One thing and more.

If joy was easy it would be less joyful.
My best friend is unfriendly in his devotion to me.
Revelation is better held than observed
When you need to shout – whisper
Freedom results in a life of service to others while bondage has only self.


It seems like mankind keeps trying to make God into a very small image, one that is easy to grasp. This may come from our desire to move Him where we will and control Him. I believe the reality of God is that most of His beauty is hidden in extremes. It is like God takes two extremes and offers them to us as a snap shot of who He is. He does this, not like a coin having two sides, but as two very different things being the same thing. It is like the God of three who is one.
Could it be that God loves that? Does He love the busy worshipper, the simple proclaiming of profound truths, the humility of greatness and the devotion of the distracted lover? Man would tend to say, “let me be glorified by my achievement”, but God says, “enjoy living”. One is the pursuit of an idea so that we can arrive, the other is daily enjoying the gift of life we have been given. While we may think that the focused pursuit will have the best results, we miss that reality that we are made for relationships.

To practice the presence of the Lord is to surrender your focus, to a partnership with God. And then, since you are walking with God, others will be freely entering and exiting your daily life because he invited them in. So now the life of focus is filled with God invited distractions. Your ability to stay on trask and achieve is interrupted by divine desire to have your life full, but full of what? Living!
There are numerous Christians seeking to grow into maturity in Christ Jesus by cutting off the things of life so that they can focus on God and mature. This may be good for a season but it only leads to immaturity. We are called to be light in the dark. We need to be more humble and seek not to protect our self and our ideas as much as live out fully the life God has called us to, a life of living in the extremes with Him.

Over the past few years I have heard messages about the “one thing”. I have listed below some of the text from those messages. Please note that the “one thing” was different for each person. This is God’s way of extremism. He could have easily of given us an outline of devotion. But instead He gave us Himself in a relationship that is expressive, simple, complex …. We are called to know the unknowable. What could be more exciting than that? Oh, by the way. Some of us will have one “one thing” and others of us a few more.

(Psalms 27:4) One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

(Ecclesiastes 7:18) It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

(Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22) Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

(Luke 10:42) but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

(Philippians 3:13) Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Loving God and Others

Relationships matter. God calls us to relationships with Him and one another. Yet we are daily tempted to live “on our own” and interact with others according to what we need or desire. This “me” focused pressure manifest in a person’s prayer life when they mainly pray to get answered prayers. Praying to get answers to prayers is not bad, it just isn’t as fulfilling as having a relationship with God that transcends personal needs. God is the source and center for all we need, but according to the teachings of Jesus, “Jesus is not all we need”. We need one another too.

So how do we relate in the prayer room? Even if we are not talking to one another or praying for each other, is there a building up of one another in relationships?
• Just as you go to a movie with friends and mostly do not interact with each other, so too being in the prayer room increases our relationships one to another. Doing it together matters. This is true in hunting, fishing, sporting events, movies and numerous activities we do together but do not focus on one another.
• If you are called to a life of prayer or just called to give an hour or two a week to intercession, having a place brings accountability and wars against isolation. Sure you can pray alone at home. But you can also be encouraged by others seeking the Lord. It’s like “birds of a feather flocking together”.
• We are physical beings and we are spiritual beings. Why our bodies may not be connecting in the prayer room, our spirits can be entering into fellowship and unity. It is a spirit of unity that we seek for our city and region, yet we can be distracted from seeing this spiritual endeavor as we look for physical manifestations. These two, the physical and spiritual, are not in competition but complementary.
• We are instructed to know people “not after the flesh”. In our world of seeing, we can be deceived that appearance is everything. Being with others in a mainly spiritual atmosphere helps us to know one another in an entirely different way.

Every family that has family devotions knows that while they seek God together, God can strengthen personal relationships. Even when the focus is not on the family, the family can be bound together in love and devotion for one another.

