It’s a bit bizarre when I look back at my life and think “how did I get here?” What I’m talking about is God’s grand orchestration. Sunday morning I am sitting in a church thinking this is, without a doubt, the church that I am supposed to be a part of. I’ve had a vision of a church plant for 3 years, and this is exactly the church I envisioned, every detail. So as I sit there and ponder this odd circumstance, someone asks me how I ended up their. I began to wonder, how did I get here? I found the answer, but it’s a long story, and God showed up every step of the way. I’m going to give you the abridged version of the story, and you can ask me sometime about the long version.
2 years ago I helped serve a meal, called the Love Feast, at a downtown ministry. I heard about a ministry called the Stockbridge Boiler Room and its sister ministry the Bridge Street House of Prayer. Soon after that meal I moved back to Ludington.
In December I went to the bookstore and came back with a book I had never heard of. It was an author I had never heard of. But I saw it on the shelf and the Holy Spirit nudged me to pick it up.
It changed my life. Rather, God used it to change my life and to see the power of prayer, surrender, and revival. I needed a place where I could pray. So I prayed for a place to pray. The Holy Spirit led me back to the Bridge Street House of Prayer. So I went on a Saturday, then I went on a Tuesday, then I went on Sunday. I didn’t have a trace of a clue what to expect when I first went that Saturday, and I brought along a whole van full of people. All I knew was that the Holy Spirit was leading me to go, so I went.
What I found were people who believed in the power of prayer. People that have a passion for seeing revival in themselves and in the community of Grand Rapids. A diverse group of people from young to old, outcasts and people that love them, and people that love coffee!
So how did I get here? Only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If you think that’s a long story, it’s actually more complex than that.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Fools Gold
As I continue in the book of Luke I am reminded of some fascinating parables. I think that sometimes we either brush off a parable saying it doesn’t apply to us, or we pretend like we don’t understand its meaning. Today I encounter one that, from the looks of our culture, has been pushed aside. I’m not just accusing everyone else, I fit into that category as well. Check it out:
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:13-21)
Later in the same chapter (v34) He says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are deeply interested in something that we have invested in. If we put our money into stock for a company, all of the sudden we become strangely interested in everything that the company does. Why? Because that’s where we put our treasure. If we invest our money, time, and other resources into the Kingdom of God, rather than storing them up, we will care deeply about the work of the Kingdom. (Idea stolen from “The Treasure Principle” by Randy Alcorn).
Quickly we begin to reason, “If I give all of my money to God, how then will I survive?” Our first problem would be saying “my money”, because everything belongs to God to begin with. We would just be giving it back to him.
Interestingly, the very next passage (more like a continuation of the same passage) is given the title “Do Not Worry”:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(Luke 12:22-24)
Oh, we have so little faith. Why don’t we take Him at his word? Would you do it? Could you do it? Can something be so simple and so difficult at the same time?
Why do I have an entire drawer full of socks? Why do I own somewhere around 50 T-shirts? Why do I have more than one pair of shoes? Because I’m human and I’m attached to my possessions. Sometimes I’m emotionally attached, sometimes I just think I “need” it. God, please help me to see everything as yours.
"’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:13-21)
Later in the same chapter (v34) He says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are deeply interested in something that we have invested in. If we put our money into stock for a company, all of the sudden we become strangely interested in everything that the company does. Why? Because that’s where we put our treasure. If we invest our money, time, and other resources into the Kingdom of God, rather than storing them up, we will care deeply about the work of the Kingdom. (Idea stolen from “The Treasure Principle” by Randy Alcorn).
Quickly we begin to reason, “If I give all of my money to God, how then will I survive?” Our first problem would be saying “my money”, because everything belongs to God to begin with. We would just be giving it back to him.
Interestingly, the very next passage (more like a continuation of the same passage) is given the title “Do Not Worry”:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(Luke 12:22-24)
Oh, we have so little faith. Why don’t we take Him at his word? Would you do it? Could you do it? Can something be so simple and so difficult at the same time?
Why do I have an entire drawer full of socks? Why do I own somewhere around 50 T-shirts? Why do I have more than one pair of shoes? Because I’m human and I’m attached to my possessions. Sometimes I’m emotionally attached, sometimes I just think I “need” it. God, please help me to see everything as yours.
"’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Can Ya Feel It?
I feel like I need to write this down.
God is on the move and I can feel it. There is a fire that is beginning to consume me. Oh what joy! God is setting the stage for revival. This generation is on the verge of something not seen in over a hundred years. Can you feel it?
I've been reading a book about revival, it's changing how I see things. I go to church in Muskegon last week and the pastor is speaking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filling us and bringing revival. I went to the worship gathering at the Bridge Street House of Prayer last night and not only did I listen to the speaker talk about revival, I saw revival.
Revival in ourselves starts with recognizing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus is on the throne. He is King! We must worship the creator simply because he is almighty. I'm not talking about sitting in your recliner and saying "yup, God's still King." I'm talking about falling prostrate on the ground in worship of the King.
Revival in our community starts with prayer. Let me restate that. Corporate revival starts on the floor. We have to want it. It will mean sacrifice. Discomfort. It will mean that life will not be what it was before. Church will not be what it was before. Change.
Do you want it? Can you feel God moving? Do you see a generation rising up? I do, and I'm not going to miss it.
God, use me as an instrument of your will.
When I began writing this post, I was just going to talk about the House of Prayer. Apparently God had other plans for my train of thought.
God is on the move and I can feel it. There is a fire that is beginning to consume me. Oh what joy! God is setting the stage for revival. This generation is on the verge of something not seen in over a hundred years. Can you feel it?
I've been reading a book about revival, it's changing how I see things. I go to church in Muskegon last week and the pastor is speaking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filling us and bringing revival. I went to the worship gathering at the Bridge Street House of Prayer last night and not only did I listen to the speaker talk about revival, I saw revival.
Revival in ourselves starts with recognizing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus is on the throne. He is King! We must worship the creator simply because he is almighty. I'm not talking about sitting in your recliner and saying "yup, God's still King." I'm talking about falling prostrate on the ground in worship of the King.
Revival in our community starts with prayer. Let me restate that. Corporate revival starts on the floor. We have to want it. It will mean sacrifice. Discomfort. It will mean that life will not be what it was before. Church will not be what it was before. Change.
Do you want it? Can you feel God moving? Do you see a generation rising up? I do, and I'm not going to miss it.
God, use me as an instrument of your will.
When I began writing this post, I was just going to talk about the House of Prayer. Apparently God had other plans for my train of thought.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sense
I’ve been thinking, and I have to be honest. I’m tired of hearing the phrase “what makes the most sense?” when it comes to making decisions. It’s been all around me for a couple months, mostly dealing with my great aunt’s estate, but for other things as well. It seems like it’s catching on. It’s like the phrase of the month around me.
Forget what makes the most sense.
Since when does God’s will always make sense to us? It so often doesn’t. Did it make sense to Peter when Jesus told him to step out of the boat? Did it make sense when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet? Nothing makes sense from a human perspective. We need a God perspective. I will do things, and have done things, that don’t make any sense to the people around me. Why? Because I felt led to do it. Will we live by what makes sense? Or will we live by the Holy Spirit?
Forget what makes the most sense.
Since when does God’s will always make sense to us? It so often doesn’t. Did it make sense to Peter when Jesus told him to step out of the boat? Did it make sense when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet? Nothing makes sense from a human perspective. We need a God perspective. I will do things, and have done things, that don’t make any sense to the people around me. Why? Because I felt led to do it. Will we live by what makes sense? Or will we live by the Holy Spirit?
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