Monday, October 05, 2009

What Destroys the Power of Pain?

The power of pain in life is unmistakable and undeniable. Trying to avoid pain, mask it, or attempting to run from it just energizes its negative effects. So what destroys the power of pain in a person's life if the trouble that produces the pain is such an obvious part of living in this world (Job 5:7)?

First, every believer should accept that trouble, and the pain that results from it, are a part of life (Job 14:1). The enemy comes as a thief to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a). He attacks with thorns in the flesh (II Cor. 12:7). He, the demons, and those who volunteer to do his bidding, or who unwittingly support him, press Christians hard on every side, bring difficulties that cause perplexing thoughts, persecute believers, and, even, strike them down (II Cor. 4:8,9). But the acceptance of the trouble in life with its resulting pain can't be an acceptance accompanied by resignation, raising the white flag of surrender, or capitulation. "Ok, my enemy is unseen and strong so I'll just accept defeat and wait for the bliss of Heaven, after he finally finishes me off. After all, it's Adam and Eve's fault for allowing him to bring his onslaught against me and win in this life. At least I win the war after arriving in Heaven, even though I lost the majority of the battles here on earth." If Jesus would have held this type of defeatist attitude, then He would have never raised from the dead (here on earth), but He would have had to raise in Heaven. No one here on earth would have been an eye-witness of His victory and the celebration on earth called Easter (really every Sunday morning) would have been negated. Crazy!

Secondly, Father has already provided for us to confront trouble and receive healing of our pain beginning with the cross. We are "always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." Therefore, we are hard-pressed, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed (II Cor. 4:8-11). The thief steals, kills, and destroys, but the eternal abundant life provided by Jesus at the cross overwhelms his thievery, death, and destruction (John 10:10). The attacks that lodge like thorns in the flesh lose their sting in light of God's sufficient grace and mighty power resting on us (II Cor. 12:7-10). This means that death and burial result in resurrection for all our areas of trouble and pain one way or another. As a result, principalities and powers have been disarmed, and they have become a public spectacle (for those with Kingdom eyes to see) because of His triumph over them (Col. 2:15).

So.......we can firmly believe that the tribulation, trouble, suffering, and affliction of life WILL be comforted so that we can be a ministry of comfort to others. It is so important to trust in the consolation and deliverance of the Lord because it is always there for us to step into (II Cor. 1:3-11). Father will even give us the faith to believe it as a gift (Eph.2:8).

Next Installment: What Destroys the Power of Pain? 2

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Power of Pain

Most people run from pain. They seek to avoid as much pain as possible. However, decisions made when running from pain just bring that much more pain to a person. Words spoken from the reservoir of pain result in more pain for the speaker and listener alike. A lifestyle lived with pain in control is a lifestyle so influenced by the power of pain that the hurt throbs inside to the point that every thought, word, and deed is infused with its negative effects. Every relationship tie then is strained by the need of the person wounded by mental/emotional damage to attempt to pull comfort from the relationship. But if the other person has a similar well of pain that he/she is drawing from, comfort won’t be found, only intensified discomfort.

Trouble, and the pain that comes from it, are a part of life (Job 4:8; Job 5; Job 14:1; Matt. 6:34; II Cor. 1:8). It is our reaction to trouble/pain that is the key.

Running from pain involves some of the following attributes/strategies (among others):

walls/filters/fear/mistrust/accepting lies of the enemy/unforgiveness/bitterness/blame judgment/critical spirit/control/resistant to the Spirit’s leading/resistant to the Spirit’s comfort/unteachable/stubborn/ignore issues/avoidance/hiding/rebellious

Pain can’t be masked with popularity, position, prestige, power, degrees, or titles. It is unaffected by self-help books/courses and inner peace techniques (Prov.25:19).Typical worldly counseling or surface-surfing Christian counseling can’t touch it. It always catches the one fleeing. It overwhelms the one avoiding. Pain is in control with prisons, chains, and locks that require keys beyond our own resources and devices.

