Truth and Fire

 There are many preachers of truth. It is estimated there are five million preachers around the world. Many have been thoroughly educated in expositing the truth of the Bible. They have learned the Hebrew and Greek languages. They have immersed themselves in Bible history. They have wrestled with systematic theology and honed their skills in preaching classes. Yes, there are actually classes on preaching where students preach sermons to the professor and other students. These men fill pulpits of all shapes and sizes to proclaim God's word. They do so with great knowledge, oratory skill, and precision in expounding the texts. They are professional and polished. 

On the other hand, there are preachers who are fiery. They preach with great passion. The yell, pound the pulpit, walk all around, and preach with great emotion. They may read a text, but often incorporate many other texts in a shotgun patterned range of topics in one sermon. They are intense, laser focused, and preach hell fire and brimstone. These preachers often come from a Pentecostal background. What they may lack in education they certainly make up for in zeal. 

The preachers of truth may proclaim the Bible, but they do not always do so under the power of God. They lean on their education and preaching experience in sermon preparation and delivery. While their sermons are definitely Biblical, they are also often dry and boring. 

The fiery preachers preach with great zeal, but they do not always expound the truth of the text. They lean on emotional deliveries to get their desired results. Some of these do not any study before preaching. They just rely on the Holy Spirit to give them a fresh word from the Lord. Listen closely and you may find these people preaching the same sermon over and over again just shuffling different texts. Those texts are not exposited frequently. Any sermon without Bible truth is just a speech. 

We need preachers who will preach truth on fire. Those who proclaim the entirety of God's word and do so with the fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit. Not preaching with persuasive words of human wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power. [I Cor 2:4] We need truth and we need it on fire to come and set apathetic hearts aflame. 

This anointing with fire can't be found in the classroom, but rather in the prayer room. It can't be bought with money, but earned in the secret place in travailing prayer. We should judge sermons by their Biblical content and accuracy. We should also judge them whether they have the fresh fire infusing them in our hearts and minds. Truth and fire are needed today. Not just one or the other. We need Bible saturated sermons that are ablaze with Holy Ghost fire to brand them into our souls. 

The Tremors of Depression

 Multiple people in society suffer from mental health issues. They can feel the tremors of depression coming on them. Like ominous storm clouds building in the distance, depression comes on in waves of darkness suffocating hope. It is a place of isolation as depressed people often withdraw from those around them. Depression cripples people mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. 

Many suffer from such illness. Well meaning but ignorant people say things like, "Just snap out of it. Trust God and overcome. Look at all the things you have to be thankful for all around you." While these things may be said with good intentions, they offer little to no hope, but heap mounds of condemnation on those suffering through the dark cloud of depression. 

Depressed people may even be convinced that God wronged them, failed them, and forsook them in their moment of need. They wonder why God did not answer their prayers in the way they wanted. They question why God allowed the suffering to continue. They even blame God for adverse circumstances. They become convinced that God cannot be trusted, and therefore instead of finding hope in God, they find their perceived failure of God to be another reason for melancholy thoughts. 

What does a person do when they find the tremors of depression creeping into their thoughts? The Bible exhorts us to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. II Cor 10:5. We must be disciplined about the thoughts we entertain. Dark toxic thoughts may come randomly, but we determine whether we dwell on those thoughts. If they bring us down, we need to get rid of them as quickly as possible. One way to do this is by constantly filling our minds with truths that combat toxic thoughts. A great source of truth is the Bible with passages like Ps 27:13-14, Ps 30:5, Ps 34:18-19, Ps 42:5, Ps 50:15, Is 41:10, Jer 32:17, Matt 6:25-32, and Matt 11:28 just to name a few. 

Another thing depressed people need to do but often don't want to do, is to talk to someone. Talk to a family member, close friend, a pastor, or a professional counselor. Sometimes just talking about the source of depression helps just getting it off your chest. At other times, it may take professional help over a longer period to work through issues of despair and anxiety. 

One other tip to help is to remember that dark seasons for most people do not last forever. Those seasons come and go. Just as suddenly as the tremors of depression come they can also leave. That's hard to believe when you are in the middle of it. It feels like hope will never return. Many people who were drowning in depression can testify that they were rescued and God restored hope to them. He can do the same for you. 

