Prophetic Warning #1: Famine.

On my way home from church last night, I felt very strongly that the LORD wants us to share together in some prophetic warnings we have received. I hope this does not strike you as a process of aimless or hopeless spectating, nor an 'alarmist' type of move, but that each of us will be open to God's leading regarding the way we care for ourselves and our families at this critical (kairos) time.

Warning #1: The sign of famine

Several months ago I gave a prophetic song during one of our Wednesday evening services. I'd never done that before, and it has not happened since then. The text that the LORD sent was Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

As I sang through this text, the song shifted to a number of scenarios which would certainly have the potential to cause anxiety: "Do not be anxious about anything: when there's no food, when there's no gas, when the heavens are brass, the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and guard your minds in Christ Jesus."

An associate of mine has recently urged me to buy as much food as I can in preparation for what she believes will be a swift and drastic decline in the availability of food. Based on Revelation's phrase "a quart of wheat for a day's wages" and of course based on the book of Joel (among others), we can say there is a Biblical precedent for the depletion of crops that are foundational resources for multiple industries. The reality, though, is that I have neither the money nor the space to stockpile anything. I prefer to use the strategy I learned many years ago by pastor and watchman David Wilkerson: in the times where we have had no food and there was no money coming in, I would lay my hands on the empty refrigerator and thank God for the food that He was sending... and within twenty-four hours someone would show up with food for my household. I know that I'm not the only person who has done this. And I can tell you God answers prayer: even in my seasons of unemployment I have never gone hungry.

Matthew 6:25-34 is the quintessential passage which exhorts believers not to worry. I encourage you to read it and meditate on it, even as you ask God what He wants from you during a time of famine. God bless you as you obey Him and seek to be a reflector of His glory.

Special Miracles II

Today let's continue digging into a passage that was briefly mentioned by Pastor Steven during Wednesday night's revival service.

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul" (Acts 19:11). Yesterday we dealt with the "how": the miracles were effected by a community of faith that took healing virtue with them from the church to the persons outside of church in need of healing.

Today we look at "why": I believe the answer to "why" is, because there was a larger community outside of the community of faith that was in dire need of healing and deliverance.

"...and the diseases departed from them..." It really is amazing when you consider that an average churchgoer, with just a handkerchief, walks up to Pastor Sam- sorry, I meant Paul- after service and touches Paul with a kerchief, then takes the subway to Montefiore Hospital- oh, I meant the churchgoer walks to the other side of Ephesus- and sees his friend laying down sick, and says, "In service today the power of the LORD was present for healing, and I just want to lay this kerchief on you and pray for you..." and before he can pray, the healing virtue of God is released through the kerchief to his sick friend, and all of a sudden the sick friend is no longer sick. Guess what? That still happens today. We don't see it much in this country, but God has not lost His power. And God is no respecter of persons, so there is no reason to believe that the graces afforded the first-century church are no longer available for His twenty-first century children.

"...and the evil spirits went out of them". It's interesting to note the distinction between physical illness, which scripture refers to as a spirit of infirmity, and the reality of psychological illness, which can be attributed to the work of evil spirits. Later on in the Acts 19 passage we see an incident involving the sons of Sceva, men who were not submitted to Jesus but who were known to be successful exorcists. While there is precedence for persons outside of the counsel of God to be able to perform certain wonders, there always comes a point where the power of God is clearly demonstrated to be superior to any other power (see Exodus chapters 7 through 12).

Is there a lesson for us here in the twenty-first century? Yes. Let's come to church expecting to meet God, and expecting to have an encounter with Him. We do not get to choose how God shows up, but we can know that He will show up. Additionally, let's embrace the idea of carrying the power of God with us from the service to the streets. Yes! We can bring healing and deliverance without saying a word: let's touch people and allow the Spirit of God to work through us.

As has become our custom, there will not be a blog posted on Sunday. By God's grace I hope we'll continue this spiritual journey together on Monday. Blessings and peace to each of you!

Special Miracles

Today let's begin digging into a passage that was briefly mentioned by Pastor Steven during Wednesday night's revival service.

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul" (Acts 19:11). How? And why? Let's look at the explanation given in Acts 19:12.

"so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him..." Apparently there was a community of people who either heard something or saw something during Paul's ministry, because they were bringing these kerchiefs and cloths with them to church. Also note that Paul was not selling cloths, and in fact we can argue that Paul was not even touching the cloths- the verse says "handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him", a scene reminiscent of the phenomenon of the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34). Just as Jesus did not touch the woman, but it was the woman who touched Jesus' clothes, in the same way the Acts passage implies that it was the people touching Paul's frame with their kerchiefs, not Paul reaching out to touch anything.

"...were taken to the sick..." Paul was not traveling around visiting sick people. It was the community of Christians who took upon themselves the ministry of visitation. The laity, not the leadership, carried these aprons and kerchiefs to those who were too sick to come to the service. Some Christians, who are caught up in a 'cult-of-personality' mindset, get very upset when they are sick and are visited by a lay person instead of being visited by a pastor. If that's you, get over it. The pastors are called to preach. There are others that the Lord has called to the ministry of visitation.

How was Paul's ministry of miracles made manifest? Through a community of believers who not only had faith in the power of God to heal, but who took the initiative to carry that healing with them when they left the church.

Tomorrow we will continue with the remainder of Acts 19:12. See you then!

Refinable or Rebukable

With apologies to those of you who usually look for my blog at two or three in the morning, here is today's post.

Let's briefly reflect on the postmodern "shifts": Pastor Steven spoke about one on Sunday night, and I propose the second one based upon my own reflections.

The church is being refined. We have shifted from "watching" to "doing". Services are no longer spectator events, they are events where the congregation is expected and encouraged to participate through the singing of hymns and choruses, through prayers, through giving, and through responding to the preached word during altar calls. Beyond services, the church community is being formed, fashioned, and discipled into the image of God. This occurs through our individual relationships with God and through the ministry of His Spirit.

The church is being rebuked. You really would have to be a simpleton not to realize that, over the past few years, the LORD has been sending the same message through several pastors and prophets: abandon sin and turn to the LORD with all your heart. Further, a clear warning has been sounded: those "in" the church who have not submitted themselves fully to God's refinement process will be removed.

Yes, refinement is painful. And it is humbling to be rebuked. But the only alternative for those who bypass these two processes is to be removed. Remember the parable of the wheat and the chaff? And remember that great line from an old hymn: "The flames shall not hurt you- I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine"... Let's embrace the refining fire and endure the rebuke!

Stage Theories

The logical progression, if I were to write in a logical fashion, would be to continue the theme of energy which Pastor Steven spoke about this past Sunday (and which we have blogged the last two days). But I think it might be more interesting to double back to the beginning of the sermon, so that we might reflect on the concept of church as a living, growing entity. This will be a shorter blog than usual: I just want us to have a quick recap of the sermon so we can spend less time reading and more time thinking.

In learning about the Ephesian church, we can read scriptures from Acts, Ephesians, Timothy, and Revelation. These scriptures paint pictures of the church in various stages of development. As a new church, it enjoyed the zeal of radical apostles who were unafraid to challenge the world system of their day. As a growing church, it modified itself to accomodate the new forms of leadership that each era promoted. And finally, we see the exhortation from the resurrected Christ to the mature Ephesian church: "Yet I hold this against you, you have left your first love..." Not the greatest assessment, but they at least could repent and change their ways.

When Jesus pays you a visit, what will He say?

Energized Leaders

Today, let's continue reflecting on Sunday's sermon. Yesterday we looked at the concept of energized people; today we'll review Pastor Steven's comments regarding energized leaders.

If there is going to be strength in any community, there must be strong leadership present. The apostles did not remain in the upper room after the Holy Spirit empowered them. As leaders, we have a mandate to go out into the "front lines" of the world and make disciples of all nations. The apostles were present and active in the early church: present in Jerusalem, present in Antioch. And they reproduced themselves by instituting other leaders: evangelists, deacons, elders, bishops. Leaders begat leaders, and the church grew in strength and numbers.

If there is going to be diversity in any community, there must be diversity present in the leadership. This comment is actually a combination of what was preached Sunday morning and the prophetic word we received on Sunday evening. The church in Ephesus reflected mixed leadership: there were men and women in leadership roles, and the leaders also reflected variation in levels of experience- that is, less experienced leaders were allowed to preach and hold positions of authority, and were discipled by more experienced leaders (for example, the Acts 18 and 19 references to John's disciples being instructed in the way of Jesus Christ).

Pastor Steven expanded on this idea of diversity during Sunday evening, when he implored the congregation (comprised largely of Jamaican immigrants) to make room for worshipers of other racial and cultural extractions. As you can imagine, there was a particular and palpable resistance to the prospect of Bronx Bethany no longer being identifiable as a "Jamaican" church. But God has a way of breaking down idols, and for some congregants Bronx Bethany as it exists today has become an idol. Watch out.

My friends, let's not forget- this is the LORD's church. God has begun expanding our pastoral staff: one-third of our pastors are Latino (Pastors Publio and Marta). That expansion will continue as God increases the diversity of His leaders, as a model of the diversity that will appear in the laity. And it will appear soon.

Bronx Bethany, are you ready? God is.

Energized People

On Sunday our guest speaker, Pastor Steven, began a series of sermons on the church at Ephesus. Today we will take a brief look at one source of that church's energy: the people.

