Impartation, With Implications.

Sunday was a full day of outpouring at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. I had the privilege of attending three of the four services in person (7:45 a.m. in English, 4:00 p.m. in Spanish, and 7:30 p.m. in English), and I spent much of yesterday reflecting on what I saw and heard.

Although we've scheduled revival services for next week, God has not waited for our guest speaker to arrive. He has already placed the spirit of revival into our church community this year, from the first Sunday of January forward. God desires to restore us to Himself; He calls us to complete obedience; He has promised to bring back everything that the devil has stolen from us. Further, God has anointed our pastors and leaders with a greater impartation for speaking His rhema word, pointing the way to salvation, healing the sick, and delivering the oppressed.

This past Sunday, in our English-language and Spanish-language services, we saw our pastors hearing and obeying the voice of the Lord. Pastor Richard, who preached in all the English-language services, shared with us that God instructed him to go into the pulpit without notes, and to trust the Lord to give him the word for the people. During the Ministerio Latino service our guest speaker, Pastor Allison, shared with us that the Lord told her not to preach the sermon she had prepared, but instead to speak to the people about the grace of God and the importance of obeying His word. The obedience of these pastors opened the door to a move of God that brought words of knowledge, healing, and deliverance.

As I was thinking about these things yesterday, a question came into my heart: Are we taking God seriously? On Sunday Pastor Richard shared with us the concern voiced over the years by our pastor emeritus, Pastor Cole, and our senior pastor, Pastor Sam: After all our preaching, after all our diligence in obeying God and saying what He has instructed us to say, are our congregants hearing and obeying His voice? Have they opened their hearts to Him, or are they still resisting Him? 

The Bible is clear in noting that seasons of greater impartation are to be taken very seriously. Our God is gracious and loving and forgiving, but we must also remember that He is holy and sovereign and just. And, whether Moses and Aaron in the Old Testament or Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament, there is a hefty penalty when God's people disobey, misrepresent, or resist Him-- especially when they do so in an atmosphere where His glory is present.

Sunday was amazing.

Sunday was a warning.

Are you taking God seriously?

Right... From The Start.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Martha shared in her introduction something we can reflect on today:

2015 is a year in which:

~ we will see God return everything to its rightful place;
~ we will experience the harvest of what we have faithfully sown in years past;
~ we will receive back all that the devil had stolen from us.

If we were to discuss our current challenges, there would be several areas where we would hear of longings for God's intervention: health concerns, family dynamics, employment needs, housing challenges, and the list goes on. For some, the challenges are not external but internal, like having the simple faith to follow God regardless of how we feel or what we see. For all of us, our pastor's word stands as a prophetic encouragement: 2015 is a new season. We have moved from the season of waiting to the season of receiving.

Are we ready to receive?

I have a colleague who carries a negative narrative of God. This person once said the following to me: "God doesn't know what I'm going through. He's forgotten about me." It broke my heart, because this individual is doing well enough financially to even assist another family; has excellent health and the freedom to travel; and is well-respected in the community. This individual believes that God has "forgotten" one prayer that remains unanswered to date, and that one thing has been the focus rather than the many blessings.

Maybe you have one prayer that God hasn't yet answered, and maybe that's keeping you from seeing His incredible love and provision. Today, know that He loves you, and know that He's aware of the years you've been waiting. Trust Him. As our pastor shared on Sunday, we can praise Him now, because we know that He has already heard and responded to the prayers we've prayed. My prayer is that we will move through 2015 positioned to receive. How do we receive? Not by complaining about what we haven't seen God do, but by rejoicing in all that He is.

We love You, Lord God.
You are perfect in all Your ways.
We walk through 2015 praising You for all that You are.
We thank You again for all that You have done.
We are fully assured that You have heard our prayers.
We believe You will allow us to see and know Your response to our requests.
We expect to experience recompense and restitution and return.
We walk through 2015 in light of that expectation.
Yes, Lord, may it be on earth as You have already decreed in heaven.
We ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

Meanwhile, Four Miles Away...

Last night I went to a prayer and Bible study at a church not far from where I live. As the evening was winding down, a young woman asked me a question: "There's a guy at your church who has long dreadlocks, he made us feel so welcome when we visited your church a few years ago, he knew a lot, and he had a lot of people around him. I think he's on the staff. Do you know who he is?" After a bit of thought I replied to her, "Well, his hair is shorter now, and he doesn't have locs anymore, but you're talking about Pastor Richie." She then said a wonderful thing: "I've been thinking about him lately."

