The purpose of this ministry is to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to encourage you to see God as the loving Father He is. This weekly on-line magazine will present messages of hope, faith, love, healing and blessing, based on the belief that the Word of God is 100% true and applicable to all our lives. Please leave condemnation, politics and religious tradition in cyberspace. My God is good all the time.

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Week of 11/17/96

Joseph had a dream (Genesis 37:5). That was the fun part. What followed was a long, unpleasant period of testing (that character building stuff) to prepare him for the responsibility ahead of him. Why God chooses to do things this way I do not know. I mean, why not give the guy some character, then the dream? I don't like it. Unfortunately, God isn't likely to change His MO anytime soon, so we'd best get used to it.

See, Joseph had a tendency to act like a jerk. I don't know what the Hebrew word for that would be, but I do know the equivalent in Yiddish. His eleven brothers hated him ("Dad always liked you best"). Joseph, of course, didn't help matters any by flouncing around in his "coat of many colors" while his brothers came in every day smelling like sweat and sheep. On top of that, Joseph was something of a tattletale (Gen:37:2). You can imagine the scene around the dinner table: "Hey, dad, guess what Dan, Asher, Naphtali and Gad did today?"

But Joseph didn't stop there. He thought this might be a good time to tell them about the wonderful dream he had. "There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed all your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf" (Gen. 37:7). This didn't improve his relationship with his brothers. So he gave it another try. "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me" (Gen. 37:9). "Oh, so now the whole family is going to bow down to you, huh?", said his father, Isaac. His brothers, who by now had figured out who the eleven stars were, glanced at each other and ate their lentil soup in silence. They had heard enough.

We all know what happened next, how Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt, eventually rising to a position of authority second only to Pharoah. The word (dream) that God had given him was real. But Joseph had to grow into that dream. He became known for his wisdom. Yes, the same guy that didn't know when to keep his mouth shut became a model of restraint and wise judgment. Through his counsel famine was averted and thousands of lives saved, including those of his family. The dreamer became an interpreter of dreams.

Joseph did one thing right, even from the beginning. He believed the word God had given him. It was his word. He never doubted it. He held on to it for years before it finally came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him, and the dream came true. His father and brothers did eventually bow down to him, but it was a different Joseph they bowed down to. Gone was the spoiled tattletale in the imitation of royal attire. Before them stood the "lord of all Egypt", weeping with joy, and he said, "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life" (Gen. 45:5). It took Joseph some time, but he finally got it. The dream wasn't intended to give glory to him, but to God.

Right now there is a dream, a word, planted in you. It may be deeply buried. You may have carried it from childhood. Don't give up on it! It was given to you for a reason. Your friends and family may not understand it, or even like it, so talk to God about it instead. He's the One who put it there in the first place. He alone can bring it to pass.

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Week of 11/10/96

For more than half of my life I have pursued a career in music. For years this dream consumed me and all my energy went into making it a reality. Never did I question that I was talented. I had written hundreds of songs. I had a truly unique sound and good musicians around me devoted to seeing our goal realized. Yet every time we seemed to be on the verge of success, the whole thing would grind to a halt. We just couldn't seem to get anywhere. We couldn't reach that one person who could say "yes" and launch our career.

This used to bother me (extreme understatement). Then I read this verse in Proverbs: A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. This verse seemed to jump of the page and smack me in the face (rhema). I noticed that this was a very clear statement. It didn't say, "Sometimes a man's gift makes room for him and every once in a while brings him before mediocre men". It was a promise. Still it was only one verse. Maybe I was just trying to make it fit my situation. Then I saw this: Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men (Proverbs 22:29)

I found this to be a recurring theme throughout the Bible. God gifts men and when they put their trust in Him, He uses those gifts to promote them. An excellent example of this is found in the book of Daniel. Here is a young man, a slave, but his gifts make room for him. By the end of Chapter 2 King Nebuchadnezzar is literally lying on the floor before him, thanking him, and praising Daniel's God. If that is not enough, the king promotes him to chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Not bad for a little slave kid.

You noticed, of course, that Daniel's talent not only enriched his life, but more importantly, it glorified God. That's what our gifts should ultimately do. That's why we have them. Now I realize why I never got anywhere with my musical career: I wanted all the glory. I was trying to promote myself, instead of trusting God to do it. His way.

