The Specter Of Pathetic Community.

The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. Then they said to one another, "Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly." (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) Then they said, "Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. And the Lord said, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why its name was called Babel – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

This is a special week for me. In my married life, I celebrate my husband's birthday. In my church life, we began our "enacted parable" of Jeremiah 1 (at the groundbreaking ceremony for Bronx Bethany's community center). And it is the advent of Yom Kippur, a good time to reflect on God's provision of a holy Substitute to cover His people's sins. We all have the privilege of experiencing prophetic community in dyads, groups, and nations. And while this past Sunday's sermon focused on insights into the self-understanding of a prophetic community, I believe today is a good day to consider the antithesis to prophetic community. It is found in Babel.

There were words voiced in the plain of Shinar, and there was successful work being performed, but it was neither God's voice nor God's work. The settlers of Shinar created a community, by their word, "so that we may make a name for ourselves." God was never invited to the planning table. So God, uninvited God, forgotten God, called a staff meeting with His Triune Self: "Let's go down and confuse their language." He came to the plain of Shinar, confused their self-made community, and scattered them. God reached into their success and turned it into pitiful failure.

Yes. The LORD is just when He judges. He sees when we build structures that are not founded in Him. And that is why our pastors and leaders were very careful to saturate the groundbreaking ceremony with the word of God. His word was spoken out loud, printed on paper, prayed from our hearts, and it will be laid in the foundation of the building. We were (and are) a self-understanding community, consciously gathered around God's word, to glorify His name.

The devil, who is always quick to counterfeit, will no doubt do his best to "scatter" us in an attempt to hinder progress. He will magnify strongholds and engage principalities and powers. He will seek to discourage the faithful and promote the wicked. He will accost the unaware, turning their God-given strengths into arrows of evil. The devil is a master at causing people to first be blinded to danger, then second to be tricked, tempted, or trapped into perpetuating his evil schemes.

But God is good. He gave us assignments before He gave us birth days. He spoke to Bronx Bethany through Jeremiah 1. And physical and spiritual Israel will meet at Yom Kippur, contemplating our passion, our place, and our purpose. We have heard the call of God, and we anticipate the enemy's opposition. So we fast and pray.

Jesus, on this Day of Atonement, we recognize You. Your Presence presides over this ritual of the scattered diaspora coming back to Your temple for forgiveness and blessing.

Our bodies are Your temple. So we come to you as a community of faith. "Though we are many, we are one body in Christ." You have brought us together! So we relinquish our agenda and embrace Yours.

We do as You have decreed in Jeremiah 1: we uproot, tear down, destroy, and completely overthrow every thing, person, and system that stands in opposition to our complete obedience to You.

Our deep passion is for You.
Our desired place is with You.
Our destined purpose is in You.

We reject the self-sufficiency of Shinar, and we give ourselves to You. Jesus, use us to build Your kingdom. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

I Know Who I Am.

In yesterday's sermon, we were reminded of our position as a prophetic community. As prophetic people, we step into line with God's assessment of who we are and what we must do. Pastor Sam referenced Jeremiah chapter 1, which details the process and content of Jeremiah's call to prophetic ministry.

 

Let's begin our week's reflections with a discussion of the following question in light of Jeremiah 1:5.

 

Who are we?

• We are persons formed by God.
• We are persons known by God.
• We are persons sanctified by God.
• We are persons appointed by God.

This process occurs prior to our conception! God said to Jeremiah and says to us, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” It is an awesome thing to know that God has given each of His people a particular task to perform, and a particular destiny to fulfill.

 

This word to Jeremiah relates to another Scripture, found in Isaiah 45:9:

 

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—

An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!

Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”

 

For anyone who has not taken a pottery class, the potter analogy may be a challenge to fully understand. But we all understand that clay does not talk, and therefore clay on a potter's wheel does not argue to the potter about the rationale behind his formation process.

 

God is creative, God is intentional, God is a planner. God has us living for a specific purpose. He had that purpose in mind before He formed us in our mothers' wombs. There is no such thing as a life without purpose. God, as Potter, designed our purpose even before He designed us.

 

Some people learn at a very early age that they were made for a particular task. That was the experience of Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 1:7) Other people, like Moses, do not come to that realization until they are well into adulthood (see Exodus 3:10-12). And sadly, there are some people who never realize their destiny and purpose.

 

To Jeremiah's and Moses's credit, they do not fall into the error of saying to the Potter, “What are You doing?” But though they did not quarrel, they did offer a few lame excuses to God. I am familiar with some of those excuses, because I've said them myself. Maybe you have said them too. Lord, it's too late for me. Lord, I have nothing to offer. Lord, I'm too young. I'm sure God has heard many excuses.

 

Fortunately, Pastor Sam brought out an amazing point concerning Jeremiah's reluctance to serve. God never addressed Jeremiah's personal sense of inadequacy. God confirmed the call, stated the assignment, touched Jeremiah's mouth, and immediately moved Jeremiah into the prophetic role. What an encouragement! Our God who calls us is also God who equips and empowers us to be prophetic voices in our community and our world.

 

So, who are you?

Flood Insurance...

Pastor Sam shared the sermon "Freedom from Fear" just a few days before Reverend Gabbidon shared the final session of the School of Prayer class. During the prayer class, we spent time in discussion concerning reasons why people experience hindrances to holiness living. The hindrances-- anger, peer pressure, compromise, immaturity, busyness, and several others mentioned-- are means by which the enemy of our souls seeks to block us from reaching our full potential in Christ. (One example given during class was that of a person who had been a Christian for thirty years but never grew into maturity, so the person's behavior taught new Christians that spiritual immaturity was acceptable.) For those of us who were able to attend both Sunday and Wednesday, we experienced a wonderful juxtaposition of insights. In one hand we held Psalm 27, and in the other James 4.

Our constitution. From Psalm 27 we learned that, because the LORD is the strength of our life, we have no need to fear. Therefore, our prayers must be prayed from a position of strength. Further, prayer is not a chore-- it is a joy! Our desire is to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple, for in the day of trouble He will hide us (Psalm 27:4). As Pastor Sam shared, "principalities don't have to rule us; no darkness is too dark- we can sing in the dark because Jesus is with us." Fearful prayers are ineffective prayers. Fearless prayers are not swayed by external circumstances.

Our character. James 4 underlined the characteristics of those Christians who are capable of praying from a position of strength and singing praises in the dark. James says, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3) He then follows with a list of the characteristics that will identify the believer as an authentic child of God: submitting to God, resisting the devil, washing our hands and purifying our hearts (holiness as a lifestyle), and humbling ourselves before God (James 4:7-10). In other words, the Christian who has not "gone on to maturity" (see Hebrews 5:11-6:6) really doesn't stand a chance.

When we are free from fear, we are free to intercede for others. We are empowered to break down the gates of hell, set people free, and do damage to the kingdom of darkness. And fearlessness is a necessary trait, because there is always backlash when a true Christian steps in and claims territory for the kingdom of God. In Psalm 27, we see that King David endured slander and defamation. In Acts 16, we read of Paul and Silas being beaten and thrown into prison. Prayer is warfare, and it is not a joke. Sometimes it costs us everything. But hey, welcome to the war zone. Fearless Christians rejoice not because their life circumstances are comfortable, but because they have an assurance from Christ of His presence and covering. His covering trumps everything else.

At the close of Wednesday's class, Pastor Sam asked us all to pray about our potential to be intercessors. For some of us, that means we will need to deal with the fear issue. For others, it may mean we have to deal with the forgiveness issue. God has an interest in His children being well, whole, and capable of successful engagement in warfare prayer. What grace, that He allows us to participate in this ministry of prayer! Will you join the team?

When darkness seems to veil His face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, my anchors holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the 'whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand! All other ground is sinking sand. (Edward Mote)

Break Free From Fear.

For those readers who were not part of Sunday's altar call, the pastoral prayer is reprinted below. If God has made you aware that you need deliverance from fear, pray this prayer. Our God is faithful and He will deliver you. Dear Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to You for refuge. “Other refuge have I none; hangs my helpless soul on You.” I come to You for salvation. I am sorry for anything that I have done that has grieved You. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me from every thing that grieves You Lord. I want to be Your child. I want to come under Your control. Save me Lord. Make me a new person. Fill me with Your Spirit. Cause me to be free from fear as I trust in You. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel.