In Acts chapters 18 and 19 reference is made to the disciples of John. As we learned yesterday, John's disciples had two characteristics that distinguished them as powerful men and women of God:

They had revolutionary power. The disciples of John, like John himself, did not limit themselves to the social norms of the day. John chose to bypass the traditional system of worship and instead preached in the wilderness: and scripture tells us that people went into the desert to hear John preach. John was simultaneously radical and relevant, and his doctrine touched the hearts of the people.

They had repentance power. As Pastor Steven shared, life is not just about social justice. John's disciples embraced a ministry of repentance... and here is where many Christians today drop the ball. Repentance is critical to conversion, and is critical to being in a position to influence society for good. If we want to see a better society, we would do well to first take a step towards bettering ourselves.

But, we cannot better ourselves by ourselves! It is a work of the glorious Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit who "teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions". Today, and everyday, let's submit ourselves to Him: so that He might convict us towards repentance, and that He might start a revolution in us that transforms our lifestyle, our family, our community, and our world.

A Day To Pray IV

Let's pray for our pastors:

Pastor Sam
Pastor Benji
Pastor Joy
Pastor Richie
Pastor Publio
Pastor Marta

We thank God for these men and women who lead by reminding us of God's word and His expectations, and pray that God will use them to prepare us to demonstrate our own ability- to independently reflect on His word, and to remain grounded in His word (see Second Peter 1:12).

There will not be a blog post for Sunday. I hope you'll visit the site again on Monday. Blessings and peace to each of you.

-Genise

Leading The Witness

The final part of Sunday's sermon asked the question, "What do the leaders do?" Second Peter 1:12 shows us that the role of the leader is to remind us of what has already been said, to help us to stay on the right track.

Pastor Sam shared two very important components of this aspect of reminding. He stated that leaders are not around forever. Some of you know that this is not the first time our pastor has alluded to his being apart from us. To be frank, it is not something I want to blog about- but here we are, and I sense we really should deal with this today.

The first component of why leaders "remind" has to do with the fact that we are often tempted when we are apart from the body of believers. Yes, there are times when the enemy of our souls confronts us in a church service. But I've found that, in my own life, the enemy battles me when my pastor and my friends are not around to help defend me. There are some situations where decisions have to be made in an instant, independent of any other counsel but the counsel of God as revealed to you.

The second component, which pains me to consider, is that Pastor Sam will not always be around. Contrary to what some people believe, Pastor Sam is human... and so are we. If you live your life banking on the pastor being available to keep you accountable, keep in mind that this is just a slice in time where we've been blessed with him. We need to be able to get through temptations and challenges without him, because one day we will be without him.

So, how do we do this? We listen when our leaders speak to us, and we make sure that we understand what we have been taught. If we have been good students of the word, then we will demonstrate our skills when we have to stand alone:

-We will be capable of our own reflection, which is grounded in the character of God (goodness, glory, love, and power).

-We will be stable on our own foundation, which is grounded in the word of God (not Pastor Sam, not our friends, but Jesus Himself).

As our church leaders prepare to return us "back to basics", let's continue to pray for them even as they pray for God's leading in their endeavor to equip us for the days ahead.

As was said on Sunday, the leaders remind us in order to reinforce us. Let's be ready to learn, to do, and to stand, so that when we are on our own we will make God proud in the way we represent and reflect Him in the world. Amen!

D.O.A.

For the handful of you who may not know, D.O.A. is an abbreviation for the term "Dead On Arrival". Today is a good day to reflect on the indictment of the fig tree, a story in Scripture that for some reason keeps resurfacing from the pulpit of Bronx Bethany... it seems that some people are not listening yet, and God has been demonstrating amazing patience in His willingness to stay His hand of judgement.

As we were reminded on Sunday, there are certain principles we must understand:

If you're not growing spiritually, you're probably dead.
Those who are not born again are spiritually dead, and as such cannot see the kingdom of God.
If you claim to have been born again, but you are not growing spiritually, then you are either dying or dead.

In the spiritual world, just as in the physical world, growth is a key indicator of life. Scripture exhorts us to grow in grace, to add to our faith, to demonstrate a maturing in our love for God and each other. A lack of growth indicates that we are both ineffective and unfruitful (Second Peter 1:8). A lack of growth also leads to spiritual blindness and spiritual near-sightedness, which becomes apparent in our conduct and our decision-making processes: a lack of growth evidences itself in a lifestyle lived from impulse rather than from the directive of the Spirit of God.

The strange aspect of this "dead-ness" is that the spiritually dead often appear to be very much alive. Pastor Sam alluded to the cut flowers in the sanctuary, which were beautiful, in full bloom, but had no roots. In the same way, we can pretend to be the carriers of spiritual life, but after a season it will be apparent to all that we were just putting on a show.

I leave you today with a paraphrase of one of Pastor Sam's comments: the indictment of the fig tree (Mark 11:12-25) is that it was presenting a great horticultural display, evidenced by an abundance of leaves, but lacked what was required of it as an agricultural plant- there was no fruit.

Jesus is looking for fruit. What will He find when He walks up to you?

The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

After three and a half years at Bronx Bethany I am noticing that my husband and I have, unintentionally, begun to behave more like Pastor Sam. And I think each of you could say the same thing about someone that you work with every day, or that you see every week, or that you are close to.

It seems that part of our human nature is this phenomenon of imitation. We see children imitate their parents all the time. We see teenagers model their emerging selves after favorite performing artists or teachers. We compliment married couples using phrases like "they've been together so long, they are starting to look alike" or "they are so close they can finish each other's sentences".

This past Sunday's sermon reminded us that we can choose to let go of our own nature, and take on the nature of God. Pastor Sam noted that this is not simply participation in community, but participation in the essential nature of God.

The old story is a true story: God is love. In fact, God is Himself a community of love. You may recall Pastor Sam's referencing of Saint Augustine, who perceived the expression of God's love in His creation of community even with Himself: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. He Himself, at once both Lover and Beloved, sharing love. We would do well to imitate Him in our relationships here on earth.

However, in light of that love expressed in community, I will need to warn you. Part of the primary indictment of God against Bronx Bethany is that some of us believe that the mere assembling of believers is sufficient to gain entrance into heaven, and have therefore chosen not to be a living expression of the love of God. Listen. What good does it do you to sit in church, then go home and continue to live in a way that is completely contrary to the nature of God? Dichotomous behavior like that is reminscent of the parables in Matthew 25, which we have already dealt with in earlier blogs. But the warning still sounds: don't put yourself in a position where Christ Himself can only declare, "Truly, I don't know you" (Matthew 25:12).

As we heard on Sunday, ordinary people that struggle with human nature can instead choose to become engulfed in the divine nature. Let's imitate our glorious God today.

Escapee

What a joy to be free! I'm an escapee!

Let's continue unpacking Sunday's sermon, in which Pastor Sam shared a number of insights from Second Peter 1. In verse 4 of that chapter, we see that we can escape corruption because of what God has done for us. The key is that God has done it, not us. He permits us to be in relationship with Him:

This relationship is possible because of God's glory and goodness. It is not our own glory and goodness, and conversely it is not our lack of glory and goodness either. This dynamic relationship with God is all about God. He has called us into this relationship: beware of falling into the presumptious notion that we have contributed anything to this endeavor- we have not.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we can escape corruption. This fact is rooted in, and backed by, God's divine power; it is motivated, and guaranteed, by God's glory and goodness; and it is executed in His precious promises.

How can I be sure that the Lord has brought me into relationship with Him? How can I be sure of God's power, character, and word? Because He has spoken: in Scripture, through His servants, and to us individually. Praise Him, God is still speaking. Our responsibility is to hear and obey.

So, let's ask that classic Pastor Sam question: "What has God said?" Are you listening?

Abundance Of Entrance...

I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I will say it again to start this week's blogs:

Bronx Bethany, how we need to pray!

Sunday's sermon, titled Making Sure In A Time Of Uncertainty, gave us many important insights to reflect on throughout this week. In fact, one week is not long enough to unpack all the details and implications brought out by Pastor Sam's exposition on Second Peter chapter 1.

Today we will just reflect on the phrase "abundance of entrance". Pastor Sam made a comment, complete with animation, of how he desires to enter heaven not by the bare minimum of effort, but after a lifetime of holy living made possible by God's own power working in us. Although we had a good laugh at Pastor Sam's imagery of angels having to step out of his way as he burst into the heavenly realms, there is a passage in scripture that gives us pause... perhaps it even disturbs us, if we think about it long enough.

As was noted clearly in the sermon, there are some believers who are not terribly interested in growing in their walk with the Lord. Their interest is in 'just getting by'. Instead of avoiding pitfalls, they play at the edge in expectation that God will somehow excuse their penchant for living on the edge of disaster.

I'll give a personal example. If God says that I am not to be yoked together with unbelievers, yet I continually choose to date and court non-Christians, then I've deliberately increased the odds that I will end up in serious romantic involvement with lovers who cannot appreciate Jesus Christ, the deepest Lover of my soul. I spent years as a so-called 'Christian' engaged in this pattern of thinking, and am so glad that God in His mercy created the right set of circumstances to break me free from that cycle by His Spirit.

