It strikes me this evening how conditioned we are by both culture and pride to either miss or avoid one of the greatest gifts God can give us by grace: spiritual mourning. In the natural sense, it is easy to see why this would be the case. One of the most powerful realities of the kingdom is also one of the most foolish to the peoples of the earth. It is the one aspect of our faith that reduces the gospel message in its current, popularized form, to almost total irrelevance if one had the boldness to add it to the evangelistic presentation. Who wants to sign up to “feel bad”? Isn’t the gospel about true joy and a free heart? Why would mourning be a necessary component to spiritual growth and maturity?
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February 16th, 2007
While you’re chewing on the last post (and I personally want to chew on what God has for us regarding life in the Spirit for quite some time, so I am sure that this won’t be the last time we broach this subject), I have a random question for you:
Would you vote for a Mormon?
This may be the question that will be on all of our lips in the days to come. In the area of morality and character, would Mitt Romney be “close enough” to what Christians hope for in a leader to throw their weight behind his candicacy? He must be asking himself that very question on a daily basis. Thus, I will be watching with fascination at the language he chooses to communicate his ideas. These are interesting times.
February 15th, 2007
Tomorrow I will be continuing on with the Beatitudes and the glory of mourning, today I am processing out loud with you all. For the first hour and a half yesterday in my end-times class at FSM, we spent time in worship, prayer, and ministry. It was a real moment of encounter for me - I felt the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit on me in a way that I have rarely experienced. Much happened during that time, and I was encouraged by the many that were touched in the area of healing towards the end of that time.
I am not sure where we are at right now. I don’t have the experience in these kinds of “windows of grace” to rightly interpret the information set before me. Are we experiencing the natural “ebb” of a wave that is slowly receding from the shore? Is it the normative window of opportunity to learn and grow a bit in the area of contending for the fullness of the Spirit in our lives? Or have we indeed turned some kind of invisible “corner” in our pursuit for breakthrough that finds us in a new and steadily increasing march to the unknown? Is there something coming from the Lord that is closer than we think?
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February 15th, 2007
I’m going to, over the next few weeks, explore the Beatitudes and their impact on my life and yours. This is, for me, one of my favorite subjects in all of scripture, and so I want to get my thoughts down on these vast and critical subjects related to our spiritual growth and maturity. I started last week with my entry on meekness. We are all on a journey in the leadership of God, and partnership with Him along the way involves agreement with the heart “attitudes” He longs to birth and cultivate within us. The exploration of these internal realities provides glorious insight into a heavenly value system that is radically set against the foolishness, frivolity, and vanity of the things of this world. I want to connect with a value system that turns my heart and my world upside down.
There is no more important moment for a man or a woman than when they encounter a Holy God for the first time. This first encounter is really our first encounter, but in truth the Holy Spirit had long been brooding and stirring in our lives, in an external and internal sense, calling and inviting our hearts to come home. The Lord longs for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, as Paul once said (1 Tim. 2:4). God is searching the whole earth, calling all men to Himself as He searches for any who would come into agreement with Him. He is looking for friendship with men. Thus, the moment of encounter when we are first confronted with Him and by Him is one in which we are reoriented to take a journey that culminates in deep, voluntary agreement with His heart and mind.
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February 13th, 2007
There are some phrases that really should be preserved. So here are three, said yesterday at or around the eighth birthday party for Daniel’s big sister, Riley:
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February 12th, 2007
“The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
and the end of his talk is raving madness.”
- Ecc. 10:13
I’m in the first week of an extended fast - the dreaded detox phase when my sugar addiction really begins to rage. My evening has been spent mostly staring blankly into the distance hoping against hope that my headache will go away. No such luck.
David
February 9th, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, I posted this little wordcast:
“Flash!
Islamic Organizations are upset about the current season of 24 (are you surprised?):
Their outrage is recorded here. They are unhappy and worried that their faith will be portrayed innacurately, leading the unenlightened to conclude that adherance to the Islamic faith could lead to violence and acts of terror. This conclusion could then, lead many to believe erroneously that the verses in the Koran actually encourage these actions. There is, of course, absolutely no connection to Islam, the Koran, and radical Islam - and any conclusion to they contrary is clearly bigoted and narrow minded.”
One of our uncommon commenters tipped me off to this fantastic article - fantastic not because of it’s “24 apologetic” but because of the fact that it contains, in essence, the very same point I was making. Secondly, he’s an Arab-American writer.
Of course, I’m not big on his idea that a fictional superman triumphing over radical Islam provides a psychological release point or emotional anchor for me in the storm of global terror. The writer of the article probably isn’t, either, beyond a thematic element to tie in his broader point. I appreciated, in particular, his point about the six year history of the show and its clean record in regards to inciting anti-Arab violence. Or anti-brother, anti-President, and anti-former British spy violence, for that matter. No word yet from the Counsel on American Islamic Relations as to whether or not they would like to take a stand against beheadings yet.
February 7th, 2007
I was staring at my latest post, “Summary of my view of the end-times” and thought: “Hmmm. That feels like it should be ‘notable’. It should go up on the side.” Then, I got to thinking - I really want to keep the sidebar to ten posts. (I know you can feel what’s coming.) Then, an idea popped into my head. (You’re already tracking. Your fingers are on your keyboard. It’s oh, so predictable.) One that, in the long history of wordcasting, has surely never been done before. I mean, it’s so shockingly original that all of your paradigms will shift simultaneously.
Oh yes, it’s another unofficial poll. I know, from the first sentence, I had you at “hello”. So, as you surely have been waiting for months to do, I want you to tell me which ten posts go over to the side - which ten are worthy of the “I really said these things” designation?
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February 6th, 2007
In my spare time, kind of for fun as well as to learn some things (and get a bit sharper), I just started helping moderate one of the largest bible discussion forums in the world right now (with about 16,000 members, 3200 active). I know - don’t say it. Dumb. Over the summer I wanted to get sharper and clearer in presenting the IHOP-KC message of the end-times to those who had absolutely no framework for it - which meant that I had to speak another language to communicate the ideas. Not only did many not have the framework, but as committed “amillennials” were openly hostile to the message, so I had to work through that tenderly - it was very profitable for me. Over time, the leadership there asked me to step in and help moderate discussions, provide leadership, etc. So I thought it would be fun to give it a try.
Just today, in the middle of some fun discussions, I posted a full summary of my views for the first time. You can read it here, or you can follow the bombing of me that will follow here.
Here’s the main excerpt:
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February 6th, 2007
Jesus said, in the well-known Matthew 5:5 passage, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” James punctuates this promise practically when he counseled us to walk this out with wisdom:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.” (Jas. 3:13)
As a general rule, I love the leadership of Jesus and really believe that His ways are “just and true” (Rev. 15:3). I’m sold at a deep level that the way of weakness - fasting and prayer, giving and forgiving, serving and loving with abandonment to my own self-indulgent, self-absorbed ways - is the wisest and best way for a man to live out his days. I’m not even thinking in terms of gritting my teeth and earning a reward for my obedience - I’m thinking in terms of “wisdom will be justified by her children” (Matt. 11:19). In other words, in the here and now, I believe that the story of my life will testify to the superior nature of God’s divine order and wisdom.
It doesn’t mean that it’s always enjoyable to live out. It doesn’t mean, by a long shot, that I like it. In fact, the way of meekness has me slightly miserable right now. Voluntary weakness is great to preach on but painful at times to live, mostly when I’m confronted with the reality of my heart and my unwillingness to fully embrace and delight in (with a free and joyful heart) God’s way forward for me.
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February 5th, 2007
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