Sometimes, our experience of "the community of faith" leads us to believe that every local church is operating in a vacuum, and that our prayer needs are limited to the people who we spend most of our time with. That's not true. God is not limited by geography, nor culture, nor anything else. Though God had not given this young lady our pastor's name, He had given her a vision of Richie as she knew him five years ago, and she prayed in faith even though she didn't know his name or title. When I told her that Pastor Richie had recently been ordained an Elder in our denomination, and that his robing ceremony had just occurred this past Sunday, she nodded: "Now I know why God put him on my heart."

Consider God's action. He was looking for someone to pray for our pastor, and He found a willing intercessor: a woman who never sat under our pastor's ministry, met him only once at a leadership event, and never saw him again since that day. God chose to remind her of him.

Think about it.

"Creed"-entials.

On this past Sunday, Pastor Andy shared with us concerning the Christian's response to adversity and pressure. During one point in his sermon, he made a series of short statements that I would like us to reflect on today. Whether we are personally experiencing hardships or not, our pastor's words are wonderful reminders of the power of God and His position as Lord above all circumstances.

As I listened to this section of the sermon again today, I began to understand and embrace Pastor Andy's words as a creed. They are true. They are good. I pray that these words will encourage you. (You may even want to commit these words to memory.)


What are we to do in a time like this?
Appeal to the sovereignty of God.
When I don't understand because I am limited, but God is limitless;
when I live in time, but He lives outside of time;
when I live in space, but He is Alpha and Omega--
He is the beginning and the end.
He is the first and the last.
God knows what He's about.
And so it is out of this backdrop that the apostles,
understanding the sovereignty of God,
and faced with a challenge,
understood that God was in charge.

This Is "Center City"...

At the beginning of this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Joy asked us all to take some time to center ourselves. Our pastor shared that as we took time to contemplate the goodness of God and the blessings He has bestowed upon us, we should also understand that God’s works continue: “…the particular blessings you’re thinking of just now, the Lord can do so much more.”

What do we contemplate as we enter the presence of the Lord? What’s on our minds when we commune with Him? The cares and concerns of this world sometimes burden us so heavily that we cannot appreciate the good things God has given us. Or, to take this thought a step further, our own failures and lost dreams might even cause us to withhold worship from God—the One we are called to worship not because of what He gives us, and not because our lives are good, but simply because He is good… and because He is God.

Today, as we did on Sunday, let’s take a minute to center ourselves-- not on the problems we see, but on the Lord we know.

God, the chorus sung by ancient Israel remains true today: The LORD is good, and His mercy endures forever! That is my confession. Thank You for Your presence and Your power. Thank You for reminding me that even though hardships abound in this world, Your goodness surpasses every pain that has crossed my path. I love You and I am grateful for You! Remind me of all the blessings You have poured into my life. I look forward to seeing Your hand of blessing and intervention in my life today.

Richard The Seventh.

We at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene are excited and happy for Richard Griffiths!

This morning, Pastor Richard will be ordained as an Elder in our denomination. And, while on the surface this may appear to be the culmination of years of study and practical ministry, it is actually the launch-pad for God to do even greater things through this man of faith.

Our pastor holds a particular distinction. He will be the seventh ordained elder Bronx Bethany has had on full-time staff (after Pastor Cole, Pastor Sam, Pastor Benjie, Pastor Joy, Pastor Martha, and Pastor Althea), and Pastor Richard is being ordained in the fiftieth year of Bronx Bethany's existence. The numbers 7 and 50 are significant in Scripture-- both numbers are indicative of God's mandate for us to honor Him not just by the work we do, but also in the disciplines of resting from our labors (7/The Sabbath) and releasing others from their bondage (50/The Jubilee).

So, on this day when we celebrate this milestone for Pastor Richard, we also take inventory of ourselves. Are our lives reflecting this God-ordained cycle of work and rest? Are we happy to partner with God in releasing people from the situations and issues that have bound them for years? Are we ourselves living lives that are free from bondage to sin?

