Past Time for a Reformation

A freind passed this on. I found it so insightful. What do you think? 

1. Let’s reform our theology. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is God and He is holy. He is not an “it.” He is not a blob, a force, or an innate power. We must stop manipulating Him, commanding Him and throwing Him around.

2. Let’s return to the Bible. The Word of God is the foundation for the Christian experience. Any dramatic experience, no matter how spiritual it seems, must be tested by the Word and the Holy Spirit’s discernment. Visions, dreams, prophecies and encounters with angels must be in line with Scripture. If we don’t test them we could end up spreading deception.

3. It’s time for personal responsibility. We charismatics must stop blaming everything on demons. People are usually the problem.

4. Stop playing games. Spiritual warfare is a reality, but we are not going to win the world to Jesus just by shouting at demonic principalities. We must pray, preach and persevere to see ultimate victory.

5. Stop the foolishness. People who hit, slap or push others during prayer should be asked to sit down until they learn gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

6. End all spiritual extortion now. Christian television ministries must cease and desist from all manipulative fundraising tactics. We must stop giving platforms to ministers who make outlandish claims of supernatural financial returns, especially when Scripture is twisted, deadlines are imposed and the poor are exploited.

7. No more Lone Rangers. Those who claim to be ministers of God—whether they are traveling evangelists, local pastors or heads of ministries—must be accountable to other leaders. Any who refuse to submit their lives to godly discipline should be corrected.

8. Expose the creeps. Churches should start doing background checks on traveling ministers. Preachers who have been hiding criminal records, lying about their past marriages, preying on women or refusing to pay child support should be exposed as charlatans and shunned if they do not repent.

9. Stop faking the anointing. God is God, and He does not need our “help” to manifest Himself. That means we don’t sprinkle glitter on ourselves to suggest God’s glory is with us, hide fake jewels on the floor to prove we are anointed or pull chicken feathers out of our sleeves to pretend angels are in the room. This is lying to the Holy Spirit.

10. Let’s return to purity. We’ve had enough scandals. The charismatic church must develop a system for the restoration of fallen ministers. Those who fall morally can be restored, but they must be willing to submit to a process of healing rather than rushing immediately back into the pulpit.

11. We need humility. Ministers who demand celebrity treatment, require lavish salaries, insist on titles or exhibit aloofness from others are guilty of spiritual pride.

12. No more big shots. Apostles are the bondslaves of Christ, and should be the most impeccable models of humility. True apostles do not wield top-down, hierarchical authority over the church. They serve the church from the bottom up as true servants.

13. Never promote gifts at the expense of character. Those who operate in prophecy, healing and miracles must also exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. And while we continue to encourage the gift of tongues, let’s make sure we don’t treat it like some kind of badge of superiority. The world needs to see our love, not our glossolalia.

14. Hold the prophets accountable. Those who refuse to take responsibility for inaccurate statements should not be given platforms. And “prophets” who live immoral lives don’t deserve a public voice.

15. Let’s make the main thing the main thing. The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s anointing is to empower us to reach others. We are at a crossroads today: Either we continue off-course, entertained by our charismatic sideshows, or we throw ourselves into evangelism, church planting, missions, discipleship, and compassionate ministry that helps the poor and fights injustice. Churches that embrace this New Reformation will focus on God’s priorities.

Wow!  See the full post HERE. 

Stop Posing. Secrets are Draining.

Living authentically is something I would guess most of us long for.  But the truth is that many people don't! The fact of the matter is that many people live with secrets. There is often a valley between who we portray ourselves to be and who we really are when no one else is looking. Sadly, sometimes it is more of a canyon than a valley. 

Speaking from experience, secrets are draining!  They zap the life out of you. They take the wind out of your sails. Maintaining a false image of the real you takes a lot of energy and focus...becuase you don't want to slip up and give a sneak peak of the real version of YOU. 

Look, I want to share something with you and I hope you hear the heart in it....

The more authentically you live, the more energy and life you will have inside your heart. I have found that the more I live out of the real core of who I am and not the fake me I want everyone to see, the following things happen: 

1. Relationships stop consuming as much energy and start producing it.
2. My conscience feels clean, so my eyes can look clearly ahead. 
3. My sense of security goes up as I realize how much Jesus loves me...the real me...my crap and all. 

Can I encourage you to look honestly at yourself.  Do you have multiple versions of yourself to keep up with?  The "you" you want others to see and the "real you"? Or are you living whole...with integrity? I really believe that the more you close the gap between the public and private YOU and the more you renounce secret and shameful ways, the more God will blow the roof off of your life and use you for the Kingdom. 