Today we'll consider a third aspect of fear that we learned of during Sunday's sermon.

The LORD God is powerful to deliver us from the fear of deficiency.

Sometimes we are bombarded with a sense of our own inadequacy. There is a heightened pressure to do well when one is surrounded by high-performing colleagues and peers. To further complicate the matter, principalities and powers seek to make us downgrade our own skills and abilities. And, if I may add another component, we know ourselves well enough to know our own weaknesses and shortcomings. There are some things we just aren't able to do well.

But our weakness gives God space to be the strength of our life! If our strength is in the LORD, then our deficiency doesn't matter- it is God's adequacy that matters. And if our deficiency is overcome by God's adequacy, then there is no need for us to fear.

This concept is brought to light in the experience of the twelve tribal leaders of ancient Israel. Ten leaders are rarely spoken of: the other two are poster children for fearlessness. Joshua and Caleb had an assurance of God's power, and they were eager to possess the land of Canaan. The other ten responded in fear, focused on their own inadequacy.

The ten leaders engaged in fear-based actions which ultimately resulted in their not being permitted to enter into the promised land:

Their mantra was “We can't”. However, God did not ask them to make an assessment of their own ability; He asked them to explore the land that He was giving to the Israelites (Numbers 13:2).

Their mouths were engaged in slander. After giving Moses a positive account about the produce of the land (Numbers 13:27), the ten leaders then spread a bad report of the land among the Israelites (Numbers 13:32).

Their measurement of self-worth was based on their own assessment instead of God's. Rather than remembering God's great works among them, the ten leaders chose to compare themselves to other people (Numbers 13:33). In comparing their stature to that of the descendants of Anak, the Israelites gave in to the fear of their perceived inadequacy.

Joshua and Caleb, though in the minority, fearlessly testified of God's power. Their testimony is one that we can be encouraged by today.

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Number 14:6-9).

The LORD is with you. His adequacy covers your deficiency. Do not be afraid!

Free Delivery!

As we continue our reflections on this past Sunday's sermon, let's consider another aspect of fear.

Our God is powerful to deliver us from the fear of danger.

Principalities and powers threaten us with the specter of being hurt or being destroyed. These threats can result in a form of fear that keeps the Christian from reaching his or her full potential. The Scripture shows us examples of the types of threats that are made to attempt to keep believers from walking in obedience to God.

The threat of public humiliation. The first century church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, was able to stand against the spirit of fear. The threats of the religious leaders, and the beatings and imprisonments those leaders imposed, did not deter the disciples of Jesus from boldly proclaiming the gospel of salvation.

The threat of death. The book of Daniel recounts the experiences of Daniel and his friends. They refused to give in to the fear of death, and instead chose to suffer the consequences of disobeying direct orders from the pagan kings who ruled over Babylon. Neither a den of lions nor a fiery furnace could turn these young men from honoring God with undeterred, undivided worship.

Pastor Sam reminded us of the central verse of Psalm 23: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” The LORD, who is our salvation, is present with us! He empowers us to continue standing for His agenda, even in the face of threats from principalities and powers.

One of the beautiful aspects of God's power is that deliverance from fear can be accomplished even if our external situation does not change. This was the testimony of unnamed Christians commended in the book of Hebrews: “Others were tortured and refused to be released...” (Hebrews 11:35). To paraphrase our pastor, “What can anyone do to you if you're not afraid to die?”

The LORD is my light; darkness cannot move me.
The LORD is my salvation; threats will not stop me.
I'm not afraid anymore!

Navigating Sunset.

“Who is holding your hand when the darkness closes in?” -Pastor Sam

In this past Sunday's sermon, our pastor spoke of various ways in which the enemy of our souls seeks to instill fear. Over the next few days we'll consider some of these points.

The LORD overcomes the fear of darkness.

We sometimes go through life not knowing where to go nor what to do. The darkness is a metaphor for the lack of insight or understanding. We experience darkness in a number of ways, but three specific ones were mentioned in the sermon.

Economic darkness. This darkness is experienced in unemployment, underemployment, debt, or financial lack. The devil seeks to move us into a place of hopelessness because we do not know how we will make our living or meet our needs from day to day. Alternately, agents of the devil seek to promote systems in which families are caught in a spiral of compromise for the sake of maintaining income. This compromise manifests itself when people intentionally engage in actions that they know are against the will of God, for the sake of economic relief.

Relational darkness. This darkness has two faces. One side is experienced when agents of the devil threaten us by instilling of the fear of losing loved ones to sickness or death; the other side is experienced when the devil and his agents actively engage in actions designed to destroy marriages through adultery and deception. Relational darkness is a prime target for the enemy, as it undermines God's design for the sanctity of marriage. This fear, if not addressed, leads to a spiral of control and self-preservation that marks the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5).

Educational darkness. We see this in the lack of access to learning opportunities and materials, systems designed to withhold information about educational resources, and even the popular media's lauding of ignorance and apathy as “cool” ways of being. The enemy of our souls seeks to ruin a lifetime by causing young people to succumb to poor educational choices at an early age.

But we can be encouraged. If the LORD is our light, there is no darkness-- light and darkness are alike to Him. His Presence is near to those who call on Him in truth, and He has all power to rescue, save, and deliver His people.

Will we trust the LORD when we can't see? Do we have to see everything? Faith, the evidence of things not seen, is not bound by darkness. Appropriate the faith of God today.

Where Would I Be If Not For...

During yesterday's sermon Pastor Sam reminded us that, “whether we want to fight or not, we are in a war!”. And the key to winning the war is to recognize that God is on the side of the authentic Christian. Our God fights on behalf of those who rest in Him, feed on His word, and obey His commands.

Over this week we will reflect on various points from the sermon. Today, though, we consider two questions:

1) What Has God said to Bronx Bethany?

Say no to the fear.The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

Say yes to the fight.Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

Let us be bold to not merely memorize the word of God, but also to meditate upon it! And, another m-word, let our fears melt in it. Our LORD is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24), and His word is a word that purifies us and burns out the dross of our lives. As we submit to His commands, we become purer reflections of His character.

2) What has God said to you?

Lord, Hear Our Prayer...

Son of God, eternal Savior, source of life and truth and grace,
Son of Man, whose birth incarnate hallows all our human race;
Thou, our Head, who, throned in glory, for Thine own dost ever plead,
Fill us with Thy love and pity, heal our wrongs, and help our need.

As Thou, Lord, hast lived for others, so may we for others live;
Freely have Thy gifts been granted, freely may Thy servants give.
Thine the gold and Thine the silver, Thine the wealth of land and sea,
We but stewards of Thy bounty, held in solemn trust for Thee.

Come, O Christ, and reign among us, King of love, and Prince of peace;
Hush the storm of strife and passion, bid its cruel discords cease.
Ah, the past is dark behind us, strewn with wrecks and stained with blood;
But before us gleams the vision of the coming brotherhood.

See the Christlike host advancing, high and lowly, great and small,
Linked in bonds of common service for the common Lord of all.
Thou who prayedst, Thou who willest that Thy people should be one,
Grant, O grant our hope's fruition: here on earth Thy will be done.

Rev. Somerset Corry Lowry (1855-1932)

"Scatter" Plot.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:19-25)

As we close this week’s reflections on Dr. Hawthorne’s quote (“We have the pastor, the fellowship, and God as our Captain”), let’s consider the above passage from the epistle of James. James, in speaking to the Jews who lived among the Gentiles, gave counsel to the fellowship of believers which were scattered throughout the diaspora. For those who would heed James’s counsel, there would result three things: God’s righteousness (1:19-20), their souls’ salvation (1:21), and the Lord’s blessing (1:25).

What was James’s counsel?

Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. The community of faith is to be characterized by patience, gentleness, and self-control—that is, the faith community is to reflect the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

Put away all filth and evil excess. The community of faith is not to condone or harbor actions that run counter to God’s attributes. If we cling to evil, then we are not representatives of our Lord Jesus. Further, our misrepresentation hurts not only ourselves, but also our entire faith community.