Verse 23 in the book of Jude speaks of 'snatching others from the fire'- that is, those who have chosen the corruption that is in them rather than abandoning their own nature for the divine nature (Second Peter 1:4). I was snatched from the fire. Some of you have to snatch others from the fire. And some of you are in the fire, and due to your callousness might not even realize that you will burn to death unless God sends a rescue team.

God is in the business of rescuing... but when He sends the rescue squad, will you cooperate in the rescue effort? Or will you retreat further into the flames?

Therefore, my brothers... make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Second Peter 1:10-11)

Sunday's Sundry Sayings

Here are a few notes from my journal to close out this special week. These statements are quotes and paraphrases from Pastor Art's sermon this past Sunday. Thank you, Pastor Art, for visiting Bronx Bethany and manifesting the gift of prophecy. Truly you've spoken forth the heart of God in a spirit of love and humility.

God is always doing something in His church;

When you hear the word sanctification, think freedom;

Life is not found behind us, it's found before us;

Do not be frozen by your past or your present- you were meant to be free in Jesus Christ;

We must hear God's voice and go for Him;

God does not divide His power with the state nor with popular opinion;

We have to get to the point where we are willing to risk it all for Jesus;

God calls common people to live uncommon lives;

We must be willing to do do whatever it takes to live for God;

The past was good, but God wants us to be part of His preferred future.

Blessings to each of you! As has become our norm, there will not be a blog post on Sunday- the next blog will post on Monday.

Blessings, grace, and peace.

-G-Force

This Is Risky!

I don't enjoy taking risks, but I am very quick to do things that might be perceived as risky. Why? Only because God says so. So, when God told me to go back to school and my boss told me she would not approve my vacation days that I was planning to use to attend school, I sided with God and resigned the job. Some people thought I was crazy. Guess what? They're right. In the kingdom of God, logic doesn't always work. There are times we are crazy enough to ask Jesus to prove who He is, and He responds by telling us to get out of the boat and brave the winds (Matthew 14:22-33).

Pastor Art gave a wonderful analogy in Sunday's sermon which we can reflect on today: are we a church on the move, or are we a museum?

The effective church is the "moving" church. It is a church that has broken free from the need to preserve tradition. It is a church that is willing to throw away programs that don't meet the needs we have in this twenty-first century. It is a church that does not wait for people to come in: its members go out into the world and win souls for Christ. It is a church that has learned how to fight and prevail in enemy territory. The moving church takes risks.

The failing church is the "museum" church. Museums are notorious for minimizing risk, and some churches have become museums. The praise and worship must be no longer than (fill in the blank) because church must be over by "x"o'clock. "Decently and in order" has become a blanket excuse for ignoring the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who occasionally asks to be placed in the order of service even though He was not scheduled to appear. The museum church, like a real museum, often is full of beautiful displays, gets lots of visitors, and enjoys a huge endowment. But it is not willing to budge when Jesus says 'get out of the boat', and an atmosphere of disobedience hangs over its sanctuary.

Bronx Bethany, how we must pray! "Here I am, send me!" May God give us courage and strength to keep moving, to His glory.

Ingredient List

Pastor Art shared a wonderful anecdote this past Sunday, informing some of us (and reminding others) that originally our denomination was called Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. The term "Pentecostal" is no longer part of the official name of our denomination, but I think it still is alive and well in our hearts and lifestyles. Let's do a quick re-cap of Pastor Art's comments:

We are Spirit-led. Who makes the decisions in your heart? Is it your own flesh, your agenda, or do you stand still and wait for the counsel and mandate of God to be revealed to you? We do not just say "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8), but we also say "Speak to me- I am listening" (First Samuel 3:10).

We are Spirit-filled. Some of you who attended the National Black Nazarene Conference last summer will remember Pastor Sam's comments regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit: "It is not only what you do at church, it's what you do at home!" Spirit-fulness is evidenced not only by charismatic graces, but is also evidenced by transformed lives.

Let's demonstrate the love and graces of the Holy Spirit to those we interact with, whether inside or outside of church.

Way-Walking

The book of Acts informs us that prior to the believers being called "Christians", they were known as followers of "The Way". In this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Art noted that the church is still a community of people following "the way": our love for Christ moves us to be active agents of His love and compassion, pointing the way to salvation.

Today, let's reflect on the three components of our walk with God which were noted in Sunday's sermon:

We walk with God, from Whom we've come. Our first encounter with God in Genesis is realized in His creativity. He designed us, made us, and gave us some things to do while on this earth. Do you know what He's called you to do? If so, are you doing it?

We walk with God, with Whom we're traveling. The prophet Amos asks, "Do two walk together except they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3). Our daily walk with God is expressed in prayer, giving, fasting, watching, and other spiritual disciplines. The discipline offered in a spirit of humble obedience pleases God and opens opportunity for His salvation to be expressed (Psalm 50:23).

We walk with God, to Whom we're going. Although we sometimes behave otherwise, the truth is that one day our physical bodies will breathe their last, and our spirits will end up in one of two places- either rejoicing in the presence of God and His angels, or lamenting in the lake of fire, which is the second death (see the blogs on Revelation 20 for more detail).

My prayer is that we all will choose to live for Christ, so that when we die we'll gain entrance into His eternal presence. Keep walking in the way that pleases Him!

Excuse Me, You're Blocking My View.

This past Sunday's sermon text was Isaiah 6:1-8. It is a challenge to consider this text. I find it a challenge because I cannot approach it abstractly; it forces me to confront and renounce my weaknesses and propensities. I hope the passage does the same for you.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne..." (6:1). Who is your King Uzziah? Perhaps your mom, your pastor, your favorite singer? Sometimes we meet people whose personas are so overwhelming that we find ourselves watching them instead of watching the Lord. Our gaze rests on them, our thoughts linger on them, our first response in crisis is to call on them... and we leave our true Sovreign in the background. Jesus' words still speak: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me..." (Matthew 10:37). Sometimes God mercifully shifts King Uzziah out of the way, so that the ultimate King might be seen.

"...and the train of his robe filled the temple" (6:1). As Pastor Art noted on Sunday, when the train of the Lord fills the temple there is no room for anything else. Competing voices and competing agendas cannot stand in the presence of God. King Uzziah was good, but the Lord of hosts (6:3) is great. As we examine ourselves, are there good things that we are embracing at the expense of great things? Are we ready to renounce the good for the sake of the great?

My Lord, God of the armies of earth and heaven, I will not blame my "King Uzziah" for blocking my view of You. I'm the one who chose to keep staring at him instead of gazing into Your beautiful face. Forgive me. Jesus, help me to drop my agendas and just allow You to consume me. Holy Spirit, fill me and keep filling me until there is no room for any other. Thank You, God, for reminding me that You do not entertain competitors. Help me to be authentic in my "yes": yes, I'm here. Send me.

Reinforcements

On Sunday we were privileged to have a guest preacher for our denomination's centennial celebration. Pastor Art shared a relevant word, and this week we'll take a few thoughts from his sermon for further reflection.

It is always a pleasure when God sends a minister from outside our locale, and it's even a greater experience of joy when that minister echoes and reinforces the word that God has been sending through our local pastors and prophets. We are in a season of learning about the kingdom of God, and yesterday's sermon continued that theme.

Today, let's think about the unpleasantries of kingdom business.

At the beginning of his sermon, Pastor Art shared that God is always doing something in His church. We tend to assume that the move of God is always a powerful positive thing to experience. But, that is not the case. We learned two key points that we can ponder.

First, we learned that when God is moving the experience might be unpleasant for us. Certainly Bronx Bethany is experiencing this, as we see a clear increase in demonic activity that I directly attribute to the increased presence and power of the Spirit of Jesus at work in the congregation and in our leaders. (Perhaps I should have begun today's blog by saying "viewer discretion advised", but you're already here so you might as well keep reading.) Yes, there is a battle going on. The devil is very busy and has found some people in church that are open to promoting his agenda of deception and destruction. The enemy's goal, if he cannot derail us, is to immobilize us or distract us. So don't be surprised when things are stolen, people are maligned, or individuals choose the foolishness of antagonism over the wisdom of reconciliation. My friends, don't get thrown off by the distractions. As we have heard before, "stay in your lane".

Second, we learned that God is moving even when we don't see it. This brings to mind the experience of Daniel, whose night in the lion's den served as a teaching tool for nations through the letter of King Darius: "... people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end" (Daniel 6:26). The Scripture lists Daniel as one who prospered, but that prosperity did not exempt Daniel from slander, relegation to the den of lions, and a life of exile.

In light of Daniel's experience, we can look at our own struggles and receive the prophetic proclamation shared by Pastor Art: "God is positioning you uniquely... and all of a sudden the momentum is going to take off."

Bronx Bethany, move those tent pegs. It seems that our borders will soon be enlarged.

A Day to Pray III

Sometimes it's good to just spend time in God's presence. No agenda, no asking for anything, just an hour or two to hang out with God. When we consider the tens of thousands of hours He has blessed us with over the decades, it's really not a big deal to release a couple of hours back to Him.

I hope that you love being in His company. Let's rest in Him today. As usual there is no Sunday blog planned, the next blog will post on Monday. Take care saints, and remember to pray.

"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." First Peter 3:12

Now Boarding...

This week, we have reflected on the fate of the wicked as revealed in Revelation 20. And we have encouraged our readers towards the renunciation of evil and the embracing of the will and mandate of God.

