The Parables of Facebook

Then Jesus said to them...

The kingdom is like a man who posted a status on Facebook. Some who saw it immediately blocked the post and any future posts from him. Others "liked" the status, but when a few negative comments had been posted, they quickly "unliked" it. Still others saw the status and began to write a positive comment, but were distracted by annoying political memes and never got around to finishing it. But some who saw it not only liked it, but also shared it on their own walls so that many more could see and "like" it too.

Anyone who understands Facebook lingo, let him hear!

When you post a status, do you set it to "private" so nobody else can see it? Or do you post it and then comment on some friends' posts so they will be more likely to notice yours! But even those hidden status updates will be known, advertisers will feast off of them.

If you understand Facebook, listen to me!

If you interact and comment on other peoples' posts, they will be more more likely to comment and "like" your posts! For the more you interact with people, the more you will show up on their newsfeeds. But for those of you who do not interact, even what little visibility you have on others' newsfeeds will soon be gone.

And with many Facebook references he spoke to them, as many as could hear. But without a Facebook reference He did not speak to them.

Speaking Truth - Identity, Pt. 4

"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion useless." James 1.26

Did you know we can deceive our own heart by our words? The truth is that the words we say are exceedingly important. In the wisdom of Proverbs, we read:  "There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health" (Proverbs 12.18). "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit" Proverbs 15.4. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit" Proverbs 18.21. "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles" Proverbs 21.23.

We can with our own tongue speak truth to what is right, or what is wrong. When we speak truth to what is right, we promote healthy lives. But when we speak truth to what is wrong, we can break our spirit and the spirits of those around us. The world we live in is full of lies, and it is our responsibility as Christians to speak truth to what is right.

To those outside of relationship with Jesus, we need to speak truth to the fact that they are special, unique creations by God, who are so loved by Him that He gave his own life for them on the cross. We need to stop speaking truth to what is wrong. What is accomplished by going on and on about how sinful people are? From our pulpits we continually condemn people and groups of people for sin, but we forget that Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" John 20.23. Could it be that those people we condemn are actually stuck in their sin because we refuse to speak truth to their forgiveness in Jesus' name? I am convinced that if we would stop condemning our cities and people, the power of sin could be broken from them.

But who I want most to focus on in this post are those of us who follow Jesus. The Bible speaks many wonderful things about us, yet we have a tendency to speak the opposite about ourselves. Holy Spirit tells us in Ephesians 2.10 that "we are His workmanship." This means that our lives are a reflection of his work, not our own. Once we give our lives to Jesus, we are born again by the Spirit. In the past we were our own workmanship, but now we are his! So what does the Bible say that this "new creation" looks like?

The number one truth spoken of us throughout the New Testament is the fact that we are now "saints." This is in contrast to what we were before, "sinners." So if the Bible says we are saints, what right do we have to call ourselves sinners? I hear it from fellow Christians over and over and over again, "Well, we are all sinners" and "I know I am a sinner." But that is no longer our reality! Romans 6 explains that we died to sin and that because our old body of sin was done away with, we are no longer slaves of sin! But the apostle Paul takes it even further and tells us that we are now slaves to righteousness! THAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT US. If we live outside of this, it is not because we are sinners, but because we are believing lies within our minds that we need something outside of Him. But even if we do sin, it does not make us sinners, because the Bible tells us that we are saints. And I have mentioned before in blogs the important distinction made in 1 John where he says "if" we sin, not "when" we sin. Our default is no longer sin! So let's stop talking as if it still is. And also, let's stop taking Paul's words in Romans 7 out of context and presenting them as if they are the reality for those of us who are saved. If Paul's words there are about us, then they are in direct contradiction to what the rest of the NT says about us. Paul is clearly speaking of his experience BEFORE salvation, setting up a contrast between our old life before Christ and our new life after salvation.

Our words betray what we have faith in. If we speak as saints, we show that we have faith to live sinless lives. But if we speak of ourselves as sinners, we show that we have put faith into living lives of sin. Do you get what I am saying? If you say, "I know I am a sinner, and I know I am going to stumble" then you are putting faith in your stumbling or sinning. You are in fact saying, "I have faith that I am going to sin." Is that what we want to put our faith in? Instead, we need to speak truth to what we know from the Bible to be truth! The confession from the lips of Christians must always be, "We are saints and have been freed from sin!" When we speak that way, we are putting our faith in Jesus' work in us.

