God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. … Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory. (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)
*** *** ***
Generosity flows from the heart of God: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)
When God gives, he holds nothing back. He gives every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 1:3 NLT) There’s no obligation for him to give us so much.
He gives because he loves.
He gives not only to bless you, but also so he can bless others through you. God designed you with a unique set of talents, gifts, skills, and abilities.
He gives to you so you can give to others. Receive from God, then give to others. “… Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it." (1 Peter 4:10 MSG)
What does this mean?
Be generous with different things – Here’s what I think Peter means: The other day I was at the YMCA, thinking I needed help pushing myself in order to lose more weight. I thought, "Wouldn’t it be great if a Christian brother, committed to physical fitness, would take me on as a ministry? In fact, he could start a ‘small group’ that met at the gym."
Talents, skills, abilities – The point is that we all have talents, skills, and abilities given to us by God, and we can give those away. In many congregations, we see this with musicians who give their talents to help us worship God. Some may be professional musicians but others are volunteers freely give away their musical talents to bless others.
Give creatively – The thing is, think creatively about the talents, skills, and abilities God has given you. If you’re a mechanic, you could help single women in your church keep their cars in good condition. If you’re a handy man (or woman), you can do simple repairs for some of the families in your neighborhood. If you are known for your hospitality, you can teach a younger generation how to open their homes to others. Years ago, a lawyer at my church prepared wills for all the young families, doing it in a group setting so it didn’t overwhelm his practice. Think creatively! A great and true friend of mine once flew halfway across the United States to help me drive a moving truck all the way back.
What can you give? – Ask God what you can do to bless others. Ask him how you can do it. Ask him to show you who to bless with the gifts, skills, talents he has given you. By giving in this way, we imitate our Lord and prove to be his disciples. (Matthew 25:31-40) © 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved
Friday, March 7, 2008
The Marriage Garden By Melanie Chitwood
“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands” Proverbs 14:1 (NAS)
Devotion:
I was feeling so frustrated that my husband was not making some changes I’d asked him to make - changes that I thought he should make. As I was telling God my frustrations, He gave me a picture of how I’d been treating my marriage. It could really apply to any relationship. Picture this as I describe it.
Imagine your back yard and in one corner of the yard is a huge garden filled and overrun with weeds. You know you need to take care of that garden, but you also know it’s going to take a lot of work. But then you remember you have a big John Deer lawnmower. You can just use that to plow down every weed. So that’s what you do. You hop on the John Deere, plow down the weeds, wipe your hands, pat yourself on the back and say job well done. Sure the weeds will grow back, but you can just mow them down again.
Then your eye spots another garden in your yard. Not as big as the first, but also filled with tall weeds. Well, I’ll just use the lawnmower again, you think to yourself. So you walk toward the garden to assess the situation, and then you notice there’s already a gardener there. This gardener is working slowly and carefully. He yanks out by hand each tall weed and deposits them in a trash pile that’s growing taller. Well, that’s going to take a long time, you think to yourself. Let me tell him about my lawnmower. You slowly walk toward the garden, and as you draw closer, you notice beautiful flowers, hidden by the weeds. The gardener sees you and beckons for you to join Him. You stop. You have a choice. Do you join the gardener in tending the garden, or do you insist that you use the John Deere?
God showed me that I was treating my marriage and its challenges like the first gardener. I was just plowing through, trying my own methods of fixing things, and leaving decimation in its wake. Not to mention my repairs were just temporary. I sensed God saying to me, Let me be the Gardener of your marriage. Let’s try my gentle ways. I will help you uncover the precious treasures in your marriage.
Talk honestly with God in prayer about your marriage. If you see that you are using the John Deere method of gardening in your marriage, confess this sin to God and ask Him to be the Gardener of your marriage.
Dear Lord, thank you for my husband and my marriage. I want the marriage you want me to have, Lord. I confess that I try to do my own gardening many times. I surrender myself, my husband, and my marriage into Your hands, Lord, acknowledging that You alone know the best way to tend to the garden of my marriage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Related Resources:
What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood
Personality Plus for Couples by Florence Littauer
Encouragement for Your Marriage in Everyday Life
Application Steps:
Identify the pesky weeds in your marriage. Pray with open hands as you surrender each one to God. Ask Him to be the Gardener in your marriage and to deal with each weed the way He sees is best.
Reflections:
In what ways do you treat your husband like a pesky weed? In what ways do you treat him like a beautiful flower?
In what ways can you “put on love” (Colossians 3:14) for your husband?
After reading today’s key verse, think about ways you can “build your house” - strengthen your marriage - rather than tear it down. Commit to doing one idea this week.
Power Verses:
Colossians 3:12-13, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the lord forgave you, also should you.” (NAS)
Colossians 3:14, “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” (NAS)
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
Devotion:
I was feeling so frustrated that my husband was not making some changes I’d asked him to make - changes that I thought he should make. As I was telling God my frustrations, He gave me a picture of how I’d been treating my marriage. It could really apply to any relationship. Picture this as I describe it.
