Sometimes I Thank God For Unanswered Answered Prayer! ♪♫♪♫

Luke 18

1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

That’s a good question: ‘shall he find faith on the earth?’

This unjust judge took care of the situation just to get the woman off of his back! I am thankful that God is not at all like that! God answers our prayers speedily because he is our Father AND he just doesn’t answer them so as to get rid of us! God is just, he answers our prayers justly! There may be times we just don’t recognize them right away.

The concept of justice talked about in the bible is about truth and righteousness. What is just is what’s best for us and the word gives us instruction in those things that are just by doctrine, reproof and correction(II Timothy 3:16). God committed Himself to His Word because He wanted people to know how to be victorious in life. Many times when we think of justice, it's worldly justice that comes to mind. We think of justice as fairness and equity among other things. We think of the law, courts, legalities, lawyers and politicians. Justice in the Bible is backed by love and the truth. It sheds light on what God’s love is all about.

Many times because of shortsightedness and not being aware of all that is involved behind the scenes or even into the future, it does not seem like God answers our prayers ‘speedily’. We look for the results to come right away! The prayer may be answered right away, but the results may not be visible. He may tell you that you have to wait a bit. He may tell you that it isn’t the best and there is a better way. I am thankful for the way God answers prayers. It is the always the best. We end up being extremely thankful. If you are honest with God in your conversations, you'll  end up singing  'I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all' ♪♫♪♫. There are more prayers than I can count that I’m so thankful He did not bring to pass. As the years go by we realize that he is always looking out for us. We would not have fared well if God was into answering our requests like a genie in a bottle!

New Life

Today, as I was driving out and about, I noticed how green everything was getting. A week or so ago there were dry shriveled grass blades, no buds on the trees and a barren look all around. It is amazing what a lengthening daylight, an increase in temperature and rain will do to bring life to the seemingly dead surroundings.

I started thinking about Isaiah 53:2  in a magnificent prophecy about the coming Messiah which says:

 2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: 

Jesus Christ came at a dry austere time in Israel and grew up in a disrespected locale (John 1:46). He had no political clout, formal education,  homiletic training, nor busting financial bank accounts and the only note on his resume was that he was God's son.

In Isaiah 11:1-2 Isaiah prophesies:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

It was the spirit of the Lord that brought life to that day and time, the green effulgence of a life more abundant. God had a purpose for his life and when the people of that time rejected and killed him, God shot energy and power in his lifeless body to defeat the negative powers of this world. This same energy is available to any man or woman that chooses his Lordship and who readily acknowledges his resurrection and the power behind it. The resurrection defeated every possible challenge laid on man by the opposer.

1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Romans 6:4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We were planted with him by being immersed in his death which placed us in the position of being dead to sin. We have therefore risen with him through the energizing of a loving powerful God with fresh new vital eternally abundant lives. What a glorious event to celebrate! 

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

One Body, One Spirit

In Ephesisans 4, there is a list recording the seven-fold unity of the spirit.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (NIV2011)

It is interesting that these verses start out with 'one body'.  I guess when you look around at all the denominations, non-denominations, groups and sects, it is readily seen that man just doesn't take God at His Word!  Division is everywhere.  It can even be seen in groups that seem to believe the same exact thing, but because of one problem or another, division occurs especially in practical application. This doesn't happen accidently. The problem starts with man and what he chooses.   Man-made religion can not improve on God's provisions.  Man builds organizational systems, methodologies, and traditions in the name of God which have no basis in what God says about himself in His Word. God designed the set-up here with a provision of free-will choice.  It is in the lack of humility to God that man makes the wrong choice.

The body of Christ is made up of members who all have the spirit of God in Christ within. The unity in this body is based on  spirit and truth as true unity cannot exist on anything else.

I Corinthians 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

There is one spirit. Holy spirit is God's gift to us and he provided it through the work of His son whom God made Lord. God is spirit and that is what he gives us to have oneness with Him.

It is a great treasure to be respected in each of us individually and then collectively.

There is another spiritual force that affects man and is in the world operating from a different  motivation than the love of God.  This force thrives and feeds on fear. It affects man to the point that he may choose to adjust  godly wisdom to suit his own fear. It is a  force that deceptively draws men and women away from believing God and causes them to resort to human reasonings instead of the Word and sadly  relinquishing the availability of the power of God. This force causes men to be become blinded by the world and at dissonance with true spiritual matters. This is what causes divisions.

We don't make the unity, it already has been established in God's word. We are supposed to keep it in the forefront of our own hearts and then we have unity with others who do the same.