God, our Father, we understand that Your ways are perfect. Help us to understand the depth of meaning that underscores Pastor Richard's ordination today. Give us grace to obey Your call. Yes, we embrace rest for our bodies and souls. Yes, we exact release for our brothers and sisters.

Sold, To The Highest Bidder.

Our pastor mentioned something on Sunday that I'd like us to reflect on for today. Pastor Althea said (and I paraphrase), It's not that it's hard to follow God; it's easy to follow God. It's just that it's easier not to follow Him.

It is a profound thought. I don't know if the people listening on Sunday agreed or disagreed. But let's ask a few questions of ourselves.

• If we were to record every thought and action of our day, would we find our hearts turned towards God or towards the world?
• In our Christ-walk, are we found to be people of prayer and people of the Word?
• Do we love being engaged in works of service to God, or are we showing up out of grudging obligation?
• Are our decision-making processes based on cultural tradition and current trends, or are they based on what God has said?

My prayer for us is that we all hold in our hearts a deep desire to be found in the company of our Lord, hearing and obeying His word, and doing His work.

Do not lack in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. (Romans 12:11-12)

"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Wanted: A Candle Of Peace.

On this second Sunday of Advent, many liturgical churches focus on the subject of Christ as our peace. One of the names of our Lord Jesus is Prince of Peace: "For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Are you looking for endless peace? Peace is found in a Person: our eternal God. "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3) "LORD, You establish peace for us: all that we have accomplished You have done for us. O LORD, our God, other lords beside You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor." (Isaiah 26:12-13)

Where do we find ourselves today? Have we submitted ourselves to the Prince of Peace? Or are we found bowing to idols who rule our thoughts and deeds while robbing us of the peace we so desperately desire? Or, are we caught in circumstances that move us to heave and weave, unsteady, unsure, and overcome in the chaos?

From time to time Pastor Sam shares a few words with me. These words, when I can remember them, help me to find peace in this stormy life. I share them here in the hope that they'll be helpful to you as well.

*Relax.
*It'll be all right.
*God is aware.
*Let's pray.

Today is a good day to light a candle of peace. Not a candle of revenge. Not a candle to start an angry firestorm. Not even a candle of self-preservation. Just a simple candle to remind ourselves that Jesus, the Light of the world, has come into the world to establish His peace.

Have a peaceful day.

Prince of Peace, establish Your peace in us as we trust in You. Give us hearts to receive and reflect Your word of peace today. Amen.

Build And Keep Building.

"Don't stop at the building. As much as we need it, and we need it, don't stop there, because that's only a launching pad for what God is going to do..." -Reverend Art Alexander

One of the things I appreciate about Reverend Art Alexander is that he doesn't have a problem with being prophetic. As District Superintendent, and as our brother in the Lord, he came to us last Sunday and told us what we needed to hear. Today, let's consider the implications of the above quote.

The physical building is a necessary means of adhering to our mission. We recognize that God has placed us in the Bronx, and we have a responsibility to serve the community in which our main properties exist. Part of our strategy in having "a place for everyone" is to create spaces where everyone can be served. For years now, our community children and youth have been relegated to spaces that are inadequate; today, we are on the threshold of opening new spaces of service for the youngest in our faith community. With our donations and our construction, we are going beyond words and moving into actions that fulfill our mission and vision.

"Don't stop at the building." Pastor Art noted that the building is only one of several steps our church must take in fulfillment of mission and vision. There are some actions that have already begun, as evidenced by our Summer Serve initiatives. We are showing the love of Jesus to our community not merely through providing food, but also through connecting with local community leaders and politicians. Being "practical and compassionate" goes beyond Bible study. We are cleaning sidewalks. We are informing residents of educational and civic concerns. We are getting out of the church buildings and into the neighborhood, because the neighborhood also needs to be built up.

The launching pad. Pastor Art, in tagging our new building as a launching pad, hinted at our Christian responsibility to not just serve, but also to send. Our Lord allowed us to see a glimpse of this last summer as several people from our church went on their first missions trip to Colombia, South America. In its first few decades of existence, Bronx Bethany was known as "the singing church". Today, we are moving into being identified as a serving church. Our future, if we are to be "a redemptive influence in the Bronx and in the world", must involve a significant number of persons being sent from our church to the far reaches of the world as true ambassadors of Christ. Let us pray that over the next few decades, we will be identified as a sending church.

