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.

The Scriptural evidence that healing is as much for today as it was 2,000 years ago is simply overwhelming. It is certainly as needed. In the coming weeks I hope to go into this in greater detail as well as relate some personal experiences to you. But for now, reread the opening verse of this message. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. If you're following Him, why should you expect anything less? .
.

.

Week of 2/16/97

What is this power and authority we have been given? How does it work and why does it seem that sometimes it doesn't work? As I pondered these deep theological questions this morning, I saw in my mind's eye, in all his glory, Barney Fife. Then my mind went careening back through time to a distant episode of the Andy Griffith show that demonstrates this verse better than anything I could think of. OK, so you're more spiritual than me. Pretend this is a parable.

In one episode a couple pretty tough guys are selling fruit on the outskirts of Mayberry. As this is bad for the local merchants, and therefore against the law, Barney cruises up and tells them to stop what they're doing and leave. However, neither of these guys is impressed by Barney's fearful bug-eyed behavior and when one of them simply stamps his foot, Barney runs "like a chicken in a hail storm."

Moments later the ever helpful Andy stops by and tells the toughs to leave, and as he is not acting like a maniac, they take him seriously and begin to pack their truck. "This one's not fooling", they say. When Andy asks what they mean by that, they tell him about their encounter with Barney, whom they refer to as a 'clown'. So Andy tells these thugs a tall tale of Barney's ferocity and his dangerous proclivity towards mayhem. He advises them to hurry and leave before Barney comes back and shoots them. He also promises to save their truck for their next of kin.

Andy then orders Barney to go back out to the highway and run these guys off. When they see him coming, they frantically load up and do the old scram e vou, as Barney would say. However, on the way out of town they stop at Wally's filling station and find out that everything Andy has told them is a lie. Barney's a total wimp. They head back to the highway to set up shop again and tell Floyd to give Barney a message: they're selling again and they want him as a customer.

Floyd, acting as a minor prophet, comes to the courthouse to report this news (through much incoherent babbling) to Andy. Barney overhears the whole conversation and is, of course, ashamed. Together he and Andy head back out to the highway to deal with the problem. But when they near the place, Barney (in a very un-Fifelike moment) firmly tells Andy to get out of the car. He will take care of this situation. It's his job.

Barney approaches the two lawbreakers and tells them to leave. They stand their ground and get right in his face. They tower over him. Undaunted, Barney says, "Do you see this badge? It means I am appointed to uphold the law." They edge closer in defiance. Again Barney speaks, "Sure, you guys are a lot bigger than me. But this badge means there's someone behind me who's a lot bigger than either of you." The defeated pair slink away in silence.

Just like 'ole Barn' (here comes the spiritual summing up), we have been appointed to uphold the law, but we have to realize that the devil and all his works (sickness, fear, lack, etc.) aren't impressed by who we are. They are terrified, however, of the One who stands behind us. They cannot withstand Him and they know it. Our badge is the name of Jesus, the source of our power and authority. He stands behind us ready to back up whatever we do in His name. Whether we're Barneys or Andys we can run them out of town. .
.

.

Week of 2/9/97

One word I associate with active faith more than any other is the word 'done'. Faith is believing you already have when your hands are still empty, that you're already healed when your body still says otherwise and you're already seated in heavenly places when you're stuck in traffic on the freeway. This is what Mary is doing in the first chapter of Luke.

Take a look at verses 46 through 55 of Chapter 1. You will see an amazing thing, something you may not have noticed before. This is not just a song (The Magnificat). This is prophecy. Yes, little Mary was a prophetess. But there is something more here. This is one of the boldest confessions of faith made in the entire Bible.

Mary begins this passage by stating that virtually her whole being is focused on, delighting in and praising God. In this kind of environment it is hard for faith to do anything but work, because she can't do this and concentrate on this natural realm at the same time. She is directly plugged in to the Supernatural. Next, she prophesies something that might seem just a bit grand, For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed (Luke 1:48b). This is a remarkable statement considering it's coming from an unmarried pregnant teenager. Then she goes on to declare that God has done great things for her. And every verse following is past tense. That's faith.

You may be thinking to yourself that Mary had some special quality that made all this possible. She must have had some extra dose of faith. On the contrary, I believe she was probably just like most of the other Jewish girls in her neighborhood. In fact, she seems rather surprised and bewildered that all this is happening to her. But she did one thing that most of us never do.

Back up just a bit to verse 38 and you'll see it. Gabriel has just told her she will give birth to the Son of God. Try to imagine for a minute what must have been racing through this young girl's mind. Not only is an angel standing there talking to her, which would blow any of us away, but he's telling her all sorts of literally impossible things. Besides that, how will she explain her illegal pregnancy? What will Joseph say? Her reputation will be destroyed. And most of all, she must have thought, "Why me?" But she says, in the face of all this, "Let it be to me according to your word." Mary submitted herself to the will of God. She said in effect, "Here, God, take my life, my plans and my future. I trust You." Mary believed God.

