This past Sunday in Wilmington NC, Josh Baldwin lead worship at Morningstar Fellowship Church, Wilmington NC. It was a great time in God’s presence. If you haven’t heard Josh, check out the video below.
I describe my experience with God during times when Josh Baldwin has lead worship as God crashing into me. I get invaded by God’s love and His heart for me. Check out some of Josh Baldwin’s songs and how you can buy his new worship debut albulm at http://www.myspace.com/joshbaldwin …All Fall Down is a favorite!
Filed under: Word of God
Lately, the word change has been floating around in my head.
I’ve realized that it has been a while that I have asked God to change me. Of course, I have had help realizing my need for change.
- Stress with work,
- Arguments with my wife,
- A lax attitude toward spending time with God.
If none of what I just described has ever happened to you, be thankful. Me, on the other hand, I ocassionally find myself falling into less than healthy or holy patterns.
Called To Be Moving
What I have realized recently is that these seasons of being off and out of sync with the Lord are the times that I have settled into a routine of not moving when the Lord (more…)
Filed under: Prophetic Words
This morning I was worshipping and felt the Lord really stirring in my heart. I picked up a Morningstar Journal and began to flip through looking for something interesting to read. I then decided to check the Table of Contents. I noticed an article entitled “The Great Depression”. This particular journal was published in 2007, and now in late October 2008, I was interested in the prophetic foresight that was being shared back in 2007 that could possibly prepare me for what’s coming tomorrow.
I began to read the article: “There have been prophetic words for the last four decades about accelerated growth and maturity in those who are believers. This has never been more true than right now.”
I kept reading and began wandering when The Great Depression part was coming. I flipped through the subheadings and there was no mention of the Great Depression. I looked at the title again and it said (more…)
Filed under: Inspiration, Repentance | Tags: Presence of God, Presence of the Lord, Worship in His Presence
What is it with the presence of God?
Have you ever noticed how alive your life becomes when you have been in the presence of God? Heaviness leaves. Peace settles in. Love for God fills your heart. Worship begins to spontaneously pour out. Passion for Christ becomes contagious.
Have you ever noticed how dead and heavy your life becomes when you are away from his manifest presence? Worry. Work. Worship? Don’t have time. Sin, the flesh, the world? No big deal. A little won’t hurt. I can repent later.
Here is the deal with the presence of God: (more…)
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
When I have been in God’s presence, I’ve noticed there is gentle quality in my interaction with others. Especially my family. This is significant since, by nature, I am generally loud and somewhat overbearing. In moments of frustration or stress, I can even be harsh.
But something happens to me when I linger in the presence of God. A transformation of my inner qualities. I am amazed at the transformations that take place in me when I have been in his presence. And I am equally not ok with the transformations that take place when (more…)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Two words really get me here: rejoice and always. Let’s talk about “always” for a second. Let’s be honest, “rejoicing always” seems to be an idealistic “nice-if-you-could” notion. But Paul lays this out as a command. By default, being that this is in Scripture, this command goes beyond Paul and becomes a scriptural command from the Lord.
First of all, I don’t feel like rejoicing always.
I feel down at times. I feel sluggish occassionally. Even hopelessness tries finding its way into my head and emotions. Rejoicing seems to be a stretch even on occassion when you look at the world we live in and the difficulties we face. BUT!!! there is a very very very (very very very) important phrase that we (more…)
The second tool God uses to transform us into who He has created us to be is His Word.
The Word of God is living and active and is able to transform you from the inside out.
The Secret
Now here is the secret: (more…)
God uses four powerful tools to change you into the person He has destined you to be. These divine workings can be at work in your heart constantly even when you are busy at work or getting needed rest.
God is living and He is powerful. When He called you, it probably didn’t take you long to realize you were going to have a difficult time measuring up. Many new believers often complain that, after accepting Christ, they feel overwhelmed with all that is required of them. Unfortunately, there is a real lack of understanding of the resources God has provided us as children to do His will. Living for God is difficult when attempted with one’s own strength, ability and resources. In fact, it is not just difficult; it is impossible. Even if we do very well (like the older brother in Luke 15), we still fall short of what God has called us to. This is a lesson in the school of discipleship that all of Christ’s followers must learn: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
These four secrets are all brought to you courtesy of the cross of Christ. Let’s look at the first secret, what it accomplishes and what it takes to have it at work in your life.
The Blood Of Jesus
Let’s quote one my favorite authors and one of my favorite books, Andrew Murray in “Living the New Life”.