Imagine your back yard and in one corner of the yard is a huge garden filled and overrun with weeds. You know you need to take care of that garden, but you also know it’s going to take a lot of work. But then you remember you have a big John Deer lawnmower. You can just use that to plow down every weed. So that’s what you do. You hop on the John Deere, plow down the weeds, wipe your hands, pat yourself on the back and say job well done. Sure the weeds will grow back, but you can just mow them down again.
Then your eye spots another garden in your yard. Not as big as the first, but also filled with tall weeds. Well, I’ll just use the lawnmower again, you think to yourself. So you walk toward the garden to assess the situation, and then you notice there’s already a gardener there. This gardener is working slowly and carefully. He yanks out by hand each tall weed and deposits them in a trash pile that’s growing taller. Well, that’s going to take a long time, you think to yourself. Let me tell him about my lawnmower. You slowly walk toward the garden, and as you draw closer, you notice beautiful flowers, hidden by the weeds. The gardener sees you and beckons for you to join Him. You stop. You have a choice. Do you join the gardener in tending the garden, or do you insist that you use the John Deere?
God showed me that I was treating my marriage and its challenges like the first gardener. I was just plowing through, trying my own methods of fixing things, and leaving decimation in its wake. Not to mention my repairs were just temporary. I sensed God saying to me, Let me be the Gardener of your marriage. Let’s try my gentle ways. I will help you uncover the precious treasures in your marriage.
Talk honestly with God in prayer about your marriage. If you see that you are using the John Deere method of gardening in your marriage, confess this sin to God and ask Him to be the Gardener of your marriage.
Dear Lord, thank you for my husband and my marriage. I want the marriage you want me to have, Lord. I confess that I try to do my own gardening many times. I surrender myself, my husband, and my marriage into Your hands, Lord, acknowledging that You alone know the best way to tend to the garden of my marriage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Related Resources:
What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood
Personality Plus for Couples by Florence Littauer
Encouragement for Your Marriage in Everyday Life
Application Steps:
Identify the pesky weeds in your marriage. Pray with open hands as you surrender each one to God. Ask Him to be the Gardener in your marriage and to deal with each weed the way He sees is best.
Reflections:
In what ways do you treat your husband like a pesky weed? In what ways do you treat him like a beautiful flower?
In what ways can you “put on love” (Colossians 3:14) for your husband?
After reading today’s key verse, think about ways you can “build your house” - strengthen your marriage - rather than tear it down. Commit to doing one idea this week.
Power Verses:
Colossians 3:12-13, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the lord forgave you, also should you.” (NAS)
Colossians 3:14, “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” (NAS)
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
RICK JOYNER: "Love, THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON We Have" plus FRANCIS FRANGIPANE: "How to DWELL UPON GOD, When You Couldn't Do it Before"
RICK JOYNER: "Love, THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON We Have" plus FRANCIS FRANGIPANE: "How to DWELL UPON GOD, When You Couldn't Do it Before"
By Rick Joyner and Francis Frangipane
Mar 5, 2008
Dear Elijah List Readers,
I've greatly benefited from networking amongst so many prophetic ministries--ministries that come in all sizes from hundreds of staff paid full-time, to a couple guys traveling from place to place on airplanes. One of the greatest benefits from all of this networking is this:
When God starts to speak, you can usually expect to receive within hours or days--confirming words of other prophets and prophetic voices from other continents and other states in your region--who are NOT in touch with each other. Many are being told the same things by the Spirit of God.
The Love Factor
What does this all have to do with the Love factor? (Also, see the teaching set by the same name on this page.) Let me spell it out. Suddenly, ALL the prophets, and I mean virtually ALL the prophets are suddenly hearing: LOVE... LOVE...and yet MORE LOVE, which is instantly, suddenly, on the way from the LORD in Heaven--so we can give this same LOVE back TO the Lord and TO a lost and dying world.
Remember though, we see in part, so this LOVE is and was there all along since the Cross and even before the Cross. So if LOVE is the sudden emphasis, it's not that there is really more love; it's that God is allowing us to now FEEL and EXPERIENCE this love as we step out in obedience.
LOVE--A Powerful Baptism and a POWERFUL WEAPON!
In the 60s, we, in America, and around the world experienced a LOVE revival, but a lot of it was "carnal" love, and not based on God's true and intimate love. Many were lost in drugs, many sought acceptance by others through a counterfeit love--and that was no love at all.
Here we are some 40 years later, after the Jesus Movement and the Free Love Era, to an exact point in History where we are NOW going to be taught HOW to immerse ourselves in this true love--in such a way that the world has not seen before. The prophets are all hearing the same thing--LOVE! It's time to remove yourself from a Free Love era (where so many people died), to a LOVE THAT IS FREELY GIVEN era (where so many MORE will now LIVE).
