The Most Important Things

You really can’t escape it right now. It doesn’t matter where you are or what’s going on. If you are connected to society in the slightest way, you will have heard those names before. Tebow was a massive trend for months during the football season. ESPN devoted hours of time talking about him and what he’s going to do next. Christians from all over would talk about him as the one who will change our nation. People all over the USA would simply tweet, “TEBOW!” after everything he did. But that was a month ago. We have moved onto another star, Jeremy Lin and his Linsanity. ESPN is devoting hours of time talking about him. Christians, again, are talking about how HE’S the one who is going to change our nation. And after everything he does, people simply tweet, “LINSANITY!” So, the mega trends roll on.

Let me say this, I like Tebow and Lin. They play sports, they inspire people, they love Jesus. That’s a great combo. But what I am more interested in talking about is the MEGA TREND. This is a trend that snowballs into critical mass so quickly that nobody can hide from it. Thanks to the proliferation and synergy of social and broadcast media, a trend can pop up and dominate everything, everywhere for a moment in time. This creates a Mega Trend. The problem with a mega trend is two fold: 1) Because of the mass exposure, everyone wants to be (or create) a mega trend. 2) Mega Trends will increase in size and amount, but decrease in length.

Problem #1: Everyone wants to be or create a mega trend. This pushes our desire (right or wrong) to be seen, to an all-time high. We already see people who have no character being thrust into the national spotlight and becoming a blaze of shame (think politicians to “reality stars”). Before, 15 minutes of fame came from getting TV exposure and that was the only outlet. Now you can become a mega trend through youtube, Facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. The worst part being: you may not intend on becoming a trend. But the people who want, so badly, to become a trend will get increasingly bold and that will lead to all sorts of debauchery. The sad part is that many christians will be swept up in this mentality, thinking that it will lead to a greater voice in the nation. It won’t. It will be as effective as a candle in tornado. Blown out as fast as it can be seen. Here’s a good example. I don’t know how many people have re-posted that video on Facebook, but it’s staggering. The craziest part is how many people who posted it, or liked it who (according to Facebook) are not really living a religious life or discipled life. That is a mega trend! The results of a mega trend are nil. They have no lasting effect. It’s just a massive snowball of confusion, catchphrases and images that leaves everyone craving a new mega trend.

By the time you finish reading this post, Linsanity will have faded and another mega trend will have risen up. In the meantime, stay focused on Jesus. He’s the author of the short-term and the long-term. Stay tuned for the OTHER PROBLEM WITH MEGA TRENDS…

“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Acts 16:25

We are all prisoners. Whether we are enslaved to sin and unrighteousness or we are prisoners of the Lord and His righteousness. We are all bound to something. Through Jesus’ work on the cross and His resurrection, I have chosen to be bound to Him. I am His captive and I am captivated by Him.

Other people are listening and watching your life and mine. It’s with this knowledge that I go through life choosing to pray and sing and glorify God. I know that somewhere down the line another “prisoner” will see me glorifying God in a tribulation or in a blessing. They’ll see God’s miraculous hand rescue me or provide for me. And then they, and their whole household, will be saved.

So, fellow prisoner, make a choice today to pray and sing to God knowing that the other prisoners are listening.

Do work that matters. What does that mean? To each person it will be different. To me, since I am working for God as a disciple of Jesus, work that matters is work that builds the kingdom. Work that matters is work that pleases God. If you read Luke 12, you will see what kind of work matters to God. Here’s a couple samples:

Verse 14, “Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Verse 21, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Verse 33, “Store up treasure in heaven…And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes.”

Verse 42, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.”

So, do work that matters…to God. That kind of work matters for eternity. Don’t just talk about it, do it. Do work that matters.

The other night I found myself thinking, after a particularly powerful service, that it [the service] was old school. I thought, “yea that was good and old school!” Only moments later did I catch myself recounting Jesus words about “old school” or rather “old vs. new.” More about that later.

It’s interesting to me to note that whenever we refer to a powerful or charismatic service that we typically rely on the phrase, “old school” or “classic” or “old time revival.” We rarely say, things along the line of, “that service was brand new” or “fresh.” Every now and again we talk about the “next level,” but that’s not a new thing so much as it is a replacement thing. No, our typical verbiage is about the “old.” Jesus had something to say about this in Luke 5:39, He says, “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

We typically prefer the “old” for 2 reasons:

1. The old is familiar. We have experienced it already and we can relate to it. It’s far easier to remember what HAS happened than imagine what CAN happen.
2. The old is “better.” From what I have heard, old wine is typically less potent in flavor than the new. So, it’s something that is more palatable than the new wine. The new wine is sharp and biting. The old wine is smooth and mature.

