What gets in the way of being an impact?

          The problem as I have been hinting at for most of my thirty years in ministry, is weak faith and prideful Christians who are shallow, selfish and haughty are the biggest obstacles to the Church and to the Kingdom.

         Because they stagnate the Church, suffocate its growth and work inside and out. Too many of us are so wrapped up in our own needs, hurts, desires and wants we fail to see our Lord or respond to His call. So we hide it in our pride or become lazy and feeble. Thus, our churches instead of stables of majestic stallions are mere empty stables with dried excrement and old hey, the horses are starved and got out and the saddles are hard and cracked. We have to get our act together, clean up our mess and fix our stable, repair and oil then mount our saddle, and take care of our horse of faith by feeding and crafting our relationship to Christ.

This is why this is radical now, because we need a call out for a radical, cross-cultural step of being trusting and committed to Christ and follow-through with our Christian faith. Not the step of overcoming the liberal politics, or the growing hostility many of us face in our secular community, yes we need to do that too. But, but, even more so, cross our own church culture filled with empty trends and prideful leaders puffed up with empty platitudes and nonsense. And surrender our will and plans to His Lordship, be radical for Christ. Not self, not desires, not some trend, but learn and grow in Him, to be the person He called us to be. Then we will see our society start to change for the better. To not ask what the church can give me, but to serve selflessly. To not be just a taker but a giver, not just a complainer, but and go-getter, to boldly go and do as Jesus Christy has gifted and called to do. 

All Jesus asks of us is to receive Him and His love so we can pay it forward to others, to show His love by our display of love so we succeed at His will. Jesus’ love is the sap that flows and what causes us to know Him and have His love working in and out of us; it causes us to make Him known to others even more diligently. We were sinners; now, because of His love, we are His people-united to Him, reconciled to God, and filled with the Spirit. This love now becomes the process of continued blessings for us and others. All it takes is our dedication to Christ, so we can respond by faith, worship, and spiritual formation to carry on His love. Growing in Christ is what the Christian life is all about. It is the life-long process of discipleship and spiritual growth that builds our faith and knowledge in Him so we can take hold of His love and produce even more of it, giving it back to Him and onto others. This helps us with our assurance, maturity, character, and spiritual formation. We become changed because we have received Christ and we can keep on loving. If this is not so, there is something fundamentally wrong in our Christian operating system, because love helps us have more hope and reassurance of faith. Why is this radical? Because few do it, and more fight against it, even those who say they are His (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 5; Heb. 10: 26-39; 12:14; 2 Pet. 1: 5-11).  

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:6-10

Why no post for so many months?

Overly busy with managing family, crisis’s in ministry and family and financially, ministry travel and being sick.

You may not know (unless you read our newsletters-lol) that I suffer from a potential life ending illness (an autoimmune disease, ‘Hashimoto's Thyroiditis,’ where my immune system attacks my own body. It is not fun, I am in constant pain, I have frequent migraines that cripple me, brain fog, loss of energy, insomnia which makes it very difficult to write and work. On a good day, it is like I’m always tied, like I have been up for 30 hrs. On bad days, it is extreme pain at times, and other annoying stuff). Is it fatal? Well life is isn’t it? Until we are called home. But at this point I am a few years away, but almost died last Nov… so I never know.

So I need your prayers for health, for support for the ministry and family and to keep the up the fight as long as I am given…for our Lord’s glory!

Hebrews 10:32-39

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”[a]
38 And,
“But my righteous[b] one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”[c]
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.