1 John 1:5-7  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Pablumizing? Yucky kaka!

Babies drink milk for the first year of their life because they are not equipped to digest solid foods.  Even with milk, babies often develop gas when they are newborns because their little intestines are still learning to accommodate food. Their lives are entirely dependent on someone else  to grow. As their bodies grow and mature, they develop teeth to grind, chop and tear food to make it malleable for the absorption of its nutrients in the most effective manner.

The body was designed to take in solid food and process it so as to operate at full potential obtaining nutrients from many different varieties of foods. What if a toddler decided it was too much work to use his teeth and stayed in the milk stage the rest of his life? Poor nutrition and dependency would be the results. In addition, what kind of parent would want that for his child? God certainly does not act like that with us!

God uses this example in Hebrews to express his desire for the reality of what Christ accomplished to become active and practical in a person’s life. In addressing the Hebrews, He makes it clear that something had changed, but in a previous verse He said they had become dull of hearing. His desire is for them to mature and rise out of the learned dependency evident in their lives.

 Hebrews 5:12For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The word ‘discern’(see link) in this verse is 'diakrisis' which means ‘to discriminate’ or ‘distinguish’. The words ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are ‘kalon’ and ‘kakon’(from kala and kaka). It is interesting to note that in the Greek there is only one letter difference between these two words! Sometimes there is such a fine line between good and evil that it is hard to distinguish.  Many times evil passes for good and good for evil! It is our confidence in God’s Word that we have made our own that we can see and thus act with the right response to whatever is set before us.  This is what maturity is all about.

God’s full intention in the new birth is for people to grow up out of the baby stage and utilize the principles of the Word, not just in a ‘spoon-fed’ routine, but actively in the bold righteousness! We are not to forget the first principles of God. God is LOVE and in him is no darkness at all! It is from that point of view we are able to discern between good and evil and know what God's best is for our lives.

Authentic Leadership

Great leaders do not grow on trees nor are they a dime a dozen. In the purist sense, true leaders are actually a rarity even though much is written on the subject. God through his Son Jesus Christ has blessed man with the potential to be the best of the best through the utilization of holy spirit. One such man was the Apostle Paul and in Acts 14:8-17 there is  great record of how he reached out:

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly (atenizo - see link) at him, saw (oida) that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” NIV 2011

It just doesn’t get any better or simpler than that! And that's just a drop in the bucket of all Paul did and accomplished!

Everyday is Church!

The body of Christ is the Church (ekklesia) of God. It is one under one Head, Jesus Christ. The Greek word ‘ekklesia’ is a word that is translated ‘church’ in the New Testament. It refers to a called-out group of people ('ek'-out from or of; 'kaleo'- to call). The church was never to be about the buildings (an idea that really flourished in 350 AD) or about a certain denomination or organization. It is about people, men and women who are committed to the lordship of Jesus Christ and who exercise the power of God in everyday life.

 Jesus Christ pointed this out in John 4:20-24 when the woman at the well related their conversation to  physical places of worship.  

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

Stephen in his answer to his accusers states  in Acts 7:48-49:

 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

Today the English word ‘church’ (link) brings to mind a  ‘house of the Lord’. The word for ‘belonging to the Lord’ is another Greek word 'kuriakos'.  John Ayto's useful "Dictionary of Word Origins" (Arcade:
New York, 1990) speaks of this word and it's development:

--*church* [OE] Etymologically, a *church* is the 'Lord's house.' Its ultimate source is Greek *kyrios*... The adjective derived from this was *kyriakos*, whose use in the phrase 'house of the Lord' led to its use as a noun, *kyriakon*. The medievlal Greek form, *kyrkon* 'house of worship' was borrowed into West Germanic as *kirika, producing eventually German *kirche* and English *church*. The Scots form *kirk* comes from Old Norse *kirkja*, which in turn was borrowed from Old English.-- 

History and evolution of word etymology must be responsible for the King James translators to substitute the word ‘church’ in place of ‘ekklesia’ when translating from the Greek texts. Other translators such as Tyndale translated the word ‘ekklesia’ as 'congregation' instead of 'church'. King James actually uses the word 'assembly' for 'ekklesia' in other places.

The first use of the word 'church' is in Matthew 16:18. 

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter ( petros- shifting, movable, stone), and upon this rock(petra - referring to himself - immovable) I will build my church (ekklesia, not kuriakos); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus Christ was not building a cathedral or any type of building, he was drawing people to God through his life. He was and is  building  an assembly or a congregation who will be gathered together when he returns. I doubt very much that the Basilica in Rome or Westminster Abbey are going to be lifting off on that day.  On that notable day all the members of the church of God also called the body of Christ will be joined to the head Christ irrespective of denomination, non-denomination or un-denomination!

