I want
To be led
By God’s hands,
Not by my plans.
Try this in a church service: put down the program, scratch the schedule, and see what the living Jesus can do!
Anything that restricts the Holy Spirit’s freedom is a Spirit-quencher. Without heart-to-heart connection with the living Jesus (abiding in the Vine), church attendance has little impact on people.
Love’s not about agreement or approval. It’s about kindness and compassion.
A Christian’s heart should be full of fountains flowing and wide-open faucets running with rivers of Jesus’ living water. Is yours? If not, this might help:
January 6 is called “The Day of Epiphany” by traditional churches. It celebrates the wise men of the East encountering the living Jesus — the Creator in human flesh. The word “epiphany” literally means revelation or spiritual awakening. I believe that Christ-followers should experience continual spiritual awakening that grows from glory to glory! Anything less than that is substandard Christianity. Instead of celebrating a day of epiphany that happened 2,000 years ago, we need to embrace a lifestyle of epiphany — awakening and surrendering to the presence and reality of the living Jesus more and more every day!
Epiphany is the recognition of a godly thought or sensation that comes from beyond the human mind. It’s a supernatural aha moment. When that recognition happens in your life scoop it up. Hold it near and dear. Treasure it in your heart. Let it empower you to draw nearer and nearer to the risen Jesus. If you will notice and act on the thoughts that God puts in your mind, you’ll experience many powerful manifestations of His presence.
When Jesus died, the temple veil that separated humans from God was torn from top down. Because of Jesus, epiphanies are no longer rare. They happen throughout the day to those who are surrendered to the risen Jesus, but we often don’t recognize those supernatural thoughts and sensations for what they really are.
God’s epiphanies enter us from beyond our analysis and rational thinking. They need to be listened for rather than figured out. We need more than human wisdom. We need epiphany — direct insight from the living God.
Epiphanies happen to you. God is frequently sending you thoughts and sensations. Notice them and let the overwhelm you! If churches would become an open forum where everyday people could train to recognize and share their epiphanies, spiritual awakening would sweep our land. Unfortunately, much that’s done in modern Christianity seems to me to match the story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” much more than the “Day of Epiphany.”
For a real message from God, ask Jesus to talk to you and then be still and let the thoughts He puts into your mind touch your heart. Spirit-led (epiphany filled) Christianity cannot be contained in any church or religious organization. It blows the lid off! “Awake sleeper” from the daze of habitual religion to the glorious presence of the living Jesus!
To play is to engage in an activity without a practical purpose. Perhaps church attendance without a practical purpose is playing church. If we won’t even allow the risen Jesus freedom to actively work in church, no wonder we seldom see Him powerfully working in society.
No man no matter his title should ever be between you and God! Jesus said that Christians are brothers and sisters. No one of us should be exalted above the others. People who connect heart-to-heart with the risen Jesus are automatically connected to each other, but churches separate Christians from one another. You don’t need to belong to an institution to be a daily walker. You don’t need to belong to an institutional church to walk daily in God’s Spirit.
Christians are told to speak by God’s Spirit and not to rely on our preparation. Jesus said: “Do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time.” If those who preach don’t trust Jesus to “say whatever is given you at the time,” during a sermon, how could they do so, as Jesus commanded, when brought to trial and their life is hanging on what they say?
The Gospel needs to be shared from the heart in words given by the Spirit in the moment, not just from human study and analysis. Preaching without the passion of a heart on fire for God and connected to Christ’s presence is just a religious talk.
If pastors would study the Bible to be personally convicted and transformed by God, instead of to write a Sunday talk for other people, churches would experience much spiritual awakening. A sermon prepared by a human mind might reach a mind, but words shared directly from a humble Spirit-led heart will touch a heart.
Pastors have been trained to rely on human knowledge, study, and analysis for their sermons (and sometimes they even preach sermons they’ve copied from books or online) instead of relying on the immediate presence of God’s Spirit speaking directly through them. That leads to sermons without actual demonstrations of God’s presence and trains people to just be hearers of the word but not doers of the word. Enough Sunday morning talk! It’s time for Christians to walk the walk and live out what they’ve heard preached.