In my isolation
You did not touch me
Yet your presence
Healed by soul
Love unbounded
Reached out to me
Speaking brother
“You are not alone"

False teachers, prophets, apostles….false everything

In the wisdom of God, He allows both the wheat and the tares to grow together until it is time to bunch up the tares. These tares are not false teachers or prophets, they represent “false everything”. They represent all the stuff that is sown into God’s field so that the real is chocked out or at least diminished in growth. So you may be thinking in the natural and wonder, why doesn’t God believe in weeding His garden? God does gather the weeds, but only after they have served His purpose for His people.

Matthew 24:5
"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.

Just as we pray “in the name of Jesus”, people are going to come in that same spirit, “in the name of Jesus” and tell us that Jesus is the Christ. That is good, that is as it should be. Yet even some of these are going to mislead many. Are these false prophets, shepherds or teachers? Probable not.
In this passage in Matthew Jesus gets to false prophets in verse 11, but this section is a warning of all the stuff in life (what is to come) that can get us off track. Good people with bad direction, wars, international conflict, famine and earthquakes are all going to be stuff you need to go through and stay on course. God is giving us this “heads up” so we are in the know and not focused on this stuff, but Him.
A false prophet, teacher or Christian is not an immature one. A false is one who tries to take the place of the real. When someone who is not called to be a worship leader tries to be one, that would be a false worship leader. The same goes for pastor or teacher. When we go beyond the will of God for our lives, even if we think it is best for us (especially if we think it is best for us) we enter into a self-centered or man-pleasing motivation and choose ourselves over God. That can, for a time, be immaturity. But if we do not grow up we can mature into rebellious self living as we live our lives in the church. Do you know of any people who have loved God for decades and yet are still in bondage to themselves? Are they false Christians or broken Christians? God does know but we may not.
Presently in America I think we face the biggest challenge of being mislead through our longing for an easy life. We have strong desires to be a blessed people and our desire to be a blessing to others is fading. We are presently challenged to give according to our desires rather than the will of God. Sacrifice can mean, “Sharing the extra I have left over” and dedication can become “what I do after all my personal and family needs are met”.
God instructs us to discern according to fruit – not gifts. But we might be in some muddy waters if our vision of fruit is “man’s idea” and not God’s. (Isn’t there anything we can do on our own?) I encourage everyone to look carefully at and for the fruitfulness of others, just as soon as you get that thing out of your vision that is irritating you. When you can look on others with love and not fear or anger, you can see well.

Best Ways to Control

Here is my meditation on the best ways to control others
1. Pretend not to hear what they are saying. You can give this technique even more power by saying some mocking word in reply – like “excuse me”.

2. Quickly get mad about most anything you don’t like. It won’t take long and people just won’t trouble you with stuff you don’t like. All good for you.

3. If you are not all that skillful yet at #2, you can follow up by going to others who know the two of you and say “I don’t know what is wrong with _______________”. You can also say “I just don’t know what they were thinking” as long as you really mean “I don’t know what is wrong with”.

4. Moan or groan when you are talking to people and they say things you disagree with. Turing you head is disgust or rolling you eyes helps people with hearing problems “get it” faster.

5. If you are in a discussion you can say about anything as long as you start with “I agree, but I think if we were wise…” Don’t say this to fast. Take a long pause after “agree” and say the word “wise” and thoughtfully as possible.

6. Don’t say “we have never done that before”, that just keys in those who know how to control the controlling person. You want to ask, “has that worked in the past” and since they never did it in the past it has not worked, so if it didn’t work in the past, why try it now.

7. Don’t be in a hurry to try and stop things you want to control, just slow them down and the busyness of life will take over. Instead of going forward suggest “slowing down for a little more insight”. Taking time to get everyone on board is a great way to control too. When was the last time everyone was on board (don’t mention that)?

8. If you find that you want to control people who are going to spend money in an area or way that you don’t want – just remind them that they promised to do ______________________ before they made any others investments. If you have been with this group long you should have several things they were suppose to do but you got them to not do them because that is not what you wanted them to do. Make sure you remember the things they were to do but failed to do, you can always use these later.

9. Threaten to quit. Don’t threaten to quit yourself, but rather say someone else will quit if this goes ahead. This other person should be someone who doesn’t like the direction and someone who is honest. Even if they are willing to yield you can gain control by threatening the group with this other persons leaving, someone who they probably like more than you.

