A Dream Closing The Store
The men climbed up on ladders yanking lights from the ceiling and making a very loud noise with no care for those about them.
Maybe it was the cake or the pie or all the extra turkey and avocado I had for dinner, but I “slept through” the night. That never happens. So being awakened by a plow truck and not a dream was somewhat unusual. But I had the dream. Continue reading Closing The Store
The feet dangled over the edge. Below in the darkness, swirled rushing waters. Is there a God he thought as he inched forward.
The car veered sharply to the right to avoid the large animal. At that moment everything went in to slow motion as the vehicle took on a life of its own.
Is there a “wow” of God for them? For others? Our lives are often caught up in a pathway that allows us to encounter people, sometimes at their lowest points. I certainly have been around my share of people who had come to their last steps.
When I perhaps 9 years old I delivered newspapers with a man. We would spend 2-3 hours in this large vehicle, going down roads, jockeying from one side of the road to another, each of us placing newspapers in waiting newspaper tubes. One of the last houses we could do each day would take us by one of the cemeteries in our town. The house right before it had a large German Shepherd that would race towards me as I opened the mailbox each day. The dog was big and it was dark that winter afternoon. As the box closed I saw a car with an interior light ahead. The man I worked with said to me “stay here.” He walked over to the car and saw the note. The man had killed himself.
I find an increasing number of people calling out to God to “just take them home” as the pain is too much. The loss too great. I get it. In my early years as a believer I had lost much though I had gained everything. Depression over my past burdened me. I had “tried” I thought. “Done everything” I was sure, but still I was plagued.
Finally a situation out of my control occurred in my life. I could not do this anymore, I thought. I went out to the garage and began to plot my demise. Life had spiraled out of control for me. My best was not enough.
I needed the WOW of God. Adding insult to injury was an accident where I was hit by a taxi cab. Now walking was painful. “Where are you God?” I wanted God to “fix it.”
Where is the boat? Where is the life preserver?
As the snow covers the darkness of the ground and brings beauty in a wondrous way to the city about me today, I think WOW! Beautiful. Oh, I know it is only temporary. I understand it is “not needed”, but it changes the look, the appearance of things.
What would the “wow” of God look like for you? What would it change? Anyone who has read my work knows I have experienced powerful encounters with God. Paradigm changing, life changing encounters. Yet, today, like many I need a “wow” of God. I am not suggesting we try to move “mountaintop to mountaintop” enduring the valleys of time in between. I am not thinking we need to go event to event, but maybe just listen for the “still small voice.” What we do in between in many regards is “up to us”.
Do not think I am talking against visitations or encounters or moves of God. I am not. I am speaking of avoiding the discouragement that has the ability to rear its ugly head when it is not happening. When it is not a powerful move and it is hard. Last week I saw the “provision” of God in a dream. So real, I got up and began to look for it. I have not found what was seen in the dream, but I have not given up.
I have had this thought lately that people need to know others are on their team, caring about them, praying for them. Each time I think of the religious persecution endured by so many, I wonder, what are their thoughts while they sit in prisons. Do they believe people remember their names, their families, their values?
One of the greatest values I see on the horizon is the “wow” of God looking like you or appearing through me.
I was thinking yesterday in my “quiet” time some of the following.
Many folks know me. But it is but a few that know the things I go through. I think Jesus went through something similar. Many knew His name. Knew “Him”. But how many allowed His touch, His life to permeate their being?
When you go through a struggle, sometimes you just don’t know. I am sure the 12 disciples found it easy to get frustrated with the people who “pulled” in Jesus. But how much more concerned were the even smaller inner circle of perhaps 2-3? Or John? They knew.
Discouragement has the ability to undermine you when you least expect it. The more I come to know, understand and labor in my faith to enter His rest, the less I am “discouraged” about. I find the scuffs of life disappear and have less value or impact upon my life.
Many years ago I had a garden and a woodchuck was working hard to get first dibs on my vegetables. I did something incredibly dumb (I was but a young boy!) and despite my best efforts he prevailed. He kept coming back.
Not everything that would hinder you or beset you “disappears”. Sometimes it does but not always. Not necessarily today. I remember many years ago a commercial series that ran by Fedex. One of their lines was “when it absolutely, positively has to be there.” (The video is pretty funny.) What is it you need now?
Let us begin to encourage one another in the “now’s and wow’s of God.” I have many friends who need miracles. Some have been contending. Holding on. Sitting on the edge of their “window ledge” waiting for God to move. But I submit we are the “moving” of God here on earth. (Sometimes what we call sovereign is simply us “wrapping our brain around it”!)
