The possible impossible

Making a demand on the impossible.

Matt. 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

Matt. 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Jesus came to show us the Father. Jesus came to show us the heart of the Father and He came to show us the power of the Father. Jesus' birth was announced with a declaration when Mary asked the angel, “how will it happen?” as she was not married at the time. That one declaration would mark the life and ministry of Jesus as He demonstrated the Father's heart.

“Nothing shall be impossible for God.”

God lives in the realm of all possibilities. There is nothing He cannot do. Asking the question if God can make a rock so big that even He can’t pick it up is futile because you miss the point. That very question tries to create a realm of impossibility and God does not live in that. He is in the realm of impossibility!

In this story we see Jesus walking on the water which was impossible in the natural realm simply because this natural realm is bound by certain laws like gravity and density. When God shows up, all laws bow to His command and bidding. When the spiritual invades the natural the natural bows to the power of the spiritual. Peter saw the realm of impossibility and wanted to experience walking in another world. He asks Jesus that if it is Him to command him to walk in that world. Jesus says one word – “COME.”

That one word carried enough power to cause Peter to step over into a new experience and live for a few minutes under another law. A law of life and of power. The other disciples were still in the boat gripped by fear. When they saw Jesus they thought it was a ghost and called out in fear. Fear will distort your vision and make you see things your mind perceives. While they still feared, Peter decided to challenge his fears and step out. Is fear gripping your heart and distorting your faith? Face it and get out of the boat.

As Peter walked he saw the waves and feared again. The result was he sank. Many people have experienced that sinking feeling after they initially stepped out in faith. Fear is real and fear will rob you. The good news is that Jesus was close enough to pick him up. Cry out today with a heart that is honest about where you are. He will pick you right up and walk you back to the boat.

With one word Peter stepped into a new experience. Think about where you can walk and what you can experience if you step out on His word. Here is a few of Jesus’ words. Count them please.

Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. Matt 14:27 – 10 words.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 – 31 words.

One word to Peter changed his life. What will this do for you? I dare you to step out! We need to make a demand on the realm of God to invade our natural world. Miracles are not miracles to God.  It is His natural behavior. 

Jesus, what are you doing?

Jesus, what are you doing?

Matt. 14:22 And immediately Jesus made his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

This is a strange act that Jesus is requesting from his disciples here. In this story, they will be in the middle of the sea in a storm and Jesus will appear walking on the water. What is so strange to me is that these disciples were fishermen and they knew the weather. They could most probably predict that this was absolutely not the right time to get in a boat and depart to the other side. They have fished these waters for years and were trained by their fathers, and their fathers would certainly have taught them about the weather patterns.

What would a few hours do if they had waited till the next morning? At least they would then sail under better conditions and they would be able to see where they were going. And why is Jesus staying behind and not going with them? This story raises so many questions to think about.

Maybe you are in a place where you can read the signs of your circumstances and you can see that trouble is brewing. You don’t have to be a genius to see what will happen. You have been here before and you can tell the novices what to expect, as you have become a master at discerning the situation. What if you wait a few hours? Will you be in better circumstances then? Why does it feel like Jesus is not in the boat with you?

We see that Jesus “immediately” made them do it. The word immediately is the Greek word “eutheos” and it literally means "to put in a good/straight place". Looking at this word it looks like Jesus was putting them in a place that would be good for them even if they saw it as a bad place to be. You see, God sees storms as good places in our life, even when we hate being in them.

The storm is the place where He will show up walking on your circumstances. He will let you go in the dark so that you will not rely on your natural senses to make a way to escape. He will be outside your boat so that you will have to respond like Peter and walk where He walks. You will have to break the status quo of the boat people that will watch you as you venture out and do what has never been done before. You will have to be faced with the wind and the waves and you will have to fail as you step out and find that He is right there to grab you and take you back to the boat.

The story says that as they got back in the boat the wind ceased. You will have to go and walk with divinity so that divinity can come and walk with man. What are you bringing back to your boat? Are you bringing the one that will calm the storms in the lives of the others that are with you in the boat?

Take heart and realize that you are not alone. Your storm is His bidding and at His bidding victory will come!