FREE LOVE changes to LOVE THAT IS FREE, BUT TEACH ME LORD: HOW DO I GET THERE from HERE?
And this time finally in much of the Church, you don't see only women filling the chairs at church, but now, in answer to a generation of prayers and intercession, more and more men AND women fill the places of meeting. Many of the men seem to be leading the way into the House of the Lord, which is one of the huge things the women have longed for and prayed for.
I've had to exhort a number of people at a conference where I was speaking while sharing this:
Ladies, be sure to recognize God's handiwork in your husband's life as your prayers get answered--because when God finally answers your prayers for your husband, you may need to review words like these below by Rick Joyner and Francis Frangipane. (And this goes for the husbands praying for their wives as well). A whole lot of LOVE may be required as God is now shifting our spiritual, as well as physical "tectonic plates."
Did you feel that? Did you feel the mountains tremble? Did you hear the oceans roar? The earth's crust is shaking.
Families' lives are shifting. Pull out the stops on love. Gather to yourselves teachings and instructions on LOVE. APPLY LOVE with the love of God He gives "from you" and gives "to you." Call in all the LOVE promises of God over your life.
With Much Love and blessings,
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The ElijahList & ElijahRain magazine
http://www.elijahlist.com
Love is the Most Powerful Weapon We Have
The normal state of Christianity is to be persecuted, and true Christianity and true Christians tend to make the greatest advances during times of persecution. However, what has been happening in the U.S. and Europe represents a dramatic loss of influence on the part of Christianity and the belittling and shaming of the Gospel. This also computes to the growing lawlessness that is dragging an increasing number of souls into damnation.
So, how could this tragic transformation of the West happen? There is only one way--for Christians to become lukewarm or neutral.
We are exhorted in 2 Corinthians 2:11 not to be ignorant of the devil's schemes. A part of our basic training in the army of God is to learn the tactics of the enemy so we can counter them and then prevail over them. Therefore, we will spend a little time on this, but there is one strategy of God that we want to learn first.
Remembering the principle that a few passionate people will control the multitudes that tend to be neutral, if just a tiny percentage of Christians cast off their lukewarmness and fall passionately in love with God again, it will begin to infect and wake up other Christians. Then the Christians will once again become the passionate ones whose influence is dominant, making them again the salt and light they are called to be.
Love is the most powerful weapon we have. This is love for God first, which must always be kept first if we are going to be able to love others as we should. Therefore, our love for God is our most valuable treasure. If it is our greatest treasure, it is something that we will protect at all costs and will try to increase above all things.
Now I said, and mean, that love is the most powerful weapon we have. Think of this: The majority of the passions that have controlled the neutral masses throughout history have been anything but love. They have been hatred, fear, racism, pride, greed--almost every human passion but love. So, our weapons are different, our methods or strategies are different, and our goals are different. To sum up all of these we read in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."
To evaluate where we are and how much basic training we need to be in God's army, we need to know just how much of our lives, our thoughts, our actions, and our time, are controlled by the love of Christ, as opposed to how much is still devoted to the pursuits of greed, pride, hatred, and so on.
We should not be so concerned about just getting political influence back as we should be about getting the passion back in our lives, the loss of which has caused us to lose the influence Christians once had for good. We must get the fire back. We must get our first love back and never lose it again.
Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Email: info@morningstarministries.org
To Dwell Upon God
It is hard for us in this anxious, fearful age to quiet our souls and actually dwell upon God in our hearts. We can engage ourselves with Bible study or other acts of obedience; in varying degrees we know how to witness, exhort and bless. We know how to analyze these things, and even perfect them; but to lift our souls above the material world and consciously ponder God Himself seems beyond the reach of our Christian experience.
Yet, to actually grasp the substance of God is to enter a spiritual place of immunity; it is to receive into our spirits the victory Christ won for us, which is oneness with God in Christ.
Thus, we cannot content ourselves merely with the tasks we are called to perform. Ultimately, we will discover that study and church attendance are but forms which have little satisfaction in and of themselves. These activities must become what the Lord has ordained them to be: means through which we seek and find God. Our pleasure will be found not in the mechanics of spiritual disciplines, but that these disciplines bring us closer to God.
Paul's cry was, "That I may know Him!" (Philippians 3:10). It was this desire to know Jesus that produced Paul's knowledge of salvation, church order, evangelism and end time events. Out of his heart's passion to know God came revelation, the writing of Scriptures and knowledge of the Eternal. Paul's knowledge was based upon his experience with Christ.
On the other hand, we have contented ourselves not with seeking the face of God, but with studying the facts of God. We are satisfied with a religion about Christ without the reality of Christ.
The Bible is the historical record of man's experiences with the Almighty. Out of personal encounters people had with the living God, our theological perspectives have developed. But knowledge about God is only the first step toward entering the presence of God. As much as the Bible is a book of truths, it is also a map to God. As Christians, we study and debate the map yet too often fail to make the journey.
