when I clearly heard the question, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" I started to laugh. I immediately recognized the reference to 1 Kings 18:17. In case you are not familiar with it, that is the greeting King Ahab gave Elijah when the prophet returned from a camping trip. Elijah's response was that he was not the one troubling Israel, but rather it was Ahab's family who had brought God's judgement upon the nation.
We were doing a good work in a local church in Santa Maria. We were leading a Sunday school class and home group meeting. We were seeing people, healed and set free. I made a couple mistakes in teaching at those meetings. I actually said the Bible teaches that elders are men. That got me a correction in front of the Sunday school class. Then I pointed out to a group of men the pastor would only choose men to be elders who agreed with him. Silly me, I thought that was a no-brainer. When I was a pastor I certainly would not have considered appointing an elder who I thought disagreed with me in any significant area of doctrine or church leadership. (I know it is hard to believe it is as simple and straightforward as it sounds here, but there are people who can verify what I am saying.)
Obviously I could not be allowed to continue ministering in that church or even attend there with such heinous, abberant doctrine. I was invited, not so politely, to leave the church. We had four children ages ten and under. I was not going to expose them to a church fight. So we left. To bring the story full circle, we were invited to come back to the church years later and declined believing the same spirit was still there. At the time we did not realize it was a manifestation of the religious spirit in that church.
It was in the interim time, while the church council was trying to decide what to do with me, that I attended that midweek service in the San Fernando valley. You may not even be able to imagine what a relief it was, 1) to really understand, with certainty and clarity, that I was not the problem, and 2) to have the Holy Spirit joke with me about it. I needed that laugh.
I seem to be in a similar situation as I write this. There are a few essential differences this time. I am over the fear of man. I know there is nothing any man can do to me that can nullify the grace of God in my life. (Thanks for hammering on that Pastor Craig Hamlin.) I recognize the battle this time for what it is--and who it is. It is not about any man or group of men. It is about a foul, evil, religious spirit that has the Santa Maria valley in it's clutches and is fighting to not let go. My kids are grown and gone. I do not have to protect them from any attacks that might come. I am a little bit angry this spirit has stolen so much of my life and whatever ministry would have been done in that time. I am not going to take it anymore. More than that, I am not going to lose. I refuse to lose. There are a few other people catching this vision. Praise God! That is why I am telling this story, maybe for the second time. I am really not sure. I could have looked that up, but then you might have missed something important had this post not been written. I wonder if that makes any sense? See you soon. God bless.
I could not resist. I went back to see if I had mentioned this before. I had, but only a mention in part three of The Workings of a Religious Spirit. If you are interested: http://thechurchinsantamariaca.blogspot.com/2009/06/workings-of-religious-spirit-part-3.html
The family had moved to Santa Maria, but my job transfer had not come through so I was still in the San Fernando valley during the week. The workdays went from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM or thereabouts much of the time. Probably the last thing I wanted to do on Wednesday evenings was go to a church service. I am really not sure why I went that night. It was probably a divine appointment, at least it turned out to be. There ended up being about five people in the service after the children and their teachers had gone to do whatever it is children do at such times. The pastor suggested we each take some time to pray individually and then come back together for a time of corporate prayer. I guess five people is some kind of corporate.
The Holy Spirit was in the back of the church waiting for me. I had almost found a place to get on my knees and pray when I clearly heard the question, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" I started to laugh. I immediately recognized the reference to 1 Kings 18:17. In case you are not familiar with it, that is the greeting King Ahab gave Elijah when the prophet returned from a camping trip. Elijah's response was that he was not the one troubling Israel, but rather it was Ahab's family who had brought God's judgement upon the nation.
We were doing a good work in a local church in Santa Maria. We were leading a Sunday school class and home group meeting. We were seeing people, healed and set free. I made a couple mistakes in teaching at those meetings. I actually said the Bible teaches that elders are men. That got me a correction in front of the Sunday school class. Then I pointed out to a group of men the pastor would only choose men to be elders who agreed with him. Silly me, I thought that was a no-brainer. When I was a pastor I certainly would not have considered appointing an elder who I thought disagreed with me in any significant area of doctrine or church leadership. (I know it is hard to believe it is as simple and straightforward as it sounds here, but there are people who can verify what I am saying.)