Giants in my Land

Giants in my Land

Deut. 3:13 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

When God promised Israel a land of their own, He gave them Canaan, the land that belonged to the giants. One would think that it would have been easier if they just stayed in Egypt because that would have saved them the trip through the desert. Not just that, but they were already settled and had houses that they lived in. What we need to realize is that when God delivers you He never leaves you in the place where you can be constantly reminded of your struggles. Egypt would have been the place of remembrance for them. They would have had a place to celebrate their struggles and not celebrate their victories.

There is a reason for having giants in your promised land. First of all, you need to realize that you are going to a place of strong men. If there were nothing valuable in that place giants would not try to protect it. Think about what they are trying to protect and realize that God is giving you a great inheritance. God always bring us to a place of abundance and the enemy has a desire to dwell there.

The second reason God gives us the promise lands is so that we can learn to conquer what we inherit. An inheritance gained without work is easily wasted. Once you learn to earn it you will live to protect it. There will be great value for what you had to struggle to get. Apart from that, in conquering you learn to protect what you gain. The same is true for the promises of God. In our struggle to attain it, we learn to protect and guard what He gives us.

The third reason for giants in our land is it is God’s way to give us a reputation in the kingdom. David’s men were known as renowned men. Mighty men because of the battles they fought. God wants us to be more than conquerors: He wants us to be those that have to conquer something. When the people of Jericho heard about Israel, they feared. Israel had a reputation that preceded them and intimidated their enemies. Gideon had a reputation. Samson had a reputation. David had a reputation. You need a reputation. When people say false things about you it is because they are trying to harm your reputation. God wants to give you a godly reputation.

Don’t be intimidated by the giants you see. Giants of money, and giants of business, or giants of people. See where you are! You don’t want an inheritance that nobody else desires. He gives us things that have great value in the spiritual world. If you have a fight on your hands it means there is value somewhere that will improve your life and add to your reputation. Face the giants and become a conqueror!

The one minute man

What a strange concept? 

I have a friend that taught me something years ago that just struck my heart and stuck to my understanding. We were ministering together at a conference and I was listening to him ministering. He had come from dark places in his life where he struggled with personal issues that left him grabbing for straws for many years. He was like a person drowning at one time trying to find someone to help. He was ministering while he struggled and was totally broken and no one knew what he was going through. As he was sharing his testimony I could relate to some of it as I was struggling with some personal issues myself at the time. 

I have been in places where I felt like I was drowning and was trying to grab at anything just to stay afloat. Have you ever been in that place? The stark reality is that the church is not currently a safe place to be. After years of ministry I realize that there is no minute men or woman in the church. What am I saying? You see my friend made a statement telling people how he finally got his victory. There was someone he trusted enough to go and confide in. This took him a long time to get there. The statement he made was simply this:

" I would rather be embarrassed for a minute than to stay in bondage for a lifetime" 

We all need someone to trust in and to confide in. We all need that minute man or woman where we can be embarrassed for a minute with but stay away from being in bondage for a life time.  When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, it must have felt that her whole world came crashing down being put out in the open like that in front of this holy man of God. I can assure you, it was not her choice if she had to make it. To be honest, it would not be our choice either if we had to make it. Somehow the enemy has pulled a fleece over our eyes and made us believe that the embarrassment of getting caught is worse than the bondage we live in. When Jesus looked at her He was her minute man. He tells her to stop sinning but He was a safe place without condemnation. She was embarrassed for a minute, but was delivered from a bondage that could last a lifetime.

The Church is in desperate need of minute man people. Are you a place where they feel safe? Everyone is struggling for deliverance in many areas and they are looking for people that can embrace their mistakes and love them.   

We have to understand that Jesus never wants to embarrass us because that will bring shame that opens doors to rejection. Not people rejecting you but you rejecting the very ones that can help you. He came to deliver us from shame and to restore your dignity and your hope. Jesus' motivation is always love and He reveals the stuff you struggle with to set you free. He is the real minute man.  HE says that we need to bring it into the light. Light exposes stuff but in the light is your deliverance.