Love Surpasses Knowledge
There is a place greater than knowledge; it is a simple, yet eternally profound place where we actually abide in Christ's love. This is, indeed, the shelter of the Most High.
Remember the apostle's prayer was that we each would "know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge." As important as knowledge is, love "surpasses knowledge." Doctrinal knowledge is the framework, the vehicle, that opens the door toward divine realities, but love causes us to be "filled up to all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19).
There is a dwelling place of love that God desires us to enter. It is a place where our knowledge of God is fulfilled by the substance of God. Listen to the Amplified Bible's rendering of this verse:
"May Christ through your faith (actually) dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints (God's devoted people, the experience of that love) what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of it); (that you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!" Ephesians 3:17-19
Is this not our goal, to be rooted deeply in love, to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of God's love and to know for ourselves the deep, personal love of Christ? Can any goal be more wonderful? Indeed, to be filled and flooded with God Himself is the very hope of the Gospel!
You see, God cannot truly be known without, in some way, also being experienced. If we had never seen a sunrise or a starry night sky, could any description substitute for our own eyes beholding the expansive beauty? Awe comes from seeing and encountering, not merely from knowing that somewhere a beautiful sky exists.
Likewise, to truly know God we must seek Him until we pass through the outer, informational realm about God and actually find for ourselves the living presence of the Lord Himself. This is the "upward call" of God in Christ Jesus. It draws us through our doctrines into the immediacy of the divine presence. The journey leaves us in the place of transcendent surrender, where we listen to His voice and, from listening, ascend into His love.
The earth's last great move of God shall be distinguished by an outpouring from Christ of irresistible desire--for His people. To those who truly yearn for His appearing there shall come, in ever-increasing waves, seasons of renewal from the presence of the Lord (see Acts 3:19-21). Intimacy with Christ shall be restored to its highest level since the first century.
Many on the outside of this move of God, as well as those touched and healed by it, will look and marvel: How did these common people obtain such power? For they shall see miracles similar to when Jesus Christ walked the earth. Multitudes will be drawn into the valley of decision. For them, truly, the Kingdom of God will be at hand. But for those whom the Lord has drawn to Himself, there will be no mystery as to how He empowered them. Having returned to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, they will have received the baptism of love.
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
By Rick Joyner and Francis Frangipane
Mar 5, 2008
Dear Elijah List Readers,
I've greatly benefited from networking amongst so many prophetic ministries--ministries that come in all sizes from hundreds of staff paid full-time, to a couple guys traveling from place to place on airplanes. One of the greatest benefits from all of this networking is this:
When God starts to speak, you can usually expect to receive within hours or days--confirming words of other prophets and prophetic voices from other continents and other states in your region--who are NOT in touch with each other. Many are being told the same things by the Spirit of God.
The Love Factor
What does this all have to do with the Love factor? (Also, see the teaching set by the same name on this page.) Let me spell it out. Suddenly, ALL the prophets, and I mean virtually ALL the prophets are suddenly hearing: LOVE... LOVE...and yet MORE LOVE, which is instantly, suddenly, on the way from the LORD in Heaven--so we can give this same LOVE back TO the Lord and TO a lost and dying world.
Remember though, we see in part, so this LOVE is and was there all along since the Cross and even before the Cross. So if LOVE is the sudden emphasis, it's not that there is really more love; it's that God is allowing us to now FEEL and EXPERIENCE this love as we step out in obedience.
LOVE--A Powerful Baptism and a POWERFUL WEAPON!
In the 60s, we, in America, and around the world experienced a LOVE revival, but a lot of it was "carnal" love, and not based on God's true and intimate love. Many were lost in drugs, many sought acceptance by others through a counterfeit love--and that was no love at all.
Here we are some 40 years later, after the Jesus Movement and the Free Love Era, to an exact point in History where we are NOW going to be taught HOW to immerse ourselves in this true love--in such a way that the world has not seen before. The prophets are all hearing the same thing--LOVE! It's time to remove yourself from a Free Love era (where so many people died), to a LOVE THAT IS FREELY GIVEN era (where so many MORE will now LIVE).
FREE LOVE changes to LOVE THAT IS FREE, BUT TEACH ME LORD: HOW DO I GET THERE from HERE?
And this time finally in much of the Church, you don't see only women filling the chairs at church, but now, in answer to a generation of prayers and intercession, more and more men AND women fill the places of meeting. Many of the men seem to be leading the way into the House of the Lord, which is one of the huge things the women have longed for and prayed for.
I've had to exhort a number of people at a conference where I was speaking while sharing this:
Ladies, be sure to recognize God's handiwork in your husband's life as your prayers get answered--because when God finally answers your prayers for your husband, you may need to review words like these below by Rick Joyner and Francis Frangipane. (And this goes for the husbands praying for their wives as well). A whole lot of LOVE may be required as God is now shifting our spiritual, as well as physical "tectonic plates."