Obviously I could not be allowed to continue ministering in that church or even attend there with such heinous, abberant doctrine. I was invited, not so politely, to leave the church. We had four children ages ten and under. I was not going to expose them to a church fight. So we left. To bring the story full circle, we were invited to come back to the church years later and declined believing the same spirit was still there. At the time we did not realize it was a manifestation of the religious spirit in that church.
It was in the interim time, while the church council was trying to decide what to do with me, that I attended that midweek service in the San Fernando valley. You may not even be able to imagine what a relief it was, 1) to really understand, with certainty and clarity, that I was not the problem, and 2) to have the Holy Spirit joke with me about it. I needed that laugh.
I seem to be in a similar situation as I write this. There are a few essential differences this time. I am over the fear of man. I know there is nothing any man can do to me that can nullify the grace of God in my life. (Thanks for hammering on that Pastor Craig Hamlin.) I recognize the battle this time for what it is--and who it is. It is not about any man or group of men. It is about a foul, evil, religious spirit that has the Santa Maria valley in it's clutches and is fighting to not let go. My kids are grown and gone. I do not have to protect them from any attacks that might come. I am a little bit angry this spirit has stolen so much of my life and whatever ministry would have been done in that time. I am not going to take it anymore. More than that, I am not going to lose. I refuse to lose. There are a few other people catching this vision. Praise God! That is why I am telling this story, maybe for the second time. I am really not sure. I could have looked that up, but then you might have missed something important had this post not been written. I wonder if that makes any sense? See you soon. God bless.
I could not resist. I went back to see if I had mentioned this before. I had, but only a mention in part three of The Workings of a Religious Spirit. If you are interested: http://thechurchinsantamariaca.blogspot.com/2009/06/workings-of-religious-spirit-part-3.html
Friday, August 6, 2010
Perhaps I Should Clarify
I had a gentleman read my blog earlier in the week. He started somewhere around post 60, I think, from what he said. Missing the context of what went on before, he seemed to think I was attacking certain people in these pages. I am pretty confident those of you who have been reading the blog all along do not think that, but perhaps it is time to review some things in that regard.
This blog was started in direct response to the direction of the Holy Spirit that I have been called to expose and help defeat the religious spirit that rules the Santa Maria valley. It seemed obvious to me then as it does now that I would be recording my journey through that assignment as well as letting you know what needed to be done and thereby mobilizing anyone who cared to join the battle.
I do not criticize people--often. Sorry, that was getting close to being a fib. (Polite term for lie, i.e., sin.) Anyway, I do try to not criticize people. I observe, evaluate, and report facts. For example, if someone does something dumb and I say they did something dumb, that is reporting. I report after I have observed and evaluated. My wife tells me I process out loud too often and sometimes in front of people who do not need to be made custodians of the information. She, by the way, is not the first person who has said that. Perhaps I should take it under consideration. (I trust you did not miss the tongue in cheek nature of that last sentence?)
I am working on not telling everything I know lest I embarrass someone who does not need to be embarrassed. For example I have not told you about... Just kidding. My problem is that when one talks and writes as much as I do, and knows as little as I do, some errant words are bound to land on a page or fly into the air. That kind of reminds me of Proverbs 10:19, "In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking." (I like to prove scripture whenever I can.)
Having said those things, let me also say, I was accused, once again, of possibly being a prophet. Oh please. (God?) I seem to know things most other people do not know. Does that make me a prophet? Conversely, other people seem to know things I do not know. I used to tease my mother, in her later years, of remembering things that never happened. I think she really did.
One of the ways God showed me to recognize the workings of a religious spirit is to discern the lies that are being told about His people. I work with drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals. Some of them are even in my program. (Insert silly laughter here.) Sometimes it is very difficult to know the truth of what is being said. Sometimes it seems impossible. I have taken the approach of not believing anything about anyone until I see it for myself. I am not the person to come to if you want justice because you feel you were wronged. My default is to ask how that happened to you if you were truly walking in love toward the person you feel wronged you? (Uh oh, too close to home. Subject change in 5, 4, 3, 2,..)