Peter denied Jesus three times. Do you think he struggled with his choice by doing that? Do you think he went and bragged about it to the other disciples?  No. He went back fishing because he didn't want to face the other disciples. The problem with that was he would have stayed like that for the rest of his life. So Jesus shows up after his resurrection to be the minute man. Peter had to deal with it to be able to receive his assignment for the next season in his life. Jesus' love for Peter could not allow him to stay in that place. 

Let me ask you a question? Are you coming from a place of love? Are you qualified to be a minute man or woman? Can people find a safe place with you? Do you have a heart for restoration? 

Chosen by God for God!

Chosen by God

John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

What an awesome statement by Jesus. God has given all of us the opportunity to make our own choices in life. Daily we are faced with many if not hundreds of choices. What we want to eat, where we want to go, when we want to go to bed, and when we want to get up. The choices are endless. The fact of the matter is that we not only get to choose, but we never choose what is bad for us. I don’t know of anybody that gets up in the morning and decides to make bad choices. That is why we call it a mistake when we choose wrong or make a bad choice. Think with me for a second. As humans we like to always choose the best. The best car, the best spouse, the best education, the best for our children, and the list go on and on. If we as humans are like that, and we were created in God’s image, we must get that from our Father. That is exactly what Jesus is saying.

God has the ability to choose for Himself anything He wants. He chose the best He could find!  The great thing about God is that if He wants something and it doesn’t exist He can always create it so that He can have what He wants. Think with me again. The invisible world was created before the visible world. God looked at all the Angels and creatures and all the heavens and all the things He created and decided that what He really wanted did not exist yet, and so He created us so that He can choose us as His choice. Remember that we only want the best. Well, God is no different from that. He truly sees things in a different light than we see it. He chose the best and He chose us. You might say or even ask why would He choose sinners.

The verse we just read answers the question for us. God always chooses with purpose. Even we choose things for a purpose. We choose the best education because we want to help other people, etc. God chose us for the purpose of bearing fruit. He sees you for the potential you have and not the mistakes you can and will make. When you want to be successful you must keep your eyes on the goal and not on the mistakes that are made. How many times in history did a football team come from behind to win the game? They didn’t focus on the mistakes but on the goal of winning. God purposed you and He is bigger than any mistake you will ever make.

Num. 16:5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

This story tells of Korah that rebelled and God had to make a distinction between him and the order God chose - Moses. Look at it again. God makes another statement that is important. Whom He chooses He allows to come close to Him. In Christ, God has chosen you and that includes the fact that God gives you permission to come close to Him. How close is the fruit to the vine? He choose us to bear fruit that will remain but that fruit is only developed close to Him.

As leaders we want to encourage you to stay the course. No one that has put his hand to the plow and looked back is worthy of the Kingdom. We are committed to the cross and nothing will pull us away from our destiny. You are God’s choice for a time such as this.

You are truly significant!

Don't stay any longer!

Don’t stay any longer.

In John 11:1-45 we read about Lazarus who was raised from the dead. We love the story because it shows that Jesus has power over death. Not just that, but because death was caused by sin (Rom 3:23) it also showed that He has power over sin. This demonstration of His power was before He even died for sin. I wonder sometimes how people who saw Jesus heal and raise people from the dead didn’t get the revelation.

He told them that He could forgive sins and to prove it He healed the man on the Sabbath. (John 9) The religious folk got mad and they even rebuked the blind man for telling them “no man has opened the eyes of a blind man”. They just couldn’t see it. Yet in spite of the fact that they saw it all happen in front of their eyes, they never changed. They chose to stay where they were. Even sin can get comfortable. Just do it enough times and you will begin to believe that what you are doing is not that bad. People confuse the grace of God with permission. Because there is grace, it doesn’t mean we can continue to sin. That is what Paul addresses in Romans 6:1 when he asks the question, “Shall we sin now that grace abounds?”

Sometimes people get used to the pain because in return they get sympathy. Sometimes people get used to the addiction because they get the help without the expectation to change. The word for this time is: Do not stay any longer.