Thirsty

I am thirsty. Not for anything this world can supply to quench that thirst. It is not a thirst for water, iced tea, Gatorade, milk or lemonade. My thirst is not of this earth. It is spiritual in nature. It is unquenchable by anything this world can provide. It is a thirst for God and His mighty move among us all. It aches in my soul. I feel it like a pain in my gut at times when I pray. It is on my mind continually. At times it keeps me up at night. I'm often distracted and preoccupied in my mind. I want more of God and His work among us. 

I read the wonderful stories of God in the Bible intervening in the lives of people who cried out for His help. Marvelous miracles followed. Miracles that blow the mind just to imagine. He moved millions of gallons of water into walls to deliver Israel. Exodus 14. He provided miracle bread in the form of mana in the wilderness. Exodus 16. He sent fire on Mount Carmel. I Kings 18 and then ended a three and a half year drought in the same chapter when Elijah prayed. He sent Jesus in the Gospels after 400 years of silence. The last verses in the book of John in the last chapter inform us that all the books in the world could not contain the records of the miracles Jesus performed. We only have a few recorded. 

I thirst to seek more of God and Jesus. I yearn to be drawn closer than an intellectual knowledge. I long for first hand encounters. I thirst for the church to experience God anew. Like He did through the book of Acts. Like He moved in the First and Second Great Awakenings. Similar to what He did in the New Hebrides revival and the great Wales revival of 1904. Like He did on the campus on Asbury College in 1970 and in 2023. Like He is doing right now at Southeastern Pacific University. 

I thirst for more than dry religion. I thirst for more than religious routines. I yearn for more than programs. I thirst for God and His power. I thirst for Him to be known and glorified in communities again. I thirst for repentance among God's people and salvation among the masses. I thirst for transformation of individuals and whole communities. 

The unquenchable thirst drives me to the prayer closet. It is pure travail trying to give birth to the miraculous move of God in our day. I pray in secret but long for God to reward openly for all to see. I long for His churches to be filled to overflowing with His Spirit and His worshipers. I long for baptistry waters to be continually stirred as the people of God celebrate new converts. It is a thirst no person can ever quench. Only God. May it be so Lord. May it be so. 

The Greatest Hero

 It was a very difficult time in America. Hope was fading. Conditions cascaded into catastrophes. People were on the verge of starvation. Work was scarce. People needed a helping hand. They needed a hero. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster found a hero. Not just for themselves but for the whole world. Jerry was the writer and Joe was the artist. They were high school friends who later came up with the idea for a hero. The year was 1933. America struggled through the woes of the Great Depression. People needed a hero. Jerry and Joe introduced the world to Superman. 

You remember the old cartoon introduction. "Faster than a speeding bullet. Stronger than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman." With that we were glued to comic books, later cartons and movies to Superman. His blue suit with the letter S on the front and his red shorts and red cape made him an iconic figure worldwide. He helped people escape their challenging lives. His character became a symbol of hope. 

He was and is make believe. Just like Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider Man, Captain America, and the rest. pretend defenders. Who is the greatest hero? According to my research Spiderman is the most popular by fans world wide. Batman and Superman are always in the top three. Billions of dollars was spent by movie goers to see these characters on the big screen. 

None of these is the greatest Hero. That designation is reserved exclusively for Jesus Christ. He did not have to be created. He existed with God before creation. He has no weaknesses like the others. He is all powerful. He conquered death. He not only raised people from the dead like Lazarus, but also was raised Himself from the grave. That is why we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Jesus also did something no pretend superhero could ever do. He took our punishment for our sins taking it on Himself. He took our punishment for sins He did not commit. He substituted His righteousness for our wickedness. He transferred us from children of wrath to become children of God. For all who repent of sin and turn to Him for salvation He is the greatest hero. 

Today, He hears our prayers, rescues and redeems, transforms tormented souls, reclaims reckless rebels, and loves the most unlovable. He is alive and active in the affairs of people. Jesus is the greatest hero. [Phil 2:9-11] informs that God gave Jesus the name that is above every other name, that every knee will bow at His name, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the greatest hero for humanity. 