This is not just my interpretation. Mary's cousin Elizabeth confirms this when she prophesies, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45). Belief (faith in God's word) brings fulfillment of God's word. It makes it done.

The Hawaiian word for faith, paulele, illustrates this point beautifully. Like many Hawaiian words, it is made up of two separate ideas, in this case, pau (done, finished) and lele (leap, fly). How perfect! We've jumped over the depths below. We've landed safely on the other side, where God has been waiting for us all along. It's done. .
.

.

Week of 2/2/97

I was all prepared to do a study today on a fairly obscure piece of Scripture that I (at least) found really fascinating, when something happened. God decided He had a better idea. I must be making real progress because I only said, "yeah, but" a couple times. Anyway, I'm convinced that someone out there needs to read this. If you are starting a business, or if your business is slow in growing, maybe it's you.

Almost a year ago my wife and I launched our Internet business, 3 Friends in Kona. We lined up the best products we could find, priced them fairly and waited for the orders to pour in. Well, they didn't exactly pour. It was more like a drip here and a drip there. You could safely say it was a smashing failure.

Fortunately, we are not easily discouraged. First of all we were convinced that the business was a good (God) idea. So many things just fell into place when we were getting started that we couldn't think otherwise. Secondly, we are totally persuaded that God, being our Father, wants us to prosper at whatever we do and be successful ( Psalm 1:3; Psalm35:27; 3 John 2). So why was it not happening?

You can be sure it was not due to lack of prayer. Everyday, among other things, I would commit this business to God (Psalm 37:5; Proverbs 16:3). I would ask Him to bless it, prosper it, make it work. Yet nothing happened.

Then one day when I finished my usual prayer for the business, I heard God say, "Why don't you be specific?" (Now don't start worrying. It wasn't an audible voice. It was just inside me.) So I, being the spiritual giant I am, said something to the effect of, "Huh?" Then I realized what I was doing wrong. I was praying in generalities and it's very hard to have faith for something that vague. Faith needs focus. So I just bluntly asked God what He wanted me to pray for. "One order a day", was the answer.

This did not cause me to turn cartwheels down the road. One order a day. Big deal. Then I remembered the above verse from Zechariah: For who has despised the day of small things? In other words, don't be afraid of how insignificant something seems when it starts. God will complete it triumphantly. So I did it. I said, "OK, Lord, I will believe You for one order a day." Then I added, "But when that starts happening I'm going to ask for two a day!" He didn't say no.

Immediately, when I came in from my morning run, I received an order. But it wasn't an order for one item. It was an order for three. The next day I received another order from a guy that doesn't even have a computer (!) for seven items. God said one order a day, but He didn't say how big the order could be. I was the one thinking small. And while this has just started, I have no doubt it will continue.

This is not a magic formula. You have to believe to receive. But for me it was a lot easier to believe for one order to come in every day than to hold on to some vague image of a successful business. God knew this, which even further proves how much He wants us to prosper in everything we do. He even showed me what to pray for and how to focus those prayers.

Is this business my BIG DREAM? My life's goal? Of course not. I haven't spent my life dreaming of running a mailorder business. It's a job. Look throughout the Bible and you'll see this over and over, people doing one thing until another career overtakes it. But I want to do it well. And at least it allows me to pursue the things I really want to do. It allows me the freedom to work on my music and artwork and even have time to write this little message each week. It's a small thing. .

.

.

Week of 1/26/97

I'm doing something different this week. Several days ago I received an email from a reader asking for prayer. I felt compelled to write her back as well as pray for her because I believed I had some information that would help her in her situation. However, something was wrong in the address she had given and try as I might I could not get the email to go through. This week's message is that undelivered email. While it was written especially for Amanda, it may be of help to others out there.

This sister in Christ asked for something that broke my heart and even as I write this my eyes are getting misty. She asked me to pray that God would send someone to love her for all that she is. Some people (myself included) are moved to compassion by seeing sickness or poverty or some other sad condition, but nothing makes me ache more than seeing a person that is lonely. But I have some very good news for you. Your Savior knew loneliness like no Man that ever lived and your desire is not beyond His concern or His ability to fulfill.