Lets get back to Lazarus. Jesus is there ready to raise him up. Even though his sisters confess that they want Jesus to do something about their dead brother, they are fearful of what will happen when the stone gets rolled away. “He stinks", they say, trying to constrain Jesus. What do you do with someone that stinks? We all use to carry the stench of our sins. They expected Lazarus to smell like his last experience. Isn't that what people look for when they judge us? Trying to see if you still carry the smell of your failure!

Did she really believe that Jesus could raise him up and Lazarus could come out, not smelling like death but like someone that is alive? In the spirit world you carry a fragrance and that is why satan is called the lord of the flies – Beelzebub. Sin has a stench that attracts demons and devils.  In 2 Cor 2:14-16 Paul writes about the fragrance we carry. A fragrance of life unto God but a fragrance of death to the enemy. Don’t worry, you smell like heaven now.  We have to understand that when you encounter the One that is Life, you are not the same as you use to be. He makes us new creations in which the old passes away and all things become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb an amazing thing happened. It says that Lazarus came forth while his hands and feet were still bound. Back in those days, they would embalm your body and it would harden within days. Now I don’t know how he got out. Maybe he tiptoed. Maybe he floated out. The bible doesn’t say. All it says is that Jesus told them to “let him loose and let him go”. Here is what I want you to see.

Lazarus was too incapacitated to walk, but too determined to stay.

When he heard his name called, nothing could hold him down. He had enough of this dead thing and it was time to live some more. That is how we need to be. We need to cast off these things that so easily ensnare us, (Heb 12:1) and with new boldness we need to walk this kingdom out in the earth. Just get to the place where you don’t worry about the thing that killed you, but your concern is the voice that is calling you saying, “Come forth”.

It says that many saw what Jesus did and they believed. Is it possible that what happens to you has influence. What happens to you could make other people believe in God. Why would you stay where you are? God wants to use you to demonstrate His power so that others can believe and be saved. What Peter did by walking on the water made the rest believe. 

God is calling you to move from where you are and to trust Him. He wants to use you to show others that He has the power to overcome anything this world can throw at you! 

Passion or Desire

Many people wonder what is the difference between passion and desire. The easiest way to find out is to just ask them, "What is your passion?" 

You see, I would love to lose some weight. I can hear the gallery saying amen now. I have a desire to lose a few extra pounds. The problem is that when I see a good steak on a grill, that desire changes really fast. For me, it is a steak. For others, it is sweets or desserts or something else. How many times have we desired to stop doing something just to find us doing the very thing we so wanted to stop doing? Guilt comes to haunt us as we contemplate if we should desire even harder to stop failing even more. So the solution is that we will just have to try harder next time. I heard it said so many times, and believe me I have tried it so many times. With the determination that this time it will really work, we start all over again desiring to change. Then after a few days, or maybe weeks, we get caught with our hands in the cookie jar again. 

We easily exchange one desire for the next big thing that comes around. The bottom line is this: DESIRES CHANGE!

So what about passion? Passion is the force that will channel your desires to conform to what your passion is. An Olympic athlete has a desire to win the gold medal. So what does he or she do? They change their lifestyle and their diet. They change their routine and their programs. They don't eat junk food and they don't become couch potatoes. The passion for the gold drives them to make drastic changes. You can give them a hamburger and they will refuse it. You can give them the option to sleep in late but they will be up early exercising.  You see the bottom line is this: PASSION DOES NOT CHANGE BECAUSE OF DESIRES, IT CHANGES DESIRES!

Jesus never had a desire to die for us. He even prayed that if it was possible to let it pass Him by. What made Him die for us? He had passion to see us saved and delivered and restored. For the joy that was set before Him, that was His passion. You are His passion. When they mocked Him and crucified Him, the desire to stop being beaten and mutilated could not change the passion He had for you. He had this passion to please His Father. Even though HE knew they would question His integrity and question His words, it could not stop Him from preaching the kingdom. Desire wants you to feel popular, passion wants you to be faithful. Did you know that you are God's desire?  Say this to yourself.:

I AM HIS PASSION. 