Living Under a Burden

 There are burdens we are to cast upon the Lord as instructed in [Ps 55:22]. These could include stressors, trials, relational issues, financial concerns, health matters, and victory over sins to name a few. There are other burdens God places on us. Burdens He wants us to live under. Burdens for the things that God cares about. Burdens that drive us to our knees. I am living under several such burdens right now. 

The first is for revival. I first began studying about revival in 1988. I have been a serious student of revival since then. I have a whole shelf in my library of books devoted to the subject of revival. I've watched numerous documentaries on revival. I have written devotional literature about revival. Mostly, I have prayed for revival going on four decades. Three times in the past I experienced God sending revival in places we served. I cannot even put those times of refreshing into words. They were filled with fresh God encounters. I live under that burden again. It is on my mind night and day. It is a primary topic in prayer. 

I believe God put that burden on me. I also believe He intends to send a revival to our church, community, and the region. It propels prayer and fasting. I don't know when. I will not schedule it. I do not intend to ever schedule another revival meeting. I've both planned and preached such meetings that were not revival at all. I prefer to prayerfully wait on God to send genuine revival when He pleases. I hope to set the conditions in place to be prepared when such a time comes. 

I am also living under the burden for our students. These students are misguided, wounded, in bondage to sin, stressed out, and miserable. The numbers who have been and are still being abused crushes me. I see the pain in their eyes. They grow up in environments most of us cannot imagine. I pray for ways to connect with them. I plead for opportunities to tell them about Jesus. I feel their pain in the pit of my guts. This is a burden I want to live under. I desire to enter their pain through intercession. It is a burden I do not want God to lift. 

I also live under the burden of personal mountains. I know they are tests. Instead of having a shrinking faith I plead for faith to match the tests. These are situations where prayer gives birth to the miraculous moves of God. Such God interventions glorify Him immensely. I do not resent the trials. I embrace them as opportunities to watch God do the impossible and improbable. God will melt the mountains into miracles. That is what I believe God will do. 

Some burdens are meant to be lived under rather than cast off. Such burdens helps to focus our prayers. They are reminders of the things that God cares about and wants us to care about also. May God break our hearts with the things that break His heart. Those are the burdens we should all live under. 

Sweet Hour of Prayer

 One of my favorite rooms in our church is the prayer room. It is isolated in a quiet area. The room has two chairs, a kneeling altar, and small desk inside. It is the perfect get away when things get hectic. It is a place I love to frequent. I love to sit before the Lord. To worship Him in private. To bask in His presence. In that sacred place battles are fought and won. In that place burdens are laid down. In that secret place the promises of God are secured. [Matt 6:6] God alone sees us in the secret place. He hears us and rewards our time spent there with peace, provision, and power to serve Him. 

Time stands still in there. I never know how much time has passed. It is the highlight of my day to get away from the crowds to spend time with my Father. Time spent there is irrelevant compared to the God encounters. Those are more important than the amount of time spent there. Somedays I find that is all I want to do is sit before the Lord in that secret place. 

I attended a prayer conference in college that challenged us to spend one hour in prayer everyday. The speaker even gave us an outline to help us. It was a struggle in those days. I did spend an hour in prayer on a few occasions back then, but it felt forced and formulaic. It is different these days. Time does not even come into play most of the time. It is my most important appointment of the day. Everything else on my to do list plays second fiddle to prayer. 

What it makes it so sweet is that it is a two sided conversation. I assure you what God has to say is always more important than what I have to say. Like one author I read recently wrote, "Learn to pray with an open Bible." God speaks and prompts what to pray. I desire God to direct our time together. To learn what is on His mind and heart. This takes precedence over my pulling out my long list of requests and concerns. 

Many people see prayer as a duty and drudgery. I see it as delightful and desirable. It has taken 40 years of experimenting, exercising, and God encounters to find prayer sweet. I still feel like I have so much more to grow and progress. I am not where I want to be. There are higher heights to reach and I am resolved to reach them with God's help and guidance. I want to fully surrender in prayer. To devote myself to it and the pursuit of God more than ever before. In doing so, I know prayer will only grow sweeter in time.