“It is sin that is the cause of our misery. It is sin that provoked God and brought His curse on man. He hates sin with a perfect hatred and will do everything to root it out. It is to take away sin that God gave His Son – that Jesus gave himself.” [Chapter 10 - A Savior from Sin]
In the proceeding three chapters of this guide for new believers, Andrew Murray outlines how God has completely dealt with our problem with sin and how we must bring our sins to God. I will give the quick synopsis.
(1) Come to Jesus with every sin. Christ is ordained by God to take away your sin. Don’t hide it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t try to be better. Bring your sin to Jesus and ask Him to take it away.
(2) Believe it is Jesus in you that overcomes sin, not you. Surrender your powers to His ultimate and gracious power. His life in you will repel sin from you and crucify old desires for the forbidden.
(3) If you fall, confess your sin specifically to Jesus. Let your confession be a surrender to His righteousness in you and a forsaking of unrighteousness at His feet.
(4) Believe in His forgiveness. Jesus has the power to forgive. Jesus desires to forgive. Jesus promises to forgive.
[Even now, you may feel the Lord Jesus knocking on your heart to give something up. Right now, the very best thing you could do while reading this post is get reconciled with God. So go ahead. Do what was just discussed here.] Ok. feel better? Wow. What a Savior who loves us. He wanted you to read this. He wants you close to His heart, not separated with sin in your heart.
(5) There is a difference between forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The KJV states “cleanse us”. The promise is to both forgive and cleanse.
Dirty in the Back Yard
Imagine yourself as a kid who went out to go play in a mud puddle after your mom specifically told you not to. You eventually have to come back home and you arrive at the door covered in guilt. Sincerely, with a puckered bottom lip, you utter the somber words “Mom, I really screwed up today and did exactly what you told me not to do. I am not worthy to be your son anymore and all I ask is that I could live with the dog in the garage.” Pity fills your mom’s heart as she couldn’t ever imagine you living with the dog in the garage. Besides your dog doesn’t even live in the garage and the dog just had a bath. So she says, “I forgive you.”
Ok. At this point everything is cool between you and your mom. But there is still one problem. You are still filthy. Forgiveness removes the guilt of sin. Your mom grabs the hose and has a hoot spraying cold water on your little rebellious body. After washing you clean and toweling you off, you are ready to come back into your Father’s house.
God’s Cleansing Instrument of Choice
The water hose in this illustration is the Blood of Jesus and thankfully it is not cold. And God doesn’t really have a hoot hosing us off. The sacrifice of His only Son was no light matter and our sin truly does break His heart. The Cross was the ultimate expression of His love for you. The scripture makes it clear that the Blood of Jesus is living. Let’s go back to Andrew Murray:
“Forgiveness and cleansing are both through the blood of Jesus. The blood breaks the power that sin has in heaven to condemn us. The blood also breaks the power of sin in the heart which holds us captive. The blood has a ceaseless operation in heaven from moment to moment. The blood has likewise a ceaseless operation in our heart – to purify the heart from the sin which always seeks to penetrate from the flesh. The blood cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. The marvelous power that the blood has in heaven, it also has in the heart.”
The Blood of Jesus can be at work in us constantly. First, we must ask. God has conditioned His workings on earth to prayer. So ask in prayer for the Blood of Jesus to go to work in you. Second, have faith. Trust God’s word on this one. It will be according to your faith. God has conditioned prayer to faith. With faith, prayer is answered.
Today, ask and believe God to activate the Blood of Jesus in your heart to cleanse, remove and disable sin in your life. Believe me, you will be amazed. Once I was in the dumps and I prayed for this and found myself just hungry for God and His Word over the next few days. I wasn’t trying to psyche myself out to get into the Word or enter into prayer. The desire was just there and I knew it was the Blood of Christ working in me, crucifying my sinful desires to live apart from God.
In the next few weeks, I will share the other 3 divine resources God has provided for us that can be constantly at work in us, changing us to be more and more like Christ.
Subscribe to the feed and stay tuned for part 2.
Filed under: Uncategorized
A time to fall and a time to stand
In yesterdays post [read it before reading this post], I shared how God floors us to restore us. God humbles us to draw us back to himself when we have drifted. I believe there is more room in the Body of Christ [in our worship services and so forth] for floor time. When you study great revivals, you will find no matter what the people’s beliefs were concerning physical reactions to God’s Spirit being poured out, there would always be men and women who would physically fall down under what many refer to as the weight of his glory. You would also find people face down in prayer as well.