Humbly welcome the message implanted within you. Our pastors are tasked by God to speak His agenda. Because we trust our pastors to speak as the oracles of God, we are tasked to receive what they speak. Some messages are encouraging; others are convicting. Either way, our mandate is to humbly welcome the message. God is using our leaders to help us grow up in Him.

Live out the message. Hell will be full of people who have attended churches and heard messages, yet never got around to obeying God’s word. We are to be hearers and doers (see James 1:22).

Peer into the law of the Lord. Gaze intensely! Faithful meditation on the word of God helps us to remain aware of what God has said. As we daily keep our attention on His word, we are reinforcing the messages we have heard from our pastors. This reinforcement empowers us to live in obedience to God.

A three-stranded cord is not quickly broken (see Ecclesiastes 4:12). As was shared by Reverend Gabbidon during our Wednesday night class, Christians were never meant to “go it alone.” We have a three-stranded cord: our pastors, our fellow believers, and Elohim, the triune God.

Let us humbly, and joyfully, embrace this God-given support system.

This Is Your Captain Speaking. Again.

“We have the pastor, the fellowship, and God as our Captain.” (Dr. Lowell Hawthorne)

In identifying God as part of our support system, Dr. Hawthorne alluded to a powerful representation of Christ that we find in the Old Testament.

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

As we continue reading through the next few chapters of Joshua, we see that the Lord gave Joshua very specific instructions concerning the role of the community in achieving and maintaining victory. Sadly, the actions of one individual brought judgement on the entire community.

“But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.” (Joshua 7:1).

I think it is this verse that helps us to answer a question scholars sometimes ask: Why would the Lord say He was not on anyone’s side (5:14)? As commander of the armies of heaven, our Lord executes the will of God in the earth. If people, even God’s people, work in opposition to His will, then He is not obligated to support us in our sinfulness.

Ancient Israel experienced this as they lost the battle in Ai (Joshua 7:2-5) and worked through the difficult process of having to participate in the judgement of God. In obedience to His command, the community destroyed the stolen goods, Achan, and all that belonged to Achan.

Last night during our School of Prayer class, Reverend Newton Gabbidon and Pastor Sam also spoke of the word of God as the catalyst that moves the community. Like Achan, there may be persons in our fellowship who have chosen to harbor or cling to objects and persons that God has deemed accursed. And like Achan, if we choose to hold onto things that God has told us to release, then we will remain bound to that curse. And like the unnamed man in First Corinthians 5, remaining bound to accursed things will ultimately result in our own destruction.

Let us obey the word of God. “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (Second Corinthians 6:17)

Lord, we know that You are not obligated to be on our side when we live in opposition to Your word. Give us wisdom to remove the accursed things from our lives, so that we might live victoriously.

Jolly, Good Fellow.

As we continue our reflection on "the pastor, the fellowship, and God as our Captain" (Dr. Lowell Hawthorne), let's take some time to think about our community of faith.

"Fellowship" is a challenging word. We don't ever want to forget that we are a church, a gathering of people whom God has called to represent Christ Jesus in the world. There are fellowships that are not churches: gangs, cults, secret societies such as the Freemasons or Elks, fraternities and sororities, and other religions that do not confess Jesus as Lord and King.

As a church, then, we find that we are strengthened by the relationships we have. Each individual has his part to play in the functioning of the entire body. Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene has many people with a diverse array of skills and gifts. Scripture tells us that these gifts are to be used, in a spirit of love, to build up the body of Christ in the local church (see Ephesians 4:11-13).

In addition to exercising our gifts, we are called to grow up. Just as we don't expect a ten-year old to still be sucking a bottle, God does not expect that we will remain in spiritual infancy over our lifetime as a Christian. The community of faith is a community that grows in knowledge, understanding, and love (see Ephesians 4:14-16).

However, being gifted and becoming a spiritual grown-up is not enough. Pastor Sam frequently warns us, from Matthew 25:31-46, that there will be many spiritually gifted people who will find themselves blocked from entering the presence of Jesus. Part of our fellowship with others involves not just meeting together, but also having compassion for those who may never walk into our church. We are called to serve.

These themes should sound familiar to Bronx Bethany people, because we hear them every week. Our leaders have boiled them down to seven words:

Loving God
Growing Together
Serving The World

A perfect template, designed to guide us as our spirits groan and wait for the day when we will be perfected in Christ.

For you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Rather than participating in them, you should even expose them! (Ephesians 5:8 and 5:11)

Big Brother-In-Arms.

Although an assailant may overpower [prevail over] one person, two can withstand him. (Ecclesiastes 4:12a)

Have you ever felt like your prayers weren’t getting past the bedroom ceiling?

There was an occasion some time ago where I felt that my prayers were caught in a bottleneck. I mean, I was pouring it on full-force. Praying, fasting, watching, solitude, silence, I was rocking those classic disciplines… and it seemed that nothing was happening.

During a conversation with a minister, I casually mentioned my prayer concern. We prayed together for less than a minute, then went about our separate business. But after that short prayer, I felt that God had stepped in to act on behalf of my petition. The next day, I got to see His answer to my prayers.

Am I saying that God didn’t hear me the first time I prayed? No, that’s not what I mean. But I am saying that, from time to time, the answers to our prayers seem to have more ease of transit when a person of higher spiritual rank is involved. Consider:

-Hannah and Eli (First Samuel 1:1-20);
-The Shunammite woman and Elisha (Second Kings 4:8-37);
-The unnamed messenger and Michael (Daniel 10:12-13).

The Daniel 10 example is particularly interesting because it gives explicit detail of why Daniel’s prayer went “unanswered” for three weeks. The unnamed messenger was opposed by the prince of the kingdom of Persia for twenty-one days. Michael, an archangel known as a fighter, had to step in and tip the scales in favor of the kingdom of God. And during this unseen conflict, Daniel continued in prayer.

So, when we pray, we can be encouraged in knowing that the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous. Even the conflict is an encouragement! It is a sign that we are on the right track, and the enemy is seeking to discourage us by causing divine delays of one sort or another.

But, although we are encouraged, the Scripture also gives us precedence to exert additional force on behalf of the kingdom of God. Hannah and the Shunammite woman, partnering with spiritual leaders, received swift answers to the prayer of their hearts. And the unnamed messenger, partnering with Michael, broke through the spiritual conflict in order to reach Daniel.

In the three examples above, the accounts reveal that Daniel, Hannah, and the Shunammite woman were devout people. They exemplified the opening passages of Matthew 6: they prayed, they fasted, and they gave. Moreover, their devotion was not contingent on their prayers being answered! Hannah faithfully worshipped God even though her rival tormented her year after year. Daniel worshipped God even though it meant he had to spend a night in a den of lions. The Shunammite woman built an addition to her home for Elisha to use, without knowing that she would get anything in return.

Are your prayers seemingly going unanswered? Perhaps it’s time to call a superior.

Examen.

"We have the pastor, the fellowship, and God as our Captain." -Dr. Lowell Hawthorne

The pastor.

Several weeks ago I wrote about a concept which I termed "the prophetic-faith exchange" (see Second Kings 4): that is, a situation in which a spiritual leader and a lay person work together in a short-term dyad to accomplish God's will. In saying "We have the pastor", Dr. Hawthorne alluded to this powerful relationship.

Sadly, many of us relegate our pastors to the role of "entertainer". We stroll into church and expect some sort of performance. We lack consciousness of our opportunity to participate in God's program. Our worship experience, rather than being a service to God, becomes a self-service station. And the exchange, rather than appropriating God's miraculous power, becomes as tepid as watching television. To quote from Keith Green's Asleep In The Light, "you just lay back and keep soaking it in." (Perhaps the only difference is that the cable company gets a larger offering.)

Why are we unengaged in this component of spiritual life?

We slip into Fear. I believe this falls into two categories. There is the fear of rumors based on our association: Jesus's disciple John experienced this crisis (John 21:20-22). And there is the fear of retaliation based on our association: again, the book of John shows us that Jesus identified this as a real possibility for His followers (John 15:18-21). The emotions of jealousy and hatred, especially when launched from other believers, are sometimes sufficient to cause a Christian to avoid any sort of prophetic collaboration with their pastor.