Did you feel that? Did you feel the mountains tremble? Did you hear the oceans roar? The earth's crust is shaking.
Families' lives are shifting. Pull out the stops on love. Gather to yourselves teachings and instructions on LOVE. APPLY LOVE with the love of God He gives "from you" and gives "to you." Call in all the LOVE promises of God over your life.
With Much Love and blessings,
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The ElijahList & ElijahRain magazine
http://www.elijahlist.com
Love is the Most Powerful Weapon We Have
The normal state of Christianity is to be persecuted, and true Christianity and true Christians tend to make the greatest advances during times of persecution. However, what has been happening in the U.S. and Europe represents a dramatic loss of influence on the part of Christianity and the belittling and shaming of the Gospel. This also computes to the growing lawlessness that is dragging an increasing number of souls into damnation.
So, how could this tragic transformation of the West happen? There is only one way--for Christians to become lukewarm or neutral.
We are exhorted in 2 Corinthians 2:11 not to be ignorant of the devil's schemes. A part of our basic training in the army of God is to learn the tactics of the enemy so we can counter them and then prevail over them. Therefore, we will spend a little time on this, but there is one strategy of God that we want to learn first.
Remembering the principle that a few passionate people will control the multitudes that tend to be neutral, if just a tiny percentage of Christians cast off their lukewarmness and fall passionately in love with God again, it will begin to infect and wake up other Christians. Then the Christians will once again become the passionate ones whose influence is dominant, making them again the salt and light they are called to be.
Love is the most powerful weapon we have. This is love for God first, which must always be kept first if we are going to be able to love others as we should. Therefore, our love for God is our most valuable treasure. If it is our greatest treasure, it is something that we will protect at all costs and will try to increase above all things.
Now I said, and mean, that love is the most powerful weapon we have. Think of this: The majority of the passions that have controlled the neutral masses throughout history have been anything but love. They have been hatred, fear, racism, pride, greed--almost every human passion but love. So, our weapons are different, our methods or strategies are different, and our goals are different. To sum up all of these we read in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."
To evaluate where we are and how much basic training we need to be in God's army, we need to know just how much of our lives, our thoughts, our actions, and our time, are controlled by the love of Christ, as opposed to how much is still devoted to the pursuits of greed, pride, hatred, and so on.
We should not be so concerned about just getting political influence back as we should be about getting the passion back in our lives, the loss of which has caused us to lose the influence Christians once had for good. We must get the fire back. We must get our first love back and never lose it again.
Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Email: info@morningstarministries.org
To Dwell Upon God
It is hard for us in this anxious, fearful age to quiet our souls and actually dwell upon God in our hearts. We can engage ourselves with Bible study or other acts of obedience; in varying degrees we know how to witness, exhort and bless. We know how to analyze these things, and even perfect them; but to lift our souls above the material world and consciously ponder God Himself seems beyond the reach of our Christian experience.
Yet, to actually grasp the substance of God is to enter a spiritual place of immunity; it is to receive into our spirits the victory Christ won for us, which is oneness with God in Christ.
Thus, we cannot content ourselves merely with the tasks we are called to perform. Ultimately, we will discover that study and church attendance are but forms which have little satisfaction in and of themselves. These activities must become what the Lord has ordained them to be: means through which we seek and find God. Our pleasure will be found not in the mechanics of spiritual disciplines, but that these disciplines bring us closer to God.
Paul's cry was, "That I may know Him!" (Philippians 3:10). It was this desire to know Jesus that produced Paul's knowledge of salvation, church order, evangelism and end time events. Out of his heart's passion to know God came revelation, the writing of Scriptures and knowledge of the Eternal. Paul's knowledge was based upon his experience with Christ.
On the other hand, we have contented ourselves not with seeking the face of God, but with studying the facts of God. We are satisfied with a religion about Christ without the reality of Christ.
The Bible is the historical record of man's experiences with the Almighty. Out of personal encounters people had with the living God, our theological perspectives have developed. But knowledge about God is only the first step toward entering the presence of God. As much as the Bible is a book of truths, it is also a map to God. As Christians, we study and debate the map yet too often fail to make the journey.
Love Surpasses Knowledge
There is a place greater than knowledge; it is a simple, yet eternally profound place where we actually abide in Christ's love. This is, indeed, the shelter of the Most High.
Remember the apostle's prayer was that we each would "know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge." As important as knowledge is, love "surpasses knowledge." Doctrinal knowledge is the framework, the vehicle, that opens the door toward divine realities, but love causes us to be "filled up to all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19).
There is a dwelling place of love that God desires us to enter. It is a place where our knowledge of God is fulfilled by the substance of God. Listen to the Amplified Bible's rendering of this verse:
"May Christ through your faith (actually) dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints (God's devoted people, the experience of that love) what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of it); (that you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!" Ephesians 3:17-19
Is this not our goal, to be rooted deeply in love, to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of God's love and to know for ourselves the deep, personal love of Christ? Can any goal be more wonderful? Indeed, to be filled and flooded with God Himself is the very hope of the Gospel!