In considering the grace of God, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking we have all the time in the world. I hope that these blogs have helped to open the Scriptures so that we all realize there is a limit to grace. It is not a popular message, but is one we must reconcile in our hearts. And it is a message we must preach.

During Sunday's sermon Pastor Benji said, "Now is the time to get registered for heaven." How right he is. For those of you readers who are Christians, I encourage you to continue praying for the salvation and deliverance of those who have not submitted their hearts and lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And for those of you who are hanging out with Christians but have not personally submitted your life to the Lord Jesus, don't kid yourselves. Make a decision for Christ while you have the chance. I apologize for being curt, but this is no time for sugar-coating. If no one else tells you, I am telling you: showing up in church isn't good enough- you need to submit to Jesus and give Him full access to control every area of your life. He loves you and He wants you for Himself.

If Jesus is calling you, do not keep telling Him "no" or "wait"... remember, you are not immortal- you have an expiration date. Don't take the risk of leaving this life without having given your life to Jesus.

Crime Upon Crime

...they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt... (Psalm 69:26)

In an earlier blog we discussed the Old Testament example of Moses making reference to God's book of life. Today we'll take a look at another Old Testament example, contained in Psalm 69. This psalm of David, which contains prophetic references to the sufferings of Christ, includes a verse that out of context seems cruel- but I think a bit of exploration and reflection might help us in understanding David's position.

Verse 28 states: "May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous." The latter half of this verse indicates that the "they" referred to in the first half of the verse are not righteous. But who are "they"?

Those who hate without reason (69:4, 69:14);
Those who seek to destroy the righteous (69:4, 69:18-19);
Those who engage in mocking, scorning, and slander (69:7-12, 69:19-20, 69:26).

When we compare David's psalm to Revelation 21:11-15 (see yesterday's blog "Casting Call" for more detail), we find that "they" are, in fact, murderers. As we mentioned yesterday, Jesus gives the kingdom definition of murder during the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5): murder is not only the physical taking of a life, but it is also a thought process characterized by angry hearts and unreconciled relationships. And, as murderers, "they" will be consigned to the lake of fire, which is the second death.

So, David's plea that "they" be blotted out of the book of life was a prayer request that certainly lined up with the statement we have from the resurrected Christ in Revelation 21.

Revelation 19:10 tells us that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Psalm 69 is a wonderful example of prophetic expression that is corroborated by the life, ministry, and word of Christ.

"They" do not have their names written in the book of life. Do you?

Casting Call

In Sunday's sermon we learned that the fate of those whose names are not found written in the book of life is that they will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death (Revelation 20:14-15). God Himself lists the characteristics of those who will suffer this fate. We have His criteria recorded in Revelation 21.

God begins, though, with a commendation to those who have been faithful to Him: He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!... To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son" (Revelation 21:5-7). For the company of the righteous, there is the joy of receiving God's commendation.

The wicked, who God will consign to the lake of fire, are found in the following companies (Revelation 21:8):

The cowardly. As the popular verses state, God has not given us a spirit of fear (Second Timothy 1:7) and God expects that we will demonstrate faith in Him and His word (Hebrews 11:1-6). Failure of faith is an affront to God.

The unbelieving. God speaks through His word, His pastors and leaders, and through His bride the church. The question is not whether we hear, but whether we believe what we hear. Unbelievers are succumbers, not overcomers, and as such will not receive God's inheritance.

The vile. Back when I was younger, we used to use the term "depravity". The vile are those who are corrupt in heart, and that corruption expresses itself in their behavior.

The murderers. In God's economy murder is not just an action, but also is expressed in intention. Matthew 5:21-26 indicates that the spirit of murder is present in angry reactions and unreconciled relationships.

The sexually immoral. My friends, this should be a no-brainer but I will say it anyway. If you are filling your mind with pornography and spending your time chasing other people's spouses, if you are sexually involved with someone that is not your spouse, if you are sitting at home plotting your next illicit liaison, then you are making your bed in hell. You need to repent.

Those who practice magic arts. Some of you have gotten caught up in secret societies and do not realize that it is NOT normal to be sitting in a big chair channeling demons that are pretending to be dead monarchs. Astrology, freemasonry, and even interactive games that require you to assume the identity of spirit characters are things that we as believers need to steer clear of: they are tickets to destruction.

The idolaters. It is never a good idea to place anyone or anything ahead to God. He Himself has told us that He is jealous (Exodus 20:4), and in fact He Himself gave the directive that we are not make, bow to, nor worship idols. In distinguishing these three things- creation ("make"), adoration ("bow"), and exaltation ("worship"), God warns us quite clearly.

All liars. I believe this includes not only lying to other people, but also lying to ourselves and lying to the Holy Spirit of God. Acts 5:1-11 is an excellent illustration of God's perspective on lying.

These are those who will be thrown, or as we used to say, cast into the lake of fire. And this is a "casting" call that none of us should be signed up for.

Roster-Ferrying.

Today I just want us to reflect on the comment that Pastor Benji shared towards the end of the second service, which deals with rosters.

In God's kingdom, there is one roster that counts: the list of names of individuals who have submitted their hearts and lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the ministry of His Holy Spirit. God refers to this list as His book of life.

But there seems to be a set of people who believe that they can get into heaven by having their names recorded on rosters other than God's book of life. These are often people who have been going to church for years, and they have done many good things. Their names are on plaques commemorating their selfless giving, their volunteer spirit, their having invited the most people to church, their opening of homes and businesses in support of ministry programming. Some even get accolades for powerful ministries and giftings. There's just one problem: these dear souls are not submitted to Christ.

Jesus told His disciples, and He tells us today, "...do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). And we are reminded of the warnings in Matthew 25, which we have considered in previous blogs.

God has placed a burden on His pastors and prophets to keep pushing this message of repentance and renunciation of sin. We really want to see everyone in right standing with God. If you are reading this and you know that you are not fully obedient to the mandate of Jesus, then now is a great time to pray for forgiveness. God is mighty and He can forgive, heal, restore... and judge, commend, condemn. Do you want to see His smile or His wrath? And does your lifestyle reflect your desire for Christ?

Remember, tomorrow is not promised. Let's know where we stand today.

Proxy

On Sunday we heard the second sermon in Pastor Benji's series "The Time Is Now: Time To Make A Change". This time we reflected on just one metaphor, found in Revelation 20:11-15: the book of life.

Actually, this metaphor is found throughout scripture. Pastor Benji made a passing reference to Moses' familiarity with God's book of life, which might be good for us to reflect on today. Exodus 32:31-34 records Moses' attempt to offer himself as a stand-in to endure God's punishment on behalf of the Israelites who had worshipped the golden calf: "So Moses went back to the LORD and said, 'Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin- but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.' The LORD replied to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.'"

Note that God did not say "Thanks, Moses, sure. You can be their stand-in." Apparently God does not offer a proxy option. Have you ever tried to stand in as a substitute for someone else? I have, and it went something like this: "God, if taking me means that some other people can be given more time to repent, then I'm willing to be a substitute." (Kids, don't try this at home!!) It's no fun to take the fall for someone else's foolishness, but sometimes the love of God just puts you in a place where you're willing to do crazy things like lay down your life for a friend, or perhaps even for an enemy. So I did one of those crazy prayers.

God's answer? "That's nice, you're willing to die. But you're not qualified to be a proxy. I sent them Jesus, and they are being judged based on how they respond to Him."

So, where are you today? Are you one of those whose heart breaks at the sight of "Christians" who undermine the name of Christ by their behavior, or are you one who ignores the wooing of the Spirit, or are you one who is content with your own intact salvation and disinterested in the spiritual state of those around you? Let's remember the ministry of Noah, who demonstrated crazy obedience to God as his neighbors ignored the Creator. And let's remember that everything was "business as usual" until the day of the flood. It's the same thing today.

My dear postmodern friends, history is repeating itself. And God is closing the door of the ark. Are you inside or outside?

A Fresh Coat Of Paint To Cover The Mold.

This week, we have been getting under the veneer of counterfeit Christianity.

The sermon this past Sunday informed us that in the church community the useless are intertwined with the useful, so much so that a) they are virtually indistinguishable from each other and b) the useless have to be violently removed by angels at the command of Christ (Matthew 13). This week we have looked at the processes of threshing and winnowing, and we have reflected on the characteristics of the blessed and the wicked.

Our prayer is that your walk with Christ is not a facade, but that you are enjoying a deep and meaningful relationship with Him: a relationship that stands up to the storms and trials of life; a relationship where your lifestyle of integrity and peace shows the world that you have set your anchor in the LORD.

Bronx Bethany is in preparation for events marking the centennial of our denomination, the Church of the Nazarene. There is much potential for danger. I say that because it is easy to program events and create a celebratory/"charismatic" atmosphere without seeking the Holy Spirit's direction. As we've learned, the church community which forges ahead without the powerful Spirit of God is just a facade. So please pray for us, and please pray for yourselves.

(Our next blog will appear on Monday.)

A Manner of Living II

How do the righteous behave? Let's take a quick look at Psalm 1:2-3.

They delight in the law of the LORD. They love God's law! They love to hear it, to be taught it, to be rebuked and informed and encouraged by it.

They meditate in the law of the LORD. They think about His law, discuss His law, recite His law.

They are strong in the LORD. The righteous are compared to a tree planted by water, able to enjoy a constancy of resources that move them into a stage of bearing fruit.