We shirk our Responsibility. It may be the "exchange" aspect of prophetic-faith exchange that deters some souls from engaging the process. The apostle Paul made mention of those men and women who took risks and gave of themselves for the sake of his ministry (Philippians 4:15; First Corinthians 16:17). If our approach to faith is that the pastor is the supplier and we are merely consumers, then we will never reach a point where God can commend us for our role in the prophetic process.

So today, and everyday, let's examine our hearts. Are we willing to be participants in God's program? Do we trust our pastors as accurate purveyors of God's agenda? Is our heart's desire to participate in the miraculous regardless of what it may cost in terms of profession or reputation?

Trust in the LORD your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of His prophets and you will win. (Second Chronicles 20:20b)

Son Light.

Yesterday's guest speaker was Lowell Hawthorne, D. Litt., CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill. His message inspired us to remember God's faithfulness: we serve a God who always brings His word to pass, and we can trust Him completely.

Dr. Hawthorne made a statement during his message that we will be reflecting on over the next few days. While encouraging the congregation, he said:

"We have the pastor, the fellowship, and God as our Captain."

For today, I encourage us to contemplate this statement. And for some of us, this may be a new way of thinking about the supports God has provided to help His people. Could it be that some of our struggles are occurring because, though we love God, we do not love the pastor He has set over us nor the people He has placed us with?

Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

Stay Calm And Carry On.

About twenty or so years ago, I experienced a revival. This occurred at a small church in New York City.

At the time, the pastor had done nothing different from what she usually did on Sundays. In fact, our church was so predictable that you could set your watch based on what was going on: a hymn, a chorus, a prayer, another hymn interspersed with testimonies, announcements, offering, sermon, altar call, closing hymn, benediction, go home. We weren't involved in any sort of initiative concerning revival.

But for some reason, at that particular point in time, God decided to show up in the midst of our routine. And He kept showing up powerfully every Sunday over a period of four months. For sixteen consecutive weeks the altar call was packed. People were conscious of their need for repentance and sanctification. There was confession and contrition. Lives were changed, and over the following years we saw that the change was real. Several of the men and women who experienced that revival eventually moved into ministry positions: some were volunteers, and others became full-time pastors.

Because we knew we were not the originators of this experience, we didn't try to bottle it and sell it. No one ever called our denomination's headquarters to tell them what was “going on”. No one wrote any articles about us. We didn't make any recordings. But we did make resolves, personally, to draw nearer to God.

Throughout that revival period, the routine remained intact. But it was new! The prayers were prayed with passion. The Spirit of God opened our eyes and ears, giving the old songs new life. The Word of God leapt off the pages, piercing our hearts as He revealed the Scriptures to us. Yes, it was our Emmaus Road: Jesus, ever present, was suddenly recognized. We were in awe.

And then, it subsided. Altar calls went back to the usual handful of seekers. The routine lost the spark of enlightenment we had briefly experienced. But, we had been changed. And because we had changed, our homes changed! Our community changed! Our church changed! The seeds planted in those few months bore spiritual fruit that has remained over the decades.

Are you longing for change? Be encouraged. At His appointed time, our Lord will appear and revive our souls... and we will never be the same again.

New York, Fast.

The leadership of Times Square Church has called for a three-day fast this month: September 16, 17, and 18. There will be prayer services at their church each of those three days:

*Sunday September 16: 10 AM, 3 PM, and 6 PM
*Monday September 17: 7 PM
*Tuesday September 18: 7PM

Times Square Church is located at 51st Street and Broadway. For more information, please go to http://www.tscnyc.org/events_3_day_fast_God_heal_our_land.php

Meet The Real Lord Of Time.

Because I am a fan of the British series Doctor Who, I associate the term “time lord” with the series’ title character, who is capable of traveling into any moment in time. It’s not unusual for Doctor Who to step into his ship, set a chronological date, and fly to wherever he needs to go. The whole series is founded on the Doctor’s ability to travel through time.

However, this has no comparison to the power of God. Our God, as Pastor Richie shared on Sunday, does not need to travel through time because He is not subject to time. He created time, and He commands time. Time does what God says. We have this evidence in Scripture:

The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: “O Sun, stand still over Gibeon! O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!” The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. (Joshua 10:12-13)

Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it to go back ten steps.” Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz. (Second Kings 20:8-11)

Pastor Richie made an awesome comment concerning Jesus’s apparent delay in responding to the illness and death of Lazarus (see John 11:1-44). In arriving to Bethany four days after Lazarus’s death, it appeared to the people that Jesus showed up “too late” to do anything. But Jesus, the Lord who is not subjected to time, has the power to command creation irrespective of time. If Jesus speaks life, then death has to step aside. Therefore, and I paraphrase Pastor Richie here, “There is no such thing as praying too late. So if you were supposed to pray for someone at 9, and didn’t remember until it was 12, pray anyway!” If we really believe this, and if we live as if we believe it, our prayer lives will be completely transformed. This power of God is a power that transcends time, and even transcends death.

If time is not capable of preventing God’s hand, then how can we ever say it’s too late for Him to act?

No Expiration Date.

He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness. But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:21-24)

Recently I watched a television program that touted the numerous complications that could occur in women who, after the age of forty, “choose” to have children. For Christians, the very premise of the program is in error. What woman is it that chooses whether an egg will be released, whether it will be viable, whether it will be fertilized, whether it will attach or miscarry, whether it will develop, whether it will remain singular or split into identical twins? Here in America we can legally choose to end a life, but no human being can initiate life. That is the prerogative of God. This is what we believe. As we say in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life.”

Pastor Richie reminded us that if we don’t understand God’s makeup, we won’t understand His power. And, from time to time, the Lord confounds the world with His power to do the impossible. I know women who have had children at age fifty (for one of them it was her first child), with no complications. But even that does not compare to the life of Sarah, whose prophetic promise of having a child was not fulfilled until she was far past the age of childbearing. Her husband, Abraham, merited this testimony that we read in Romans 4:21: “(Abraham) was fully convinced that what God promised, He was also able to do.”

What a comfort to know that our chronological age is no deterrent to the activity of God in our lives! We can still sing and preach and pray and give. We can still be recipients of miracles. We can still be participants and agents for the cause of Christ in the world. And we can still bear fruit, physically and figuratively, in our old age. God simply asks us to believe Him, and to take Him at His word without backtalk or doubting. God will never run out of time to do what He chooses, using whomever He wants.

Do you understand this?

Whose Tithe Is It Anyway?

"Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?
Present to God a thank-offering!
Repay your vows to the sovereign One!
Pray to me when you are in trouble!
I will deliver you, and you will honor me!" (Psalm 50:13-15)

Pastor Richie shared with us that God does not need our tithe to meet His needs; rather, we need to give God our tithe in order to meet our needs. It is the theme of Psalm 50. The tithe, given to the One who doesn’t need anything, opens the doors of heaven and procures our salvation, deliverance, and provision.

Our God is a God who permits us to transact with Him. Malachi 3, perhaps the most famous passage on tithing, makes this crystal-clear. “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all. Then I will stop the plague from ruining your crops, and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord who rules over all. (Malachi 3:10-11)

God asks us to participate in this redemptive process: we give, and He gives. And He even takes into account our weakness. We give ten percent, and He pours out in such abundant measure that we cannot measure it: the blessing is poured out “until there is no room for it all”. In other words, it overflows! Our one-bedroom apartment is not big enough. Our 200-acre ranch is not big enough. As the old saying goes, we can never out-give God.

Where else can we find such a vast return on investment? And why do so many Christians fail in this simplest tenet of our faith? Let’s pray that the hearts of God’s people will turn to complete obedience in the matter of the tithe.

Lord, You are everything to me! I give you ten percent of my earnings and one hundred percent of my heart, one hundred percent of my passion, one hundred percent of my obedience. What else can I do? I love You and will do anything for You.

Time To Upgrade.

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie spoke about the danger of “downgrading” God. If we seek to make God understandable by reducing His greatness to look more like our weakness, then we really don’t know who He is. And, if we don’t know who He is, we are prone to ignore what He says.