Opinion and Truth

This is the same as passion and desire. Opinions change, Truth can and will never change. Someone once said that opinions are like armpits. Everyone has two. People are scared about what God's opinion is about them because they started to believe a lie. Jeremiah 29 says that God knows what He thinks about you. Let me make it simple. The devil's opinion about you is not God's opinion about you. You might think that if that is true and God knows the truth, then God knows that I fail at a lot of things. That is true but not the truth. You see it is true that we all fail, but the truth is God made provision for our failures. Because the devil cannot know or speak the truth, he can only have an opinion about you, and most probably has two!

So what matters? Truth matters because truth never changes. We all need to develop a passion for the truth and then we will not be swayed by the opinions of men. 

What is your passion? 

Feeling Misunderstood?

Today is a day of feeling being misunderstood. How many of you have ever felt that way. You wish you can just sit and explain that what others understand is not what really happened. It feels like you don’t get a chance to set the record straight.

You worry about what people will perceive. It just feels and looks like people tend to believe the lie easier than they do the truth. I have been misunderstood so many times in my life it is not funny. Most of the times they still don’t know the real truth. Am I saying that I was always right? Absolutely not. I don’t have a problem manning up to the mistakes I have made but even that seems to be taken out of context. So what has this to do with my pursuit of God? How does this help me to find Him?

Let me ask you a question:

Has God ever been misunderstood? Can you feel His frustration when we believe the enemies' lies and never give Him a chance to set it straight? You have believed the enemies' lie that you are not good enough. You have believed that God is still angry with you and ready to just punish you. He is this big, bad God that just sits and waits for you to make a mistake. I hear people ask the question if God will really send people to hell, an eternity without Him and His presence.

You see the lie is that God will never send anyone to hell.

The truth is they all chose to go there. God gives us all the choice to choose Him, even the ones that don’t want Him. God wants all to be saved and no one to be lost. He will not interfere with your choice. Can you see how God’s goodness is misunderstood?

So today I learn that even in my misunderstandings He is there. I am not alone in this. If He is here then I am able to touch Him, connect with Him, and He can help me through this. 

We are not responsible for people's perceptions. People will always perceive things in their own way. What matters is if their perceptions are right. Is what you understand about God true and right?

Who is God?

Who is God?

After reading an article this past weekend about a theology professor debating his students about the resurrection, I have to ask this question. In the debate the professor said that there is more proof that Lazarus was raised than proof that Jesus was raised. His argument was simply that there were unbelievers that saw Lazarus coming out of the tomb but no unbelievers saw Jesus coming out of the tomb. It makes me think about the atheist that questions the virgin birth and questions God's goodness to send His own Son to die for the sins of the World. His argument was that it is just a fairytale and that it is easier to believe in a god that only does good and not bad. Well he has a point!

Let me help you. You see both he and the professor want a god they can explain. They want a god that fits their understanding. You see, their god is as big as their minds. Not much if you think their brain only weights about two pounds. They want a god that has no will of his own and only does what they think is right. Their god has their agenda and supports their political party. Their god doesn’t do the impossible because they cannot do the impossible. Their god doesn’t give above and beyond what they expect because they never give unless it makes sense to their own selfish agenda and financial interest. You see, they have a god.

Well, I have a God. He never does things I can explain because He is bigger than my understanding. He is a God that gives outrageously in excess of my need. He is not political, He is Kingdom. He is not against us, He is for us. He creates worlds with His words and He calls things that are not and they are. He has no end to His understanding and He has no end to His love. My mind cannot comprehend Him but my heart loves Him. His mercies are new every morning and nothing can separate His love from me. He is my God, and mister, I am not sorry that you were not there when He rose from the dead. He is more alive than your thinking and more real than the breath you breathe. He believes more in you than what you believe in Him. His Name is Jesus!!

Consider my meditation.

Who is God?

That is the question everyone asks and every person will pursue in life. Even the primitive people would worship a tree or the moon or some man made idol. For eons man has been looking to find God. Some gave their gods names and worshiped something invisible that was only visible in their worship rituals. Other people created gods so that they could at least see whom they were worshiping. Recently, in Thailand, we were walking and at almost every shop they had idols. They would put food out for the gods and even some money. We were sitting there and I was observing and I wondered how they can put food out every day and not realize that their god did not eat the food from yesterday? What amazed me was that it was obvious to me that this god was dead.

