Fear is a LIAR!

The Lord has impressed something on my heart so mightily today...FEAR is a LIAR! When I run into an issue in life, it's startling how fear seems to be a common thread. Why is that? I am convinced that it is a mighty weapon that the Enemy has forged. In fact, it is the only weapon he has. Do I have fear...yes. Do I have it all figured out...no. I do know that Jesus knew my hangup with fear and offered his life for me!

I am amazed at Jesus' own encouragement; John 14:24 (NLT) “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Jesus is that peace that will dispel fear. When he tells us to not be "troubled or afraid" it is because he can backup his encouragement. It is not a void statement. Jesus went "all in" with his obedience when hanging on a cross. What the Enemy intended for evil was the climax of triumph! Jesus defeated death! Even typing this I well up with tears just thinking about all that Jesus did for us! If he would die on a cross for us, I am taking him at his word. Colossians 2:15 (NLT) "In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." So when he says to not be troubled or afraid, I am trying my hardest to rest in the truth that the gift from Jesus is peace of mind and heart!

This is why community among believers is so important! There are times that we do fear, doubt, worry, fret... When we are in community, we can remind each other of the truths that our Lord gave us! The gift of peace! Jesus is peace!

John writes in 1 John 4:18-19 (NLT) "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first." John is not condemning us, but rather encouraging us! He points to Jesus as the example of that perfect love. Because he first loved us, we can follow in that example!

As brothers and sisters in Christ, how privileged are we to do life together! If faced with fear today, tell it to go away. Audibly! Fear. Must. Go! Speak to the lie so that we bring honor to Jesus and our Lord! It will take practice, it will take tweaking, but when we start to act in that authority granted to us by Jesus, we push closer to Peace. We walk straighter in Truth. We make an impact in the Kingdom. When I got out of bed this morning, the Enemy was put on notice. Not in my house. Not in my car. Not at my son's school. Not at work. He has absolutely no right to where light is. Praise God that we are called to be that light in the world! Matthew 13:43 (NLT) "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!"

If I can come along in prayer for you, please let me know. There will be those times I will ask for prayer myself. The battle WILL get weary. We WILL need the support of our brothers and sisters. This, again, is why community and small groups are so important! We can stand in agreement and say NO to fear and support each other!

Love & Peace to all of you!

The Faith of a Child

The night before our twin boys turned 3-years-old, I had a life-changing conversation with our oldest son, Caleb. I will never forget the date; October 20, 2013. I was in the middle of completing a homework assignment when Caleb burst through the door.

“Daddy, I have been talking to God the last couple of days…”

What was my son going to say? Why is this 7-year-old kid talking to God? Is he going to drop a bomb on me? Time stood still for me. Next to heeding Jesus’ call to follow him and the decision to ask my wife, Michelle, to marry me, I knew this next moment would carry life-long implications.

“God wants me to follow Jesus. I’m going to pray to ask him into my heart.”

Wait, what? Wasn't this the part where I’m supposed to lead my own son to Christ? My son very much eliminated the middle man! It was at this time that God was trying to show ME something. It wasn’t about me! It was about the same Holy Spirit that worked through the prophets, David and Paul that was prodding my son to devote his life to God. My son was being led by his God to follow Jesus. He had the faith of a child that I had forgotten about.

Luke 18:16-17 (NLT) 16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.

Thank you, Jesus! A great reminder that the Kingdom of God is so much more than what lines up with my dogma, criteria and preconceived notions.

“Daddy, when can I be baptized?”

Here was my son’s next question. Again, this kid was taking his obedience to Jesus to the max! I assured him we would sign him up for the next baptism at church. I am happy to report that my son, my brother-in-Christ, was baptized on Sunday, November 3, 2013, at Vineyard Church North Phoenix. I had the privilege and honor of baptizing my own son in front of friends and family. What a joyous occasion!

Time stood still again during the baptism. This child gave his life to Jesus and has been on fire for him the last few weeks. Even as he is playing, he is belting out songs of worship for his Lord. He is praising his God as His new creation. He is all about Jesus. Forget the energy adults want when kids are bouncing off the walls late at night, I want the excitement and fervor Caleb has for Jesus! I yearn for that faith of a child…especially my child!

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of you and the gift that is my son. The eyes of my understanding have been enlightened to another level. I am humbled and blessed!

Dear Fear…

“Dear Fear, you must have hated today. Sorry for the bloody nose. I’m doing it again tomorrow though. Get ready, sucker!” – @ Jon Acuff

This got me thinking.  This is more than just bumper sticker mentality…this is TRUTH!

TRUTH given to us by Jesus: John 14:24 (NLT) “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

TRUTH given to us by John: 1 John 4:18-19 (NLT) 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.

TRUTH given to us by Paul: 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Be blessed Brothers & Sisters! We serve an awesome God! He wants us operating from a position of LOVE and not FEAR! He sent His only son so that we can live this out!

“Nothing Can Ever Separate Us from God’s Love” – Paul

Opened up my Bible app and was so happy to see the verse of the day come from Romans 8. Specifically it highlighted verses 38-39. I did want to share the whole section in order to put these verses in context. This to me is the complete Gospel in a nutshell. Easily my favorite words Paul gives to us. I hope you are blessed by this great promise!

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Voskamp & Daniels – Jesus, Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Hello Saints!

I came across this quote from Ann Voskamp, “The enemy only has two battle plans. To blind you from who God is and to blind you to who you are in Him.” This is ultimate truth. The enemy is a kitten without claws compared to the mighty Lion that sits on the throne! I pray this potent truth will bless your day. I pray God’s strength, wisdom, direction and protection over all of you!

“The devil is only “like a roaring lion” (1Peter 5:8) but Jesus IS a roaring lion. Satan and the demons tremble before His might. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” – Bryan Daniels from his blog, http://www.chiefoftheleast.com/

Rich Warren – Christianity: A Belong System

This is full of TRUTH! We belong to a wonderful Family!

Christianity: A Belong System
by Rick Warren

“You will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.” (Romans 15:6-7 NCV)

There are only two ways to get into a family: You can either be born into it, or you can be adopted into it. God does both for you! It’s called being born again, and it’s called being adopted into the family of God. God does both.

In Roman law, which people followed in the New Testament, you could disown a child you birthed. But if you adopted a child, you were forbidden to ever disown them. God says you are not only born again into His family, but He has adopted you, and there is no way He could ever disown you. That’s good news!

You may ask, “No matter what I do? Really?” No matter what you do!

Once you’re born, you cannot be unborn. Once you are born again, you cannot be unborn again. You can grieve the Father, just like we often do to our earthly parents. The fellowship may be broken, but no matter what your parents say, everybody knows you are still their child. In the same way, once you become a child in the family of God, you’re in!

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:15, “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church” (GW). We are the family of God. Church is not something you go to. Church is something you belong to. You’re welded into the building of the temple of God. You’re grafted into the vine and the tree of life. You’re born again and adopted into the family of God. He’s saying all these things. You’re joined into the body of Christ. These are all connection models.

Most people think that Christianity is a belief system. There are beliefs that are involved, but it’s more than that. It’s a belong system. It means you belong to the family of God. It means you are a part of the body of Christ.

The Bible says it’s like being born into a family.

Romans 15:6-7 says, “You will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God” (NCV).

Brennan Manning – Beloved by God

I ran across this powerful quote in late September.

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” – Brennan Manning

I truly believe if we start here we will know true peace, freedom and love.  The Word is clear that we belong to Him and Jesus paid the price for that relationship!

1 John 4:9-12 (NLT) - 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Love, grace & peace to you all!