The pain-filled person is in a constant battle against trouble(Job 15:24) so he busies himself blaming others/being bitter/being unforgiving/secretly, or not so secretly being mad at Father God/being defensive/being offensive/acting tough/being overly aggressive or overly passive/being boastful/craving significance/down on himself, etc. In this way pain wins - fear wins. The cycle of pain spins out of control in people no matter what demeanor they display as a mask for people to see. Pain is in charge. Pain is in control. Heb. 12:15

Next Installment: What destroys the power of pain?

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Deception vs. Truth Part 1


Deception
and Truth cannot occupy the same spiritual space at the same time (adapted statement from Graham Cooke). 

Deception Attributes                                           Truth Attributes

self-absorption/ focus on self                             identity in Jesus
negative emotions/bondage                              freedom/fruit of the Spirit
circumstances/situations/problems rule     overcoming
problems are a problem                                     problems are overcome
discouraged                                                          encouraged
grieve/quench/resist Holy Spirit                  submission to Holy Spirit                                       
rebellion                                                                loyalty
unworthiness                                                       worthy/treasure
cheap date                                                             extravagant courting
orphan                                                                   son/daughter
angry/sad/mad                                                   glad/joyful dancing
death(process of sin)                                          life(process of grace)
sin conscious/-centric                                       God conscious/-centric
God is a heavenly tyrant                                  God is a Heavenly Father
habits/additions rule                                        His habitation rules
a prison                                                                a cruise
pittance                                                                abundance
mindless/confusion                                          mind of Christ/on things above
foolish                                                                   wise
critical                                                                  positive affirmation    
complaining/grumbling                                 praising/thanksgiving
(language of Hell)                                             (language of Heaven)
religion/cerebral faith                                    experience/encounter presence 
weak                                                                    strong
fear                                                                      faith/trust
worry/anxiety                                                  peace
diving/falling                                                   rising on eagle's wings
drowning                                                           rescued
empty                                                                 full
words alone                                                      action    
faith alone                                                         works/faith in action
vulnerable to attack                                       refuge(place of safety)
target                                                                 armored warrior
poor                                                                    rich
lack of cover/ open field                               fortress/high ground    
poverty/lack                                                    provision/abundance
debt/deficit                                                      source/resource
lame/crippled                                                  jumping/leaping/praising God
victim                                                                victorious
alone                                                                  partner w/God
demonic influence/oppression                   delivered
sick                                                                      healed
wimp                                                                  warrior
desert                                                                 dessert
stolen from/murdered/destroyed             gifted/protected by Holy Spirit
hiding                                                                open/transparent
double-minded                                                single-minded
natural                                                              supernatural
etc.                                                                      etc.

1) Some of what you feel/believe strongest about is just plain wrong - process of unlearning is necessary.

2) Some of your habits or pieces of your lifestyle that you are most comfortable with are destructive to you - process of allowing the natural to transform into the supernatural.

3) All of the lies that you have believed about God and yourself are totally counterproductive to becoming more like Jesus - process of sanctification(accepting and relying on the mind of Christ as a gift to become more like Jesus in thoughts/attitudes/action). 

Comments?  Thoughts?

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Blast from the Past #7: A Picture

Here is a picture that came to me in a couple of chapters so I would like to share it with you. I saw a scale with the three chains holding each of two trays. On the left side was FAITH and SPIRIT. On the right side was FLESH and FEAR. Then I saw that dynamite was on the left tray and manure was on the right tray. Both sides were balanced. Then I saw MIND, WILL, and EMOTIONS were about to weight either side. When they weighted one side or another, the scale shifted to tip that side toward the floor. When they weighted the FAITH - SPIRIT side, the dynamite blew up and massive positive spiritual Holy Spirit energy was released. When they weighted the FLESH - FEAR side, demons filled the manure and it became even more of a cesspool. It also came to me that when EMOTIONS are allowed to take MIND and WILL toward one side or the other, it is the weakest part of us that is doing the leading.

Comments? Thoughts? Other pictures, words,  dreams, visions, etc. 