They are prosperous in the LORD. Let's not limit God to being a sovreign slot machine. While financial security is certainly within His parameters, the righteous are also the beneficiaries of "good success" because they walk in obedience to His mandate and call on their life (see Joshua 1:1-9).

Are you craving a positive commendation from God? Is your desire to please your Father in heaven? A great place to start is with this call to live a lifestyle that is pleasing to Him.

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love..." John 15:10

A Manner of Living

Psalm 1 presents a look at the manner in which the righteous and unrighteous conduct themselves in their day-to-day living. Let's take a quick "walk-through" of some of the images of the lost, derived from Psalm 1:1.

If you want to forfeit your blessed state, then walk in the counsel of the ungodly. "Walking in" suggests that we are carrying out the suggestion and mandate of another individual. This reminds me of the classic question, "If so-and-so tells you to go jump off a bridge, would you do it?" There is that undercurrent of danger in being a blind follower, ignorant to the consequences of heeding the word of someone whose agenda is contrary to the heart and plan of God.

If you want to forfeit your blessed state, then keep company with sinners and adapt their lifestyle. Who are we hanging out with? Who do we spend our precious time with? Where are we sowing our money and energy and talent? How do we live as salt and light without compromise? It's the challenge of being in the world, but not of it; loving and seeking and saving the lost while maintaining your faith, your integrity, your character.

If you want to forfeit your blessed state, then join in with those who mock the plan and purpose of God. This is a tricky thing to discuss, but let me be straight up with you. There are people who call themselves Christians, who are regular church attenders, some even church members holding positions of leadership, that are quick to mock the plan and purpose of God. To use a metaphor, these are they who, when the pastor has called for a church-wide fast, eat incessantly. Their words and actions indicate that they are not interested in God's program, and in fact will publicly oppose it. What a dangerous way to live.

We will continue tomorrow with a look at the way of the righteous.

Processing Plants

The Separation of Wheat from Chaff, "Old-School" style:

Threshing. Threshing loosens the edible grain (wheat) from the inedible outer hull (chaff). The grain is spread out on the ground on a hard surface (for example, a road, or a specially made location such as a threshing floor). A donkey, or an ox, or a person, walks on the grain to loosen the chaff. Or, the grain can be flailed by hand (a flail is basically two sticks attached with a small chain, and the wheat is beaten to loosen up the chaff).

Winnowing. After threshing, the wheat and chaff are thrown into the air. The wheat, which is heavy, falls back down to the ground. The chaff, which is lightweight, is blown away by the wind. A farmer could use a winnowing fork for this process (a large pitchfork), or could similarly use a winnowing fan (a basket to shake the wheat and chaff: the heavier wheat would sink to the bottom of the basket while the lightweight chaff would comprise the top layer, which again would be blown away by the wind).

Of course in our modern times we have machines that have altered some aspects of this process, but let's keep in mind that we are looking at this from the perspective of "old school".

My friends, I have to point out that the threshing and winnowing processes affect both the wheat and the chaff. Both the wheat and the chaff are flailed, or crushed underfoot, in order to separate the two. Both the wheat and the chaff are tossed into the air, or shaken in a basket, to separate the two. What remains? The substance with substance- that is, the wheat.

You know where I'm going with this. Are you remembering the analogy? The one who hears and obeys Jesus is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock... and his house was subjected to rains, floods, and buffeting. The wise man was not exempt from the shaking. But, at the end of the day his house stood. The foolish man built his house on the sand: his house fell, unable to withstand the pressure of the winds and rains (Matthew 7:24-27).

Some of you are going through this shaking right now. If you are in Christ, you'll get through it, you will be all right. But if you have ignored the wooing of the Spirit of God, if you are choosing not to hear and do the sayings of Jesus (7:26), you won't survive. Jesus is calling... how will you respond?

"Chaff Stands No Chance"

(Today's title is adapted from a quote from the sermon: "When fire passes through, chaff stands no chance.")

Some of you will have noticed that there was an atmosphere of conviction that settled in during Sunday's sermon. This phenomenon also occured three Sundays ago: please see the blog entry "What's Yours Is His." for more detail. Apparently some people really don't like being faced with the reality of their state of sinfulness and their need for Christ, particularly those who are fixtures in the community of faith and believe that their mere presence is sufficient to save themselves.

So, the wicked are like chaff. Anyone who has memorized Psalm 1 knows of the metaphor "like the chaff which the wind drives away" (1:4). But what is chaff? Pastor Benji gave a great analogy which we all can understand: chaff is trash. Chaff is a waste product. Chaff cannot be eaten, chaff cannot be planted, chaff cannot be thrown to the birds- they don't want it. Chaff's destiny is to be discarded.

There are no positive attributes.

I don't enjoy being harsh, but that seems to be the zone we're in. It's a call for no more compromising, no more duplicity in the kingdom of God. No more pretending that we are fine when our lives indicate no love and no obedience to our Lord and Master.

What does God want? Sunday's sermon gave some guidance:

Value, not worthlessness;
Usefulness, not uselessness;
Adoration, not antagonism;
Insiders, not outsiders (see Revelation 22:14-15).

Tomorrow we will have a crash course in how to separate wheat from chaff.

T Minus Time

On Sunday Pastor Benji shared with us the first installment of his sermon "The Time Is Now: Time for You To Be Changed". It is a most apropos title, as the ministers of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene have spent this summer urging congregants to be sure of their decision for Christ and their right standing in Christ. Autumn is beginning, and BBCN continues this plea for all of you to obediently submit to the rule and sovreignty of Jesus Christ.

One of the images in the sermon referred to the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). This parable reminds us that God divides people into two categories: those who are "sons of the kingdom", and those who are "sons of the evil one" (13:38). Jesus says He will send angels to weed out "everything that causes sin and all who do evil" (13:41).

For those of you who have never pulled weeds, I'd like to share a quote from Pastor Benji's sermon that is crucial to understanding the gravity of this weeding process: "Weeding is not a gentle activity." The strength and swiftness of the weeding process is our example and warning of the speed with which Jesus will execute righteousness on behalf of those who love and obey Him. It is a violent and sure and permanent removal of those who seek to hinder the plan of God.

The Matthew 13 passage informs us that it is not pastors or prophets who remove evildoers, but that Jesus will send His angels to uproot and throw out those who have planted themselves among the people of God but are in fact "weeds"- agents of Satan who seek to engage in the things which are contrary to righteousness. What is contrary to righteousness? Jesus gives us a list in Revelation 22:15. "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolators and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

Pastor Benji's warning towards the close of the sermon is reminiscent of Psalm 1: "Don't be a part of anything that goes contrary to righteousness." Some of you have been enjoying short-term profits from industries and ideologies that stand in opposition to the desire of Christ. We are asking you, in the interest of saving your soul, to abandon those things that in the end will result in your destruction.

The title of today's blog refers to the traditional countdown before a rocket or space shuttle is launched. But, I cannot give you an exact countdown time. I do not know the day when Christ will send His angel to purge unrighteousness from Bronx Bethany, and according to Scripture our task is not to determine dates, but to be ready at all times for the return of Christ (Matthew 24:36-44). But we do have this statement from Jesus: "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots" (Matthew 15:13).

I encourage all of us to read and meditate on Psalm 1 during this week. Tomorrow we will take a closer look at "chaff" as a metaphor for ungodliness (Psalm 1:4).

A Day to Pray II

Today is a day to do less reading and more praying.

Our "Summer of Souls" has been a battle cry. As we are told in Ephesians 5:14, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." As we stand in the light of God, He exposes our associations with the deeds of darkness so that we can renounce them. I can tell you from personal experience that it is a wondrous thing to go through the process of deliverance.

I think a good prayer for today would be that we all confess to God our willingness to be exposed to His light, so that He can do the work of deliverance that we need in order to become children of light. It is not something to fear, but something to embrace. As the old hymn says, "the flames shall not hurt you- I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."

A Grand Entrance

Last Sunday's sermon brought to light some assumptions that people make regarding how one enters the kingdom of God:

Physical death- There are some who believe, falsely, that people go to heaven as a sort of "default" location for those who lived life without making a decision for Christ.

Mental assent- Mere belief in the existence of God is not sufficient for gaining entrance into the kingdom of God. As we mentioned in a blog earlier this week, even demons believe in the existence of God while remaining committed to deeds of darkness.

John 6:53 reveals to us that Jesus is the only entrance into the kingdom of God. Our confession and renunciation of sin, and our acceptance of and belief in Jesus as the sacrifice made on our behalf, bring us into a position where we can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Have you entered into the kingdom? One of the challenges we face is that there are often many people filling the church pews, but they have only entered the building in which we worship; they have never entered into the kingdom of God and as such are lost in darkness. As was said at the start of Sunday's sermon, we are concerned and pray for these who are self-deceived, whose "membership" in the kingdom is a masquerade.

In this group of pretenders we have sub-groups. Some are intentionally indifferent to the wooing of the Spirit of God. Others are intentionally fighting against the mandate of God to come to Him. What perplexes me is that while they are saying no to God, they are securely ensconced in the company of God's people- as if they can enter the kingdom of heaven by association. Some pretenders sit in the pew. Some pretenders are choir members. Some pretenders are teachers.