Even knowing these things, our gifts can at times be burdensome. We have an overwhelming desire to use them, and when we're not, it can be very frustrating. But I know that the Father did not give us these gifts to make us unhappy. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

Yes, I still expect to have a music career. Yes, many people still think I'm nuts. They say it's a million to one. Good. That means only God can make it happen, which takes all the pressure off me. They say there's already too many bands. God said my gift would make room for me. They tell me it's all who you know. They're right.

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Week of 11/03/96

"Run around the city of Jerusalem 12 times backwards, hop on one foot up the Mount of Olives, backstroke the Dead Sea and I'll consider not destroying you in one of the many incredibly horrible ways I have at My disposal." God could have said something like that. Instead He made it almost too easy. He said believe in Me and I will establish you, believe what My prophets say to you and you will prosper.

Notice I said almost too easy. Something is still required of us: belief. This is not mentally assenting to the existence of God. The word believe here means to be firm, stable, established; firmly persuaded; to believe solidly. Of course, this is certainly something we can handle, but it does require commitment on our part. We must choose to believe and act upon that belief.

The next part of the verse, however, is more difficult for people living in this modern world to accept. While the Jews of the Old Testament were accustomed to prophets living among them, we are not. Many people assume that God has said all He plans to say and don't even acknowledge that prophecy still exists. But it does. God is still talking to us through His written Word, dreams, visions, situations, that "still small voice", and, yes, even through very ordinary men and women.

Bear in mind that the early church was composed of people just like you and me, in other words, folks prone to mess things up and quite often totally clueless. Yet the Apostle Paul told them, Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1). Why? Because they needed it. Prophecy edifies, encourages and comforts God's people (1 Cor. 14:3). It is not fortune telling, but usually serves to confirm something that the Holy Spirit has already spoken to our spirit. Having this confirmation helps us step out in our faith, convinced we are moving according to the Father's will and purpose. And if the Corinthians needed that kind of help, we need it even more.

This is not to say that we live our lives waiting for some "word". Most of the time we know exactly what to do. If you are living in an adulterous relationship you don't need a prophet to tell you it's wrong. But sometimes we have decisions or goals or problems that we have already prayed about and don't yet see how to resolve. At times like this, God may speak to you through someone and BANG it clicks in your spirit and you know you have the answer. Many of the wonderful things that have happened in my life are due to the fact that I have listened to and believed His prophets.

Paul further states, or rather commands, in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good. If you despise prophecy, obviously you will quench the Holy Spirit by not only forbidding Him to operate in your life, but by calling His gift to you worthless and a lie. And that certainly will not cause you to prosper. But as Paul also makes clear we must test these prophecies, weigh them and filter them through the Word of God, check them in our spirits and keep what is good.

Remember also that every word of prophecy is not preceeded by "Thus saith the Lord". While I have experienced some dramatic prophetic words from the Lord, more often they have been delivered to me in a very casual manner. Sometimes the person delivering the message wasn't even aware that he had said anything of significance to me, but the impact of those words went right to my heart.

So believe in God and you will be solid (established). But don't stop there. Believe His prophets so He can further prosper you in all areas of your life. Listen. He may speak through a pastor or an evangelist. He may speak through a friend. He may speak through a son or daughter. He might even speak through you.

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Week of 10/27/96

Do you realize what an amazing promise this is? Look at it again. We call to God, He answers. That would really be more than enough. But He doesn't stop there. He wants to show us great and mighty things that we don't know. That could be rather helpful.

Which is exactly the point.

Take a look at the Hebrew word for "mighty" in this verse, batsar. It actually means "inaccessible" or "isloated". In other words, what only God knows. This is what He wants to give us and our cost for this priceless information is to simply call on Him. To ask (Matthew 7:7).

Of course you have to first of all believe that God's Word can be trusted and that He doesn't make these promises casually. You have to believe that if you ask Him for insight into a certain situation, He will answer you (James 1:5).

Personally, I am surprised that so many people have a problem with this. When I see endless commercials for these so-called "psychic" lines, I become convinced that people are desperate to believe something, anything! They're starving for answers. They'll trust their future to a total stranger. They'll go to palm readers, tarot readers, and astrologers instead of Him who made their hands, planned their future and hung the stars.

Sadly, I think the main reason for this lack of belief in God actually doing anything for them rests uncomfortably on the shoulders of the Church. For years many denominations have purged the Supernatural from their doctrine, as well as the daily lives of their followers, leaving them with a God that just sort of "is". They teach God as unknowable, mysterious, borderline schizophrenic and most of all, very angry. They end up feeling like the Scarecrow approaching the Great and Mighty Oz to ask for a brain. So they turn to a cheap (and very dangerous) counterfeit, the occult.