"... for what God is going to do." Over all these things, Pastor Art reminded us that any work "we" accomplish must be made manifest by the work of God's Spirit in and with us. God has graciously allowed us the privilege of participation in His project. We must never forget that without God's hand upon us, Bronx Bethany cannot do anything of merit. Let us continually submit ourselves to the Lord, giving ourselves completely and exclusively to Him, so that He can freely do His works through us.

Yes, Lord, we submit individually. We submit corporately. We serve faithfully. Please teach us and position us to be sent as Your ambassadors locally and globally. Thank You for the physical and spiritual buildings You have spoken into being. We look forward to the future You have planned for Your people. We love You, Lord Jesus.

Rest And Restitution.

"Every valley will be exalted; every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places plain." (Isaiah 40:4)

As Bronx Bethany continues its weekend-long commemoration of forty-nine years in ministry, she also eagerly awaits year fifty. In last night's Anniversary Service Pastor Sam reminded us of Leviticus 25, the passage in which Jubilee is explained. Our pastor shared that after year forty-nine, we enter into Jubilee; we stand back and see God work; and no one else can take the credit.

One of the joys of Jubilee is that we are reminded that God owns us. For those of us who are completely and exclusively His, we rest in the knowledge of God's ability to do whatever He pleases, on behalf of His own name.

Today, let's revisit Leviticus 25 and meditate on its messages to us:

• There is a time to let go of the things we've corralled.
• No one, and nothing, is dispensable.
• God will cause our land, literally and figuratively, to rest and to be replenished.

God bless you as you worship and obey our great God, our Lord of the Jubilee.

"Jam" Session.

Jimmy Jam (center). Audio Engineering Society Convention 2013. (Photo credit: Ramon Zuniga)

Forget what happened long ago! Don't think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands. (Isaiah 43:18-19)


This year I attended the Audio Engineering Society convention. I could not afford the All-Access registration, but was able to get a free badge for the exhibits and a few other events. One of those events was a keynote address by Jimmy Jam. Though his business partner Terry Lewis was not there, Jimmy Jam shared both their hearts concerning the intersection of songwriting, recording, engineering, and producing.

In the 1980's, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were in Minneapolis earning less than $200 per week and spending their own money to fly to Los Angeles on weekends, bunking at a friend's home and recording tracks in the bathroom (the only room in the home with good acoustics). Their early work, often hailed as "innovative", was often done with minimal equipment under less than optimal conditions. They did their best with what they had. One day, though, "the new" appeared. Their work garnered public notice. The early days of limitation vanished. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis became as well-known as the artists whose works they produced.

Fast-forward thirty years: Jimmy Jam, who has every right to rest in his accomplishments of the past, spoke of the importance of seeing "the new" of today. There are new songs to write, new tracks to record, new technologies to learn. He said, "See which way the wind is blowing today, and adjust your sails accordingly." In other words, Embrace the new. Navigate the new. Strong winds may be blowing, but you will learn to make your way through them. Don't be afraid.

In reflecting on this keynote, I was reminded of Pastor Richie's sermon. God has said, "Look! I am doing something new. Do you see it?" Our pastor shared with us a wonderful phrase: We serve a God who makes the impossible possible. A God who can take a Casio keyboard, bathroom acoustics, and a young man's love for the recording arts, and turn the mix into a stellar career. A God who can surpass the great things He did for us in the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s and 2000s, and astound us with the amazing new things He is doing today. Our God is awesome.

Today, let's take time to thank God for the new things He is doing in the life of His church... and the new things He is doing for us as individuals.

What's New With You?

Second Kings 4:18-37 gives us the account of the demise and revival of the Shunammite’s son. In her moment of greatest crisis, the Shunammite’s response was to appeal to the man who had given her an accurate prophetic word in prior years. 

How do we react when our God-given dreams die? We can take a few pointers from the Shunammite woman:

• Don’t bury the dream just yet. What looks dead may only be asleep, waiting to be revived.
• Say what God sees. The Shunammite had a wonderful phrase: “All is well.” Even though nothing about her crisis seemed good, she spoke a positive word.
• Stay close to God’s representatives. The Shunammite did not discuss any details with her friends, servants, nor even her husband. She limited her communication-in-crisis to the ones who had been a part of God’s program from the beginning.