When the judgement of God falls in a congregation, there is no position left exempt from examination. The Old Testament records the attire of Aaron as high priest, and we note in Exodus 28 that the hem of his robe was surrounded by bells and pomegranates so that he could be heard walking and his colleagues would be assured that God had not struck him down during his ministration. And in an earlier blog we have already discussed the Acts 5 account of Ananias and Sapphira, a prominent church couple who lied to God and suffered the consequence of God taking His breath from them.

For those of you who might be reading who hold positions of authority in church, and you know you have not submitted yourself to God, this is a great opportunity to repent before His judgement crushes you. As was said so powerfully in the sermon "Giving to God: Lose the Attitude", lip service is not a substitute for obedience to God. (For those of you who did not hear that sermon and want to read the source text, it is based in Psalm 50.) Do not make the mistake of thinking that you can ignore God and do what you please. More importantly, if you love Him, why do anything that you know would grieve His heart?

Let's make sure that we are in the right position to make a "grand entrance" into the kingdom of God!

"And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name." Revelation 15:2

Ignore The Gallery.

As a child growing up, I would sometimes hear one of my siblings say "No comments from the peanut gallery!" My sibling meant if my counsel was not asked for, then counsel should not be given. The use of the term 'gallery' also suggested a scene where people were sitting way up in a balcony with no clue of what was really happening on the stage.

Last Sunday's sermon included questions regarding this contrast between people in the gallery versus people on the stage:

"What are people saying about Jesus?"
"What are you saying about Jesus?"

In Matthew 16 Jesus asked about the comments from the gallery of His day: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (16:13). And, His disciples were able to answer without hesitation. In other words, they knew what the gallery was saying. The opinions and ideas of people were common knowledge to them, and it was no big deal for the disciples to repeat what they heard on the street.

Then Jesus asks a different question: "But what about you?" (16:15). And most of us know Simon Peter's famous answer, given to him by the revelation of God the Father: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16).

I'd like to ask you a question, the same one Jesus asked: But what about you? Are you listening to the comments from the people on the street, or are you listening to the voice of your Father in heaven? Do you spend your energy in the gallery, or are you engaged with the Daystar, the Center of our attention, the One who makes things happen on the stage of life?

God is in the business of revealing truth to those who seek Him. As Pastor Sam said in his sermon at the National Black Nazarene Conference this past July, what we need to do is to spend some time seeking the presence of the living God. As God fills us with His Spirit and His reality, we are transformed into effective agents in the kingdom of light. The revelation born from that intimacy will take us much farther than any hypotheses generated from the gallery.

Lord, help us to seek Your presence.

Body Building

Last week I was trying to profile in the parking lot (big mistake!), and I mentioned to a couple of people that I was working out. While I was flexing my mediocre arm muscles Pastor Benji interjected, "Keep working!"

It's a good thing to care for ourselves and strive for healthy living. More important than caring for our physical bodies, though, is caring for ourselves and each other as members in the community that worships the Christ. Sunday's sermon used some metaphors in describing this community, and today we will take another look at those three terms.

The Body of Christ (First Corinthians 12). This passage encourages each believer to think of the entire community of faith as one unit made of many parts (12:1). Our spiritual gift or gift-mix has a particular function that serves to enhance the body as a whole. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts, and we are exhorted to use them within the context of the church community.

The Temple of God (Second Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1). Identification with Christ does carry with it the expectation that we will not engage in behaviors that cause us to be identified with the enemy. We are warned against idolatry. While this might cause us to think of a physical statue that is worshiped, idolatry often appears in the guise of people insisting on their own way as opposed to submitting to God's way. Avoid the trap of insisting on your own way and becoming a stumbling block to other believers.

The Family of God (Second Corinthians 6:18). God promises to make His dwelling place in us and to walk among us, but He also warns us that He will not receive those who touch the 'unclean thing' (6:17). Leviticus chapters 26 and 27 give clear indication of the punishment that befalls those who embrace disobedience and crave those things that are contrary to the heart of God. According to the scripture, our membership in the family of God is evidenced by our embracing holiness (7:1).

My prayer for you is that, if you claim to be a Christian but are still preferring your own agenda to God's, that you would repent and abandon yourself to the Spirit of God. No sinful relationship or ideology is worth losing the favor and commendation of God. In fact, your duplicity identifies you not as a child of the kingdom of light, but as an agent of the devil.

There are only two sides, and you cannot straddle the two. Whose side are you on?

Excellence in Exposition

Some years ago in an article written by the great expository preacher Stephen Olford, he said that the challenge of preaching is not what to say, but what to leave out. There is so much in the word of God, and I believe that somewhere in the world there is still a church that enjoys three- and four-hour sermons. It reminds me of Paul's preaching in Troas, where Paul preached all night long and into the next morning (taking a break to resurrect Eutychus and to share a communion meal).

Expository preaching is often enhanced by the use of alliteration. This past Sunday's sermon incorporated a number of alliterations, as well as metaphors: to help us understand what was revealed in the scriptures, and to remind us that we are given opportunity to repent and live for God- particularly in light of the fact that each one of us will give an account before Him.

Pastor Sam asked some questions at the end of the sermon. There is much to consider, so I'll only mention the alliterative questions for today and we'll use tomorrow's blog to pick up on some of the metaphoric questions.

Are you really in Christ? "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (Second Corinthians 5:17). Being in Christ means that we no longer live for ourselves (5:15) and we no longer regard people from a wordly point of view (5:16).

Are you a representative of Christ? If I am representing someone, I am speaking on their behalf and of necessity will not promote my own agenda. Second Corinthians 6 encourages us not to be a stumbling block and not to discredit the ministry (6:3).

Are you a reflection of Christ? "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (First John 1:5). If we are reflecting Christ, then we cannot simultaneously be "mixed up" in things that are common to the dominion of darkness (Second Corinthians 6:14-17).

I hope that this is not merely an intellectual pleasantry for you, but that each of you will really pause to consider your standing in Christ. Time is short.

I Know Who You Are... The Matter of Belief

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder. James 2:19

There are scriptures in the Old and New Testaments that record encounters between ambassadors of the kingdom of light and ambassadors of the dominion of darkness. It is interesting to note that each acknowledges the presence and activity of the other. The devil and his demons know who Jesus is. And the agents of God are able to recognize demonic activity and destroy the darkness through the power of Jesus Christ. Pastor Sam noted that in the spirit realm, there exists an entire community of evil spirits that believe in God. They know who Jesus is. They even know the scriptures. But their agenda is still to favor and promote the dominion of darkness.

This same dichotomy is, unfortunately, present and active in the community of faith here on earth. We in this community are comprised of two groups: those who know Jesus and submit to Him, and those who know about Jesus but have not given their lives to Him. They are active members in the church community but their lifestyles indicate that they have adopted the agenda of the dominion of darkness. And there are some in the community, the agents of the kingdom of light, who have recognized the presence of agents of evil among the flock.

Well, what do we do? The Lord gave me a wonderful insight. I had gotten a text message from a friend of mine who responded to a comment I had made regarding a "tough crowd", and I spent half an hour reflecting on his one-sentence reply. Then it dawned on me: LOVE. Vengeance and justice are in the the hands of God. I think that my job is to pray, to warn, and to demonstrate the love of Jesus to my fellow believers who know about Jesus but who are captive in the dominion of darkness.

Paul says, and I paraphrase here, "My brothers, I am begging you to present your bodies as living sacrifices. Jesus is not dragging you to the altar. He is so merciful to have not destroyed you, He is giving you another chance. Please offer yourself to God- your body and your mind, because when you have the mind of God you will know what He wants and how you can please Him." (Romans 12:1-2)

This week we'll be reflecting on several different passages that serve to encourage us in this process of rejecting the influence and temptations of the dominion of darkness, and instead embracing the kingdom of light. I'll leave you to reflect on James 2:19 for today.

The Counterculture Church, Part Four

This final look at the Acts 2 passage reflects on prayer as a characteristic of the counterculture church (Acts 2:42).

In referencing Luke 18:1-8, Pastor Sam said the following: "The church that is praying is a dangerous church." In referencing a Care Group experience, an anonymous ex-care group member said the following: "I stopped attending because all they did was eat and talk. They never got around to praying."

Jesus has made it clear that the petition made in faith gets His attention. And, appropriately, we are quick to concur. We quote little scripture-ettes like "nothing is impossible with God", "you have not because you ask not", et cetera. But what do we do when we are faced, daily, with the opposite of what we have petitioned God for? Do we continue to believe while we are being buffeted by the distractions of the devil?

Wow, this is a great place to engage in some disclosure. I had a particular thing that I was struggling with: I believed God was preparing me to work in a certain office, and the enemy kept battering me with doubts: You made a mistake, that wasn't God. Let it go. You'll never work there. They are not going to hire you. You can't handle it. You'll end up doing something stupid. For several weeks, every day of the week, he sent these distressing thoughts.

One day, I got tired of the diatribe and decided to respond out loud: Yes, you're right. I'm weak and incapable. There is no way I can succeed on my own. I do not have what it takes. That is why God has chosen me, because He knows I will be completely reliant on Him. He will do the work in me and through me, and only He will get the glory. Since that day, the enemy has stopped attacking my mind regarding that issue. Of course there are other struggles. But I am learning to agree with God and dismiss the enemy.

So, in the face of human and demonic opposition we continue to pray and believe according to the word of God. The church knows no impossibilities because our God specializes in doing what is impossible. How amazing that God permits us to participate in this process of making the impossible occur through the power of prayer, and specifically through the process of praying in faith.