Today is your day. How do I know? God said so! You are postured for a miracle because you are His. His delight. Proverbs 8:30 says “Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, “
Today is a day of rejoicing. Begin to rejoice and be glad in it. He trusts you. He trusts me. Let us not get caught up in the despair but let us be caught up in Him.
Even as I finish this, I saw a large owl swooping out of the skies, moving through the trees, chasing after the small animal over the snow covered landscape. And just as it looked like “all was over” I saw a large hand deliver the small animal out of the way. The owl never veered or swerved, but it was if he “expected” it.
God is delivering you today!
[amazon template=thumbnail&chan=default&asin=B005C6FG0G]The last few days have been different for me. Not sure why. But as I 
have been putting together archives and older stories, testimonies and such I have been visited with a renewed sense of purpose. Let me be clear when I say I am not sure “what it is” entirely. Part of me feels like I have been relegated to a cave. With that left on the table…
I have cited the following story and teaching because I find myself back here every now and then. [amazon template=banner easy&chan=default&asin=B008TUE3WE]
Four lepers. Years ago my friend Jack Taylor shared from this passage 2 Kings 7. It is one of those teachings that never left my mind. “Can’t stay here. Can’t go back. Must go on. Got to tell somebody.” You need to read the story. Because the church clearly cannot be impregnated with the DNA of heaven and think it can go back or stay here. Impregnation connotes growth. Growth is a precursor to birth. And birth is a new creation. Your continued growth is because you were “born from above” and have to grow. Now the bigger question upon coming on such a collection of gems and treasures. (Like the lepers, their enemies had been scattered. You have authority as Jesus did over ALL the works of the devil. The devil is not strong but he is a liar. But you my friend are seated high above principality, rulers of darkness and all wickedness. It is time you TELL SOMEBODY.
Today I want to take a moment and talk about “you can’t stay here.” Sometimes when you are “up to your butt in alligators it is hard to remember that the purpose was to drain the swamp.” Too often we are going down the paths of life and interruption appears. It does not need to be the “elephant in the room” traumatic interruption, but sometimes it is just the “shoe string” broke. But depending on your focus and thought process it can stop you dead in your tracks.
Needless to say we have an enemy, but sometimes it is just life. Your car blowing up is not an attack if you never put oil in it. Regardless, you are stuck.
But I have found that often in our lives God changes His method of communication. He might take you from dreams to the word of God. Or from the word to listening for the still small voice. And that is hard. “Is anybody out there?!?!?!”
God never changes His purpose, but I suspect other things including His way of communication may occur. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we are doing He may have to “force” us off the spot. In our “old language” we used to say that “comfortable” season was a mountaintop and now it is time for the “valley” experience. I do not believe moves on us to be uncomfortable but like having a child I think there is a dynamic of being in “one position” too long. Sometimes you may need to move. I am not saying once you were an evangelist and now you are not. But is it not possible God might want to hang out with you a little and allow for things to change or to shift? Now granted that is part of my experience and the experience of others but it may not need to be yours.
So where “can’t” you stay? How about you cannot remain a baby all your life? Or mine? How about the process of growing up is happening, “like it or not”? “Ready or not-here I come!” (Said all unborn children and the expression of God through you!) Perhaps you need to make a geographic? Perhaps the season of your job has met your needs but was but a step in the purposes of God.[amazon template=thumbnail&chan=default&asin=B005C6FG0G]
As a prophetic voice I see lots of words given and received. I also see that there are lots of “wow’s” while it is happening. But let me tell you when a word is “truth” it may mean your life is about to change. Joseph had a dream. He announced it. How many years did it take from the pit to the prison to the palace? How many coats (bearing identity) were lost in the process?
Everyone wants a great God word! I do. But in the process, you might not be able to go back. I am going to share the following story with you. Let me tell you what changed.
As “Nick at night” (Nicodemus) once asked “can a man return to his mother’s womb?” Sometimes you just can’t go back. You got to move on. That is what happened to Tina and I.
A Quandary
Like so many these days, I feel as my life is a quandary. Perplexing. I read the news. I look at the changing events across nations. I watch economies shift and slide. And in the midst of it, my natural self rebels at the changes I am forced to “go through.” Why? Because I am caught in the issues of the globe! I have watched my business change as other businesses have floundered and gone out of business. I wonder what is going on as so many do. But I trust God.
A few years ago, my wife and I were the owners of a home. Two bedrooms up and 3 converted rooms down. The home produced income. A radio station paid for a small portion for their transmitter. We thought we would be there forever. A smaller home, beautiful views.
