Been chewing on this for quite some time…praying on how to approach this…

Amos 5:21-23

"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me?”

Wow! What a scripture for today’s generation. Did Amos see the future? Did he see what we would make Christianity? Did he know that we would exalt preachers into a celebrity status? Did he know that we would market and treat Christianity like a business? And music…please don’t get me started.

This would be an easy rant for me. I could easily sit back and point a finger at those who have made a mockery of Christ. Instead I can’t get over the heartbreak in this scripture. Being a worship leader, I have to be honest…that last sentence absolutely breaks my heart.

“When was the last time you sang to me?”

The truthful words spoken by the prophet Amos, as given to him by the Father, show heartbreak and love at its deepest level. The previous sentence shows that we’ve been singing…but our heart isn’t lining up with what our mouths are saying. Instead of hitting you over the head…allow me to press in and sincerely appeal to you today. When was the last time you sang to God? When was the last time you cried out with everything you have within you and just poured yourself out before Him? If you can’t remember…then it’s been too long.

It’s time for a new song. It’s time for us to quit being distracted by all the junk we’ve made Christianity to be. This is supposed to be a relationship between the Father and His children. We’ve made it something else…and what’s so crazy…is that He sees it. He isn’t stupid or unaware of what we have done and what we continue to do to His bride. In this scripture He makes us aware that He knows what we are doing and knows where we are headed. In this scripture He is telling us that what we’ve made the church today is nothing new. He is telling us we are in a 2000 year old rut…and He is longing for us to return to Him. He is longing for us to sing a song that touches His heart.

When was the last time you sang to Him?

It’s been a tough few weeks…practically an emotional roller-coaster. Last week culminated with completing an almost 4 year goal of pursuing my ministerial credentials through the Assemblies of God. I studied all week and feel really good about the test. Nevertheless, it weighed heavy on me all week, last week. This week finds me smack dab in the middle of organizing our first ever “small groups” event. This Saturday we will be dividing into small groups for the first time ever the history of this church. Awesome, huh!

The past few weeks of devotions have really taken hold of my heart…let me just get right to it…

Mark 10 Vs 49 (KJV)

“Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee…”

I was reflecting thru my journal when I came across this little gem of scripture written in the pages just below a quiet forgotten prayer. It hit me like a bunch of bricks.

It seems in life that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I consciously come into the knowledge of my own depravity. I am daily reminded of how much I desperately need Him. It’s not that I don’t have mountain top experiences with God…that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is the fact that I am in constant need of being picked up. The word “rise” correctly display’s my location in life. I am always in this struggle of dealing with my own inabilities and failures. These failures leave me feeling as if I have hit the bottom, or that I am alone in my struggle. It feels like mud stuck to my skin leaving me dirty and unwanted….and just when it’s almost unbearable…there is Jesus. He is just standing there, peering down at me…not condescending, not angry, and not disappointed. He is standing there with His arm extended down and nail scared hand open saying, “Rise”. 

Last night I got the chance to attend the North Texas Accelerate Tour with a local youth pastor friend of mine. It was pretty good. There were definitely some great sound bites to soak up… So here goes a few them from my notes;

From Pastor Elwyn Johnston…

+ If you’re not tempted…your dead.
+ You do not have a volunteer problem, you have a vision problem.
+ We are losing the battle in ministry because of what is going on behind the pulpit.
+ Make time for prayer… How can you tell people what God is saying, if you aren’t hearing from Him?
+ You have to give up what you want…to get what you need.

From Pastor Steven McKnight…

+ Share ministry with your family…it’s not an “all about you” thing.
+ Are we ministry driven, or God driven?
+ Nothing else will be in rightful order, until God comes first.
+ In ministry, your spouse should be your greatest asset.
+ Is it right to father our people, and not our own kids?

Just wanted to share this brief thought that I can’t seem to escape…

Revelation 12:11

"And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony."

I’ve been examining myself lately…my teaching, preaching, worship, etc. I’ve been wondering what is it that allows me to connect to people. I’m guessing that if I figure that side of me out…then maybe I can better communicate with clarity what I’m trying to teach, preach, disciple, etc. That is my hope anyway. So here is my reoccurring thought...

Transparency…

I need to maintain a level of transparency in my ministry. It’s so important for me to be candid, honest, and just plain real before my people. I need to be open about certain areas of my life so I can relevantly display the gospel “at work”. It’s easy to tell someone else how to be…but it’s important to live it within the viewing of their eyes. I once read that 60% of the brain is used to store the images that are seen through your eyes…the rest is used for the remaining senses. See where I’m going with this?

I was listening this week to Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church this past week and he said something that resonated with me…

“When I was a kid in church, it seemed to me, that the church was full of a bunch of old white guys that said, ‘I’d never do that’ or ‘I’ve never done that’…But the great thing about the Bible is that it is full of guys with problems, and they openly admitted it…”

Their power to preach the gospel came from being transparent about how God was actively working in their lives and transforming them more like Christ. I still use a great deal of discernment in what I decide to share…but I always try and let others into my world a little. It’s then that they actually "see" that I am just ordinary. (Which, if we are being honest...ordinary is not want we want to be.)