The Wind in Your Sail

Last week as I wiggled my toes in the sand and looked out over the Sound, I envisioned the sailboats that soon would come out of their storage and take up residence among the hollows and crests of lapping waves of this inlet.  The ocean is amazing to me, its beauty, its color reflecting the sky and its wonderful sounds.  The waves are ruffled at the surface, but deep below there is quiet and it is somewhat motionless.

Last summer for my birthday, one of my kids rented a large sailboat to sail over this area around sunset.  We were there vacationing for a week  and everyday the weather had been beautiful. The night before the sail, however, a big storm had blown in and was threatening the next day. It was supposed to last all day. Miraculously 45 minutes before our voyage, we got a call from a member of the crew of the ship that the storm  had blown by and the sail would be even better in the aftermath of the storm and it was!

Watching big sails unfurl and catch the wind reminded me of what life is like when God is the wind in your sail. It is in reading and quiet times with God that we unfurl the canvas and we are energized. As we then act in whatever situation we are involved in we start to notice fruit in our heart, love (not grouchiness), joy (not misery), peace (not anxiety), longsuffering (not impatience), gentleness (not hardness), goodness (not cruelty), faith (not fear), meekness (not arrogance), temperance (not greed) despite what is going on around us. (Galatians 5:22-23)

With God's strength we are able to tackle even the most difficult tasks and projects. When the waves get rough we also have the courage to make those decisions that are necessary to move in the direction of still waters.

In Acts 12 it is recorded that Herod had killed James (one of the apostles) and Peter had been thrown in jail.  There was great pressure all around and yet Peter was able to sleep (verse 6) in this ordeal and God was able to deliver him.  This had all happened right after his meeting with the Cornelius household in one of the most significant events in God's timetable. Waves of life come with crests and hollows.

I think of things that Peter must have remembered like walking on water, the transfiguration, standing up with the eleven on Pentecost, and healing the man at the temple gate.  Unlike the walking on water incident, he did not hesitate to stand in the wake of the spiritual tsunamis that was pounding on Jerusalem. He did not question himself and his standing with God. He set his sail.

We also have access to God through Jesus Christ. God is faithful to His promises. He listens to our heart and His strength becomes our strength as he directs and guides us to safe harbors.

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Households that Change the World!

Home is where the heart of God lives! In Acts 10 there is a record of a remarkable family. They were gentiles, living and serving in Caesarea. Cornelius, the head of the household was a Roman soldier and chose to worship God instead of the pagan gods of Rome.

In Acts 10:2 it is recorded about his life that he was:

A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

The word 'devout' is used to describe 3 people in the book of Acts, Cornelius (Acts 10:2), one of his soldiers (Acts 10:7) and Ananias who ministered to Paul (Acts 22:12). According to E.W Bullinger in A Critical Lexicon and Concordance To The English and Greek New Testament, the Greek word 'eusebes' from which devout was translated from is defined as "reverence for God which shews itself in actions, practical piety of every kind, the energy of piety in the life, reverence well and rightly directed".

Cornelius was a man of practical action. In other words he lived a life with an integrity that exemplified his beliefs. God wanted Cornelius to have the full measure of the faith of Jesus Christ and he had him send for Peter. At the very same time God was preparing the heart of Peter to minister to the Cornelius household and some of his friends. All activities flowed together with the beautiful synergy of God to give Cornelius the answer to his prayers.

In II Peter 2:9 it says,

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly (eusebes) out of temptations,

What does that mean for us? We, too, can have the answers from God that we need and God's timing is always perfect. Just as in Cornelius's life, it will have an affect on those around us. We just have to trust him like Cornelius did!

Jesus Christ and the Gentiles - Equal Opportunity God - Part II

Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry said of himself that he was  sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24), yet there are records in the gospels of him making exceptions and helping Gentiles.

In Luke 4:24-30, Luke  writes about two interesting accounts Jesus Christ brought up when he returned to Nazareth from one of his trips. The people of Nazareth had heard about all the things he had done in Capernum and they wanted to see him do the same things there. He knew their unbelief (Mark 6:5,6).

Luke 4:24-30  24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

During this time referred to in Elijah’s life, Elijah was sent over 80 miles in rugged terrain to Zarephath , a Gentile city to live with a widow woman according to God’s instructions. Israel was in pretty bad shape at that time under the rule of evil Ahab. God sent Elijah to a Gentile woman.