It’s pretty easy for us to read (or listen to) the Shunammite woman’s story. Perhaps it’s not as easy for us to live her story.

Let’s be real. There are some things, and some people, that we have completely given up on. There are some dreams that have faded into virtual nothingness. There are some options that we have dropped, because we are tired and we don’t want to waste time or energy on such things anymore. In that light, the word from the Lord through Pastor Richie is an extremely challenging one… but that is the word God gave, and we have to deal with it.

God is the Giver of new life, new hope, and new victories. He holds “the new” in heaven’s storehouses, and we are now in a season where “the new” will become our lived experience—on earth as it is in heaven. God has spoken: it will come to pass.

I pray that the promise of the new will encourage and sustain you.

Even If You Don't See Something, Say Something.

“What can we do for her?” Elisha asked Gehazi. Gehazi replied, “I do know that her husband is old, and she doesn’t have a son.” “Ask her to come here again,” Elisha told his servant. He called for her, and she came and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s room. Elisha said to her, “Next year at this time, you’ll be holding your own baby son in your arms.” “You’re a man of God,” the woman replied. “Please don’t lie to me.” But a few months later, the woman got pregnant. She gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised. (Second Kings 4:14-17)

“Don’t get my hopes up.”

What a response to a prophetic word! After all, the woman knew that Elisha was a man of God. She had made an incredible sacrificial offering on his behalf by building an addition to her home for his personal use. And her compassionate service resulted in her receiving a prophetic word. But, as Pastor Richie shared with us this past Sunday, in the face of being told the deepest desire of her heart would be fulfilled she replied, No thanks. Don’t resurrect my pain. It’s too late for me.

Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “Don’t think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands.” God invites us to use our eyes of faith to look into the future; to see what He sees; to bring Him offerings of praise and gratitude for the new thing that He is doing in, with, and through us.

How do we respond to God’s promise of doing something new? The easy response is to push away the prophetic word. For those of us who have lived through decades of unfulfilled dreams, it is indeed a painful thing to pick up the promise again. We are weary of the disappointments. We are afraid of being hurt again. We have decided that the dream, as exciting and fulfilling as it seemed, is no longer worth the wait. We are done. In our minds, it’s over.

But Scripture calls us to be concerned not with what is on our own mind, but what is on God’s mind. What has God said? What is His opinion? What word has He put in the mouths of His prophets concerning your dreams?

It’s hard to be hopeful after so many years of disappointments. But in the prophetic realm, we are no longer dealing with the fickle heart of man nor the instability of world systems. We are dealing with God, King of glory and Lord of all the earth. His word stands forever. His word is absolutely trustworthy. And if He says a dream is restored, then it is restored. No riders, no qualifiers. What shall our reply be?

There were a couple other instances of prophetic birth announcements in the New Testament, found in Luke chapter 1. Zechariah responded to the word of the Lord with doubt in his heart and was chastised for his doubt. Mary responded to the word of the Lord with humble acceptance and was commended. In both cases though, without respect to the faith level of the person involved, the word of the Lord came to pass.

Perhaps that can be our thought to meditate on today: The word of the Lord comes to pass. It may take a year, or ten, or forty, but God can be counted on to do what He says. Let us cast away doubt, embrace faith, and rejoice in the good He is sending to His people.

Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to what you have said.” (Luke 1:38)

Hopelessly Well-Off?

One day Elisha came for a visit; he went into the upper room and rested. He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” So he did so and she came to him. Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect. What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or with the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.” (Second Kings 4:11-13)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie shared with us a profound insight on the face of hopelessness: When we have had a dream unfulfilled for a long period of time, we opt to abandon the dream.

Like the Shunammite, we can say we are quite secure-- even though we have lost hope.

And, to her credit, she was quite secure. She was a property owner. She had a prominent position in the community. She and her husband had the means and ability to build an addition to their home, giving the prophet a place to rest when passing through their town. She had enough food to be able to, as we are told in Second Kings 4:8, “insist” that Elisha have his meals at her home. On the surface, all was well.

The prophet, though, knew there was an unfulfilled dream buried in the heart of the Shunammite woman.