Church needs less playing and pretending and a whole lot more praying. (I often wonder why it’s so rare for Christians to trust Jesus to lead a church service without a human leader controlling things.) “You can all prophesy.” –1 Corinthians 14:31. Any Christian can speak by the Spirit. Perhaps pastors should demonstrate that in their sermons instead of speaking based on study. Study and sermon preparation is too often an excuse to not trust the Spirit to give words on the spot.
To praise Martin Luther for his criticism of church while condemning present day critics is hypocrisy. Any institution can benefit from openly and honestly examining sincere criticism.
EPIPHANY DISCOVERY!
A group of Christians can meet together and be beautifully led by God’s Spirit without one person controlling the meeting. It’s unbelief to think that Jesus can’t Himself lead a gathering of the body of Christ without a human leader controlling things.
Daily trust in,
Depend
And rely on
Jesus.
Be wise. With your inner eyes Look beyond What you regard as ordinary And experience the epiphanies Of the Creator's cries Within your heart. You don't have to be On your knees To experience God's epiphanies. He has given you the keys To His kingdom. Everyday unlock your heart To Christ's presence And communication. It's not about your expertise Or your religious affiliation. We need the eye Of the Magi So God can lead us By the sparkling Glory of nature To the Creator In human flesh.
Stop and be aware
Of what’s in
Your mind and heart.
Is what’s there
Taking you where
You need to go?
What you choose
To be aware of
Can either abuse
Or enthuse.
It can tear you apart
Or fill you with joy.
Hey there.
Now I have your attention
And you’re aware
Of what I’ve written,
But are you aware
Of what God’s written
On your heart?
Have you heard Him
Say, “Hey there?”
The focus of your awareness determines your feelings. Fix your awareness on what produces empowering and encouraging feelings.
Your external awareness extends far beyond your body. Let your internal awareness reach beyond your feelings and desires. To live without ongoing awareness of awe, beauty, and wonder is to live in self-inflicted blindness. If your awareness of unmeasurable qualitative reality has been stolen, get it back while you still can.
It’s easy to use the ear buds of triviality to dull your awareness of the things that really matter. Denial strives for unawareness by playing inner hide and seek with reality. Life never requires that you follow your feelings and desires. You have a choice.
When people are acutely aware of the presence of the living Jesus, you see His reality manifesting in their behavior. If you’re unaware of the real presence of the living Jesus, your attention will become fixed on insignificant things. Bored Christians have lost their awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus.
There’s nothing purposeless about Jesus’ presence! When people are uncomfortable with the presence of God, they hide Him behind religion or even deny His existence.
When unaware of the presence of Jesus, Christianity depends on forms and formulas, rituals and religion, plans and programs. You can’t be aware of the risen Jesus and unresponsive to His presence at the same time. If you have no response, you’re unaware. If churches want people to be aware of the presence of Jesus, they need to allow time for Him to demonstrate His reality.
The living Jesus is beyond mental awareness. He can only be perceived by a humbly surrendered heart. To be unaware of Jesus is to be asleep to the thrill of living in His reality. Christ-awareness dispels self-awareness and captivates my attention with His glory. Revival is heightened awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus.
Knowledge isn’t awareness. Many people know a lot about Jesus yet remain unaware of His presence. The more I’m aware of Jesus the less I’m aware of my personal desires. To be comfortable with sin requires an ongoing effort to be unaware of God.
Persistently reading the Bible with an open heart (like a love letter) will cultivate an awareness of the presence of Jesus as will opening your heart to God and to other people. Frequent prayer will also help you stay aware of Jesus. The more I’m conscious of my weakness, the more I’m aware of my need for God.
Consecration to Christ begins with awakening to the awareness of the omnipresence of the risen Jesus. If we’re unaware of His presence, we won’t be fully dedicated to His service.
When your heart is cold
Dare to behold
The risen Jesus
And let Him unfold
Heaven’s glory
In your soul
And make you whole.