The second event involved Naaman who was also a Gentile, and who lived during Elisha’s time. Naaman received healing for his leprosy.

These two records would be very familiar to the people of Nazareth and because of their attitude and unbelief, hearing the events of the widow woman and Naaman would anger them. Jesus’ bold statements about himself infuriated them, so it was no wonder that there weren’t more miraculous events there.

A great point is made here that God’s heart regardless of Judean or Gentile is with the individual who believes. This angered the religious elite. In Luke 4 they wanted Jesus Christ out of their city!

Equal Opportunity God

At the time of Jesus Christ's death the veil separating the people from the holiest of holies in the Jerusalem temple was ripped from top to bottom. It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that all men were given access to God. It was like God was saying "Ok that's it! This religious separation is done! Enough of this temple stuff! Rip!!!!!!"

In the book of Acts, one can read about tremendously meek men like Peter and Paul who listened to God and continued to erase all lines of the elitism and separatism of man-made religion. They were great men, not perfect, and they stood on what God was showing them strengthened by the spirit within. They were real leaders, growing, believing, moving and serving others. Both men had adjustments to make in their lives and they knew it. They were keenly aware of what was going on around them and adapted to God's revelation to them. There was plenty of opposition and differences of opinion as others clung to the old traditional ways of doing things. They were not afraid to change, to throw out those old traditions and reach out to bring the living vitality of God's spiritual strength to anyone who so chose to believe.

Paul's conversion and growth started in Acts 9.  In Acts 10, Peter continued to make adjustments to his thinking. They were working for the same God! Paul ultimately would minister to the uncircumcision and Peter to the circumcision, but with the same spiritual direction. This required change on both men's parts.

In Acts 10, Peter, in one of the most detailed accounts in Acts, ministers the Word to a Roman household in Caesarea. The careful description of how God worked with all the individuals involved by preparing their hearts and detailing instructions with exquisite timing is an event that only God could orchestrate. At the end of it Peter makes a beautiful statement of God's heart towards all walks and cultures:

^{Acts 10:34}Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (see link to Digging Deeper))

This meant that there was no longer Jew(Judean) or Gentile. The body of Christ was comprised of the children of God. The chosen people were those who chose Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life!

God truly is an equal opportunity God. He has given each of His children the gift of holy spirit to live life to the fullest and help others. Our lives have this same orchestration as we continue to move, growing and changing with the spirit of God. We become equal opportunity ambassadors as we meet others who are looking for God.

The Orchestration of God

God working with Peter

Israel had always been the chosen people. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, there was no longer a distinction between Jew(Judean) and Gentile. The new church of God began to emerge. It wasn't until Acts 10, however, that this was fully realized, when Peter, a Hebrew was invited to a Gentile home to minister the Word about Jesus Christ. 


In the early records in Acts it is recorded that some of the Judeans (Jews) in Jerusalem were not too happy about all that had occurred in Jerusalem and a persecution of the new Christians started. During the events following the persecution in Acts 7, Peter traveled out from Jerusalem to visit the new Christian Judeans. His travels were filled with the operation of the gift of holy spirit operating all nine evidences of the gift which profited the new believers.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 For to one (referring to the profit to God’s people) is given by the Spirit (God inspires or energizes each of these listed) the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit (God), dividing to every man severally as he will.

First he traveled to Samaria and helped Philip. These people were half-Judeans (Jews) and not looked upon with great respect by the Judean elite. As God worked in Peter along with John and Philip utilizing all nine of the tools of the spirit, people were set free and in turn were endowed with the same power.

Later we see Peter travel to Lydda where there is a man named Aeneas who was crippled. Aeneas asked for help and Peter explained the real deal about what Jesus Christ had done for his life and he told him to get up! He did! Nothing spooky about it! Just simply explaining what was really true!

Next we read that Peter was called up to Joppa to help a wonderful woman who had died. Peter knew what was available to her in that he had been in almost a similar situation with Jesus Christ when he raised Jarius’ daughter. Great working of miracles and healing resulted because of the dynamics of the gift of holy spirit within Peter. He was able to do that because of God’s tools of word of knowledge and wisdom and believing that he utilized and was strengthened by. Probably all nine of the manifestations of holy spirit were in operation.

Peter stayed in Joppa for a while after that. Interestingly enough, he stayed with Simon the Tanner, a man whose profession of handling dead animals was considered unclean by the Judeans. This shows how Peter was growing past former legalisms and distinctions. God continued to teach him as he moved closer (spiritually, as well as physically) to God’s original intention through the ages (recorded in Acts 10).