Pastor Richie asked us a question that I would like us to reflect on today: What is your unfulfilled dream? What is the thing you long for that, to date, God has not provided? What is the petition that, to date, God has not answered? What is the desire that you hold deep inside, that you have not even shared with your best friend? What is the thing you have given up on ever seeing, or doing, or experiencing? Where have you resigned yourself to hopelessness?

Today, we can trim the wick and re-light the flame of our abandoned dreams. It is not an easy thing to do, especially in the face of having lived through decades of unfulfilled dreams. We may even think that, because God has blessed us in so many other areas, we can let go of our heart’s desire. But Scripture says, “Trust in the LORD and do what is right! Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desire of your heart.” (Psalm 37:3-4) We see these verses fulfilled in the life of the Shunammite woman. And God, who is no respecter of persons, can fulfill these verses in us.

Yes, Lord! That is where some of us stand today. We are doing well, but at our core is one unanswered prayer, one unfulfilled dream, one unmet desire. We have resigned ourselves to hopelessness; but You are the God of hope! Please give us Your Grace, the power of Your Spirit, so that we will trust You, do good, and honor You in the way we care for our property and ourselves. Make us men and women of integrity. Pour into us a delight of You. You have promised that as we delight in You, You will give us what we desire most. The dream You planted in us will not die, but live. We thank You for Your word and we receive it today. We love You, Lord.

Exiting Exile.

This is what the LORD says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters, the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick: “Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events. Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness. The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people, the people who I formed for myself, so they might praise me.” (Isaiah 43:16-21, NET Bible)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie shared with us this amazing promise of God. Our God, who has done awesome things for His people in days of old, calls the people of today to forget about the past promises and look for the current ones.

As Isaiah spoke prophetically to the people of his day, there would have been none there who were alive when God used Moses to deliver the nation out of bondage. Everyone knew the story, but no one had lived the story. In fact, Isaiah’s contemporaries were in the midst of their own experience of bondage. They had been forcibly removed from their homeland, and in their minds there was no chance of their ever returning home. In their worldview, exile was a permanent state.

Perhaps some of us are in the same situation. We are earning less as food and shelter costs rise. We are watching unsaved loved ones revel in their fallen state. We see so-called “believers” hardened to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. We are second-guessing God’s promises because, as our pastor shared, years have passed and we have no earthly evidence of the promises being fulfilled. Our current state feels and looks like it’s permanent.

But God has spoken.

“Don’t remember these earlier events.” Don’t dwell on the miraculous moments of old. Yes, I am the God of Moody and Wesley and Wigglesworth and Finney. Yes, I am the God of your ancestors. But I am also your God, and I will do miracles for you. Watch Me send floods to places where rain is not the norm. Look for Me to cut a road in the desert and plant a raging river, evidence to you and to the world that I have never lost My power to act in behalf of My people.

When Isaiah spoke to his people, and they slept and woke the next morning, they were still in exile. When Pastor Richie spoke on Sunday, we may well have gone home to face the same exilic sorrow, lack, and devastation. But God has spoken. We are called to receive His word by faith, even if the manifestation of the promise has not yet come. I pray that His word will encourage our souls today.

“I am the LORD. I am God. I will act.”

A Psalm Of Richard.

From time to time, Glossa Water steps away from its sermon summaries in order to share other aspects of the worship service. Today will be one of those times.

In Sunday morning’s 7:45 service, as Pastor Richie stood to bring the sermon, he shared a few pre-sermon words with us. At that point, I was focused on my own worship experience and did not really focus on what our pastor said and how he said it. But when I got home and had time to reflect on the service (and time to listen to a recording of the sermon), I began to understand Pastor Richie’s words as a psalm of praise. There was a tone, a cadence, and an exuberance that echoed the psalms of ancient times.

So, for today’s reflection, I want to share with you our pastor’s spontaneous psalm. I pray that it will be a blessing to us, particularly those of us whose lives are in crisis. Who knows? God might even give each of us a psalm of our own, a few words from the heart in worship of our King.

“Anybody wanna shout hallelujah with me?

Anybody wanna shout hallelujah with me?

“Hallelujah, Lord. All honor and praise.

Something happens in the atmosphere when the people of God begin to worship Him and to say ‘Hallelujah’,

and to ascribe to Him the praise that He’s due.

Hallelujah, Lord.