You see, God cannot truly be known without, in some way, also being experienced. If we had never seen a sunrise or a starry night sky, could any description substitute for our own eyes beholding the expansive beauty? Awe comes from seeing and encountering, not merely from knowing that somewhere a beautiful sky exists.
Likewise, to truly know God we must seek Him until we pass through the outer, informational realm about God and actually find for ourselves the living presence of the Lord Himself. This is the "upward call" of God in Christ Jesus. It draws us through our doctrines into the immediacy of the divine presence. The journey leaves us in the place of transcendent surrender, where we listen to His voice and, from listening, ascend into His love.
The earth's last great move of God shall be distinguished by an outpouring from Christ of irresistible desire--for His people. To those who truly yearn for His appearing there shall come, in ever-increasing waves, seasons of renewal from the presence of the Lord (see Acts 3:19-21). Intimacy with Christ shall be restored to its highest level since the first century.
Many on the outside of this move of God, as well as those touched and healed by it, will look and marvel: How did these common people obtain such power? For they shall see miracles similar to when Jesus Christ walked the earth. Multitudes will be drawn into the valley of decision. For them, truly, the Kingdom of God will be at hand. But for those whom the Lord has drawn to Himself, there will be no mystery as to how He empowered them. Having returned to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, they will have received the baptism of love.
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org
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Garris Elkins:"God's Hidden Purpose in Betrayal is for Victory on Both Sides"
Garris Elkins:"God's Hidden Purpose in Betrayal is for Victory on Both Sides"
"Embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered."
As you read the following list of names, what would they have in common: Benedict Arnold, Alger Hiss, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Judas Iscariot. They were all traitors or betrayers. The words "betray" and "traitor" each come from the same Latin word. This word means to "lead someone to their enemy by treachery." A traitor is someone who betrays a trust.
One of the most graphic betrayals in human history took place during the Last Supper. Judas betrayed Jesus in the midst of a very intimate setting. If you are familiar with the section of Scripture, you know that Jesus is taking time with His disciples to give them His last instructions before His arrest and crucifixion. Luke's account of the Last Supper reveals just how deep this betrayal was when Luke describes the betrayer as "one who sits among us as a friend." Betrayal hurts because it takes us by surprise. The Last Supper was an intimate and safe environment. We don't expect betrayal to happen in that context. In John 13 the disciples asked, "Who's He talking about?" in reference to the identity of the betrayer. It didn't make sense to the disciples that a betrayer was in their midst.
Long-term relationships are places where we assume we will experience intimacy and safety. In these relationships we can let our guard down and be ourselves. This is why it is so painful and difficult to recover from this kind of betrayal. One of the deepest wounds of betrayal is that many times it takes us by surprise. Even when it is happening we are not sure we understand fully what is taking place. The disciples didn't understand either. In Matthew's account of the Lord's betrayal the disciples asked as a group, "Is it me?"
Even Judas asked this question fully knowing that he was the betrayer. Judas was a deceiver. He was so good in this role that he would steal from the ministry fund and no one had a clue. Judas was the one who criticized Mary for pouring the anointing oil on Jesus. He had plans for that valuable oil. Judas did not become a full-blown betrayer in a single day. He got to that place by living a life of step-by-step and day-by-day compromise.
Betrayal can come in many forms. It can be a spouse who betrays a marriage bed. It can be an employee who steals company funds that were entrusted to him. It can happen to a child who is abused by someone who should have protected them. It can be a friend who betrays a confidence and shares a secret.
In order to deal with betrayal we have to understand one important truth -- embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered. Without the hope of this discovery, we will be devastated by the betrayal and stop living and engaging life as God intended. God is never taken by surprise with betrayal. His plan for our lives and ministries is never derailed by betrayal. God's plan for our lives only becomes derailed when we let the effects of betrayal rule and reign in our lives.
The Betrayer and the Betrayed
There are two groups of people who are affected by betrayal--the betrayer and the betrayed. If you are the betrayer, you need to know that the sin of betrayal plans to take you somewhere. For Judas, John 13:30 tells us that betrayal took him "out into the night." Betrayal will reposition you into a dark place. The only way back into a lighted place is through confession and repentance. Confession is agreeing with God that something is sin and repentance is that shift in our thinking that produces a new direction for our life.
If you have betrayed someone and have truly repented, the moment you confessed your sin to God, you were taken out of that dark place and put back into the light. It may not feel like it though. In the natural you may have to live with the label of betrayer the rest of your life in certain circles of fellowship, but to God you have been relabeled and repositioned. Restored betrayers need to listen to God more than the words of those they have wronged. The pain of betrayal can shout loud and hurtful things at a restored betrayer. Words that flow out of hurt and sorrow are not what define us--only God defines us.