1 Peter 3.10 tells us, "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit." We need to stop speaking deceit and instead dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to only speak truth about ourselves and those around us. That is the kind of speech that leads to "life" and "health" and "good days." That is the kind of speech that glorifies Jesus, the "author and finisher of our faith."

A Love Encounter

I went to Walmart today to get some peanuts and love people. My time inside the store was relatively brief. I saw a woman who was struggling to walk, so I spoke to her for a minute and then she let me pray for her. She was blessed, it was nice. After I was done, I walked back to my car which was in the furthest spot in the parking lot (the farther back, the more chances I have to interact with people!). I saw nobody to love, but as I got in and started to leave the parking lot, I spotted a woman moving slowly along in a power wheelchair. I spun around, parked and got out to meet her.

Her name was Hodge, a fun name :-). She suffered from arthritis and the effects of neuropathy caused by diabetes. When I asked her if I could pray, she immediately opened up about her life and what has been going on. Her family has suffered greatly over the last year from alcoholism, multiple cases of cancer, seizures and deaths caused by them. She nearly started crying as she told me her story.

I told her I loved her and Jesus loved her and I wanted to give Him a chance to show her how much. So I put one hand on her shoulder and took hold of her hand with my other and began praying. I was so radically filled with love as I began that I could hardly keep going. But I prayed that Jesus would fill her with his love and his peace and bring healing to her body and family. Then I felt led to pray for her dreams and sleep at night (though she had not mentioned anything to me about dreams or sleep), so I prayed that the bad dreams would go and that she would have wonderful dreams and sleep well at night. And when she was awake at night, I prayed that she would feel the wonderful presence of Holy Spirit all over her.

The prayer ended and she looked up with her beautiful face absolutely shining. She excitedly shook my hand and said, "Thank you so so much! That was exactly what I needed. And you were right on about my bad dreams and trouble sleeping recently, thanks so much! I will remember this. Thank you thank you so much!!!" Eventually she let go of my hand and then as I turned to head back to my car, she asked, "Why did you pull over and pray for me?" It was an easy answer, "Because Jesus loves you and I do to!"

That was a very fun love encounter :-).

My Destiny: Purpose, Power, and Love

God has been working mightily in my life for a long time now. He has completely rewired me even in the last few months. While I have always wanted to move away from the city and set up my own little piece of heaven, I now have the most incredible drive to turn the city of Allentown into a great big piece of heaven! I have been given a love for the people of our city like I have never felt before. I feel like they are mine and I have authority to step into their world in Jesus' name and show them the gospel through my life. But as God has done this work in me and Hannah Joy, He has begun to focus it more and more. I have been rocked with dreams for the city, but now I feel I have been given a vision for the city which is the foundation of all I am doing and will continue to do in life. This vision is made up of Purpose, Power and Love. Hannah Joy has been a wonderful part in bringing out this incredible vision. What follows is our vision as I wrote it out a few weeks ago by the leading of the Spirit.

So what does this vision of Purpose, Power and Love look like?

With purpose, I am speaking of identity. We need to show the people of Allentown their true identities. All they hear are lies, all day long every day. As far as I can tell, there is nobody in the city heralding who they really are! They turn on the radio and hear that they are lazy. The Democrats tell them they are helpless and the Republicans tell them that they are not willing to help themselves. The majority of the church condemns them as murderers (specifically with the issue of abortion), thieves, racists, fornicators and otherwise perverse. And in the midst of all this, they hear demonic lies whispered in their ears that they are worthless, their lives are hopeless, and the only way to better their lives is to take part in things that will only damage them more and leave them burdened with guilt, shame and condemnation.

But that is not their identity! When Jesus died, He died for ALL! That means that they have been forgiven! Their value comes from their being children of God, special, unique creations made to glorify God by living lives of fulfillment and satisfaction in Him. Their worth was shown by Jesus’ giving of His own life to free them from all guilt, shame and condemnation! This is incredible, world-changing truth and yet there are very few if any who are truly preaching it! We need to make showing people their identity and purpose primary in our vision for the city.

By power, I speak of unleashing the power of God into the city through prayer. We have not because we ask not. This means that we need to devote our lives to passionate prayer for our city. This means taking spiritual authority over an area where the devil thinks that He has dominion, and proclaiming that the strong man has been bound and we are by the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus plundering his house! This means praying for our streets, our homes, our people suffering physically, emotionally and spiritually. Prayer unleashes the power of Jesus!