First of all, settle it in your mind that God wants you to have someone to share your life with. He makes this abundantly clear from the beginning of Genesis right on through to the back of your Bible where the maps start. Marriage was His idea, not ours, and He is definitely pleased with it. He honors it (Hebrews 13:4), considers it sacred (Matthew 19:5), a blessing (Proverbs 18:22), a sign of His favor to others (Proverbs 12:4), a way of strengthening us (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), and thinks it should be fun and exciting (Proverbs 5:18-19), even for Christians. You can add to this list the entire Song of Solomon, which, while it shows symbolically the relationship of Christ to his Church, also gives us an idea of how God wants our relationships with our mates to be. And these are just a few of hundreds of examples of His desire for us to have someone to share our lives with.

Which brings me to the verse that headed up this message: Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Remember, all your desires don't originate with you. God put some of them there. And if you make Him your number one priority (Matthew 6:33), He will not only place those desires in your innermost being, He will fulfill them. However, He doesn't want you to look to anyone but Him to complete you. No man or woman on the face of this earth can do that. You are complete in Christ.

When praying that God will bring this person into your life, or reveal them if they're already there, be specific. Tell your heavenly Father EXACTLY what you desire in a husband. Hey, if you want someone six feet tall with blond hair and green eyes that likes jazz and hockey, ask for that. Don't be afraid to tell your Father what you want. Don't tell yourself you'll just have to settle for whatever comes along. Your Daddy thinks more highly of you than that. You're His little girl.

Also, and this should really go without saying, pray for a born-again mate. Don't get romantically involved with someone that does not yet know the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:14), thinking you will convert them. That is not God's best for you.

Lord, right now I join my faith with my sister Amanda and any others of my family in Christ who are asking you to send that special person into their lives. I know You have seen these unions since before You formed this earth or hung one star. Bring these people together that they may glorify You with their love and their lives and and fulfill all You have put them here to do. Give Amanda strength as she waits and joy as she expects Your very best for her. In the mighty, all-powerful name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Bridegroom Himself, Amen.

Remember, Amanda, you already have Someone who loves you for all that you are. Now just believe (Matthew 21:22) and start thanking your Father for sending you someone to to share His love with. .

.

.

Week of 1/19/97

This verse has become a proverb among believers and nonbelievers alike, and is often applied to anyone who doesn't get the respect due him. As a result, we don't really pay too much attention to the significance this verse has to our present day situation. Before getting into that, though, let me put these words in context.

Jesus' ministry is impacting every town He enters. Thousands are being healed of the diseases that were consuming the population. Blind people are suddenly able to see. Raving lunatics are behaving normally. People crippled from birth are dancing in the streets. Then He enters His hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 13:53), where He goes into the synagogue and attempts to teach. The reaction of the people is, "Hey, who does this guy think he is? We know him! This is the carpenter's kid. I know his brothers and sisters! Where does this guy get all this stuff?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:57-58).

If a country today could truly be called Jesus' country, it would be America. We were founded on Christianity. We're rather proud of it, maybe even somewhat smug about it. He has more houses (churches) here than any place in the world. We send missionaries everywhere. But our presuppositions about Him are doing the same thing to us that it did to the people of Nazareth: limiting Him.

Don't get me wrong. I think people all over this country love Jesus. The people of Nazareth probably thought He was a good kid, too. I'm sure He wasn't wrapping their houses or beating up other kids after school. And if you ask the average person here in America what they think about Jesus, you'll find that most people claim to know Him and respect Him. The problem is with what we think we know.

We know Him as Baby Jesus. We see Him hanging (dead) from a cross. We see Him with a little lamb under His arm. He's a wimp. He's a Republican. We've watched dozens of sanitized Hollywood dramas about His life and work that relegate His power to history (and legend). Worse, we've been taught from the pulpit that He doesn't really do any of that cool stuff anymore and only the lunatic fringe of Christianity (crazy, toothless snake-handlers somewhere in the Ozarks) still believe such nonsense. We mustn't expect too much from Him or we might be disappointed. So we get what we've come to expect: religion without power.

However, when Spirit-filled Christians go into remote villages in notoriously pagan countries and preach Christ, all sorts of wonderful things happen. The dead are raised, blind eyes are opened, terminal diseases vanish and miracles occur one after the other. Why? Because these people have no preconceived idea of who Jesus Christ is or what He can do. Not only that, they usually still believe in a very supernatural way of life. So when some preacher says, "Rise, in Jesus name", they rise. Then he tells them, "You can do this, too", and they do it. No problem.

We need to rediscover this Jesus. The real Jesus. The miraculous Jesus. The one who is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The people of Nazareth missed out on the best thing that (almost) ever happened to them because they thought they knew Him. Let's not make the same mistake. .

.

.

Week of 1/12/97

Yeah! We made it. This is the final study of the Lord's Prayer. You might want to read the past five weeks' articles when you have time, for a look at Father, praise, kingdom, will, daily bread and forgiveness. For the last time let me say that this prayer is intended as a model or outline to show us how to pray. Use it as a guide to praying the will of God (the only way to pray effectively). The verse is still in red, which means Jesus, the ultimate authority on prayer, is still talking.