This has got to a major disappointment to the Father. Here's the most powerful, loving, generous, omniscient Person that ever was or will be offering His help for free and people call up some guy who gets paid by the hour. Sad, very sad. Dumb, very dumb.

So the next time you face any situation that you just don't know the answer to, before you call anyone else, call God. He will answer and show you great and mighty things that you don't know. And one other thing I've learned from experience, He really enjoys blowing your mind when He does it. .

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Week of 10/20/96

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With an election of some importance just a couple weeks away, I felt that the above Scripture would be a timely study. As I state in the preamble to this page, I'm not interested in getting into heated political arguments with readers, and to discourage this, I have kept my politics, such as I have, to myself. This then is not going to be a discussion of issues or candidates but how I believe we should relate to government, leaders, and the political process in general.

Many Christians think times are tough. They feel discriminated against in schools, the workplace, in the media, etc. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to Timothy when times were considerably tougher and the penalty for being a member of The Way was more serious than your friends thinking you weren't fun at parties anymore. So Paul didn't waste his words. He is not instructing Timothy (and us) to make nice-nice; he is giving a formula for attaining the rewards of good government and furthering the gospel.

First he urges us to offer supplications, prayers and intercessions for all people in authority. This implies a lot more than a casual nod towards our leaders. He is talking about earnest, intense, concentrated spiritual warfare for the very souls of those who govern us. Notice that he makes no distinction between "good" and "bad" leaders. They all need our constant prayer.

Next he says something that must have been really hard for Timothy to swallow: give thanks. What, for these oppresive, murderous Roman dogs? Yes, because you just finished praying for God to guide them. If you believe your own prayers you give thanks for the results before you see them. Besides, Paul knew that God had used even enemies of his people for good in the past, King Cyrus of Persia being but one example.

The result of doing these things is that we get to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Isn't that what we all want? Isn't this what good government should provide?

Unfortunately, we don't seem to follow Paul's advice very often and maybe that's why we don't get the results. We slam our leaders. We make nasty comments about their wives and children. We demonize "the other side". I can't remember the last time I saw a Christian leader pray for our President and our Congress, let alone give thanks for them. Why don't Christian TV programs and networks that have huge audiences engage in corporate prayer daily for our leaders, instead of dumping on them. And what about those leaders of other countries that we call our enemies? What if every Christian in this country were praying daily for Saddam Hussein? Do we believe in prayer or don't we? Is God's arm too short to reach Iraq?

We must realize that being shrill, marching around waving signs in people's faces and being contemptuous of those we disagree with is simply wrong. It is an attempt to do with the flesh what God intends for us to accomplish with His Spirit. Yes, we should get involved in the business of this country. Christians should be visible and working in all areas of public life (and acting like Christians while doing so). But if you think we're going to legislate Christ, think again. Jesus disappointed multitudes of people when He didn't storm Jerusalem with His angels and wipe out the much hated Roman rule. Aren't we setting ourselves up for an even greater disappointment when we look to a mere man to storm Washington and make everything better?

My hope is in God, not man, not coalitions. He keeps all His promises. He will remain my Source regardless of which political party is flexing its muscles. No matter who becomes President, Bill or Bob, Jesus will still be Lord, and that's a much higher office. He is my Bridge to the Future. God will not be surprised or concerned about how this election turns out. He will still expect us to look to Him for our success. He will still expect us to reverence our leaders and treat them respectfully, even when we disagree with them. Most of all, He expects us to pray for them non-stop. They are going to need it. .

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Week of 10/13/96

If you conducted a poll of Christians and asked them where they believed they would spend eternity, the vast majority, without any hesitation, would say Heaven. Most of us, myself included, spend very little time worrying about this or trying to figure it out. We trust God in this matter and accept His salvation as reality. When I really think about this, I find it amazing.

We trust the Father with our very souls. We have no problem believing that we will live forever in His presence enjoying the unimaginable beauty and wonders that are His realm. We trust Him to spare us from neverending death and torment in the eternal separation from Him that awaits the sinner. But when it comes to something really important, like which job to take, we don't trust God as far as we could throw Madeline Murray O'Hare.