One more disclosure: on my wall at home, and in my bible, are a few pictures. One is of a doctoral robe, one is of a clergy robe, and one is of a pectoral cross. It helps me to have the pictures in my face every day, to remind me of what God has said and to bolster my faith. I pray that we all can remain confident in the assurance and veracity of God, regardless of what the enemy sends in attempts to discourage us.

God bless you, and thanks so much for visiting. I won't be posting on Sunday morning, so the next blog will appear on Monday.

The Counterculture Church, Part Three

"...to the breaking of bread..." (Acts 2:46)

This breaking of bread referred to in Acts 2 was not merely the sharing of a meal, but was an intentional remembrance of the Lord's Supper which Jesus instituted at His last Passover meal prior to the prayer in Gethsemane, the arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

As the community shares communion, we are reminded of what Jesus has done for us. To quote Pastor Sam, "we look back, we look in, we look forward". We contemplate our corporate and individual need for the grace of God. We rejoice in knowing that He made the way for our sins to be forgiven, and we anticipate the return of the Christ: as was often said during our Revelation series, we recognize that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Communion comes with a warning label. Paul exhorts us: "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep." (First Corinthians 11:28-30)

Let's break this down. Paul is saying that there is a direct, positive correlation between a wrong approach to God and a person's physical ailments. Paul is saying that if you take communion in "an unworthy manner" (First Corinthians 11:27) it is sin.

I have a friend who was a minister of music in a particular church, and prior to my visiting his church he informed me that I would not be served communion because his pastor conducted "closed communion": that is, although I was a Christian, the pastor did not know me and therefore would not serve me because he could not know where I stood with Christ. The pastor was not willing to take the risk of people eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, so his solution was to only serve the people he knew were in right relationship with Christ. That's pretty easy to do when your church only has three hundred people. But what about the pastors who are responsible before God for thousands of people? I believe that is why the First Corinthian passage exhorts the believers and places the responsibilty for examination on the believer, not the pastor or the apostle.

Paul had a few controversies with the first-century church, and perhaps these same controversies plague us, concerning our corporate approach to the table of the Lord:

Selfishness- "you go ahead without waiting for anybody else" (11:21)
Inequity- "one remains hungry, another gets drunk" (11:21)
Disdain- "you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing" (11:22)

In today's church it's not likely that a person would get drunk during communion, because the elements served are quite small. But does it make a difference whether our observance of communion is a tiny wafer and a teaspoon of juice, or whether it is a re-enactment of a Seder (passover meal) complete with four glasses of wine? Our actions are merely a snapshot of the thoughts and intents of our hearts. The spirits of selfishness, inequity, and disdain are not bound solely in the process of eating and drinking. They infiltrate every area of life. Our crisis is that we dare to take communion with these spirits resident in our hearts, and we open ourselves to the just judgement of God who will not tolerate duplicity in His children.

The King James version uses the term "discernment" (11:29), and that is a great word for us to reflect on in this matter of the breaking of bread. We must discern and understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and above all we must reverence the One we remember- in our thoughts, and in the way we live.

The Counterculture Church, Part Two

In continuation from yesterday's blog, today we will look at fellowship as the second characteristic of life in the church community (Acts 2).

"They devoted themselves... to the fellowship." What did fellowship involve? Giving and sharing. In the sermon we learned the principle and practice of fellowship: the principle of believing that people are more important than things, and the practice of exhibiting a spirit of generosity.

We often think of fellowship simply as gathering, but the believers in Acts 2 were very intentional in the purpose of their gathering. They made sure to learn the word of God which Jesus revealed to the apostles, and the believers also made sure that the community was cared for in a practical way.

This morning I thought that it might be cool to give out keychains that had a little logo saying "remember the food pantry" or something like that. I don't know if maybe it would help people to get into the mindset of looking out for the community. As has been said, we can't do everything but we can all do something. Maybe reading this blog can be our reminder for today, to go out and buy one non-perishable item for the food pantry.

We are blessed to see Bronx Bethany growing in diversity, and are expecting both the diversity and the attendance to increase. My prayer is that it will not merely be more bodies in the room, but that our congregation will exhibit this wonderful characteristic of the early church: authentic fellowship exhibited by generosity in giving and sharing.

The Counterculture Church, Part One

In considering the role of the church in the work of salvation and deliverance, Sunday's sermon included a look at the description of the early church in Acts 2. Today we will reflect on one characteristic of the church community: scholarship.

Scholarship, frankly, is out of vogue in the postmodern church. Do you want a huge congregation in a short period of time? Scholarship won't fill the pews. Feed them with great music, funny skits, and fifteen-minute sermons about how to be a better spouse/how to be successful/how to live a life of ease and prosperity. Cram their schedules with networking seminars and weekend trips to build houses in poor neighborhoods. Don't say a word about suffering and the way of the cross. Don't delve into the deep things of God. And whatever you do, don't challenge them- don't use the words 'sin' or 'disobedience' or 'fear'. Do this and you will have many sheep, but few true scholars.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.” The apostles taught the church community to obey everything that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:20). Knowing what God has said, and doing what He has instructed: both are necessary components in the life of the scholar.

Pastor Sam noted that the concept of scholarship involves both principle and practice. Our love for God leads us to live lives that correspond to the things we say and believe about Him. It is not enough to know that the greatest among us is the one who serves. We have to take off our jacket, get the basin and towel, and get down on the floor. Some time ago Pastor Benji noted that we demonstrate our understanding of the love of Christ by imitating the One who washed the feet of Judas as well as the feet of Peter.

Are we ready to be identified as part of the church community by our scholarship?

Snatching Destruction From The Jaws of Salvation

Do you know what bothers me? Sometimes when Pastor Sam is preaching, and he is preaching about something serious, there are certain persons who will laugh out loud. They are not engaging in a 'Toronto blessing' laugh, and they are not suffering from any medical condition as far as I know- it doesn't happen during other components of the service. And they are not holding side conversations with their friend. They appear to be laughing as a direct response to what has been said. If someone out there has a plausible explanation for this phenomenon I'd love to hear it, because I really don't understand how a soul headed for hell can be a comical subject.

Today's title is adapted from a comment made during Sunday's sermon. In reflecting on Noah's neighbors ignoring his years of "carpentry evangelism" and Lot's hesitation and excuses in the face of angels imploring him to flee the impending destruction of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah, Pastor Sam gave the following insight: when God makes a way of escape, there are some who snatch destruction out of the jaws of salvation. God always has a rescue plan, and in His gracious way He does not force it onto us. He calls us to embrace it. But the Scripture gives us numerous examples of men and women who cast aside the rescue option and choose to remain in an environment that is slated for destruction.

If you'll forgive me for not being spiritual, allow me to just appeal for a moment to your logical, rational mind. If you were living in Noah's time, and you and your children have spent the past ten years laughing at Noah's 'radical obedience' as he built this strange uber-container in a land that never knew rain, wouldn't you have picked up on the cue when you saw two of every living creature, one male and one female, walking down to the ark? Would you not have wondered when you saw the seven pairs of all clean animals and birds trekking to take their place in the ark? Ah, and we hear Jesus: if you don't believe based on what I say, at least believe based on the demonstrated signs and wonders. It's the last-chance demonstration of the spectacular power and provision of God before He breaks out in judgement.

Lot, and Lot's wife, still live in the hearts of those who see God at work and yet resist His call to flee from destruction. What does it mean when you have seen the angels of God strike a community with blindness (Genesis 19:1-14), and the angels of God say "Destruction is coming- you must hurry", and your response is "No, I will hesitate"? It means that you are snatching destruction from the jaws of salvation. It means you are sitting comfortably in the fourth row, laughing out loud while humble sons of God are making an appeal for you to run to Jesus while you still have a chance. Would you still laugh if I told you that you only have thirty days left? Unfortunately, history suggests that the answer is yes. So we appeal to the mercy of God and ask Him to take your hand and lead you out (Genesis 19:15-16).

Redemption, rescue, reconciliation, rejoicing. We pray that everyone will be caught and secured in the salvation of God. We pray especially for the four people that God has placed as special prayer requests at this time, as we prepare to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of our denomination. Celebrating the denomination is nice, but it is nothing compared to the celebration of souls coming to Christ. We are looking for, and expecting, a community that is safe in the ark.

Sorry, We're Closed... Revisiting Noah

A phrase that is common in some circles goes something like, "When God closes a door, He opens a window." It's what people tell me when they find out that I do not have a full-time job, or perhaps people have said that to you when news comes around that they interpret as negative- don't worry honey, God has something better for you... you'll get another chance... He'll open a window.

What seems to be missing from the phrase is the idea that, on occasion, it is our sin and disobedience that has precipitated the activity of God. God closes the door and as the risen Christ says in Revelation 3, what He shuts no man can open. In other words, there is no window option. Part of this Sunday's sermon referenced the classic account of man trampling on grace and running out of time: Noah's Ark (or, if you prefer, Noah and the Flood). The bottom line? Our God is infinite, but He sets limits: "My Spirit will not contend with man forever" (Genesis 6:3a).