I report. I do not get offended. I honestly believe am unoffendable. You can be stupid if you want. Have I mentioned the time I was in a judge's chambers and he insulted me in front of a whole group of other program providers, and various and sundry members of law enforcement and the judiciary? I had made a suggestion I thought reasonable. He did not think it was. Rather than saying that, he made an oblique reference to my understanding of the law or, in this case, my lack thereof. My first thought was soulical. He should not have done that. That was rude! My second thought, perhaps more spiritual was, he is the judge. I am in his chambers. He can do whatever he wants. By the way, I have testified in his court since then and consulted on other cases with him. I think he respects me in some, small measure. We do not always agree, but then neither one of us gets any kind of reward for agreeing with each other. I had a probation officer tell me a few weeks ago that she understood we were not going to agree on everything and that was a good thing. That makes for a better chance that justice will ultimately be served.
I know our battle is not against people. It is against spirits. (That might be one of those things I know that lots of people tend to forget.) In this blog, we are particularly battling against the religious spirit that rules the Santa Maria valley. Earlier posts to this blog give a wealth of information as to the workings of a religious spirit. It should be noted that sometimes, people or organizations outside this valley assist the spirit, however unwittingly they might do that.
It is estimated that between 18 and 22% of the people in this valley attend church on any given Sunday morning. We will know we are winning the battle when that number rises to 30% then 40% and miracles become so routine we begin to expect them. Yes, it can happen. I am in the battle until it does. By the way, I have a new ally. I cannot tell you about him yet. I am not quite sure he knows it himself. In the meantime, the Lord is gathering more mighty men around me. I am not going to name them yet. It might go to their heads. (If you know who you are, let me know.) (Sometimes I crack myself up.) Later saints, servants, and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! God bless!
This blog was started in direct response to the direction of the Holy Spirit that I have been called to expose and help defeat the religious spirit that rules the Santa Maria valley. It seemed obvious to me then as it does now that I would be recording my journey through that assignment as well as letting you know what needed to be done and thereby mobilizing anyone who cared to join the battle.
I do not criticize people--often. Sorry, that was getting close to being a fib. (Polite term for lie, i.e., sin.) Anyway, I do try to not criticize people. I observe, evaluate, and report facts. For example, if someone does something dumb and I say they did something dumb, that is reporting. I report after I have observed and evaluated. My wife tells me I process out loud too often and sometimes in front of people who do not need to be made custodians of the information. She, by the way, is not the first person who has said that. Perhaps I should take it under consideration. (I trust you did not miss the tongue in cheek nature of that last sentence?)
I am working on not telling everything I know lest I embarrass someone who does not need to be embarrassed. For example I have not told you about... Just kidding. My problem is that when one talks and writes as much as I do, and knows as little as I do, some errant words are bound to land on a page or fly into the air. That kind of reminds me of Proverbs 10:19, "In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking." (I like to prove scripture whenever I can.)
Having said those things, let me also say, I was accused, once again, of possibly being a prophet. Oh please. (God?) I seem to know things most other people do not know. Does that make me a prophet? Conversely, other people seem to know things I do not know. I used to tease my mother, in her later years, of remembering things that never happened. I think she really did.
One of the ways God showed me to recognize the workings of a religious spirit is to discern the lies that are being told about His people. I work with drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals. Some of them are even in my program. (Insert silly laughter here.) Sometimes it is very difficult to know the truth of what is being said. Sometimes it seems impossible. I have taken the approach of not believing anything about anyone until I see it for myself. I am not the person to come to if you want justice because you feel you were wronged. My default is to ask how that happened to you if you were truly walking in love toward the person you feel wronged you? (Uh oh, too close to home. Subject change in 5, 4, 3, 2,..)