Oh, I know we say we do. I say it all the time. Then I realize I'm trying to figure everything out. I'm going through a series of intellectual tumbling routines, factoring every positive, every negative, until the final outcome is no longer in doubt. And why shouldn't I? I'm intelligent. I've been around. I can see right through people. And after all, I know what's good for me!

It's usually about this time that God shows me just how much I don't know. He isn't bound to my logic. His intelligence dwarfs mine to the point of nothingness. He's been around forever. He can cause people we think we know to suddenly surprise us. And not only does He really know what's best for me, He wants me to have it.

This is why it's so important not to lean (support oneself) on our own understanding. We simply don't have the resources. God knows exactly what He's doing. He's already been to where we're going.

This becomes incredibly obvious to me when I look back at the circuitous road that's gotten me here. Nothing has ever happened as I planned it. I could never have imagined that some situations that seemed so awful could in the end produce so much good in my life. I can look back now and see what God did, but it still amazes me how He did it. If I imagined a thousand ways for Him to operate, He would pick number 1001.

But it's not enough to just trust God, although that's a really good start. We must acknowledge Him in all our ways. This basically means to maintain constant, intimate contact with Him through prayer and fellowship. As a result of this communion He will direct (make pleasing, straight, good) our paths. As I have noted, my own path has at times seemed to meander quite a bit. Some of this has undoubtedly been due to disobedience on my part, or not maintaining that intimacy with the Lord, but some of those twists and turns were necessary. Relationships were established. Lessons were learned. Faith was exercised and strengthened. God made even the mistakes fit into His plan.

Trust is a conscious act. It is something we will ourselves to do. It's a choice, just like using our faith. And like faith, it grows with use. Everytime we trust God to direct us and we see it work, we are encouraged to repeat the process. And even when we don't really see where we're going, we can trust God to get us there.

One of the definitions of the word "trust" given in my dictionary is quite revealing. It applies to the term as used in Law: A legal title to property held by one party for the benefit of another. God has established just such a trust for us. We have, through Christ, legal right to what He holds for us. Our futures.

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Week of 10/6/96

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I would love to sit here at this computer and tell you that this past week I had no need for God's mercy. That would, of course, be a lie. The fact is I'm very glad to know it's readily available to me because I need it daily. Sometimes I even need it hourly. And just like everything else the Father has (and is), there is no shortage. He will not run out of mercy any more than He will run out of love.

If you are anything like me this is exceptionally good news.

Not that I'm running around robbing convenience stores or committing what most people would call THE BIG SINS. I just mess up. I can finish an hour long Bible study, be full of peace and joy, get in my car and lose my cool with the first slow driver I encounter. I can still get angry and offended with people that don't treat me with the respect due someone of my godlike stature. I still have negative thoughts and a mouth that will say almost anything given half a chance. I can detect every little fault in others while conveniently overlooking those (few) I've been told I possess.

You get the idea. I could go on but I think I've dumped on myself enough, thank you. The point is, the better my life with God becomes and the more His Spirit guides me, the more I'm aware of the need for His mercy. These small failures wouldn't have bothered me a few years ago. Now I see how incredibly detrimental they can be to my success and happiness, as well as my usefulness, on this planet. One thoughtless word, one irresponsible action can have tremendous consequences. I don't need that.

Of course God knows this. That's why we have such a thing as mercy. If He didn't want to be merciful the very concept of mercy wouldn't even exist. But fortunately for us it does. It's just part of who God is. He knows how inclined we are to mess everything up. He remembers we're dust (and how much can you expect from dust?)

Look at Hebrews 4:15-16. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus knows what we're going through down here. He's been there. He is not surprised when we blow it. And because of the sympathy He has for us we can boldly (without reservation, with frankness, with full and open speech) walk right up to the very throne of God and say, "Father, I really did it this time. I need your mercy and your grace to get me out of this mess." And we will get it. So will some others we don't think deserve it.

Notice that it does not say to come cringing to the throne of grace. We don't have to crawl through broken glass. We don't have to bribe any angels to gain entrance. We walk in as the children of God that we are and get what we need: mercy and grace. Don't make it any more complicated.

As Christians, we need to immitate our Father in this area much more. Are we demonstrating this same kind of mercy to others? Do we expect God to instantly forgive us yet remember every lousy thing anybody ever did to us? Can they walk right up to us and obtain our mercy? Excuse me, but I think I need to go to that throne of grace again.

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