My then, handicapped son (God has healed him from the traumatic brain injury and given him a great wife!) was living there, as were my daughter and her three children (A newborn baby was one) and my youngest daughter. Family…
And then the enemy sneaked in. A contractor had been hired to remove the underground oil tank(Required by our insurance and mortgagor.) With in twelve hours of pulling away, my lower level was flooded. Three months of doing all that I could while I waded (Yes, pun intended!) through paperwork for insurance companies, etc., while I was working 24/7 to keep the water from the $50,000 transmitter. (In retrospect, I should have let the water destroy it. Had I let it be ruined, insurance would have had to kick in.) Finally respite came in the form of winter, drying up the water source. During the winter my wife and I gutted the destroyed living area. (Over $60,000.) That spring we had installed an inside drainage system.) We thought we had it knocked. And while we worked out of pocket waiting for insurance companies to step up to the table and did what we could, one night as I lay in bed I could not breathe. Black mold. The story goes on and on. (You can read about it at this Facebook link if you are interested.) The upshot was we lived off site for the next three years.
We devoted a lot of time and energy to this property. We never received a dime of insurance and spent all our savings trying to recover. We are in a a financial crunch as the result of it. 4 years later we still own the property, are trying to negotiate a way through with the bank, and may or may not lose it.
Why share a story like that? Because God is still Lord over our lives. He has not changed, was not surprised nor worried. And neither should we be.
Paul tells us in Philippians 4: 4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Only last year many lost their homes and their properties in tropical storm Irene. did I have compassion? You bet!
I am reminded of the story of David on the run. 1 Samuel 21 tells us that upon inquiry, he finds the sword of Goliath, wrapped in an ephod. Two chapters later, we see David wrapped in the ephod, while all that is stolen is restored. Sometimes we need to be reminded of a previous victory to get over the hump, the quandary we are in to see the restoration. In David’s case it was the sword that slew Goliath.
My wife and I have had some down days, even some down weeks over our nearly 20 years of marriage.
Like so many, I could list many, many more. But the Lord is faithful and worthy to be praised. That scripture from Philippians has been worth it’s weight in “gold” to me over the last 20 years.
Some of you have faced death and won. Tell someone! People need to know that the Lord is still Lord over our lives. No matter what.
2014-It was to be the year of stepping out of the boat, grabbing the brass ring and changing the world.
What happened? As I watched the Broncos lose to the Seahawks, I was reminded that not everything goes according to plan.
You and I are here, because this is where we are. Whatever lead up to us being here, while relevant, is now in the rear view mirror. It is behind us. Forever destined to be nothing more than a stepping off place.
I get it. Over the last few months both my wife and I have experienced tremendous changes. Job losses, moves and few other things have brought us to this place. How do you correct that? Well, despite using my most “authoritative” tone, my “best posture” and a few other “tricks” I “know” the train is still running in a different direction. It has required me to once again be outside my “comfort zone.”
I do understand. Both of us understand rejection letters and changing life.
BUT-if you stop swinging the bat, putting one foot in front of another, you will not win. I could easily have envisioned Peyton Manning’s desire to just “have it over.” But despite the lopsided score he just kept going out. You may not want to go out, but sometimes that is where your miracle appears. You may not want to even be “there” but hiding your head will not accomplish what you desire to see happen. In fact, it may even be greater than you imagine.
Many years ago, following my salvation I decided it was time to clear the decks of debt and such. I owed a lot of money back then. $60,000 was owed to the IRS alone. I moved ahead and got met me miraculously. One of the things on the plate was a SAAB I had bought in a fit of whimsy. I had paid cash but now saw it as a stumbling block to moving out of debt. So, away it went. I was close enough to my main place of work that getting there was not a problem. But being 35 and carless was a stretch.
One Thanksgiving weekend a new friend from our church fellowship asked me to join him and his family. I agreed (If he would come get me!) and he soon was sitting in my driveway. Nothing would have prepared me for what happened. As we were finishing up the meal my friend handed me a key, a SAAB key. My response was “why are you making fun of me?” He and his wife looked strangely at me and pointed to the driveway. There in the drive was a 9000 Turbo SAAB with a bow on it. “Go ahead. Take it.”
Now it was easy then to make a performance orchestrated formula on “how to receive blessing.” And I did and I am not sure if worked quite like that again. Yes, I made some “right” moves. Yes, I had prayed for “deliverance” and prosperity and such. But, really some of the greatest miracles come when we least suspect it.
Oh, we may be positioned for goodness in our minds. But truly it is the “position” of being in Him that aligns us with goodness and God.