Our pastor gave a wonderful illustration of this, based on Luke chapter 5. After an unsuccessful fishing venture, Peter and his fishing crew are advised by Jesus to go back out and cast another net for fish. Pastor Richie said, and I paraphrase here, “If I were a professional fisherman, and a carpenter advised me on how to catch fish, I wouldn’t listen to him. But because Jesus is not just a man, but Lord of creation, He can make fish to go into the net.” I hope that concept is not too surreal for us to grab hold of in this twenty-first century. Jesus is Lord. He speaks creation into being, across the millennia. He also speaks to you and me.

So, if Jesus has been relegated to being only your friend, or if you think He’s only a nice person that lived a long time ago, I encourage you to look at Him again. Look beyond His preaching on the hills of Jerusalem. Look beyond His blessing babies and healing lepers. Look up into the heavens: He is there, our Creative King, with all power in His hand. And He is an interested intercessor, calling your name and taking note of how you respond to His call.

Will you hear Him? Or will you ignore Him?

Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11)

Keyed In!

During each of our English-language services this past Sunday, Pastor Richie shared a profound sermon on the greatness of God. As we recognize God’s greatness and power, we are moved into increased levels of faith and trust in His ability to care for us. Pastor Richie encouraged us to maintain focus on the identification of Jesus not as our "homeboy", but as the Living God who supersedes time and space.

This week we’ll reflect on some of the Scripture passages that our pastor referenced during the sermon. For today, I’ve listed two of those passages for us to meditate upon. I pray that our reading (and re-reading) of these will serve as encouragement for our souls.

He says:
“Listen my people! I am speaking!
Listen Israel! I am accusing you!
I am God, your God!
I am not condemning you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.
I do not need to take a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.
I keep track of every bird in the hills,
and the insects of the field are mine.
Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?
Present to God a thank-offering!
Repay your vows to the sovereign One!
Pray to me when you are in trouble!
I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” (Psalm 50:7-15)

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression either. For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”).

He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will your descendants be.” Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification. (Romans 4:13-25)

It's My Other Anniversary!

On Sunday, September 2, 2007, my husband and I became members of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. What a wonderful five years it's been!

A public thank-you to the pastors of Bronx Bethany, past and present, for your faithfulness in ministry. Thank you for speaking into my life, for being agents of healing and deliverance, for teaching me through your actions, for exemplifying godly character, for praying effectually and fervently, and for your exercise of discipline through the lens of unconditional love. I thank God for you, and I love you.

"We work the field of souls together, you and I: some fields are blooming now, while other fields are dry. We are not the same; but, differences aside, we work the field of souls together, you and I." (Wayne Watson)

Another Year Has Ended...

Glossa Water began on August 31, 2008. It was birthed out of a short series of emails between myself and four leaders at Bronx Bethany (two pastors, one board member, and one staff member). We sensed that there needed to be a forum in which we could reflect on the Sunday sermons throughout the week, and my response to the need was to start this blog.

The name of the blog is a playful compression of the phrase “A glass of water instead of glossolalia”. The truth, of course, is that we Christians are continually in great need of both. Our physical life is dependent on water, and our spiritual life is dependent on living water, which is the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us.

With God's help, we will continue to seek Him and contemplate His word throughout the next week, and every week, for as many weeks as He permits. Blessings and peace to you all.

Love,
g-force

Peace? File It Under “R”.

Towards the end of this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam referred to the Beatitudes as signs of the kingdom life. That is, people whose lives reflect the Beatitudes are people who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Our pastor, in emphasizing the role of peace (see Matthew 5:9) as a catalyst for repairing relationships, gave the following warning: “This is not a time to take risk with position.” It's an especially important warning for those of us who regularly attend church out of routine. We are called to examine ourselves, to know where we are in the faith, to know where we stand on issues of compassion and justice, and to exude peace: being peaceful, peaceable, and peacemakers.

It is an imitation of Jesus, the Prince of Peace who is also the Repairer of the Breach. In this pursuit of peace, our hearts cannot make room for gossip and dissension. If peace is the status quo, then we should expect to see peace evidenced in our relationships. If peace is absent from our relationships, then we cannot claim to be true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jesus has been urging Bronx Bethany to catch this wave of His passion, which He has poured into our community for months. It is our kairos moment. My prayer is that we will joyfully obey His call.

Lord, make us instruments of Your peace.

It Feels Like Eternity.

The parables in Luke 15 are an allegory to the kingdom life. One of the interesting aspects of the kingdom life is that it reminds us of the reality of “the already”, though it is “not yet”.

An example of the 'already and not yet' is demonstrated in our day-to-day living. During the sermon, Pastor Sam referenced Matthew 25. The explanation Jesus gives of the sheep and the goats moves beyond the scope of parables, and speaks to our present reality as a harbinger of eternity.

There is a corollary that Jesus gives to us: “As much as you did this to the least... you have done it to Me.” A lack of compassion for the lost is also a lack of compassion for Jesus. Our ignoring the plight of the poor is also our ignoring of Jesus. Apathy in the face of injustice is also apathy in the face of Jesus.

And the harbingers are found not in the dark corners of the world, but in the community where Light is the order of the day. “Lord, didn't we?” It is the spiritually gifted, the leaders, the ones empowered by God to heal and deliver. Though armed with apostolic power, they live in a present reality of disinterest in the rescue process. Luke 15 compels them, as William Booth was constrained in his day, to “go for souls and go for the worst”... but the disinterested manage to flourish in ministry without ever leaving the ninety-nine in pursuit of the wandering one. And, eventually, heaven pours out its recompense. The Savior says, “I never knew you”, and we are banished from His kingdom forever.

So, we are urged to examine ourselves on this side of eternity. The indicator of our position in Christ is not found in our effectiveness in prayer, preaching, music ministry, nor apostolic anointing. It is found in the heart.

Are you really living the kingdom life?

Love Is For Everyone.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, He was being carefully watched. (Luke 14:1)

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear Him. (Luke 15:1)


Some of us are watchers. In Luke chapter 14, we are told that Pharisees and teachers of the law were watching to see whether Jesus would heal a sick man who was at the Pharisee's house. Rather than having compassion on the sick man, and rather than rejoicing at the man's being healed, they harbored contempt in their hearts.

Jesus asked them a question: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” (Luke 15:5) Amazingly, no one answered. They remained silent in the face of being asked to consider two things highly valued in their culture: legacy (having sons) and property (having cattle).

You see this lame man? He's part of My property and part of My legacy. And I have chosen to free him.

Some of us are hearers. Luke chapter 15 begins by showing us Jesus's audience: religious experts, and religious novices. The people classified as “sinners” were positioning themselves to hear from God, and those who were experts complained in their hearts.

To the hearers, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God. And though He spoke in parables, each parable reinforced a concept that the “sinner” can grasp. Lost things can be searched for and found. Wanderers can be brought back home. Prodigals can be restored.

You see this lost soul? He is important to Me. And I have chosen to seek him out and claim Him for My kingdom.

And here we are. Jesus is present, and He has some things to tell us. Will we listen? Or will we just watch?

Life Of The Party!

In the parables of the lost coin, lost sheep, and lost son, we see that there is a pattern of leaving off from the secure majority in order to focus attention on the one who is lost.

It’s a pattern we Christians sometimes have a problem with. We, like the older brother in Luke 15, respond harshly to the kingdom’s display of extravagant joy over the lost soul who is found and returned to fellowship. We act as if the prodigal has been given special treatment, forgetting that we ourselves also were rescued from the kingdom of darkness and given an inheritance in the kingdom of God.

Or, like the ninety-nine sheep, we may see our shepherd leave us on our own as he pursues the one who has gone wayward. We may want to ask, What about me? Why don’t you ask me how I’m doing?, rather than being grateful for our position in Christ, and being concerned for the fate of our lost brother or sister.

Luke 15 advises us that our response should be in line with the responses of the searchers who found what was lost. Rejoice! Be glad! Celebrate! Follow heaven’s example, where even angels rejoice over a sinner who repents.

Happy Tuesday! Let's celebrate the new souls that will join the kingdom of God today!

Life Vest.

This week, we'll take more time to reflect on the kingdom of heaven. The sermon yesterday began with a review of Luke 15. The parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son remind us of how interested God is in redeeming lost people.