I must admit that this verse is the most difficult to explain of any I've written about . On the surface, it appears that we are petitioning God not to bring us into sin. That, however, is impossible. Look at James 1:13, Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. This seems to me to be what we are really asking: Don't allow me to be led into temptation by my own desires.

Another way to look at this is to see temptation as a test or trial. Sometimes God actually does allow us to go through these (sort of like a Divine pop-quiz). Jesus Himself experienced this: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Maybe Jesus, knowing what the devil is capable of enticing us with, is instructing us to pray that we don't have to find out for ourselves. Either way, the real issue is found in the rest of the sentence: deliverance from the evil one.

Jesus is urging us to build a fortress of protection around us every day (Psalm 91) and to count on strength to resist the temptation to evil. Of course we still control the drawbridge and can let the enemy waltz right in anytime we choose. But we are, if we are in Christ, delivered from his hand once and for all (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39). He can tempt us, lie to us, make us fear, but he can't have us. We need to remember this everyday. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18).

Which segues neatly into the last line of this prayer, an acknowledgment that the kingdom, the power and the glory belong to our Father. But guess what? He wants to share these things with us. Not only has He given us the keys to His kingdom (Matthew 16:19), He's made it our inheritance (James2:5). He's endued us with His power (Acts 1:8) and made it part of our very being (2 Timothy 1:7). He has even given us His glory (John 17:22)! These aren't things to come. These are all things Jesus Himself told us to ask for and expect daily. He wants us to have them. More importantly, He wants us to share them with others.

You might think this would be good enough, but Jesus doesn't stop here. He wants our prayers to be answered even more than we do. So He gives us one more gift to guarantee our success: His name. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14). I don't care if you're a tongue-talking, hand-clapping Charismatic or a straight-laced, quiet-we're-in-church Denominational type, that is a promise from the Son of the Living God. And it's a promise in any translation, from King James to Message Bible. Believe it or don't. We're out of excuses. We've got everything we need to pray just like Jesus. I just can't figure out what we're waiting for. .
.

.

.

.

Week of 1/5/97

Well, we're rounding the bend on this study of the Lord's Prayer. You might want to read the past four weeks' articles when you have time, for a look at Father, praise, kingdom, will and daily bread. The only thing I will keep repeating is that this prayer is intended as a model or outline to show us how to pray. Use it as a guide to praying the will of God. The verse is still in red, which means Jesus, the ultimate authority on prayer, is still talking.

This simple verse contains one supremely important word: as. This seemingly innocuous word will determine whether you are the recipient of your Father's forgiveness or not. It also will determine whether the rest of your prayers, be they for healing, deliverance, wisdom, finances or whatever, reach the throne of God or splatter against the windows of heaven like bugs on a windshield.

Maybe you think I'm making this up. Look at verses 14 and 15 where Jesus continues with this subject. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Yet later in Matthew 18:21, Peter comes up to Jesus, and (I think) trying to sound spiritual and generous, offers to forgive his brother seven times. Jesus replies seventy times seven would be more like it. He then goes on to tell Peter a scary little story about a guy who didn't quite master this idea. Read it for yourself if you don't think Jesus is serious about this.

Another important thing to note is that Jesus didn't make any exceptions. There is no wrong you have suffered that justifies unforgiveness. While that may sound unfeeling, it is not. Unforgiveness will continue to hurt you, not the person it's directed against. God desires above all things to bless us more than we can even comprehend, but He just can't do it if we won't forgive.

This may never be a problem for you, you wonderful person you, but it sure can be for me. There are boatloads of people that my old man would love to see resting comfortably next to the Titanic, and I haven't even been as seriously hurt as some of you have. But I know I can't think that way. When these thoughts come to mind or I catch myself remembering a wrong done to me, I ask for forgiveness and I also forgive. It is an act of my will. It is also an act of faith because it is simply impossible to do without God's help. God knows this is tough but He expects us to do it anyway, though He doesn't expect us to do it alone or through our flesh. You must believe through faith that you are forgiven and you must believe through faith that you have forgiven, even if it doesn't really feel like it at the moment. Keep forgiving and thanking God for freeing you from unforgiveness. And if you want to really speed the process up, ask God to bless that person. You'll find that it's very hard to hate someone you're praying for.

When this gets hard to do, think about Jesus. If He could forgive His murderers from the cross as He hung there naked and bleeding with our sins and sickness on His shoulders, after doing absolutely nothing to deserve death, we can certainly make an effort to forgive those who have hurt us. We can even forgive that person we sometimes hate the most: ourselves. .
.

.

.

.