A Christmas Wish List – A Revelation of your Father

/0 Comments/in /by

 

During the Christmas season I have a vivid childhood memory of pulling down the big J.C. Penny’s catalogue in the front closest of our home and sprawling on the living room floor and drooling over the latest Christmas toys. Yes, I would make and my wish list and every so often on Christmas Eve the wish became a reality. Like the year I got the G.I. Joe helicopter or another year I opened a racecar track!

Now that I’m all grown up, I’m trying to learn how to become a child again and maintain that same passion I had when I compiled my wish list. Recently I pulled my Bible out of my backpack and read from the book of Ephesians. The verses in chapter 1 certainly caught my attention. They are actually three requests that Paul prays for the Ephesian church. This is the first request from Ephesians 1:17

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.

The Holy Spirit caused this request/prayer to fly off the page and into my heart. I wrote the verse on a notecard and decided to daily pray this prayer, put it on my wish list if you will. But I am not only asking God to delivery this spiritual blessing to me but also to the people I dearly love and minister to.

The other thing that struck me about this verse is that it matches the vision for Oceans Ministries ….To make the love of the Father known to spiritual and physical orphans around the world.

This first request of Paul in verse 17 emulates the reason why this ministry began and the burning passion of what Oceans Ministries hopes to accomplish in the lives of others. The healing that our world needs, the hope our hurting country longs for, and the power the church of Christ needs so desperately flows from a revelation of the Father’s love. That is why Paul begins his prayer by asking the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ to flood the church with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may know the Father better… As I weekly minster on the streets of Denver, share the vision presented in Journey to Father’s Heart to prisoners, churches, etc. I see the deep wounds and pain that can only be healed by heart knowledge. The heart knowledge obtained from the Father’s love. This is the only cure for the curses in our sinful world.

This first request to receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation points to the fact that we need the Spirit to open our minds so that we may know who the Father is. This Father who is good and wants to give good gifts to His children. We come to know His goodness when we see the gift of His Son Jesus. Jesus was born as a spotless lamb, died in our place, took on our curse of sin, so that we can be adopted children and enter into the Father’s love filled home.

This is the greatest of all gifts, knowing our true Daddy who loves us fully in His Son Jesus. Until we grasp the revelation of a Good Father we limit the abundant life available and instead live as insecure children writing a long wish list filled with gifts that will never satisfy the soul.

So pull your Bible out, turn to Eph. 1:15-23 and make this prayer your Christmas wish list, ask your Father to reveal His goodness and love to you and those around you. Those who come to know their Father will forever live in the security of His love which has the power to transform our fractured world for His glory!

Oh….and the other two-requests flow out of this first one. Everything in life is radically impacted by our relationship to their Heavenly Father and will be in the next few blogs. Go ahead and read ahead to get a sneak peek!

The Eagle Speaks – The Covering

/0 Comments/in /by

 

If you have an emergency you call 911, however I recall someone telling me when a spiritual crisis occurs to turn to Psalm 91:1. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referenced this text for myself or when ministering to others in a time of pain:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The writer unfolds the imagery further in Psalm 91:4:

He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.

This was a text I meditated on after encountering the eagle on my bike ride. I thought about how the Eagle builds its nest in high places far above all the predators below, a refuge nestled in a towering tree or a rocky cliff high in the mountains where their young can be raised until they are able to soar on their own.

Psalm 91 depicts a spiritual battle full of flaming arrows shot and plagues unleashed by the enemy. These attacks are accompanied by deadly pestilence and darkness, which seek to destroy. Yet even though thousands may fall all around us we have the promise of security high above the battle in our fortress of the everlasting wings of our Father’s love. The safest place for you and I to be is in the protective presence of the Spirit of God a place of peace and rest.

If you read any posts on social media or the plethora of news reports before and after the elections it is obvious we live in a culture controlled by fear, and make me wonder about where many place their faith. For those who claim Jesus Christ as the King and Savior our lives should display a peace and rest which flows from high above where we are covered under the mighty wings of our Father.

My encounter with the eagle on Election Day, reminded me of my personal need to make His presence my priority. When fear creeps in, my soul becomes agitated and I realize I have left the shelter of His wings and moved down into the dangerous place of self focused living. The eagle beckons me back to Abba Father, so that I can return to His presence, and through trust live securely under the “shadow of the Almighty.”

Hear and hold on to this promise the Father gives to those who love and desire His presence above all found in Psalm 91:14-15:

I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Today if you are in Christ you are covered with His precious blood, you live in a high and holy place where you are covered under the wings of the Father’s everlasting love. Live out of that place and let the world see your powerful rest found in the refuge of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and reign!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eagle Speaks – Waiting for the Wind

/2 Comments/in /by

 

As I watched the Bald Eagle fly over me the other afternoon I couldn’t help but notice how smoothly it soared over the glassy reservoir. So unlike the quacking ducks that constantly flapped their awkward wings, the eagle effortlessly glided upward only occasionally moving its wings. Our Creator God definitely designed the eagle with some unique features. A bit of research revealed that the eagle has enormous wings that can reach over 7 feet in diameter, yet in contrast has a rather small heart that becomes weary with constant flapping. Since it takes a tremendous amount of effort for the eagle to flap its wings, to conserve energy young eagles are taught at an early age to soar on the wind thermals or upward current of warm air.

Eagles are experts at picking out the correct wind thermals and may have to remain perched on a cliff or tree for days until the right current flows. Yet their patience will carry them up to great heights. In fact, eagles are the highest flyers of all birds and have been spotted soaring alongside airplanes at high elevations.

All this additional information about eagles gives new meaning to Isaiah 40:31.