For the victims of betrayal, the spirit of vengeance that wants to attach itself to you will try to lure you into the betrayer's dark place. For the victims of betrayal there is a strong desire to see the betrayer punished. Vengeance wants a piece of someone. Hell wants to help you tailor a plan to punish your betrayer. Darkness wants to lure you into the hardness of heart where an unwillingness to forgive exists. You don't have to go there. The choice is yours to make.
What can you as a victim of betrayal do? You can bring that betrayal to Jesus and give it to Him. Let Him own it. Tell Him how much it hurts. He knows the pain of betrayal. Confess your plans of vengeance, punishment and separation. You are the only one who can make the choice about which direction your life will take. Will you follow the pain of betrayal into a dark place or will you follow the Spirit's leading into the light of God's mercy and grace? Betrayal will lead you somewhere. The choice is yours. The victory over betrayal is found in the response of the betrayed.
Surviving Betrayal with Praise
In one season of our ministry, my wife Jan and I had been terribly wronged by another believer. I remember the night we got the phone call telling us what this person was doing and saying about us publicly. We were hundreds of miles away. We felt helpless. We had entrusted this person with the lives of people we dearly loved. The words of betrayal wounded us deeply.
I remember hanging up the phone that night and taking Jan by the hand and saying, "We need to pray." We got down on our knees and began to tell God all the pain we felt in that moment. It felt like our lives were caving in on us. It felt like someone had impaled us with a poisoned spear. Our guts ached. In one of those moments of supernatural impartation God gave us one of the greatest spiritual survival gifts we had ever received. He gave us the gift of praise and blessing in the face of betrayal.
As we continued to pray, our prayers shifted into praise. We began to praise God for who He is. We thanked Him for this opportunity to trust Him in our helplessness. We thanked Jesus for this hurtful moment because it was taking us deeper into our dependence on Him. Then we began to bless our betrayer. Over the next few months more phone calls would come from confused saints about how this person continued to say horrible things about our lives and ministry. Every time we thought of our betrayer we made the choice to bless instead of curse. This went on for eight years!
I remember the night we were invited over to our betrayer's home for dinner and, after eight years, he asked for our forgiveness. With great joy I was able to look him in the eye and tell him that we forgave him eight years ago and had spent the last eight years blessing him.
How we choose to respond to the pain of betrayal will determine the direction our lives and ministries will take. Betrayal can be a beginning or it can be an end. There are many gifted and called saints who have been betrayed, but are now lying in the enemy's gutter of bitterness and it is breaking the Father's heart. God is calling both the betrayers and the betrayed out of the dark places where the pain and sorrow of betrayal has led them. He is calling people out with His voice of hope and restoration. If you have suffered through a place of betrayal, now is the time to begin to follow His voice. In the end, you will experience the same resurrection power and new life that followed the Lord in His betrayal.
Remember: Embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered.
Garris Elkins
Living Waters Church
Email: info@livingwatersmedford.org
Garris' Bio:
Garris Elkins serves as Lead Pastor of the Living Waters Church in Medford, Oregon. His ministry, both nationally and internationally, is to strengthen and encourage the Church through teaching and prophetic ministry. Prior to coming to Oregon, Garris was based in Berlin, Germany, where he helped nurture and develop Eastern European church leaders. Garris has been married to his wife Jan for 34 years and they have two grown children
"Embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered."
As you read the following list of names, what would they have in common: Benedict Arnold, Alger Hiss, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Judas Iscariot. They were all traitors or betrayers. The words "betray" and "traitor" each come from the same Latin word. This word means to "lead someone to their enemy by treachery." A traitor is someone who betrays a trust.
One of the most graphic betrayals in human history took place during the Last Supper. Judas betrayed Jesus in the midst of a very intimate setting. If you are familiar with the section of Scripture, you know that Jesus is taking time with His disciples to give them His last instructions before His arrest and crucifixion. Luke's account of the Last Supper reveals just how deep this betrayal was when Luke describes the betrayer as "one who sits among us as a friend." Betrayal hurts because it takes us by surprise. The Last Supper was an intimate and safe environment. We don't expect betrayal to happen in that context. In John 13 the disciples asked, "Who's He talking about?" in reference to the identity of the betrayer. It didn't make sense to the disciples that a betrayer was in their midst.
Long-term relationships are places where we assume we will experience intimacy and safety. In these relationships we can let our guard down and be ourselves. This is why it is so painful and difficult to recover from this kind of betrayal. One of the deepest wounds of betrayal is that many times it takes us by surprise. Even when it is happening we are not sure we understand fully what is taking place. The disciples didn't understand either. In Matthew's account of the Lord's betrayal the disciples asked as a group, "Is it me?"
Even Judas asked this question fully knowing that he was the betrayer. Judas was a deceiver. He was so good in this role that he would steal from the ministry fund and no one had a clue. Judas was the one who criticized Mary for pouring the anointing oil on Jesus. He had plans for that valuable oil. Judas did not become a full-blown betrayer in a single day. He got to that place by living a life of step-by-step and day-by-day compromise.