Beware
Of deception.
Stay aware
Of Jesus.
In a moment
I became aware
That Jesus Christ
Is everywhere.
Are you aware?
If you become aware
Of Jesus
And the glare
Of His glory
Your life
Will never be
A boring story.
Make it your mission
To ever raise awareness
Of the risen Jesus
In your heart.
To reject
What God directs
Is sin.
Brain boundaries are standards for what is allowed in your stream of consciousness. Wise brain boundaries improve mental health. If you don’t maintain uplifting brain boundaries, you’ll be harassed by downward spiraling thoughts.
A brain without boundaries, like a boat filling with water, struggles to stay afloat. Some plants aren’t fit for human consumption. Some thoughts aren’t either! Open your brain to what enhances your mental health. Close it to what degrades it.
Life goes much better when we refuse to think unhealthy and unwise thoughts. Deceptive thoughts that distort truth abound. Defend yourself against them and dispel them. The more comfortable you get with unwholesome thoughts the more your mental boundaries will recede. Without brain boundaries a human mind will gradually fill with trash.
Maintain wise brain boundaries. Protect your mind and defend your brain by courageously repelling all self-destructive, tormenting, and sinful thoughts. Welcome thoughts that build your mental health. Strongly resist and reject those that don’t.
When we’re unwilling to defend our brain by persistently rejecting unhealthy thoughts our mental health suffers. Fight for your rights! Your mind belongs to you. You have the right to resist and reject unwanted thoughts.
It’s important that you admit and expel any unwholesomeness that you’ve allow into your brain. You won’t feel fully forgiven until you’ve honestly admitted your guilt.
It's crucial To get your mind Out of neutral So you don't coast Into mental despair And let thoughts Bamboozle Your joy and hope.
I woke up this morning with these words on my heart: “Witness, testimony, and revelation are vital but neglected Christian concepts.”
Revelation is awakening to the awareness of God. Christ’s witnesses enthusiastically testify about what they have seen and heard Jesus do in their lives.
I believe those three concepts are God’s choreography of awakening that leads to contagious consecration and begins to produce and multiply a widely spreading move of God. We experience direct revelation from God, and then we can’t help but speak (witness and testify) about the things we have seen and heard.
(For those who have been influenced by the Wesleyan, Holiness, and Pentecostal movements: That’s what happened to John Wesley after his heart was strangely warmed. Let’s not just have his example as our heritage. Let’s cry out to God for direct revelation like Wesley did until we are gloriously witnessing and testifying about Jesus everywhere!)
No institution managed by people (including a church) is a rock. They’re all wobbly & subject to corruption. However, when human living stones allow Jesus to build their hearts together on the rock of personal revolution, the body of Christ comes into view and the gates of Hell tremble.
Direct personal revelation from God is the inner rock that amazingly aligns with Scripture and builds human lives on Christ’s solid foundation. Witness and testify about Jesus the solid Rock. If you’ve nothing to say you desperately need God’s revelation.
Repentance leads to revelation. Stop leaning on your own understanding and begin to focus on and obey the discernment of Christ in you and you will have much to witness and testify about.
God’s current day choreography will not contradict the cartography God revealed in the past to the writers of the Bible. Instead, it will beautifully align with it. Revelation that doesn’t align with the Bible isn’t from God but is a counterfeit.
Two widely known religious groups misuse and abuse the words witnesses and testimony. Both groups drastically depart from the Bible, yet they deceptively try to sound like biblical Christians. Both groups talk about Jesus, but they’re each referring to a completely different being than the Jesus of the Bible.
Many Christians today avoid using the words witnesses and testimony, so they won’t be confused with those two groups. However, we must never forget that Jesus said that when His followers are full of God’s Spirit, we will be His witnesses. The Bible also declares that the early Christ-followers overcame the devil by the word of their testimony.
Seek ongoing revelation and greater connection with and surrender to the risen Jesus. Make sure it aligns with the Bible. (If not it’s counterfeit.) Then boldly witness and testify about the things you have seen and heard the living Jesus say and do!