I know that Elijah was looking for a response in 1Kings 18:41. And he saw the response to that. God had revealed it to him. Surely. But how many await the “revealing” of a prophetic word to come to pass? And just what was the “word” that sent him to a cave? I am sure he was hanging on destiny and a belief that God would miraculously show up.
But what about the woman who had picked up the last stick to cook her death meal? What was her word? What was her rationale or thinking? How was she “positioned” for a drop out of heaven?
In our desire to encourage or “help” people we sometimes set them up for an encounter that is not on the radar screen. I find as a prophetic voice it is “too easy” to try and give a word to fix something when in fact God wants to reveal something. I know my own immaturity lead me astray. I have come to the conclusion that it is “rare” that prophecy cures immaturity and removes sinful actions. (Oh that I might not be so!) Have we not learned that just telling people to “grow up” does not work?
But faith in Him! When our faith is settled in our understanding that our position (With Him.) has already been established and our place is a place of blessing (For are we not the garden?) then the rest becomes so much easier.
Relax. In the words of The Carpenters, We’ve Only Just Begun. 2014 just barely got here. We have barely inched through 1/12th of it. The words of the prophets ring true. (Perhaps this is one of the greatest reasons I ask people to “Accept or Reject” a word early on rather than cluttering your mind’s closet space.)
I encourage you to revisit my 2014 word. Perhaps we are further ahead or slightly behind where we thought we were. It is okay. While “one game” makes a Super Bowl, it was many games that brought folks there. But for many their destiny of that “kairos” moment began in the hidden places of “chronos” time.
Today is your day with a now God in a now moment. Do not look across the table to the Lord and get swept away in despair for yesterday or concern for the future. Today is your day. THIS is the day the Lord has made… Embrace your today. Psalm 118:24
And let me be clear. Today may not be the kairos but the chronos timing of life. BUT where God is kairos to you in the sense it often prepares for the “wow” moments. How so? What about what you said about the “woman and the death watch”? Through the understanding that where you are so is the Lord. For whom is joined to the Lord is one spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17) Impatience too often is the sign of lack of trust. Whatever captures you from the rest is the enemy. This is the enemy we must overcome.
For the Broncos there is not another 2014 Super Bowl. But their response will dictate will there be another shot. The answer of course is “yes”. But keep in mind that is related to their performance and rightly so. But the ability to simply be is on you. Labor to enter His rest. Hebrews 4:1-2. Unite your faith today with the promise of God. I did not say “press in” or push harder but accept the gift of faith and the knowledge of position in Him to realize this.
Today in the “super bowl” of life mix your faith with the knowledge that you are there.
We’ve Only Just Begun
Sung by The Carpenters
“We’ve Only Just Begun” is track #6 on the album Singles 1969-1981. It was written by Nichols, Roger S. / Williams, Paul H..
We’ve only just begun to live
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we’re on our way
We’ve only begun
Before the risin’ sun, we fly
So many roads to choose
We’ll start out walkin’ and learn to run
And yes, we’ve just begun
Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin’ it over, just the two of us
Workin’ together day to day, together
And when the evening comes, we smile
So much of life ahead
We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow
And yes, we’ve just begun
Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin’ it over, just the two of us
Workin’ together day to day, together, together
And when the evening comes, we smile
So much of life ahead
We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow
And yes, we’ve just begun
Songwriters
NICHOLS, ROGER S. / WILLIAMS, PAUL H.
Published by
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing
Suffice to say groundhogs are not my favorite friend. Whether they are woodchucks or groundhogs. I have shot them, eaten them and made serious efforts to evict them.
I wrote this article in August of 2005. Continue reading Memories Of Woody – Groundhog Day!
This morning I was at our church fellowship about 4:30 getting the fire going in the stove, making sure the heat was right and spending some time in prayer.
One of my thoughts was in regard to the Super Bowl. I was thinking how many will be focused on the game. (Well except for the New England Patriot folks…)Tonight one of the largest TV watching times of the year will be upon us. The Super Bowl. Pitting the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks. And while that is being played think about some of these facts.
More than 100 million pounds of chicken wings will be consumed. Dominos says it will serve over 11 million pieces of pizza. 11.5 million pounds of potato chips along with over 8 million pounds of avocado for the guacamole. Over 50,000 hotdogs at the game itself. 4.3 million pounds of pretzels. Wow! People love to eat. Continue reading “Super Bowl Sunday” A Winning Season
I had three short dreams last night. They all were along the same lines. The law.
In one of them I found myself in an office situation. The people I worked with were continually upset. Each time they would come through a particular door where the office files were they would end up in a conversation that would not only disconnect them from the work they were in process of doing, but agitation would rise up. Continue reading The End Of Legalism Is Found In Christ