Blast from the Past #6: Elders and Youngers

     In I Peter 5: 1- 11 there is a wonderful truth to consider at the beginning of this pivotal year of 2009. 

Consider verses 1-4, where elders are exhorted to

1) shepherd the flock of God
2) serve as willing, honest, and eager overseers
3) serve as examples, not Lords over those entrusted to them (the flock)
If they do this they will be rewarded by the Chief Shepherd with a non-fading crown of glory.

Consider verses 5-9, younger people (non-elders) are exhorted to

1) submit to elders
2) submit to one another
3) be clothed with humility (humble yourself under the mighty hand of God)
4) cast all your care on Him
5) be sober (serious-minded), be vigilant (carefully watchful), resist the enemy remaining steadfast (not changing, not moving, unshakable) in the faith BECAUSE, as your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (completely eat, leaving no scraps)

The inference is that IF you submit to elders, submit to one another, become clothed in humility, and cast all your care on Him (actions) while being serious-minded, carefully watchful, and in a state of resistance to the enemy, steadfastly holding to your faith (states of being), then you will, after a time period of suffering, be perfected, established, strengthened, and settled by and in Christ (verse 10) and exalted in due time (verse 6). Compare Col. 2:6,7. If you DON'T receive God's grace to do the actions and live in the states of being listed, then you become a thanksgiving dinner for the enemy (only he won't be thanking God).

It is assumed that God's true elders/overseers/shepherds (not title only) have been faithful in this process (where there has been some suffering) and have been perfected, established, settled, and already exalted by God (to one degree or another) in order to shepherd the flock without Lording over it (being examples instead) and serving as willing, honest, and eager overseers.

What are your thoughts?

  

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Blast from the Past #5: Casting Cares

Cares of this world/cares of this life choke the Word of the Lord (Life) out of people making them unfruitful (dead to reproduction) and weighing down their hearts (Matt. 13:22; Luke 8:14; Luke 21:34). That is precisely why your loving Heavenly Father wants them thrown on Him (I Peter 5:7) since He is "wired" to bear them for you so you are not weighed down (experiencing freedom) and can become abundantly fruitful.

Here's an activation for casting cares. Make a list for yourself of any current burdens/cares that Holy Spirit brings to mind. Speak out loud in prayer to cast these cares on Jesus. If He shows you someone to share some of these burdens with so that person can help you bear the burden (Gal. 6:2) and be a part of the process of casting them on the Lord, then contact that person for prayer support. If you have previously cast a care on Jesus, check your progress and peace on that issue. Are you still worrying about it? Is it constantly in your thoughts? Does it cause your joy level to drop when you consider it? If so, you may need to revisit casting that care (or cares) on Jesus by declaring it out loud in His presence and possibly sharing it with a Godly friend. Remember, you are being released by Holy Spirit from a burdened heart and a deadly chokehold. Is it any wonder that there are so many hurting people when they are bearing the heavy burdens of life all by themselves without the burden-sharing of the body, and without the burden-bearer - Jesus! As you receive release and freedom, first testify. This will help solidify the Spirit's peace and comfort in your heart. Secondly, be on the alert for the Holy Spirit to connect you with hurting people who are your local harvest field to whom you are called to labor among because you have experienced the comfort of Holy Spirit, whereby you can now comfort (Is. 51:12; I Thess. 5:11; I Cor. 1:3-7).

Other verses to consider on "casting cares" include the following: Ps. 55:22; II Chron. 6:28-31; Is. 10:27; Matt. 11:28-30

Please post a comment or testimony


Sunday, November 16, 2008

Blast from the Past #4: Gratitude

I am certain that Kingdom disciples of Jesus must learn to graduate in attitude by growing in gratitude. It truly separates the effective disciples from the less-than-effective disciples. Consider this....don't you think that the Children of Israel would have had a much shorter journey in the desert if they had graduated in attitude by growing in gratitude? Wouldn't they have given Moses far less hassle? Don't you believe that they wouldn't have grumbled, groused, and griped if gratitude had gripped their lives? Wouldn't you say that they would never have made a golden calf if they had hearts filled with with the purified gold of gratitude to God? Don't you believe they would have run expectantly to the mountain of God's presence rather than avoid it, if their spirits were washed with wave after wave of gratitude? How about those ten spies....the challenges of taking the promised land would have been minimized in their eyes with gratitude towards a maximized God....it's not hard to see, is it? Compare and contrast the following passages on gratitude.  Luke 17:11-19; Luke 7:36-50; Col. 2:6,7  How would you apply to your life what you learned from these passages?