What does it mean to make a diligent search? Pastor Sam gave the example of a woman who, while diligently searching for lost money, refused to take time to speak to a neighbor. The urgency of the search took priority over all other things, even the good thing of conversing with a colleague. And, ultimately, the intensity of the search led to an intense joy at having found what was lost.

I'd encourage us all to re-read Luke 15. Though it is a familiar chapter to many Christians, we have an opportunity to allow God to graciously speak to us again by His word. So I hope we'll read it with hearts open to the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom of heaven has a vested interest in the redemption of mankind. What are we vested in?

Sipping Alchemic Mixtures.

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. (Romans 1:22-23)


It’s a backwards theology. Instead of men praying “Lord, make me more like You,” their heart-cry is “Lord, I’m going to make You more like me.”

It’s a source of confusion, to Christians and to non-Christian onlookers, when denominations rescind or re-write their code in order to accommodate practices which God has expressly spoken against.

One of the more obvious examples of this occurs in churches and seminaries which ordain practicing lesbians and gays. In the effort to promote civil rights, these institutions have been brought to a point where they must choose to ignore canon in favor of political correctness. This becomes a tricky thing during the transition: ask the Episcopals, whose Book of Common Prayer still indicates that marriage is an office expressed by the union of one man and one woman, but whose current poster child is Gene Robinson, a man who has chosen union with another man.

A less obvious example, though, is the practice of worship itself. In many churches, the service of worship has deteriorated into a sort of concert designed to attract crowds and boost emotions. There is this pattern of spending sixty or ninety minutes on “blessing” the crowd with music and drama. Where is the word of God? Where is the altar call? Where are the prayers? Hasn't God told us to serve Him, and not ourselves?

This may sound like a harsh commentary. However, it is not. It’s simply a small drop of saltwater in a very big ocean. In recalling previous blogs on the subject of Jesus as the only way, the only truth, and the only life, we would be remiss if we didn’t consider His opinion on the subject. And in John 3:16, we are shown that everlasting life is gained through our believing in this Only One. The believing is expressed through our love, and through our service. Put another way, the way we behave is an indication of what we really believe in our hearts.

Pastor Sam used the word dilution to describe the plight of the church, and it’s a great word to use. We have tossed out the biblical revelation of who God is and what God wants, and have replaced it with our own estimation of what we want God to be. Hence the self-serving nature of “worship” services. Hence the radical restructuring of denominational guidelines and by-laws. This has become our golden calf, fashioned by our own hand, to which we sing the songs of Zion as if that calf were God.

Is there a solution for dilution? Well, the Lord knows those who are His. And the Lord knows the intents of our hearts. And the Lord continues to love and woo and warn us… to a point. The solution is to heed the warning, while there is time, and return wholeheartedly to God.

That’s not a difficult formula to follow.

Stabbing At Maples.

The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’. (Psalm 14:1)

This past Sunday, Pastor Sam brought out an important aspect of this verse. The denial of God is not something that the fool says with his lips: rather, it is something asserted in his heart, the seat of his emotions and will.

How do we know what someone really believes? By the way they act. The actions of man are, at their core, an expression of the beliefs and intents of his heart.

Early in the sermon, we were reminded that we cannot love the world and love God simultaneously. Why? Because the world will sap away our possibility of loving God. And our pastor’s use of the word “sap” is apropos. In the process of creating maple syrup, a tap is placed into a maple tree. The sap from the tree slowly drips into a container placed below the tap, and eventually enough sap is collected for bottles of syrup to be packaged and shipped all over the world. But it’s a slow process.

In like manner, the world saps away our love for God over an extended period of time. The process begins slowly: a barely perceptible series of decisions that show where our heart really is. So we enter the church building, but we never actually attend the service because we’re “busy” having tea in the kitchen, or chatting it up in the hallway with a friend. We dutifully read our Bible, but because it is duty and not passion we fail to meditate upon what we’ve read, and the words do not transform us. We trade in the hard work of prayer for the easy work of watching television. Instead of speaking life and salvation into the nations, our day is absorbed in talking and texting and trysts. But, because we have walked into Bronx Bethany’s doors, we think we’re all right.

Guess what? We are not all right. And this is not my personal indictment. It is what the Bible warns us to avoid: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These things absorb the time, passion, and desire that God wants us to pour into Him and His kingdom.

What can we do? Well, we can spend more time with the Lord. Converse with Him. Meditate on His word and consider implications it holds for us as believers. Review the sermon notes from last Sunday and capture insights we may have missed the first time around. Ignore the calls of the world, which will always draw us away from our Lord.

Pastor Sam shared a truth that may help us as we assess our standing in Christ: “Worship is mediated internally, but expressed externally”, and the expression is not through the music, nor even through one’s physical presence in a church building. It is expressed through our day-to-day activities, the true reflection of the state of our hearts.

“Take the world, but give me Jesus.” Lord, help us to love you exclusively.

Say it Again, Man.

A discussion of division in the heart of the believer would be incomplete without mentioning Judas Iscariot.

Over the few years I've been blogging, this Judas seems to have gained a regular spot in the rotation. Each time I think the Judas thing is done with, he comes around again. Who, or what, was Judas? He was a believer in Jesus. He was a bonafide participant in ministry, performing signs and wonders along with the other disciples. He was a gifted administrator, trusted to handle the financial aspects of Jesus's ministry.

But, like Solomon, Judas had a divided heart. Judas followed after Jesus, and Judas followed after money. The love of money drove Judas to sell out his Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam summed up Judas's fate: in the attempt to simultaneously hang on to Jesus and hang on to money, Judas lost everything. The Scripture is true: “No man can serve two masters.” (See Matthew 6:24)

Why does God keep reminding Bronx Bethany of Judas?

I have a theory, which may be wrong, but here it is. Judas Iscariot was a person, but he is also representative of a spiritual attitude. The Judas Iscariot attitude is built on a faulty logic that goes something like this:

As a member of the body of Christ, I have spiritual gifts given to me by the Holy Spirit.
Because I have these spiritual gifts, I can bless the church even though I am sinful.
Because I am a blessing to the church, and my gifts have not been removed, my spiritual gifts are a sufficient covering for my sinfulness.
Since my gifts are a sufficient covering for my sinfulness, there's no need for me to ever repent.

There is a comment made by Peter, which we see early in the book of Acts: “Concerning Judas... he was a full participant in the ministry.” (See Acts 1:15-17) If Jesus did not remove Judas from ministry, that should be a clue to us that full participation in ministry is not a sign of righteousness. It is not a sign that we love Jesus exclusively. And it is not a sign that God is condoning our sinfulness.

The call to repentance has gone out again. Will we plead to Christ for forgiveness? Or do we think we're doing fine with our balancing act of spiritual power and sinful practices?

Judas's sad life warns us again. Let's take heed.

Solomon, Ashtoreth, and Molek.

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared a very scary analogy concerning God's assessment of division in worship.

It is the analogy of a man who, being away from home, bought his wife flowers as an indicator of how much he missed her while away. However, the reality is that the man intentionally left home in order to spend time with a mistress. The flowers were a fraudulent offering, because the man's heart was not exclusively devoted to his wife.

In Scripture, we see that King Solomon was a prime example of a man with a divided heart. This division was evident spiritually and physically. Solomon divided his attention between a thousand women whom he kept as wives and concubines. These women, in turn, caused Solomon to divide his attention between the worship of God and the worship of idols.

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. (First Kings 11:1-6)

“As Solomon grew old... Solomon did evil”. There seems to have been, over a period of years, a process in which Solomon drifted away from his devotion to God. Solomon never had a moment where he made a declaration of rejection of God. Rather, he added to his life another set of “gods” in violation of God's command to love Him exclusively. And God identified Solomon as one who did evil in His eyes.

Our God is a jealous God. And, just as He gave His best for us out of love, He expects that we will reciprocate. If we give anything less, our worship of Him becomes as fraudulent an offering as that of the man who buys gifts for his wife while continuing an affair.

How ironic that Solomon, whom God gifted with a wealth of wisdom, suffered from such a poverty of soul. And how sad that Solomon's error spans the ages, as Christians compromise their faith by worshiping God on Sunday morning and someone else on Sunday afternoon. If you are in that category, the Lord urges you to repent now.

We are called to full devotion;
No other lover but You, dear Lord,
No other thing will take Your place.
Capture each heart, strength, mind, emotion!
Saturate us in Your matchless grace.