10. If all else fails and you think your efforts to control are lost, go all out in the opposite direction. Go to the store and ask for those “cheerleader” vitamins and promote, encourage and sell others on this new direction. Hopefully others are so sick of you by now that they will go completely in the opposite direction just to avoid agreeing with you.

A Great Harvest

If a great harvest is coming to Peoria and Central IL, we presently need to have many more troubles!
As I have prayer for a million souls from Central IL, I realize that if God answers that prayer, we will need every church in the region to take part in their discipleship and fellowship. And if the present trend continues some will go one place for worship, another for fellowship, a third for recreation and activities and possibly another for prayer. The church in Central IL could end up sharing people. It could be like one church with numerous ministries, personalities and emphasis. But have I been trained enough by God to let this happen?
Do I have enough humility and enough love to allow others to be vital in the work of the Kingdom? Do I feel a desire to correct the leadership of others? Do I want to avoid certain leaders who are Godly people, but just not enough like me to be trusted?
If we had more troubles then we presently do we could learn (even faster) how to act, and not react to those who are different than we are. We could learn how to suffer with Christ and in Christ and not be wounded or feel rejected when God moves through someone other than us. We could learn how to relate and talk with one another so that problems are solved and not just overlooked. Wow! If we had more troubles we would be gaining authority in the Spirit to minister to others, we would forgo our blessing to be a blessing to others.
So in my mystical redneck way – God bring on the darkness that I may learn that light invades the dark. Help me Father to be more faithful (full of faith) than secure, more redemptive than comfortable and more joyful in tribulation. Now what is it that tribulation does again? Rom. 5:3

Why would God desire to build a house of prayer when every church should be a house of prayer?

Insights and observations from a Redneck Mystic


In our modern view of the world we tend to think more of the Church in terms of organizations and buildings. It is quite natural for us to drive around town and judge a church according to a building, grounds or even location in the city. Based on physical observations we make spiritual assessments. As you journey across Peoria you may be amazed by the 250 plus churches that already exist and wonder why do we need one more?
But if you looked at the Church as the body of Christ and wondered what God was doing with us, we might come to some different types of conclusions, if not revelation. All across our area the people of God are joining together for evangelism, food pantries, worship celebrations and teaching conferences. Numerous church bodies have community special events, special times of united focused intercession, and neighborhood ministries of mercy or discipleship. Even among the numerous local churches, God is collecting and connecting people together beyond their local expression and mission.
Turing to the House of Prayer question, we need to ask if God is calling people in this region to work together in a House of Prayer. Sure each body or church should have a healthy and expanding life of prayer. But can any one organization be and do all that God is doing in the city or region? Was the local church supposed to be a self-sufficient organization or was each organization to be a vital part of God in the city?