Wow, it’s been a while since I got to lay down some text and do some writing. It’s been crazy busy. Nevertheless, I am going to power house out some stuff that has been circling in my brain for a while now. Ok, so here it goes…

Let me give you a small pre-story as to what is happening before a throw out the scripture that caught my attention…

The King of Edom, Israel, and Judah (3 different kings) set out to go to war…problem was that when they showed up to fight, they started to lose. Fearing that the battle was getting away from them, they finally sought the Lord’s opinion on the matter. Be honest here…that is what we all do. We all act first and then ask later for God to bless something that we didn’t include him in.

The king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, finally speaks up and says let’s go ask the man of God, Elisha. The others are down with that so they take off to hear what Elisha says on the matter. Now Elisha didn’t like the king of Edom…this is where we find ourselves in the text today…

2 Kings 3:14

"Elisha said (to the King of Edom), "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you."

Awkward…

Can you imagine being the King of Edom and having something like that said to your face? Think about it. To be a king is pretty powerful. You are the absolute ruler. Your words bring life or death to people. Your character, example, and leadership will shape generations to come. And here’s the thing…good or bad, your reputation will precede you while you live. Your legacy will boast who you were long after you are gone.

So…what kind of reputation do you have?

When you come to people for help are they happy to receive you, or do they turn around and walk off? Does your reputation merit respect like that of Jehoshaphat? Are you known as a person who seeks after God and has a discerning heart for that which is true, upright, and pure? Don’t hear what I’m not saying…you’re not going to be perfect in life. Get over that. It won’t happen. But you can choose to be generous, thoughtful, kind, loving, patient, and so much more. You actually can choose your reputation and the legacy you will leave behind.

I actually came across this a few weeks ago but needed some time to chew on it. There is some powerful stuff at play in chapter 17 of 1 Kings… Allow me to set up the scene…

Most extraordinary people in the Bible have some sort of introduction via biography. We usually get some sort of genealogy of some sort. You know…who their father was, where they are from, how they grew up…stuff like that. As a matter of fact, this is what you will find in the Books of Kings. It is basically a short history background as to what happened with each King. Literally, from chapter 1 to chapter 16, we see the basic fundamental background and history of each king of Israel…all the good and all the bad…mostly bad. Here is the cool thing though, just when you think things are going to keep getting perpetually worse, (because up to that point you have no other reason to think different) chapter 17 comes in and changes everything…

1 Kings 17 Vs 1                     

“Now Elijah…”

What an introduction! I couldn’t help but see the hope that the word “now” brings in this chapter. It is definitely a signal to anyone reading that change has finally come. The “now” is so instant that the writer doesn’t have time to give us Elijah’s background. All we know is there was no hope and no future in the first 16 chapters…but in chapter 17 we find that “now” things are about to change. God’s man has showed up from nowhere with no background and no back story. He just appears…”now”.

How many times have we cried for something to happen “now”?

Does it sometimes seem that things keep getting perpetually worse or that they just stay constant? No matter what you do, you keep finding yourself in failure, up against the wall in obstacles and obstructions? Maybe you feel as if your life is like the first 16 chapters of Kings…mostly bad with a few signs of hope that it could be better…

If that is you today, then let this scripture sink in…

Because, “Now Elijah”, signals change taking place. Elijah showed up from nowhere with only one purpose…to bring about change. He came to restore the people back into relationship with God.

Grab on to that today… This very scripture is here to remind you that God will sometimes show up and make drastic changes in your life for one reason, and one reason only… to restore your relationship with Him….

I twittered that I would upload a song that I had written several years ago...so here it is...

Sharing from my personal devotions this week…

1 Kings 9:4

"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did..."

What a statement…David’s life was far from perfect, it was downright ugly and messy. While on the run from Saul, he spent a great deal lying. He killed a man to have his wife. He didn’t raise the greatest of children. His life isn’t perfect. However, in this sentence, God just kills any juxtapose questions you might have about David and his ethics. It was God who said David was a man of integrity of heart and uprightness. Not only that, but David becomes the standard by which all other kings are judged.

You probably just missed the epiphany of this whole scenario…

David became the standard.

David had such an impact on God that He promised him He would raise up a son under his family tree that God would call a son. So let me get this straight…God says to this man that he loves so much of everything about him, that he God wants a son of His own from the same DNA of David? (In the DNA of Jesus is Davids "heart for God") Wow!

What kind of standard are you setting? If it’s not impacting God…it should be.

What kind of legacy will you leave?

Sharing from my personal devotions this week…

1 Kings 14:25-27

"In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace."

Let me give you some insight into this passage of scripture; While Solomon was king, he would take all the gift offering of gold from neighboring countries and melt them all down to make these shields. They pretty much symbolized victories on behalf of Israel. Simply put, they were trophies. Solomon placed them all around the temple to showcase how good the Lord was to Israel. These shields represented a time when Israel walked with God and did what was right in His sight.

Now to the passage…A few generations of kings have passed and the current king is not even close to being like that of Solomon, much less David. The King of Egypt has attacked and taken the shields amongst other spoils…the former days are gone. The wealth, popularity, and influence on other nations has long disappeared…and rather than addressing their current situation, King Rehoboam simply creates bronze shields in place of the gold ones. Ridiculous…

Are you living in the past like King Rehoboam? If so, why? What is back there?

It will never be that “time” again. It’s already behind you. It’s time to move on and make your own name, or re-establish your name…and do it with your own personal victories. There is no need to hide your failures behind bronze shields…because everyone notices that aren’t gold.