Surface-to-Air Missile.

God loves Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene.

I am convinced of that love because of Scripture. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…”. Because we are included in the world, we are included in His love.

In addition to the scriptural evidence, we also experience God’s love through His rhema word to us from week to week. Our pastors and guest speakers consistently bring the word of God to us our community, and we are constantly encouraged to draw ever nearer to the One who loves us.

From time to time, Bronx Bethany becomes the recipient of an unmistakable warning from the Lord. And that, too, is evidence of God’s love for us. He sends His word, like a guided missile, to reach us at the core of our being and to shake us out of our complacency and complicity.

In yesterday’s service, we received an unmistakable warning: Destroy the idols.

Pastor Sam shared a revelatory word from God which challenged us to re-think the way we understand Scripture. And as we read the canon from Genesis through Revelation, we can see God’s concern for how we love Him, and for how we demonstrate His love to others.

If we, created with the capacity to love exhaustively, do not love God exclusively, then we leave the door of our heart wide open for the sin of idolatry to be manifested. Pastor Sam pointed to the historical books (Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles) as examples: kings of Israel were judged based not on their war records or economic innovation, but on their devotion to God.

So as we go through this week, we’ll take another look at what God has said concerning love, obedience, and idolatry. For today, let’s close with a few cautionary verses from First John chapter 2.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever. (First John 2:15-17)

Stop Staring At Me.

During this past Sunday's pastoral prayer, Pastor Sam made a prophetic appeal: "Stop looking at other people."

The Lord has warned us to not focus on the faults of others. Even as we engage in the ministry of salvation and deliverance, we must take heed to the counsel of God spoken through the apostle Paul: "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

Further, the Lord has warned us not to focus on the futures of others. We see the account of Peter: after Jesus gave Peter a prophetic word concerning the end of his life, Peter responded by asking for information on the disciple John. Jesus's response, in essence, was to tell Peter to mind his own business. "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:22)

This is a potentially virulent issue at Bronx Bethany. Though we are not a large church, we are a church with plenty of high-profile congregants to look at. As was said some years ago, every row could be a church board. It's tempting to watch other people, critiquing their spiritual walk and/or ministry track, instead of seeking God about our own standing with Him.

So God has graciously spoken to us, again. Let's take heed to His loving rebuke. Let's keep our gaze on Him.

O happy day that fixed my choice on Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, and tell its raptures all abroad.
'Tis done, the great transaction's done-- I am my Lord's and He is mine;
He drew me and I followed on, charmed to confess the voice divine.

Now rest, my long-divided heart, fixed on this blissful center, rest;
Nor ever from thy Lord depart, with Him of every good possessed.
High heaven, that heard the solemn vow, that vow renewed shall daily hear,
Till in life's latest hour I bow, and bless in death a bond so dear. (P. Doddridge)

Rest. Stop.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Our guest speaker, Jo Ann Richards, compressed these verses into a simple invitation: “Just come and rest.”

The above verses become more profound when considered in the light of Luke 1:37, which we reflected on yesterday. Our Lord God, for whom nothing is impossible, invites us to live as He lives. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” What can we learn from Him? How to love; how to forgive; how to serve; how to pray; how to speak in faith; how to respond to critics; how to stay focused on tasks. Because nothing is impossible with God, it is possible for us to bear the yoke our Teacher places upon us.

The voice of the apostle Paul speaks in agreement. Our light and momentary afflictions are not to be compared to the glory we will experience (Second Corinthians 4:17); God's grace is sufficient for us (Second Corinthians 12:9); we are called to put on the full armor of God, clothing ourselves in key aspects of His character (Ephesians 6:11-20).

So in the face of afflictions, we bear the yoke and experience rest. The heavy load of the world is counterbalanced by the light burden of submission to Christ. How amazing that the light burden consumes our attention! The struggles of life seem so insignificant as we look in the face and eyes and body of Jesus. The Lover of our souls, the One who has won our hearts, pours a rest into our spirits that defies logic.

World of woe, watch us rest in spite of you. We have chosen to carry a better burden.

Believing Is Seeing.

“What God has said will be accomplished in Jesus’s name.” – Jo Ann Richards, ethnomusicologist

The third folk song shared by Ms. Richards during last Sunday’s message was based on Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

The Luke passage appears in the context of an announcement that morphed into an explanation. The angel Gabriel had informed Mary that she would be the bearer of the Christ, then addressed her confusion by explaining the process by which the Holy Spirit would cause a virgin to conceive. Gabriel then gave Mary a profound example of God’s power: “Your cousin Elisabeth has conceived a son in her old age” (see Luke 1:36).

Our God has the power to override biology.

Ms. Richards, in introducing the folk song, mentioned two accounts from the book of Daniel. She first mentioned the account of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den. In the midst of King Darius experiencing his own distress at the edict he’d signed, the pagan king makes an incredible statement of faith: “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee” (Daniel 6:16). The next morning, Daniel confirmed Darius’s statement of faith: “My God has sent his angel and hath shut the lions’ mouths” (see Daniel 6:22).

Our God has the power to override instinctive behaviors.

The second account mentioned by Ms. Richards was of the friends of Daniel (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) being thrown into a furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. Their punishment for not obeying the king was preceded by their own statement of faith: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (see Daniel 3:17). Their statement of faith was confirmed by the king, who testified of their deliverance: “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (See Daniel 3:25).

Our God has the power to override the laws of physics and physiology.

Guess what? Our God also has the power to override speech and language, denominational politics and posturing, plants and trees, time and space, and anything else we might think of. He does this not on a whim, but to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfectly turned toward Him (see Second Chronicles 16:9).

Is your heart perfect towards our God and King? Then trust Him to deliver you. Have faith and believe.

Reservations.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

After Jesus invites Himself to dinner at the home of the tax collector Zacchaeus, the man makes two promises to Him: first, to care for the poor; and second, to make restitution to the households from which Zacchaeus had wrongfully taken assets.

It is perhaps appropriate that ethnomusicologist Jo Ann Richards used this verse in one of her folk song compositions. Like Zacchaeus, the music industry has a history of pulling artistic resources from the poor and marginalized. And, also like Zacchaeus, the industry has many persons who, though well off financially, are lost spiritually and relationally.

The response of the Lord Jesus is not to ignore sinners, but to call them to repentance. The criticism of the crowd, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner” (see Luke 19:7), did not deter Jesus from being a transformative influence in the life of Zacchaeus.

Is there an unsaved person in your circle of influence who “wants to see who Jesus is” (see Luke 19:3)? If God has opened the door, I encourage you to ignore the crowd's criticisms. Seek to bring deliverance to those who, though rich by the world's standards, have recognized that they are spiritually impoverished. They, like us, need to be saved.

Would you be like Jesus? Then seek and save the lost.

Dark, indeed, the past has been, Nothing but thy blood can save me;
Yet in mercy take me in, Nothing but thy blood can save me.
No! No! Nothing do I bring,
But by faith I’m clinging to thy cross, O Lamb of God!
Nothing but thy blood can save me. (Richard Slater)

Gold? Standard.

On Sunday our guest speaker was ethnomusicologist Jo Ann Richards. She presented several songs that she composed in the style of traditional Jamaican folk music. The texts of these songs were reflective of various Scripture verses.

The first song she presented was an echo of last week's sermon: John 14:6-- Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Sister Jo Ann gave an interesting theory, in light of this verse, concerning the belief that streets in heaven are paved with gold. She posited that the streets are paved with gold not because of the value of the gold, but because the value of Jesus far exceeds any other. If Jesus is indeed all we need, then of what value is gold? It is simply another common thing. It is no longer worthy of being fashioned into jewelry, nor is it worthy of being a standard for currency. It can be trampled upon without a second thought, because Jesus is our all in all.

I pray that He is everything to you.

Jesus, give us grace to love You with a love that will make the things of this earth "grow strangely dim." We long to see Your Glory.

You Are The One I Praise...

As was said this past Sunday by our pastor, Jesus has been “accorded a place in society as a great man.” The secular world seems enamored enough with His parables, His teachings, His miracles.