Scripture is careful to inform us that it was God, not Noah, who shut the ark (Genesis 7:16). I imagine that if Noah were able to, he would have 'opened a window' to try and let in his neighbors, who might have had a change of heart once the rain fell and floods rose. (I say "might have had" because of the account of Lot's departure in Genesis 19, which clearly indicated that Lot's neighbors had no interest in redemption... so we cannot assume that the people of Noah's day were pounding on the ark's exterior begging to be let in.)

Why do we dare to be defiant in the face of God's mighty power? Maybe we don't really believe that the God of the Old Testament will show up in our postmodern paradigm. Or maybe we have decided that we love our sin more than we love Jesus. In any case, the warning has gone out, the same simple warning that has been issued for millenia: repent or perish. In the face of God's accuracy and efficacy, we would do well to heed His warning.

A Day to Pray

Hello! Hope you all are having a restful Saturday. Today seems to be a good day to put the writing on pause in favor of prayer and supplication.

I'd like to encourage all of us to pray for the modern-day versions of our examples from Matthew 25: that is, those who are entrenched in church and church programming but are not on board with God's agenda. His judgement is coming and we pray that our fellow believers will not be caught unawares.

Blessings and peace to each of you. In respect of the LORD's day there will not be a Sunday morning posting, but I may do a posting on Sunday night. Take care.

From My Journal

Here is the way Sunday's sermon from the second service was captured in my journal:

PSJC (Pastor Sam Jamaican Colloquialism): "oonoo"? = "you all" with urgency.

Mark 1:15 - The Kingdom is here to bring justice and peace and joy. These are things we experience now: God's future has invaded the present.

We become: peaceable; peaceful; peacemakers

What has Jesus done? He has spoken like no one else does; and He has demonstrated signs of the kingdom: feeding the 5000 (the King cares), walking on water (the King is competent), raising from the dead (the King is in control)

Matthew 25: Jesus shows who is and who is not of the kingdom of God

The parable of the virgins: dressed and in the right place but not ready; in the right associations and in the right activity but not ready

PSJC: "do something before something do you"

The parable of the talents: the indictment of ignoring the opportunities that God presents

The parable of the sheep and goats: how we live now determines where we end up then; the people who were commended did not even realize their works as commendable ("when did we...?")

As you can see these notes are not as good as other people's notes (Marilyn! Wayne! Pastor Joy!), but I hope it's enough to remind us of the flow of the sermon and cause us to further reflect on what we've heard and learned.

Thank you for reading, and God bless you.

What's Yours Is His.

Every now and then, a pastor preaches and during the preaching an atmosphere of conviction falls over the congregation. This phenomenon occurred in both services this past Sunday. Scripture records the optional responses for one who is "cut to the heart": either they repent, as in the case of those who heard Peter's sermon (Acts 2:37); or they revolt, as the religious leaders did in response to Stephen's sermon (Acts 7:54). I am mentioning this because today's blog reflects on money, and I have seen otherwise calm Christians get really upset when their financial stewardship is brought into question. So if that's you getting mad in the back row, just relax and embrace the conviction. God is trying to help us all get with His program of giving.

The parables of Matthew 25 are loaded with monetary references. The wise and foolish virgins had to spend money to be appropriately attired and to obtain the extra oil they needed while waiting for the Bridegroom. The parable of the sheep and the goats indicates that the commended individuals made financial sacrifices in offering food, drink, shelter, provision, and visitation to strangers in need.

The parable of the talents, however, is the one most overtly concerned with financial stewardship. For years I thought that "talent" referred to some sort of artistic or spiritual gifting/grace, and that "money" was a euphemism for the skills we have been given by God. I later found out that a talent was a weight, and that the substance being weighed (usually silver or gold) carried monetary value. The original readers and hearers of the Matthew 25 parable would have immediately understood the talent as a financial entity.

But we are trying to understand this in twenty-first century life. So, let's pretend that the master gave you a talent of gold, and that he gave it to you on Tuesday. If a talent weighs approximately seventy-five pounds, and the master gave you a talent of gold which on Tuesday carried a trade value of about $800 per ounce, then the monetary value of that talent would be about $960,000. Wow. What will you do with his money while he tarries? Does it make a difference to you whether you are stewarding $20 or $2 million?

We can recall the commendation that Jesus gave to the widow who gave all she had into the temple treasury. And some of us know the story of Hudson Taylor, who raised his tithe to 90% and left a legacy of excellent business strategy and extravagant giving to God. I have to ask again, and I have to include myself: what will we do with His money while He tarries? Lord, help us to handle your money in such a way that we are able to demonstrate financial excellence and deliver substantial returns to You- not just for your commendation, but because we love You.

Apathy=Wickedness

Most of the time, persons who are task-avoidant can provide a logical reason for their unwillingness to work. The servant has presented a strong indictment against the master (Matthew 25:24-25, paraphrase mine): Master, I have decided that I am not interested in performing according to the ability you know I have within me. Master, I have a problem with the way you do things and therefore I refuse to support your agenda. Master, I am afraid of you and therefore I will do nothing. Master, since I was reluctant to invest your money I did absolutely nothing with it- well no, I did do one thing: I dug a hole and buried it. Master, I am giving you a zero percent return on what you have given me.

Apathy. Hole-digging aside, apathy gives the lie that it is the easy way out. But the master returns a stronger indictment against the servant: You wicked and lazy servant... Pastor Sam has offered some additional reflection on this indictment, which I will attempt to summarize in the remainder of this paragraph. Pastor Sam noted that we tend to relegate the word 'wicked' to those who engage in active evil, but Jesus uses the word to describe those who embrace inactivity in opposition to the mandate of God. As Jesus tells the parable, it is clear that He has a problem with people who, having been entrusted with God's property, do nothing with it. Or do the wrong thing with it. To make matters worse, there was probably some unknown servant (in the background of the story) who got no talents, but who would have performed better than the wicked servant.

We serve a God of multiplication. A single marigold flowerhead can contain over 50 seeds (yes, I counted this myself). In tithing we give God ten percent, and He promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing we cannot contain. God's first mandate to man, recorded in Genesis 1, is a simple order: Be fruitful. Multiply. Increase in number.

As was said in Sunday's sermon, doing nothing is dangerous. In God's economy, doing nothing is an affront to His agenda and earns you the label wicked- an enemy of God. It is also an affront to the body of Christ, which is designed to live with all its parts functioning. What part of God's estate have you been entrusted with? Are you spending your energies digging a hole to hide the very thing God has asked you to invest and increase?

In the language of the first century, "talent" was a sum of money. Interestingly, all the parables in Matthew 25 involve money. I think that is something we can reflect on in tomorrow's blog.

A Special Anniversary

On September 2, 2007 my husband and I became members of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. It was an extremely important event for us. God is so good! We are blessed to be under spiritual covering. One of the interesting aspects of membership in a prophetic community is that, every now and then, God shows up and manifests His presence in ways that confound and humble us. Events occur that cannot be attributed to anything but the work of God. We see the impossible made possible and we marvel.

But, just as in the days of Christ, the community also contains those who are staunch skeptics. We heard this reiterated in the sermon example of the Pharisees and Sadducees who would listen to the words of Christ only for the purpose of looking for flaws in His teaching. And we have seen this reiterated in the present-day example of persons who are in attendance at church, but have their hearts set on criticism and doubt.

Part of the text that precedes Matthew 25 says 'no one knows the day or the hour'. Sadly, that truth seems not to be sufficient for some of us. If anyone needs incentive to trim their lamps and carry extra oil, what better incentive can there be than not knowing what time the Bridegroom will appear? If we know that our Master is returning to settle accounts, shouldn't that be incentive enough to maximize our talents? If God has indicated that His heart is for 'the least of these' and our eternal destiny is at stake, then why not embrace His heart?

The Matthew 25 passage warns us that one day the ride will be over. The passage has an undertone that hints at the subsequent tragedy of Ananias and Sapphira, a wonderfully prominent couple in the early church who were in the right prophetic community but with the wrong motive. We would do well to learn from their failure.

Interestingly enough, sometimes it takes a manifestation on the level of an 'Ananias and Sapphira' event in order to shake communities and deliver people from apathy and doubt. Yesterday evening I spoke very briefly with Pastor Sam on the aspect of apathy as a form of wickedness. Tomorrow's blog will offer some reflections on that topic.

And your name is...?

It's not hard to live a dichotomous life. If we just keep saying no to the agenda of God, He will stop striving with us and will allow callouses to form on our reprobate hearts. And, strangely enough, He does not cancel the promises. We tithe and see the windows of heaven opened. We can pray and see people healed. We can even be effective in evangelism. I know this because I have lived this. And I appreciate the plaintive inquiry: what good is it if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul?

Oh, the dreaded fear of not being recognized by Jesus. As we heard in Sunday's sermon, and as we have read for ourselves in Matthew 25, this is a reality of the kingdom of God. If the LORD had returned in 1990, I certainly would have been 'cast into the darkness'... the consequence of embracing my own agenda and using God as a personal candy machine. To quote Reverend Darryl, I was saved but not surrendered. God, in His graciousness, has allowed me to live long enough to wake up and happily abandon my agenda for His.

What is God seeking? Not just trimmed lamps, but a supply of extra oil; not just talent, but immediate and aggressive investment of the talent with the intent to produce a substantial return; and not just 'all my work is for the Master', but a heart to embrace 'the least of these'. Reflecting on these three parables has led me to consider, deeply and with excitement, how I can support God's agenda in a way that brings Him returns worthy of commendation.