Yes! Another holiday list blog, just what you’ve been waiting for. Well, this year I added one thing I hate just to spice it up! Here goes…

1. I am thankful for the things around me – Jesus, my wife, my family, my job/ministry, my church. These are the things that I am continually and daily thankful for. I thank God everyday for these. I talk about these things everyday of my life! I love them and cherish them.
2. I am thankful for the ability to pray, praise and worship wherever and whenever I want. Thank God for spiritual freedom, nationally and personally!
3. I am thankful for Coca-Cola Classic. It’s naturally gluten-free, can double as a toilet cleaner and can make you burp as loud as a 10,000 lb canary. Is there anything it can’t do?

Well, it took me longer than I anticipated to finish off this blog. Or rather, longer than I procrastinated. Anyway, here are the last 2 thoughts, to complete the 4 thoughts regarding seed faith! (Click here to read part 1.)

1. Continual Harvest - Many people overlook this simple principle. If you want to harvest all year long, you have to plant all year long. Every season yields a new harvest and a new fruit in your life. Each natural season yields its own special harvests and so it is in the spiritual. Sow consistently and you will get a consistent harvest. Sow occasionally and/or erratically and you will get an inconsistent harvest!
2. Due Season - In Galatians 6:9, Paul writes: “Do not grow weary…for in DUE SEASON you shall reap…” While there are 4 seasons to every year and many spiritual seasons to every lifetime. The Due Season is a spirit-ordained season, that can override the natural timing of seedtime and harvest. To put that into some natural terms, imagine the due season like this: It takes a tomato seed anywhere between 55-100 days to go from seed to fruit. (Tomato is a fruit, after all.) The Due Season for a tomato seed would work like this, you plant a tomato seed today and you reap tomato fruit tomorrow. The Due Season defies the logic of nature to produce a harvest immediately! Now imagine that in a spiritual context. You sow a seed of money today, you get a harvest tomorrow.

I have been reading and meditating on “seed” and “seed faith” for the last few months. It has been very rewarding and interesting. All of this has “evolved” from studying the broader topic of faith this past year. There are four really important points that I have learned, and want to share, about seed faith and planting spiritual seed in general. Ready? Ok, here we go!

1. Qualify the soil. In the parable of the sower, the sower throws seed onto 4 different types of soil. They are: the path, the rocky, the thorny and the good soil. 3 of the 4 soils result in no usable harvest! But the seed that fell on good soil produced a harvest of 30, 60, and 100-fold. It’s easy for us to do the math. Either you have no harvest or 30, 60, 100-fold harvest. So, qualify the soil! Make sure that you are putting your seed into good ground. Don’t just throw it everywhere, plant it in good soil. Choose the soil that you are sowing into very carefully.
2. Define the harvest. Oral Roberts once said, “we’ve taught people how to sow, but they don’t know how to receive their harvest.”(Full disclosure: I must admit that I am learning and growing in this second point.) His point being that, maybe, you have done a good job of sowing and qualifying the soil. But have you defined and identified your harvest? A farmer knows what kind of harvest he’s going to receive by the seed he planted. So, the conclusion is when you sow your seed, define what type of harvest you are believing for in return.

These two thoughts have been transforming my seed sowing life. (Remember, seed isn’t just money. It can be time, energy, love, or anything that can be “planted.”) God has put laws in place in the universe, like sowing and reaping, that anybody (even unbelievers) can comprehend and apply. However, when a person of faith learns these laws and applies them WITH FAITH the result is accelerated and exponential! So, learn them and apply them with faith.

Stay tuned for part 2…you will love the last 2 points!

Kingdom DNA is what Jesus carried with Him during His time on earth. Kingdom DNA is the impartation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit carries within Himself this Kingdom DNA. He, the Holy Spirit, was given to Jesus at baptism and He was given to the disciples at Pentecost. Kingdom DNA is what the disciples imparted to as many as would receive it at the advent of the church. Kingdom DNA sets captives free, opens the eyes of the blind, destroys poverty, abolishes sickness and disease and releases the power of God on earth. It is the desire of God that His Kingdom [DNA] come on earth as it is in heaven. So…how do we unlock it in our life? Here’s 4 simple keys that will unlock and unleash the power of the Kingdom in your life!