But this same Jesus has made some claims about Himself. He's not just another "great man". He is God. He is Lord. And He loves us! And He is jealous for us! And we have no other entrance into Glory, except through Him.

Some questions:

Do we love Jesus, and extol Him above all else?
Is our love for Him expressed in our obedience to His commands?
Have we given Jesus exclusive rule over our lives?

Let's continue to worship the Lord Jesus, Savior of our souls.

I Can't Recant.

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke about the differences between empirical evidence and forensic evidence. He reminded us of the statements of Thomas, who said he would not accept his fellow disciples' testimony of having seen the resurrected Christ.

What did Thomas want? Empirical evidence. “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!” (John 20:25) In an incredibly gracious gesture, Jesus obliged him. “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe." (John 20:27)

But the commendation of God is not gained from our demand for empirical evidence. If we have heard and know the word of God, we can't say things like "Well if God didn't want me to go to that place, then He would have prevented my car from working." See Thomas? He had walked with Jesus for the three years of His earthly ministry, and yet his demand for empirical evidence was evaluated by Jesus as unbelief. If we base our Christian walk on empirical evidence, we will bear the same rebuke.

There is a better proof of the truth of Jesus's claims: Forensic evidence. The testimony of witnesses through the ages who, in faith, took hold of the word of God and never let go. Hebrews chapter 11 lists some of the horrible deaths experienced by Christian martyrs. These men and women, convinced of the deity of Christ Jesus, chose to die rather than to recant their faith.

From then to now, we Christians are called to live by what we believe. But if we "have to see it to believe it", then where is the role of faith, which Scripture tells us is "the evidence of things not seen"?

Lord Jesus, help us to believe what You have said concerning Yourself. Help us to reject the urge for empirical data. We crave Your commendation, which is earned by belief and obedience. Give us grace to receive You by faith. Give us courage, by Your Spirit's power, to be witnesses of Your grace to the world.

Know-And-Tell.

In John 3:16 the verse begins, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. Jesus’s entrance into the earthly realm as an infant went largely unnoticed by the majority of people in that time. (see Matthew chapters 1 and 2.) But God went beyond Bethlehem and informed, through nature, a small group of wise men from the East. “We have seen His star and have come to worship Him,” (see Matthew 2:1-2). God loved the world, and the Magi showed up as a proof of His love. It was as if God said, Yes, I will speak to these wise men in a language they understand. Their culture speaks of a star announcing the birth of the King of the Jews, and I have given them the sign they were seeking.

About thirty years later, as we see in John 14:6, Jesus announced His deity in a geographical location that touches the world. This time, it is not announced to the sages through astronomy. Instead, it is shared through a common lingua franca. As Pastor Sam shared, all lands known at that time were able to communicate for the purposes of trade. And, all trade routes had to pass through Jerusalem. By confirming His deity during His time in Jerusalem, Jesus positioned His word to be shared throughout the known world.

And this is why He can say “no one comes to the Father except by Me.” He is the conduit. Africa, Asia, Australia, Americas... all must reckon with a tiny strip of land in Palestine, where Jesus made His claim as the Only option for mankind.

Do you know Him? Tell the world.

Unigenite...

Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

On this past Sunday, Pastor Sam carefully unpacked this single verse. And it is good to be careful when unpacking verses like this, because verses like this have the potential to explode. As he said, and I paraphrase here, the above verse is a dangerous one to quote in the twenty-first century because it carries an exclusionary, exclusive tone. But there it is, in the canon, so we have to deal with it.

For anyone who is Christian, this reality of “the way, the truth, the life” is at the core of our faith. And it is Jesus- not Pastor Sam, not the denomination, not our personal opinion, but Jesus Himself- it is He who says, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 14:6 carries the echo of John 3:16, another verse that speaks of the exclusive nature and status of Jesus. As “only begotten Son” (see John 3:16) He is identified as unique, one-of-a-kind, with no other option available. He is the Only One. In the same manner, Jesus informs us in John 14:6 that He is the Only Way, the Only Truth, the Only Life. There is no other option available.

So, in light of this, we can never say “Jesus and…”. It’s not Jesus and Mommy, nor Jesus and Buddha, nor Jesus and Mary, nor Jesus and the Pastor (the uppercase “P” is deliberate, as an indicator of those who in fact deify their pastors). It’s only Jesus. Exclusionary and exclusive, because no one else can do what He does for us.

Who else has been crucified for our sins? Who else has made a way for our salvation? Who else is seated at the right hand of the Father? Who else can say, “If you have known me, you will know my Father too” (see John 14:7)?

Jesus, the Only Unique.

Proof Of Purchase.

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you— by night they are coming to kill you.” But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. (Nehemiah 6:10-14)

As we near the end of this week, let's walk a bit further into the book of Nehemiah. While Pastor Martha focused her sermon on the early chapters, we read in subsequent chapters that the opposition to Nehemiah's work grew stronger. The more he achieved, the more angry his detractors became.

Taunting didn't work, military threats didn't work, and political threats didn't work. So, Nehemiah's enemies tried a new approach. They paid spiritual leaders to lie to Nehemiah and attempt to turn him away from the work that God had called him to. On the surface, Shemaiah's counsel seemed logical: Nehemiah, you should hide in God's house where it's safe. But Nehemiah maintained his stance, offering the same response he had given to his other enemies: Why should I stop doing what God has called me to do?

It's so important for us to hear from God for ourselves, because our enemies will even seek to use spirituality in an attempt to derail our calling and purpose. The New Testament echoes this tactic: "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed." (Matthew 27:20)

May God help us all to be readers, hearers, and doers of His word.
May His voice prevail above all others.
May we remain cognizant of the enemy's attempts to derail the work of the Lord.

God, give us grace to obey You and carry out Your will.

"What Has God Said?"

Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.” Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” So they readied themselves for this good project. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:17-19)

Ah, it’s all too familiar. God burdens us to pray about a particular issue, His Spirit reveals to us a plan of action, we move forward in obedience… and we are criticized. As the book of Nehemiah progresses, we learn that Sanballat and Tobias were intentional and aggressive in their attempts to prevent the Jerusalem gates and walls from being rebuilt. How did Nehemiah respond? With simple, unassuming persistence. He did not give in to the lies, threats, and negative comments of his critics, but instead persuaded his workers to stay focused and complete the task they’d begun.

Nehemiah’s persistence was grounded in a realization that God had spoken to him clearly and specifically. We would do well to follow Nehemiah’s example. The prayers, intercessions, and fastings brought an awesome result: the intercessor is the one who will move to answer the prayers. We see this modeled in Scripture in the lives of our Lord Jesus, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Elijah, and others. Each moved forward in obedience to God, each had their critics, and each was integral in God's plan of deliverance for His people through the ages. We are in good company.

Has God spoken? Then act on His word, without fear. He will give you strength to bring the good work into completion.

Quiet Man.

So I came to Jerusalem. When I had been there for three days, I got up during the night, along with a few men who were with me. But I did not tell anyone what my God was putting on my heart to do for Jerusalem… I continued up the valley during the night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate, and so returned. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing, for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers. (from Nehemiah 2:11, 12, 15, and 16)

When I had been there for three days…

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, but there was a three-day gap between his arrival and his survey of the damage done to the city walls and gates. What was he doing? We can infer, based on the first chapter of Nehemiah, that he was in communion with God. And we can say, with assurance, that he was not in conversation with man. In the passage above, Nehemiah shares three things that he did not tell:

-“I did not tell anyone what God was putting on my heart…”
-“The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing…”
-“I had not told any of the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of the workers…”

I got up during the night…

Nehemiah approached his task of rebuilding the walls and gates without fanfare. Though a few men accompanied him on his night tour of the city, Nehemiah remained silent: only he knew the task that God had assigned to him, and he did not disclose God’s plan until after his survey of the land was completed.

As Bronx Bethany approaches the last five months of our theme “Engaging Transformational Prayer… Experiencing Transformational Provision”, it is appropriate that we be reminded of the scope of transformational prayer. The book of Nehemiah reminds us that transformational prayer is supported through the related disciplines of mourning, fasting, intercession, silence, watching, and waiting. In the face of devastating news on the home front, what else can we do? What better options are there to obtain God’s blueprint for problem-solving?

Let’s have some quiet time.