I report. I do not get offended. I honestly believe am unoffendable. You can be stupid if you want. Have I mentioned the time I was in a judge's chambers and he insulted me in front of a whole group of other program providers, and various and sundry members of law enforcement and the judiciary? I had made a suggestion I thought reasonable. He did not think it was. Rather than saying that, he made an oblique reference to my understanding of the law or, in this case, my lack thereof. My first thought was soulical. He should not have done that. That was rude! My second thought, perhaps more spiritual was, he is the judge. I am in his chambers. He can do whatever he wants. By the way, I have testified in his court since then and consulted on other cases with him. I think he respects me in some, small measure. We do not always agree, but then neither one of us gets any kind of reward for agreeing with each other. I had a probation officer tell me a few weeks ago that she understood we were not going to agree on everything and that was a good thing. That makes for a better chance that justice will ultimately be served.
I know our battle is not against people. It is against spirits. (That might be one of those things I know that lots of people tend to forget.) In this blog, we are particularly battling against the religious spirit that rules the Santa Maria valley. Earlier posts to this blog give a wealth of information as to the workings of a religious spirit. It should be noted that sometimes, people or organizations outside this valley assist the spirit, however unwittingly they might do that.
It is estimated that between 18 and 22% of the people in this valley attend church on any given Sunday morning. We will know we are winning the battle when that number rises to 30% then 40% and miracles become so routine we begin to expect them. Yes, it can happen. I am in the battle until it does. By the way, I have a new ally. I cannot tell you about him yet. I am not quite sure he knows it himself. In the meantime, the Lord is gathering more mighty men around me. I am not going to name them yet. It might go to their heads. (If you know who you are, let me know.) (Sometimes I crack myself up.) Later saints, servants, and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! God bless!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Plan Unfolds
God always has a plan. Most of us spend a lot of time trying to discern what the plan is and how we fit into it. That may not be as difficult as it seems. There are a few things that will certainly help us in this regard.
Do not be intimidated. When we have an appropriate fear of God, we understand that we cannot understand Him in any large measure. This is the reason the human soul falls so short in attempting to quantify God. We think we should be able to somehow measure everything. God is immeasurable. He does not come in cups, or feet, or meters, or even in space, and He exists outside of time. All our measurements fail to give us even the slightest idea of how big, what, or who God is. The only way we can know anything about God is through His word, the Bible.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. Time and space limitations prohibit us from discussing how the Bible came to be. We Christians believe we have enough evidence to determine the words that comprise it are God breathed. In fact, the Greek word, logos, translated "word" literally means, "everything that can be known about the subject at hand." In other words, when we understand the Bible as the "Word of God" we know it contains everything that can be known about God. The Bible says it is the Word of God and also refers to Jesus as the Word of God making each of them the complete representation of God. When we understand the Bible, and when we know Jesus, we know all that can be known about God. That can be a little intimidating. He is so big and we are so small. Then again, that is the whole point. A God our size would not be of much help when we come to the end of our resources.
Understand your personal vision. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint..." Think of it this way, when we are not hearing from God and cannot see what He is doing in our lives, we are naturally inclined to do whatever we think is right. We have been reminded several times in these pages that the way of man always leads to death. When we do what seems like the right thing to us, we always go the wrong direction. It almost seems redundant then, to say that if we are listening to and heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit, we will be going the right way.
Develop your personal relationship with God. Of course the advice here is the wisdom of the ages in the church. Pray, read your Bible, and be in fellowship with other believers. That is still excellent advice. As usual, there is a word of caution there. It goes with the third piece of advice.
It is my considered opinion that the church of today is a far cry from what it should be. If we assume that to be true, continuing in fellowship is not a fail safe to keep us unspotted from the world. (James 1:27) We need to be in fellowship with the right group of believers. How would we find that right group? Trust me, that is not all that easy. I know. I have looked. Okay, how about we work this backwards? What would the single most important issue here be? Would it not be finding the place God wants us to be? Darn, that only brought us full circle to finding what God's plan is for us?
What if we save the third piece of advice above for third place? Now we might be getting somewhere. Remember, the order was, pray, read the Bible, then be in fellowship. I know, most people think they do not hear God. Nothing could really be further from the truth. We hear God all the time. We just do not recognize it is Him talking to us. Let me leave you with that thought for now.
Prayer is not just talking. Talking is only half of prayer. Prayer is supposed to be a dialogue, not a monologue.
Talk and then listen. Do you hear anything?
No.
Talk and then listen. Now do you hear anything?