Betrayal can come in many forms. It can be a spouse who betrays a marriage bed. It can be an employee who steals company funds that were entrusted to him. It can happen to a child who is abused by someone who should have protected them. It can be a friend who betrays a confidence and shares a secret.
In order to deal with betrayal we have to understand one important truth -- embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered. Without the hope of this discovery, we will be devastated by the betrayal and stop living and engaging life as God intended. God is never taken by surprise with betrayal. His plan for our lives and ministries is never derailed by betrayal. God's plan for our lives only becomes derailed when we let the effects of betrayal rule and reign in our lives.
The Betrayer and the Betrayed
There are two groups of people who are affected by betrayal--the betrayer and the betrayed. If you are the betrayer, you need to know that the sin of betrayal plans to take you somewhere. For Judas, John 13:30 tells us that betrayal took him "out into the night." Betrayal will reposition you into a dark place. The only way back into a lighted place is through confession and repentance. Confession is agreeing with God that something is sin and repentance is that shift in our thinking that produces a new direction for our life.
If you have betrayed someone and have truly repented, the moment you confessed your sin to God, you were taken out of that dark place and put back into the light. It may not feel like it though. In the natural you may have to live with the label of betrayer the rest of your life in certain circles of fellowship, but to God you have been relabeled and repositioned. Restored betrayers need to listen to God more than the words of those they have wronged. The pain of betrayal can shout loud and hurtful things at a restored betrayer. Words that flow out of hurt and sorrow are not what define us--only God defines us.
For the victims of betrayal, the spirit of vengeance that wants to attach itself to you will try to lure you into the betrayer's dark place. For the victims of betrayal there is a strong desire to see the betrayer punished. Vengeance wants a piece of someone. Hell wants to help you tailor a plan to punish your betrayer. Darkness wants to lure you into the hardness of heart where an unwillingness to forgive exists. You don't have to go there. The choice is yours to make.
What can you as a victim of betrayal do? You can bring that betrayal to Jesus and give it to Him. Let Him own it. Tell Him how much it hurts. He knows the pain of betrayal. Confess your plans of vengeance, punishment and separation. You are the only one who can make the choice about which direction your life will take. Will you follow the pain of betrayal into a dark place or will you follow the Spirit's leading into the light of God's mercy and grace? Betrayal will lead you somewhere. The choice is yours. The victory over betrayal is found in the response of the betrayed.
Surviving Betrayal with Praise
In one season of our ministry, my wife Jan and I had been terribly wronged by another believer. I remember the night we got the phone call telling us what this person was doing and saying about us publicly. We were hundreds of miles away. We felt helpless. We had entrusted this person with the lives of people we dearly loved. The words of betrayal wounded us deeply.
I remember hanging up the phone that night and taking Jan by the hand and saying, "We need to pray." We got down on our knees and began to tell God all the pain we felt in that moment. It felt like our lives were caving in on us. It felt like someone had impaled us with a poisoned spear. Our guts ached. In one of those moments of supernatural impartation God gave us one of the greatest spiritual survival gifts we had ever received. He gave us the gift of praise and blessing in the face of betrayal.
As we continued to pray, our prayers shifted into praise. We began to praise God for who He is. We thanked Him for this opportunity to trust Him in our helplessness. We thanked Jesus for this hurtful moment because it was taking us deeper into our dependence on Him. Then we began to bless our betrayer. Over the next few months more phone calls would come from confused saints about how this person continued to say horrible things about our lives and ministry. Every time we thought of our betrayer we made the choice to bless instead of curse. This went on for eight years!
I remember the night we were invited over to our betrayer's home for dinner and, after eight years, he asked for our forgiveness. With great joy I was able to look him in the eye and tell him that we forgave him eight years ago and had spent the last eight years blessing him.
How we choose to respond to the pain of betrayal will determine the direction our lives and ministries will take. Betrayal can be a beginning or it can be an end. There are many gifted and called saints who have been betrayed, but are now lying in the enemy's gutter of bitterness and it is breaking the Father's heart. God is calling both the betrayers and the betrayed out of the dark places where the pain and sorrow of betrayal has led them. He is calling people out with His voice of hope and restoration. If you have suffered through a place of betrayal, now is the time to begin to follow His voice. In the end, you will experience the same resurrection power and new life that followed the Lord in His betrayal.
Remember: Embedded somewhere, in each act of betrayal, is the purpose of God waiting to be discovered.
Garris Elkins
Living Waters Church
Email: info@livingwatersmedford.org
Garris' Bio:
Garris Elkins serves as Lead Pastor of the Living Waters Church in Medford, Oregon. His ministry, both nationally and internationally, is to strengthen and encourage the Church through teaching and prophetic ministry. Prior to coming to Oregon, Garris was based in Berlin, Germany, where he helped nurture and develop Eastern European church leaders. Garris has been married to his wife Jan for 34 years and they have two grown children
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