“In the midst of everything that’s going on,

Hallelujah.

Like Paul and Silas in prison at midnight,

Hallelujah, Lord.

When everything around you tells you that you shouldn’t be praising,

Hallelujah, Lord.

“Anybody know what I’m talking about?

“When everything around you tells you that you shouldn’t be praising,

and then you just start to praise,

and something shifts in the atmosphere:

And it feels like an earthquake, shaking in this place.

“Bless Your name today, Lord.

Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus.

We say Hallelujah to the impossible God.

We worship the magnificent, holy, limitless God.

Hallelujah, Jesus.

Oh God, you are able, you are able, you are able, you are able.

Hallelujah, Jesus.”

(Reverend Richard Griffiths)

Orchard, Preach.

Ochs Orchard, Warwick, New York.

[Today we take a short break from the blog posts on Sunday's sermon. Our reflections on awareness, advocacy, and action will resume tomorrow.]

In our walking through various trials of life, there are moments when God allows His people to come alongside and support us with their presence and prayers. There are other moments when all seems mist and darkness and looming shadows of death, paths full of rocks and potholes, journeys that we cannot walk in the company of men… dyadic moments where it’s just one servant and One Master… and in those moments we discover the incredible love of God as He sustains us.

But in the moments where it seems that only God cares, there are stirrings and undercurrents. There are communities and connections, ordained by God, that suddenly become aware that there is a need to pray. They do not always know why the need exists. They just know that God has supplied a name, so they kneel before Him and call the name of the one who is taking his turn in the valley. Such is the great gift of Spirit-led prayer.

I am blessed to belong to a community like that at my home church. I am blessed to have connections like that outside of my home church—some local, some very far away. And I hope that you, too, are blessed to experience that sort of community in your own life.

I mention all of this because I had an interesting experience this past Monday. On a day trip to a country farm, I spent a few hours walking through an apple orchard. There were many trees, old and young. All were well-tended. Some were bearing fruit in season. Some were not. For the first time I saw with my own eyes a tree that had cast its fruit: its once-beautiful apples now rotting and lying on the ground, a once-full tree now completely empty and finished, through the amazing phenomenon of pitching its own fruit from its branches. Fruit useless for man, but still useful for ants and small creatures. (God, in His mercy, even pulls blessings out of decaying fruit.)

And, some trees were on their way to bearing. Their fruit was not yet ready for consumption, but it was growing. It was beautiful. Trees whose fruit will not be brought to any table today… but perhaps in two or three weeks.

On Monday, as I walked in the country farm, God used this fine orchard of apples to stir my heart to prayer. Not scatter-shot prayers for comfort and safety. Not foxhole prayers for rescue. But prayers for having the patience of the farmer. Prayers for understanding and embracing the cooperative intervention of heat and cold and sun and rain. Prayers for wisdom to know the times of planting, pruning, picking, and pitching. Prayers of gratitude for God’s harvests here and abroad. Prayers for the people of the world who walk with the support of seen communities, and prayers for those who, though apparently alone, are being undergirded by the prayers of unknown others.

Today, readers, be encouraged. The Lord knows where you stand in His orchard. His people stand with you in prayer. May you be found as a bearer of good fruit.

Yes: even though I am walking through mist and darkness, I am completely fearless. Have you met my Lord? He is here, walking with me, explaining to me the times and seasons. And He is there, in all the places “there” exists. He is breathing men’s names into His trusted communities and sending His Spirit to interpret the prayers, to erase the lines between earth and heaven, and to make pathways for the entrance of profound miracles. One cannot ask for a greater assurance than this.

Thank You, Lord, for the lesson of the orchard.

Reading, Revisited: A Second Appeal.

Last Sunday, Pastor Sam encouraged us to read three sections of Scripture which corresponded to the three individuals highlighted in the sermon: Genesis chapters 37 and 39 through 50 (Joseph); the book of Daniel; and the book of Esther.

How cool it would be if all of us could tell our pastor the next time we see him, "Pastor Sam, I did the readings!" Not because we want to please him, but because we want to please God by excelling in our attention to His word.

There are some of us who are not able to read, or not able to see, and are assisted by computer software that "reads" words on our behalf . Some of us have the Bible on CD or cassette; some of us have audio Bibles on our computers; and so we hear the written word of God. I say this to say that God has made a way for His word to be accessed.