By love, I speak of a life of service. This of course is in conjunction with our ministry of prayer. This means adopting our part of the city. This means walking the streets, cleaning up trash, giving to those in need and bringing hope to those who feel they have none. This means giving a face to Jesus in the city. This means having every person within our area of authority knowing us by name and face as people who love them and are wholly sold out for them. This means knowing everything that happens in our city and being ready to respond in love at any moment. Just two days ago, less than two blocks from our church, a woman told her boyfriend she wanted him to move out. He went berserk and destroyed everything she owned, her bed, furniture, television and computer, and even went so far as to pour bleach all over her clothing. We should have been there that evening offering love to her and help to her in any way, giving her some gift cards for food and Wal-Mart to make things easier as she gets back on her feet. Jesus is love and we are called to be Him to the city. Let’s do it!

Let us in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Spirit refocus our entire lives to be about sharing Purpose, Power and Love to everyone around us, but specifically those in our city. Let’s do it!

As I write this, I am shaking uncontrollably. These are exciting times and we are called to do greater works than even Jesus! This is our time and this is our moment! Let’s do it! Jesus is here and is ready to bless us once we step out. I feel it all over me! Do you?

PRAISE JESUS FOR ALL THAT HE IS DOING!!!!!!!!

Wrapped In The Arms Of God

I spent the majority of last night wrapped in the arms of Father God. It might be the most incredible spiritual experience of my life. Before bed, Hannah and I had the most wonderful talk of spiritual things and forgiveness and of the reality we are living in as children of the King. Then she went to bed and I read some from a wonderful little book by Benny Hinn called Good Morning, Holy Spirit! I fell asleep as I read but then woke up later and went to our bed. I normally spend a significant amount of time praying as I lay in bed at night, but last night I was just too tired and fell immediately back to sleep.

What happened next blows my mind. In fact, just recalling it brings butterflies to my belly :-). I have a very vague memory of exactly what happened, but the emotions and feelings I felt are as clear as day. I was asleep, but I knew I was in my bed. I felt as if I was being held by Daddy God like a small child. It was warm and his arms and chest were soft. I never saw Him, but I knew where I was. I spoke to Him words of love which I can't remember now, and even thought I did not hear audible words from Him, everything He needed to communicate came to me in feelings. I felt the most incredible love, the most incredible safety I have ever felt. I was a child once again, in the arms of my Daddy.

This experience lasted for most of the night, until I believe AJ woke up and needed her covers fixed. I helped her and went back to bed. As if he wanted to try in a last-ditch effort to mess up what was an incredible night, the devil invaded my final two dreams before morning. Both were disturbing dreams of our precious PJ being kidnapped by evil people.

But he could not ruin the night. I woke refreshed and full of the love of God. Nothing can take that from me. I love that He took the time to give me that experience to remind me of his incredible, mind-blowing fatherly love for me. I really needed that.

Thank You!

We're Christians too!

I heard a knock at our door yesterday, and opened it to find a nice Jehavah's Witness woman outside. She smiled, handed me an invite to a local event and said that they enjoy reading the Bible and praying. I excitedly told her I enjoy those things too and asked if there was anything in her life that I could pray for her about. She responded quite guardedly, "No, we pray for ourselves." I said, "Ok, I just..." Then she then threw her arms in the air and said, "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" So I politely said, "Well you be blessed in Jesus' name."

Today I was surprised to find another at our door. It was a man and his young son. He was following up after the weird encounter yesterday. Apparently he knows how to deal with people better than she did. He seemed to be expecting some sort of confrontation.

Instead, I said the exact same things to him that I had said to her yesterday. He politely responded that He is doing well and does not need any special prayer. Then he said, "We believe prayer is great. Just like Jesus said." He opened his Bible to Jesus' model prayer for his followers. I joked how funny it is that we call it the "Lord's prayer" when He was giving it as a model for them. The Lord's prayer would technically be in John 17. He chuckled and said, "Yeah, what's with that!" He then said, "We're Christians too, you know."

I had never said anything negative to him, but he felt he had to say that. I then closed my eyes and prayed out loud for him and his son, asking that Jesus would bless them and give them a brand-new revelation of his love. Then the man pointed out again that he was a Christian too.

We smiled, shook hands and I went back inside. I continue to pray that Jesus will really rock him, his son and that woman from yesterday. I was not looking for a fight, I just wanted to love on them. Love never fails.

"Take My Life and Let It Be"

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

(Words by Fran­ces R. Ha­ver­gal, Feb­ru­a­ry 1874)