But those who hope (wait on) in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles…”

What a great promise! What a difficult promise! I desire to soar but the waiting or hoping is the challenging part. In many ways we are created like the eagle, blessed with gifts, but possessing feeble hearts. When we move in our own power and strength we burn out and eventually crash. Yet, Isaiah reminds us we are called to wait, hope, and trust in the Wind of the Holy Spirit and learn to ride on His thermals to the places the Father is calling us.

How often have we furiously and fervently flapped our wings in order to keep up with a culture consumed by self-will, power, and promotion, only to be left weary and wounded. Jesus, the master of all flyers, displayed to us in the Gospels that He could do nothing apart from the Wind from His Father and He would not start soaring until the Holy Spirit blew in at His baptism (Luke 3:22, 4:1). Ah…the Wind of God is not like the ways of the world.

Jesus knew the Father’s Kingdom could not invade a dark world through the ways of men but only by the Wind of Heaven, as Zechariah prophesied:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ says the LORD Almighty. (4:6)

The eagle encounter spoke to my heart about the season of waiting in prayer for the Mighty Wind of the Holy Spirit to flow with Revival power. I believe a day is soon coming when the Wind will be blowing and His church will jump into Heaven’s Thermal and soar, pointing the world to the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!

The Eagle Speaks – Carried into His Presence

/3 Comments/in , /by

 

One of the best times for me to pray and think is when I ride my bike. Last Tuesday, Election Day, I hopped on my bike and rode around a reservoir near our house. As I called out to Abba Father for some direction a soaring bird with huge wings landed on top of a tree near the bike path. I quickly applied the brakes, as I was stunned to see a Bald Eagle above me. I pulled out my phone to capture this surreal moment and the eagle flew across the lake to join another eagle resting in a tree. I can count on one hand the times I have seen a Bald Eagle in the wild but to see two was unbelievable!

Mesmerized by the eagles perched high on the tree my mind began illuminating with Scripture texts about the majestic, powerful eagle. As the wind picked up the eagle took flight and soared over my head, again I tried to take a picture of it as it flew by. Well that black dot in the blue sky is the eagle 🙂  Needless to say I enjoyed the bike ride home, as I was filled with praise for the wonder of God’s creation.

img_2094

The next morning, as I sat down to do my devotions, my focus turned to the recent elections and I contemplated what it all might mean for our country. Immediately God brought me back to the eagles I had just encountered and how the eagle is the symbolic bird of the United States. I turned the pages of my Bible and began looking up passages about eagles. I ended up with 33 references! The imagery presented in scripture about the eagle is utterly amazing and I think will be an encouragement to many in light of the recent elections. So for the next few blogs I would like to share what I believe the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart about the eagle.

The first truth is from Exodus 19:4: Carried into His Presence

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

I truly believe that our Father is preparing us His children for a new move of God where His passion is for us to be once again in His presence. We have been enslaved to our world, our “Egypt” for too long. Like an eagle God will place us on His wings and carry us out of bondage to His Holy Mountain to once again reveal His glory the place of true freedom. The eagle is a symbol of freedom and true freedom is only found in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Join me in praying that the Father would place us on the wings of the Holy Spirit and bring us out of our sin and into the reviving presence of our loving Abba Father.

 

 

 

 

 

Kingdom Leadership – Burritos, a Prostitute, and the Power of God

/1 Comment/in , /by

 

It was Tuesday night and we were walking through a motel parking lot when a lady stopped us to ask for some food. She had noticed us knocking on hotel doors carrying our basket filled with burritos, bananas, and chocolate chip cookies. We willingly loaded her small purse with as much as it could hold and then all of a sudden she unleashed a fury of anger and frustration with a torrent of words I can’t repeat in this blog. She was obviously at a breaking point; it was the end of the month, her phone had just been stolen, likely by a client she had sold her body to, and she exploded with a rage that masked her deep fear. We tried to settle her down and took a few minutes to attentively listen to what was troubling her. Once she calmed down we asked if we could pray over her. She paused for a moment, turned her head so that her eyes met both of our eyes and then quietly responded, “Yes! I need Jesus and prayer.”

Usually one of us prays for any of the individuals we meet, but this time the Holy Spirit nudged my wife Patty to gently touch this wounded woman’s shoulder and ask her if she would start out the prayer time. This sister didn’t hesitate to offer a prayer. So here in the middle of the parking lot, we held hands as she cried out to Jesus, literally crying and asking for forgiveness and help in her desperate situation. After a few moments Patty and I joined her before the mercy seat of God, asking the Father to flood her with His overwhelming goodness. The three of us could sense the Holiness of the moment and as we finished praying her anger and rage was replaced with a calm peace and a hope for a better day. We exchanged hugs; all sighed with relief, realizing that Jesus had just shown up.

That evening on the dangerous streets of East Colfax Jesus allowed us to be a part of Kingdom Leadership. Jesus Himself demonstrated it best when He knelt down and washed the dirty feet of His disciples. It doesn’t make sense to us that King Jesus became a servant and yet He did. And after He finished displaying this powerful picture of Kingdom Leadership He challenged His disciples by saying these words:

Do you understand what I have done for you? …You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I Am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:12-17

Take a minute to reread those words. Jesus is telling us that if we desire to see transformation in our world and witness the goodness of our Father it will begin on our knees serving others just as Jesus served us on the cross. Servant Leadership will open up the door for the Father’s Kingdom to break forth. Burritos, bananas, and chocolate chip cookies become tools for us to share the love in the darkest places, yes even the places where the lies of Satan reign.

When we practice Kingdom Leadership Jesus’ style, you will be blessed by doing the same. It is truly indescribable yet somehow in the middle of the parking lot that evening Heaven came down and glory filled our souls!

`