My when is now! I am now in the time that Jesus says, “has now come for true worshippers to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23.) I am not in departed memories or desired dreams. The only time I can be led by God’s Spirit is when I am now enthralled in the presence of the risen Jesus each present moment. The more I attune my now to the adoration of and surrender to God, the timeless One, the more my consciousness and free will are engulfed in the Spirit and in truth and I am truly now.
In 1519, Martin Luther proclaimed, “Change the church!” In 2023 it still needs changing! Many Christians want to change the government, but our responsibility is to change the churches so that they are led by God’s Spirit. Let’s wake up and recognize that church as we know it isn’t changing our self-focused culture but following it.
Although they’re thousands of different denominations of churches, they function basically the same. They sit people in rows and control them from the front. God doesn’t change, but Christians are supposed to change “from glory to glory.” Unfortunately, churches tend to dig in and persistently resist God’s call to change and to let people be led by the Spirit.
Churches and individual Christians are called to ongoing transformation–to grow in grace and glory, not to sit in place stuck in a dry sermon story. Churches should change by interactively training people to embrace humility, pray continually, draw near to God, and turn away from sin. See 2 Chronicles 7:14.
The great concern about the growing emptiness of churches isn’t just being empty of people but being empty of God’s Spirit. If churches would obey God’s Spirit and let Him change their actions and attitudes, He would bring spiritual awakening to their land.
We need God-The-Builder. Our efforts to build the kingdom of God are totally ineffective. See Psalm 127:1.
Church should be a gathering for genuine heart-connection and one-another-ministry, not just for brief pre- and post-program small talk. Pastors need to be careful that they don’t manipulate and control God’s people like Pharoah did. God said, “Let My people go.”
If you have a relationship with Jesus don’t hide it in church. Describe it to the world!
I was just challenged to choose a Bible text for 2023. Mine is: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Romans 8:14. It’s easy to assume that we are children of God, but the test is whether or not we are being actively led by God’s Spirit. Make church Spirit-led ekklesia again!
Message for 2023: It’s time to openly admit and repent for the failure of Christianity in America and the West in the 21st century!
In 1904, Evan Roberts, a young Welshman, was greatly distressed by what he called “the failure of Christianity” in his country. He began to continually cry out for a spiritual awakening and soon church services in Wales were disrupted by thousands of people desperate to get right with God and to listen to and obey Him. In two years more than 100,000 people in Wales were transformed by the risen Jesus.
Christianity has lost its influence in the West. For decades now Western civilization has been called post-Christian. Now it’s looking to government and politics to fix things and thus self-admitting that Christianity hasn’t been able to fix them. How has Christianity failed to be a major influence in the Western world?
I believe that Western Christianity has failed by
Can the sinking ship of Western Christianity be rescued today? Yes! If you have a relationship with Jesus don’t hide it. Describe it! Stir it up! Listen to Him throughout the day and do what He says.
Excuses are a popular type of denial. A happy life can’t be built on a foundation of excuses. Make hope, not excuses.
We think excuses protect our pride, but all they really do is hide our hope. An honest confession is much more powerful than the most creative excuse. Most excuses are abuses of truth. Excuses negate hope.
When you make excuses, you’re admitting that what you did or didn’t do was wrong and trying to avoid responsibility for it. Excuses demonstrate our refusal to admit and turn away from wrongful behavior.
Excuses are truces we make with discouragement and defeat. Effort used for making excuses would be better applied to accepting accountability. Excuses are deceptive because they make us believe that bad behavior isn’t so bad. They’re an attempt to make wrong behavior appear right.
Excuses devour your desire to be better and entrap you in complacency. Instead of making excuses say, “I’m sorry,” and make things right. It takes much less time to say, “I’m sorry,” than it does to make excuses. Blaming others for your mistakes and wrongdoing is a lame excuse.
Excuses are attempts to avoid the responsibility and/or minimize the blame for something. Excuses attempt to cover up wrongdoing. Repentance brings it to the light to receive forgiveness and a fresh start. Embracing excuses reduces your ability to accomplish positive results.
