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We've all heard that "God has a wonderful plan for your life." Most believers can't tell you what it is beyond the pablum of religious generalities (evangelism, missions, Kingdom). The theological paradigm looks like blindfolded believers depending on the Holy Spirit nudging them to stop or go, turn left or right. It sounds like, "I have no idea where I'm going, I'm just faithfully following a trail of breadcrumbs from the Holy Spirit." That's even made to sound spiritual in most charismatic circles (I'm more spiritual if I don't know where I'm going). The testimonies are always in the vein of "God spoke to me, and this miracle happened," as evidence of the success of their breadcrumb relationship.
All my life I've heard many creative excuses for missing church. Long before memes were invented for social media, absentee churchgoers joked about attending "Bedside Baptist," "Church of the Holy Comforter" or "Church of the Inner Springs" to imply that they were sleeping in on Sunday morning. But during the last two years we've had even more convenient reasons to stay away from church. The pandemic ushered in the era of "Zoom worship," and I'm grateful we had the technology for virtual meetings. But now, as mask mandates are relaxed and COVID cases drop, many Christians are still watching church online in their pajamas.
I am sure you have heard the quip: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time! Of course, most of us aren't into eating elephant, but we get the point on how to tackle big problems. First you have to figure out what the problem is, and then you have to figure out how to deal with it for the purpose desired. You can even find schools to deal with some of those issues you face. But you know, when you are lost and/or out of sorts, there is a lot you have to figure out, and sometimes "the manual" is not there. We look to people and the world around us but find they don't have all the answers to our questions. And many want or need their answer "right now!"
God is always helping us to better understand His goodness towards us. Part of the goodness is in what He has already done by making us new creations - where the old has passed away and the new has come. This really is the best news we can get because it is not about us trying to fix the old person we used to be, but about simply choosing to live by the new person that He's already made us to be. This is because of all that Jesus accomplished and by the reality of His Spirit in our lives.
"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"(Eph. 6:12). "But the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?'" (Acts 19:15). Would you like to be known in hell? I would. And I will tell you why. It would mean that I am a threat to the satanic world. I would love to be a threat to the satanic world.
Recently, God said, "I am training up warriors on the mountains." As I began to look up mountain warfare in the natural, I realized that this was a word for the Seven Mountains of Influence (religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment and business/finance). Mountain ranges, in the natural, have been highly desired for their strategic importance; they are natural borders as well as sources of water. Kingdom breakthroughs on the mountains of influence also represent the taking hold of borders. Some of the staunchest divisions between the way society is patterned (ways that follow the Lord versus ways that are contrary to His Word) lie in these seven areas. What flows from them also "waters" society.
It is difficult when you love the Lord with everything in you and those closest to you don't have that same sentiment. You've raised your children in a Christian home and now they are in rebellion, and you desperately desire for that prodigal to return to their roots and foundation. It is discouraging when you have prayed prayers and haven't seen the full manifestation. When most of us got married, we weren't pursuing Jesus full force and didn't pray about who to marry. In most Christian marriages, one spouse is on fire.
For far too long, the church has been disconnected from the Jewish roots of our faith by assuming that Passover was a feast of the Jews and failing to understand that it was one of the feasts of the Lord. This begs the question: Should believers observe Passover? My simple answer would be yes, because of the prophetic promises received through the celebration of Passover, not just by Jews, but by all who call upon the name of the Lord. "But why would believers celebrate Passover?" you might ask. "Surely Jesus took away that requirement."
"Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.' And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing.' Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, 'Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!'" (Luke 8:22-25)
It's a certainty: Trials will come; tight deadlines will have to be met; you'll have to smile through pain; God will ask you to take on a seemingly impossible task. And you can do it all (and so much more)! That's because the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, empowered the early church to fulfill Christ's commission and kept Paul content in his calling will undoubtedly strengthen you to do what you never thought you could. Don't know where to begin? These three life-tested steps bring God's supernatural strength for obedience and victory to any circumstance.
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