That said, though, I will add a disclaimer: in the world, there are still areas where the word of God is not available in any form. There are still regions where Christian bibles are banned. Not everyone in the world can "do the reading" in that regard. But for those of us in Bronx Bethany who have heard our pastor's appeal these two Sundays in a row, I would imagine that we are well able to access the Scriptures, written and spoken, that are available for free. We have no restrictions imposed upon us. We can lay hold of God's word as we please. We are blessed beyond measure.

Unrestricted access to the written word of God is a blessing. Will you appropriate your blessing today?

God's Word Of Encouragement: Don't Be Afraid.

"You of little faith, why are you so fearful? In these words we must hear all the disappointment of Jesus Christ in His disciples and all His love for them. Do you still not know that you are in God's hands, that where I am, God is? Why are you so fearful? Be of good courage, strong, firm, adult, sure, confident, not shaking with fear. Don't hang your heads; don't complain about what bad times these are... I am in the boat. And Christ is here, too, in the nave of this church. So why not hear Him and believe Him?"

(From "Overcoming Fear", a sermon on Matthew 8:23-27, preached by Dietrich Bonhoeffer January 15, 1933)

Concerning Carlton (or Dude, What Just Happened?)

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. (Psalm 37:4, Amplified Bible)

Bronx Bethany deeply mourns the loss of Carlton Salmon.

My heart’s desire was for Carlton to experience divine healing, and to live to come back to Bronx Bethany, stand at the pulpit, and give his testimony of healing. But Carlton died, and outside of a miracle of resurrection (which I long for!) I will not see him again until I, too, die and am translated into eternity.

This morning, the LORD led me to reflect on what it means to be given the desires of our hearts. There is a heart desire generated by my own mind and flesh, and there is a heart desire given to my spirit by God Himself. God, in His goodness, gives His prayer agenda to those persons who make Him their delight.

Where we sometimes get confused is in moments where, led by the Lord, we pray earnestly in a particular direction, a direction given by the Lord, but God’s answer appears to be in stark opposition to the very thing we believe He asked us to pray for. And in our weakest moments we ask, Hey, what just happened? You positioned me to pray and fast and do night watches and my prayers didn’t get answered the way I thought You’d answer. I know You answered in Your own way, and I know Your way is perfect, but I still don’t understand.

There is a type of praying noted by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:18: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

As we pray all kinds of prayers, those prayers include public petitions and secret petitions. They include prayers in known languages, and prayers in Divinely prompted utterances unintelligible to man but understood by God. Scripture appeals for prayer not merely to the Spirit, but prayer in the Spirit. And our security is not wrapped in the manifestation of the answer we want, but is instead wrapped in God’s commendation as we obediently engage the process of prayer.

The apostle Paul was absorbed in this sort of prayer. The work of intercession by Paul did not rescue him from imprisonments and beatings. His practice of prayer, therefore, was not as a means to an end. Paul obediently engaged an earthly routine reflective of a Divine norm: devoted, continual dialogue with the Christ and Lord of all the earth. No wonder he could say, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus”: in the presence of Christ and His gospel, what more was there for Paul to want? He had no problem with even letting go of his right to a peaceable life. (see Acts21:10-14)

Guess what? I am not the apostle Paul. I am a malcontent in recovery. I want more than just the presence of God; I long to see His action. I want an amazing testimony of the miraculous on the level of a Smith Wigglesworth or a Daniel Nash. A modern-day parting of the Red Sea would make my day. I have a long way to go before I reach Paul’s level of contentment in Christ alone, a contentment unshaken by disappointments or sufferings… unshaken by those answers to prayer that throw me for a loop.

I don’t understand the ways of God. (Who can?) But I do understand our assignment according to Ephesians 6:18. At any place, at any time, and in all sorts of ways, we are tasked to pray. And God, who instructs us how to pray, holds the prerogative concerning the ways in which those prayers are answered. A very dear friend of mine has said to me, on several occasions, “Deal with it.” In other words, Nevermind what you see. Just keep doing what you were called to do. (I am, my friend. The prayers won’t stop.)

And here we are. Lord, give us the grace and courage to continue obeying You, with no clauses or riders attached to our obedience. Your people will pray, continually.