Instead of giving yourself excuses, have the courage to give yourself the truth. Excuses cancel goals. Making excuses produces passivity. Excuses have no good uses. You won’t admit your need for forgiveness until you lose your excuses. When you’re looking for an excuse, you’re moving away from God’s grace and forgiveness.
Making excuses is a powerful way to silence your conscience and to resist the thoughts that God puts within you. True Christianity is about being forgiven, healed, and empowered for holiness. It’s not about finding excuses to continue to sin.
Jesus is better than excuses! Excuses may hide your wrongdoing, but Jesus will forgive it and set you free. He wasn’t born to give us excuses for bad behavior, but to set us free from it. He didn’t come to excuse my sin but to pay the penalty for it on the Cross.
The only person who isn’t “only human” is the God-man — Jesus Christ! People who make lots of excuses falsely believe that their mistakes and wrongdoings are unforgiveable. Excuses prevent you from truly experiencing God wonderful forgiveness.
God always sees through your excuses. Refusing to use the word sin doesn’t excuse your sin. It’s just a futile attempt to hide your sin. It’s hard to overcome a sin if you refuse to acknowledge that it is a sin. Excuses are the traps that keep us stuck in sin.
Excuses make us believe the lie that we don’t have an ongoing need for God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, deliverance, and healing. Pray the prayer of no excuses: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner.” Delete all excuses from your mind and heart and humbly embrace Christ’s forgiveness.
New Year’s excuses are much easier to follow than New Year’s resolutions. It’s not enough just to do better. We need God to make us better from the inside out. Without New Year’s repentance and ongoing surrender to Lordship of the risen Jesus a New Year’s resolution will never be our solution.
When you excuse your sin, you excuse God’s grace and you’re left holding the bag. According to the Bible, the hope of glory isn’t you in church; it’s Christ in you.
Jesus did bleed So you can plead Guilty of your sin And let Him lead You to forgiveness And healing. Step into the place Of no excuses And turn your face Toward Christ. Then let Jesus replace Your sin with His grace.
Timeless Jesus
Ever fresh
And refreshing,
No matter the year
Let Him give you
A heart that’s
Brand-new.
If you don’t remain
Christ-centered
And surrendered
To His daily reign
Hope begins to drain
And life becomes a pain.
It’s essential to
Establish and maintain
Intimacy with Jesus.
A weekly
Churchy nod
To Jesus
Isn’t a
Lightening rod
For protection
From the judgment
Of God.
That requires
Letting Christ
Live in you
And continually
Make you new.
The brand-new start
Of a new year
Will not impart
A fresh new heart.
Time doesn’t heal.
Jesus does.
Year after year, the living Jesus never goes out of season! If “Christ in you” is seasonal there’s a major leak somewhere in your heart.
Letting Christ live and work in you is like staying plugged into a live electrical outlet. It’s ever thrilling and empowering! Millions of people are experiencing ongoing intimacy with the living Jesus, but their voices are too often ignored or shut down.
Christianity is often short-circuited and cut off from ongoing intimacy with the risen Jesus. Jesus came to remain. “Lo, I am with you always.” The risen Jesus is now living in and clothed in the individual humanity of His born again followers.
A new year doesn’t mean it’s time to take down your attention from celebrating Christ’s coming. Celebrate Jesus all year long.
Relationships aren’t systematic. To have a relationship with the risen Jesus we must go beyond religious systems. Christianity is so much more than a group of people passively listening to a sermon once a week.
Grace doesn’t replace obedience. It empowers it. Grace is like a walk in baseball. It’s a free pass to first base, but you still need to run the bases to get home.
When Christianity is trapped in the confines of passive religion people don’t experience the liberty and glory of its power. We can’t follow Christ into Spirit-led community when we’re captured by cultural constraints.
Whatever you do, Let Jesus make Your new year new!
Free Gas for Your Think Tank -- Short Reflections, Lasting Encouragement 