Well here is by expanded bullet list of what I think God is doing.
• God is establishing specialized prayer centers so that people can be discipled at a quicker pace. Whenever we specialize in an area in the body or church it is to assist others more rapidly. This has happened in the past with the roles of teaching, worship, children’s ministry, youth ministry. When God calls people to give their lives to an area it is not just for a “personal calling” but for a building up of the body.
• Unity, in all the walks of life, is a manifestation of the regional body seeking the Lord together. The people who gather together for intercession need a place to work through their differing views and expressions. Personal desires need to be lovingly separated from the will of God. The reality of seeking the Lord together is verified by our actual love toward one another in everyday life. Much of what happens in a regional house of prayer is the Cross being applied to a person’s life who is actively seeking God.
• God can use a local community House of Prayer or Prayer Room to validate prayer in a region. Just as church buildings, Christian recreation centers, hospitals, food pantries and shelter all witness to the city that the people of God care, so too can a public place of prayer proclaim God’s heart for the region to be prayed for and for the city to know it. Just as the 40 days of Prayer witnessed to our city that calling on God is a viable solution. So too an ongoing house a prayer can be a witness and solution for those with sickness, disease, unemployment and all the pains of life. Just as a food pantry can help minister to the region, so can the community prayer room.
• A house of prayer in the city also serves to remind us that we are made up of different parts. This is not a pride in the part we are but humility that we are only a part of what God is doing. We all should love and be devoted to our part as well as prefer and honor the other parts as better than ourselves. I believe that out of the context of a corporate prayer room a people of God will emerge that love others as much as they love themselves. I mean that the people of prayer will pray for, cover, bless and intercede for those in the market place, in the arts and media, in teaching and education, in government and church leadership just as intimately and passionately as they pray for themselves. This intercession will be for saved and unsaved, our nation and the enemies of our nation; love will abound as real intimacy and unity develop in the place of prayer.
• I also believe God is being tricky, or wise. A part of the regional house of prayer is offering to a community an alternative on how to spend our time. Sports, recreation, entertainment all have a community that supports those often “individual” efforts. A person of prayer or praying has often been an isolated endeavor. Even if you go to a prayer room and pray in private, doing that in the midst of others is encouraging. Isolation and loneliness can be confronted by community.
• My final point here is this. The house or dwelling of the Lord that God desires to be called a house of prayer for all people, is people. We, the people of God are His dwelling place. Deeper than all the organizational and institutional efforts, our Father is seeking a resting place within each of us that results in a transformed life living out His ways on the earth. Even if we have all the stuff we want, the right building, sound system, musical equipment, media links…all that stuff is only as effective as the people who serve in the place of prayer. We, the people of God, must become desirous of an identity that includes prayer. This identity is not at the expense of any of God’s callings, but rather to the blessing of them all. This identity is not so that we are esteemed by the world, but so that the whole world is esteemed through us.

Endurance

It is hard to finish hard matters. Sports have a season. Life however has no off season and being hated or mistreated can last a life time. God, a loving Father, calls us to prepare our hearts to deal with a life time of hate. I got this from considering the Matt. 10:22 passage. Why did Jesus give such a hard word to such good followers?

Matthew 10:22
Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved.

“Everyone”, really everyone! Why not just be hated by a few messed up people. Why prepare our hearts for total rejection? But if I consider the original hearers of this message, I can understand better. These guys (people) in the text are betraying their ancient religion, they are deserting their family traditions, and through their actions they are boasting that Jesus is the right way. These actions imply that the old way is not longer right, somebody is wrong. So they broke with culture, business, family and faith. They were hated men.

Have you ever given in, compromised on some issue that God has called you to stand for? Have you ever given in on a purchase, or yielded to a choice that you knew was wrong? Yet enduring in “easy stuff”, stuff that should be easy to do because in the big picture it is not all that important, is still hard. Sure there are seasons of wisdom from God where we yield in love and restoration. Sure there are many times when we don’t make an issue of everything. But do we still have an enduring faith? Are we willing to be hated?

The hatred of our time is very crafty. It belittles in small crowds, mocks through “innocent humor”, shames through self-promotion and worships success. Hatred in our day neglects the needs of others, avoids the awkward and fails to listen to the broken and wounded. Hatred in our time does not want to totally cast you out, but rather keep us just close enough to keep hurting you. Even if, by the world’s standards you are a great person, criticism, judgments and ridicule will be ever present in your life. Gird yourself up.

There are two places (maybe three) where words are said that help us endure long. The most important place where words of endurance are spoken is in the garden of our inner man. In this place the Lord meets with us and prepares our life for living. In the inner place, eternal words and thoughts begin to reach the heart and a person advances from contemplation to transformation. What happens in this secret place is foundational to what we do or say. Abiding with God is critical for our personal endurance.

Secondly there is the place of family – both biological and spiritual. Family is the secret place in our society and culture. It is a garden dwelling where truth and accountability knock on our heart of behavior and mindsets. True the family is often a battle ground or rejection and hatred, but God’s heart is to restore family, not avoid it. Building a good family, both spiritual and biological, is like building a garden dwelling that will have years of fruitfulness.

Prepare your life to deal with hatred and rejection. Not by building a fortress to hide away in, but a garden to delight in. One is a prison of protection, the other a public display of eternal beauty.