1. Have complete integrity. John 1:47 “Here is a genuine son of Israel–a man of complete integrity.” You have nothing to hide and everything to show, that will make you a genuine son or daughter. Complete integrity is what Jesus walked in at all times. So should we.
2. Do whatever He tells you. John 2:5 Jesus has shown us and told us what we need to be doing. (See Mt. 28 for more info) So, get out there and DO IT! The Holy Spirit is speaking, listen to Him.
3. Passion for the house. John 2:15-17 “Passion for your house has consumed me.” Hate anything that does not fit in the Kingdom, run to those things which are of the Kingdom. Jesus made a whip and chased impurity out of the house. Make yourself a spiritual whip and whip the impurity out of your own life. Let passion for the Kingdom flow through you!
4. Walk in the divine nature. John 2:24-25 Jesus knew the nature of man, that it was always to do wrong. His divine nature continually confronted human nature (and won, I might add). His divine nature caused the religious to run away and the hungry to run towards Him. He was totally different from mankind because He was totally submitted to the divine nature! Submit your nature to God’s.

If you are hungry you will be filled! Unleash the Kingdom of God on this earth, starting in your own life first!

Recently, I have been talking with my children about the “First Answer.” What is the “First Answer?” It’s, Yes. The reason we have been talking about this is that excuses, arguments and “buts” arise when an instruction is given. Nobody is looking for any of those. We are all very tired of hearing excuses as to why things can’t get done (i.e. controlled budget in the gov’t or why a project “can’t” be done). I would rather have someone tell me, “no” than make excuses. At that point, I can deal with their rebellion because it is blatant and obvious. Whereas somebody who is always giving excuses tries to veil their motives through a partial “yes.”  Yet, we live in a culture today that has ZERO respect for yes and no. And, in many instances, is afraid of saying: “no.”

Don’t believe me? When asked by Facebook if somebody is your friend, what are your options? Yes and no? Wrong. It’s “confirm” and “not now.” Why is that? Fear of responsibility and follow through. (It’s also a measure of tolerance. Who are you to say if somebody is your friend or not.) If somebody friended you and you hit “not now” you have the chance to weasel out of why you declined their “friending.” You just didn’t want to be friends with them right now. Contrast that with this answer, “No, I do not know you. Therefore, I am declining your friend request.” Sounds harsh? Not really. Yet, too much tolerance and political correctness in our lives pushes us into the grey areas of life. To the point that we live in fear of being considered “intolerant.” So, what does Jesus have to say about yes and no?

Jesus has always been very clear about the answers we are to have. He was also very clear with His answers. He says in the Gospels to let your “Yes be yes and your no, no.” Later, Paul writes “All His promises in Christ Jesus are Yes and Amen.” (paraphrased.) These are insights into how God desires us to respond.  There’s also the parable of the 2 men who the Master offered work to. One said, “no” and later came back to work. The other said, “yes” and never got around to it. This only furthers our example of being forthright and honest in our answers.

The point that is being made here is that our first answer to Jesus should be yes, and we should follow through with it. I want my children to be people of their word, accountability and responsibility. I want to be that too! My first answer to authority and to Jesus is YES! And Amen!

What’s your first answer?

I love Jesus. I love His word, it always builds my faith and increases my understanding. There is a major lack, in the church today, of spiritual understanding. Many are not aware of the Holy Spirit or are quickly stuffing Him away. We need spiritual understanding to help us in every situation because we live in a spiritual world. Anyone of us can have natural understanding, just by living life. But there IS a difference between natural understanding and spiritual understanding. We MUST discern and pursue spiritual understanding. Spiritual understanding is an awareness, recognition and dedication to hearing the what the Spirit is saying.

If you are not aware that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you all the time, you lack spiritual understanding. If you are not recognizing the Holy Spirit is working (and wants to work) in every situation, you lack spiritual understanding. If you are not pursuing intimacy with the Holy Spirit everyday, you will never have spiritual understanding!

In Matthew 13:12 Jesus says this, “to those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.” I call this the “spiritual understanding parable of the talents.” If you don’t use the understanding given to you by the Holy Spirit, you will lose it. This situation happens in many believers lives. They hear something from God and they don’t apply it or search it out. The result is that they lose their understanding. I don’t want to be that way. I want to be so hungry to hear God’s voice, that I hear something from Him everyday!

In fact, it has been my personal goal to hear from the voice of God everyday of my life. This has helped me understand the bible, the world and many other things. But the Holy Spirit has spoken to me, recently, and put a new goal in my spirit. The goal is this: to be “in the Spirit” all day long. It may sound simple, but let me tell you–it takes more effort than it sounds! Yet I have found great joy in walking in the Spirit! And it has only been by the Spirit that I have been able to walk in the Spirit for any amount of my day. (Full disclosure: I have not lived a whole day in the Spirit yet. But I press on!)

I would encourage you today, be hungry for more of the Holy Spirit. Pursue understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit! Make yourself recognize and be aware that the Holy Spirit was given by Jesus, to help you out…in everything! In all your getting get understanding, in the Spirit!