Maybe. I kind of had a thought pop into my head. Could that have been God?
What was the thought?
Oh, just something about someone I am not walking in love toward as I should be. Someone I offended.
Does that sound like something in the Bible?
Yeah.
Maybe it is God. Are you going to do anything about it?
I guess I should.
Does that sound like any kind of experience you might have had in the past? Maybe it was God speaking to you. Have you done what He told you to do? If the answer is "No" that might be why He has not said anything else. Just a thought.
I started this post to say, I can see God's plan unfolding in my life. I have no idea what kinds of twists and turns might come along the way. The indications are they could be unfolding quickly now. There may be an exit in the near future. If there is it is all good. If not, it might be even better. If you know me at all you know I will keep doing what I am doing until God gives me something different to do. See you soon.
Do not be intimidated. When we have an appropriate fear of God, we understand that we cannot understand Him in any large measure. This is the reason the human soul falls so short in attempting to quantify God. We think we should be able to somehow measure everything. God is immeasurable. He does not come in cups, or feet, or meters, or even in space, and He exists outside of time. All our measurements fail to give us even the slightest idea of how big, what, or who God is. The only way we can know anything about God is through His word, the Bible.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. Time and space limitations prohibit us from discussing how the Bible came to be. We Christians believe we have enough evidence to determine the words that comprise it are God breathed. In fact, the Greek word, logos, translated "word" literally means, "everything that can be known about the subject at hand." In other words, when we understand the Bible as the "Word of God" we know it contains everything that can be known about God. The Bible says it is the Word of God and also refers to Jesus as the Word of God making each of them the complete representation of God. When we understand the Bible, and when we know Jesus, we know all that can be known about God. That can be a little intimidating. He is so big and we are so small. Then again, that is the whole point. A God our size would not be of much help when we come to the end of our resources.
Understand your personal vision. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint..." Think of it this way, when we are not hearing from God and cannot see what He is doing in our lives, we are naturally inclined to do whatever we think is right. We have been reminded several times in these pages that the way of man always leads to death. When we do what seems like the right thing to us, we always go the wrong direction. It almost seems redundant then, to say that if we are listening to and heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit, we will be going the right way.
Develop your personal relationship with God. Of course the advice here is the wisdom of the ages in the church. Pray, read your Bible, and be in fellowship with other believers. That is still excellent advice. As usual, there is a word of caution there. It goes with the third piece of advice.
It is my considered opinion that the church of today is a far cry from what it should be. If we assume that to be true, continuing in fellowship is not a fail safe to keep us unspotted from the world. (James 1:27) We need to be in fellowship with the right group of believers. How would we find that right group? Trust me, that is not all that easy. I know. I have looked. Okay, how about we work this backwards? What would the single most important issue here be? Would it not be finding the place God wants us to be? Darn, that only brought us full circle to finding what God's plan is for us?
What if we save the third piece of advice above for third place? Now we might be getting somewhere. Remember, the order was, pray, read the Bible, then be in fellowship. I know, most people think they do not hear God. Nothing could really be further from the truth. We hear God all the time. We just do not recognize it is Him talking to us. Let me leave you with that thought for now.
Prayer is not just talking. Talking is only half of prayer. Prayer is supposed to be a dialogue, not a monologue.
Talk and then listen. Do you hear anything?
No.
Talk and then listen. Now do you hear anything?
Maybe. I kind of had a thought pop into my head. Could that have been God?
What was the thought?
Oh, just something about someone I am not walking in love toward as I should be. Someone I offended.
Does that sound like something in the Bible?
Yeah.
Maybe it is God. Are you going to do anything about it?
I guess I should.
Does that sound like any kind of experience you might have had in the past? Maybe it was God speaking to you. Have you done what He told you to do? If the answer is "No" that might be why He has not said anything else. Just a thought.
I started this post to say, I can see God's plan unfolding in my life. I have no idea what kinds of twists and turns might come along the way. The indications are they could be unfolding quickly now. There may be an exit in the near future. If there is it is all good. If not, it might be even better. If you know me at all you know I will keep doing what I am doing until God gives me something different to do. See you soon.
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