Keep real! Don't pose. 

Obedience to Jesus = Presence of Jesus

Obedience to Jesus is a theme that has been capturing my heart these days.  I wrote about it here. 

Obviously, John 14 and 15 take the cake when it comes to Jesus repaeting himself about this obedience thing. Watch this:

14:15- If you love me, keep my commands.

14:21- Whoever keeps my commands loves me.

14:23- Anyone who loves me will obey me.

14:24- Anyone who does not love me will not obey me.

14:31- I do exactly what the Father has commanded.

15:10- If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.

15:14- You are my friends if you do what I command.

15:17- This is my command: Love each other. 

So, things are pretty obvious.  The print in my Bible for all these verses is in the color red.  Jesus was speaking.  And he was clear in his desire for our obedience.  This is how we actually love him...obey him.  

But, check this out.  I never noticed this until recently.  Not only does our obedience seem to communciate and prove our love for God, but it seems to me that our obedience also welcomes his presence and nearness.  Watch this:

14:1-4- Don't worry about anything or get afraid.  I am preparing a place where we will be together! Presence. 

14: 5-14- I am the way to the Father.  Relax.  If you are in me, you are in Him and have access to Him. Chill. Presence. 

14:15-21- As you obey me, I will send an advocate, the Holy Spirit who will always be with you.  As you obey, I will be with you-- I will never leave you as an orphan. Presence. 

14:23-27- I will make my home in your and give you major peace. Presence. 

John 15- Total connection...branch to the vine. Packed with presence and closeness. 

Then, listen to the famous great commision in Matthew 28: "Go into all the world, make disciples, baptize people and teach them to OBEY and I WILL BE WITH YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!"

Obedience = Presence. 

Seems to me that Jesus loves to BE where He is OBEYED! 

Your thoughts?

10 Second Rule

What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? Simply put, it means to believe Jesus' message and obey it. So, why is it we don't obey more often than we do?

Years ago I noticed that during the course of my day I'd have an impression from the Holy Spirit to do something I was reasonably certain Jesus wanted me to do. It would be an impression to either do something good for someone or refrain from doing something wrong. It might be to stop for a car broken down on the highway, speak to a co-worker about Jesus, or simply turn off my computer before I ended up at a site where no Christian should go.

Almost simultaneously I would sense another voice whispering to discourage me. "You don't have time to do that – helping that person could get messy – you can't afford to help them right now – stand up for your rights – you deserve it – it's okay, once more won't kill you.

If I listened to this other voice and thought about it long enough, the moment for obedience would pass, often to my relief. It finally dawned on me that by procrastinating on being obedient to Jesus, I was unintentionally teaching myself the habit of disobedience.

Why is that? Why did I hesitate? Because I knew that most decisions to obey would cost me something...time, money, embarrassment, inconvenience, or a momentary pleasure denied. By choosing not to obey Jesus, I avoided all of that! Without hardly thinking about it, I automatically counted the cost and the price seemed too high for me.

Then I learned a simple rule that could break that cycle: The 10 Second Rule. Just do the next thing you are reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do, and do it immediately before you change your mind!

Why did I hesitate? Because I knew that most decisions to obey would cost me something – time, money, embarrassment, inconvenience, or a momentary pleasure denied. By choosing not to obey Jesus, I avoided all of that! So the reason I wasn’t more obedient to God? Without hardly thinking about it, I automatically counted the cost and the price seemed too high for me.

Then, I learned a simple rule that could break that cycle: The 10 Second Rule: “Just do the next thing you’re reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do.” (and do it immediately before you change your mind!)

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” -John 14:15

So, I intentionally committed myself to become more sensitive to the leading of God, and to practicing simple, spontaneous obedience. As I did, I began developing the habit of obedience. I actually began looking for ways to follow Jesus daily, even hourly. As a result, obedience became an adventure rather than a duty.

Christian experience over the centuries has proven that godly character is most powerfully shaped by the cumulative effect of thousands of small obedient decisions. And these small decisions prepare us to be even more faithful when major, crisis-of-faith challenges come our way.

Here is the true power behind The 10 Second Rule: Even though every Christian knows we can never obey Jesus perfectly all of the time, that’s no longer an excuse. We do know this: we can do the next thing we’re reasonably certain Jesus wants us to do. This is obedience you can do – obedience you’ll want to do!

__________________

This idea has been devloped by Clare De Graaf and also built into a book by the same title.  Link to it here. I have not actually read the book yet.  I plan on it. The very idea as shared above impacts me deeply in and of itself. 

This is discipling!

I really, really appreciate the heart in this video.