Joshua face down
In Joshua 7, you find Joshua and the elders doing floor time. They were constantly victorious and then all of a sudden they found themselves in defeat losing 36 Israelites. The hearts of the warriors melted before the small group of men in Ai. Check out Joshua’s response to this defeat: “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.” (Joshua 7:6)
Counterbalanced revival
There does come a line where the floor time has accomplished its purpose. One mistake in revival, is when the participants begin to fall more in love with the revival than the purpose of revival. Revival is not the Lord’s purpose for the church. Revival is a counterbalanced tool the Lord uses to awaken his bride from a spiritual coma. Counterbalanced means that in revival, there is a lack of balance on several fronts for a season [which is why revival can be just as dangerous as it is glorious]. But the Lord doesn’t intend for things to remain that way. It is similar the extreme heat that metals are placed in order to construct a sword. Metals are placed in that heat for a short period of time in order to mold it into the desired shape. The process makes the sword ready for battle. This what floor time, and revival for that matter is for: to make us ready to do the will of the Lord. In Joshua 7, the Lord speaks to Joshua and the elders:
“The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. “
The Lord says to Joshua, wrong strategy for this season. You see, Joshua learned from his mentor, Moses, that Israel often screws up right at the worst of times. Moses was often spending his time interceding for Israel not to be destroyed. For Joshua, this was a knee jerk reaction. And not a wrong one at that. If we would all have a knee jerk reaction to fall on our faces before God when something bad happens, I guarantee we would be more in tune with God’s voice. The Lord tells Joshua to “Stand up!” There is sin in the camp. Get rid of it! God lays out a play by play strategy to deal with the problem.
We need both
I believe the need for revival has not gone away. I believe the need for floor time…restoration time, in God’s presence, has not gone away. Yet, I also believe we must be sensitive to God’s time and his message for the season we are in. When Isaiah fell on his face in Isaiah 6, Isaiah heard the Lord seated on his throne ask “who will go for me?” Isaiah responded to the Lord that he would go and the Lord said “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’” Isaiah didn’t stay on his face. Joshua didn’t stay on his face. David didn’t stay on his face. AND JESUS, IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE DIDN’T STAY ON HIS FACE! There will always come a time where you have to get up and go!
Which do we need right now?
So is He calling for face time on the floor or has that season be closed for now? Is it time rise up and fight or is it time to humble yourself and ask what is wrong? Either is ok if it is the appropriate season the Lord has you in. If you to rise up and fight and its floor time you need, you will become disillusioned with defeat. If you try to stay on the ground and enjoy the glorious comfort of His presence when he is calling you to rise up and fight, that presence will fade and you will be left empty. The Lord isn’t calling us to fall in love with his seasons or his gifts. He wants us to fall in love with His face! Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and follow the cloud! Get up and GO!
David was floored
I had this thought jump into my mind. When God restores someone, he floors them. David has the most remarkable repentance of a sin many of us will never commit (in the literal sense). Why? Not many of us will become kings where we could give a command to have the husband positioned in battle in such a way that he will be killed. All to cover up David’s adulterous act with this man’s wife. [Read it here.] Not getting caught up in the details and implication of this story…they are immense and beyond a blog. Fast-forwarding to the restoration of David. Specifically to one particular part of David’s restoration.
A painful awakening
After Nathan rebuked him and David fessed up, David went to his house. “He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground“ (2 Sam. 12:16b). How many business negotiations do you see where the involved parties are lying on the ground? How many politicians deliberate with their faces on the ground? Or their faces facing the sky? In ancient times, before high powered weapons, how many warriors fought battles from a passive prostrate position on the ground? I can’t think of any either. Why? Lying on the ground is a vulnerable position that does not display strength.
Not like other kings
David was a powerful king. But his power was obtained much differently than the rest of the kings of the earth. His power was obtained through prostrating himself (literally and figuratively) before the Lord. David was a worshipper. The word worship means to “bow down”. It implies humbling one’s heart in submission to honor and glorify the one being worshipped. In the world’s system, greatness comes from rising up. Greatness in God’s kingdom comes through humbling one’s self before God. David knew he had screwed up. He knew where screwed up. [Read David's prayer of repentance here.] He got comfortable standing. When God wants to restore you to His presence, He will floor you. Get comfortable with the floor. It is God’s operating table. It is the people who can stay low to the ground long enough for God to do His thing that He can trust with power and authority. Floor me Lord!