Something else that amazes me is the passion that these people had for their idols. If we asked they would eagerly explain what the idol was and how it would bring them good luck. Have we become so blind?

In Christianity we have a lot of idol worship, too. An idol is something in the place of God. Certain denominations have Him still hanging on a cross. You might say, “I don’t do that", or "We don’t worship idols," but what about some sacred cows that we all have? What about Christmas and Easter and a few others? Christmas is about the gifts and Easter is about the chocolate and Easter Bunny. "We don’t worship that," you might think. Well, you are right we don’t. We lost the real meaning a long time ago. Based on that, it is an idol. They have become some dead ceremony and we are just going through the motions.

So who is God?

The only way to find out is to start looking. We must be hungry to find out. We must stop trying to be comfortable. God is not in your comfort zone because He will offend everything that you find comfortable. He sent the comforter for a reason. Are you willing to take the chance? He has been pursuing you your whole life. His eyes are going to and fro throughout the earth searching for those whose hearts are set on Him.

Are you a target for God because your heart is set on Him? 

Caretakers, Undertakers and Risk Takers

Caretakers, Undertakers and Risk takers

Who do you think you are? How dare you make an accusation like that? I can hear them talking and their blood is boiling. We are Moses’ disciples and we know God spoke to him, but this fellow...we don’t know where He is from. The religious folk didn’t like Jesus because He lived in a way that was beyond their comfort zones. Hey - everybody likes you as long as you are just like them. Just don’t be different and know that unity is only if you support what they do. 

In religion you can become a good “Caretaker” really easily. The disciples in the boat in Matt. 14 were all caretakers. We will stay in the boat and take care of the business as usual while you Peter can go and walk on the water. Isn’t it amazing to think that while the Ark was in David’s backyard the services at the Tabernacle were still going on as usual without the presence of God? Just taking care of business while You, God, are living with David. We have become so efficient in the “doing” that we don’t miss the fellowship. In most Churches today, it is business as usual and man has become good caretakers. Jesus reminds the Church of Ephesus that they have become laborers for His Name but forgot to return to their first love. God always values fellowship above labor. Just ask Martha who wanted to serve instead of sitting at His feet. Mary chose the better part!

Then there are also the “undertakers”. Oh, these are the guys that work with the dead. They are the ones that measure and determine how big the casket is going to be. They never have any hope. They always see how bad it is going to get. We are told when the end of the world is coming because they scream it from their pulpits every week. We are taking measurements right now. We even know the date! The Bible is clear that He is not the God of the dead but of the living. In Him is life and that life has the power to save all that believe on Him. He doesn’t come like a thief in the night for those that expect Him. Five virgins had their lamps filled and went in. We don’t need undertakers when we serve a God that raises the dead and has a hope and a future for us.

Then there is the “risk takers”. They are the hungry. They are the radicals. They are out of the boat, and they are on the mountain. They don’t ask questions, they cause the questions. They don’t fit the norm, they create new possibilities. They act on the Word, and they value encounter above the understanding or the ability to explain the encounter. They serve a God bigger than the Bible and a God more righteous than the law. Their God is not just supernatural, and they never see the impossible as their God makes all things possible. They live with extravagant love, and a sacrifice is a deposit into eternal purpose and destiny. They never question, but they always agree with His will. They follow Him everywhere He goes, and they know His voice. They walk the second mile, and they turn the other cheek. No price is too high and no mountain too steep. They try and they fall and get up again and do it all over again. With determination they run the race and they have opted out of the choice to choose anyone but Him. He is their all in all. They are the risk takers. They are the murderers that become Apostles. They are the stutterers that deliver a nation. They are the adulterers that build Him a house and they are the dreamers that rule on the throne.

What are you? Are you a caretaker, undertaker or are you a risk taker? Two don’t need faith at all. One only exists by faith. Two do not move God. One causes God to move for you. Make your choice and adjust your vision. This is the life that pleases Him!