Please comment or testify



Sunday, November 09, 2008

Blast from the Past #3: The Power of Testimony

From time to time we receive encouraging reports in person, by phone call, by snail mail, or by email of something that God is doing somewhere in the earth, or a revelation that God has given to a person. It is always awesome to receive these exciting, life-changing testimonies of our Father coming right down into the circumstances, dream life, prayer time, spirit, thoughts, imaginations, meditations (often on Scripture), spiritual eyes, spiritual ears, etc. of a person and showing himself to be our all-knowing, ever-present, all-powerful, loving Lord of Hosts! These positive reports speak life into the atmosphere and turn up His light in a darkened world. They fuel our faith fires to rise high into the air like a large bonfire on a November night.

In contrast, we are all familiar with some of the effects of the opposite kind of report to these positive, life-giving reports. Sometimes referred to as the "evil report," the "negative report,"or just as a "bad report," they have the ability to usher in fear, worry, and unbelief to the unsuspecting, or those unable to discern. They can paralyze some with discouragement or depression if they are received into their spirits. They speak death into the atmosphere and always add to the darkness. They can snuff out faith fires faster than sand poured on the left-over embers at a fire pit during a November rain storm.

I would like this blog to serve as an ongoing record of positive, life-giving testimonies of the communication of Father from heaven to earth, of healing and deliverance reports, of transformed lives, and altered circumstances because His goodness. Please send your testimonies to our email, info@frontline-ministries.org, or as a comment for this blog.

While you are considering your comments, please feel free to comment or testify on Numbers 12, 13 concerning good reports and evil reports. 


Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Election and Life 2008

November 4th.......what a day! I began the day with a phone call of life. About 7:15 A.M., I learned that at 5:59 A.M., Judah William Gokee entered the world. Life broke through and took its first breath.......once again. What joy he brings to the hearts of the parents, Josh and Christy! What joy he brings to the hearts of the aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents! What joy he brings to friends and well-wishers! What joy he brings to the heart of his Creator! He is a precious gift and a glorious sign that in Father's Kingdom, life always is birthed to win the day!

Then there was the election. Many of my candidates didn't receive the majority votes of man. Many will not be taking office in January. Many will not be able to represent me and so many others who stand for life. Predictions were made. Hope was filled with faith, but mystery still abides in the plans and ways of Father God. I am left once again with the awe-inspiring meditation that His ways are higher than mine; His thoughts are higher than mine(Is. 55:8, 9). I guess my only choice once again is to fully trust my omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator who is God, Father, Brother, Friend, Savior, Shepherd, Healer, Deliverer, and Lord all at the same time, and has an amazing plan for me, my family, and for those to whom I reach out to love (Jeremiah 29:11-13). It is not the first time that I have faced a mystery on this wonderful journey of learning to know and love Him; it won't be the last.

So this morning I am reflecting on the elections that I have voted in as I have traveled through adulthood. It is rather interesting to me that the Presidential candidate I voted for in 10 elections won exactly 50% of the time. Two Presidents during that time faced some impeachment proceedings against them, and I had voted for neither one. One President resigned from office and, yet, this was the President that started a process that eventually ended a war early. This meant my draft number was so high, I was not called up to enter that war. As I look back, 20% of my votes for President were flat out wrong (according to my present stand on issues, my philosophy of government, and my beliefs as molded by Holy Spirit). In all of this, Jesus has remained King, the Father remained positioned on the throne. The plans of the Godhead have not been taken by surprise, frustrated, adjusted, or threatened in any way. Instead, He weaves the strands of history and the eras of time into a beautiful tapestry that we often can only see the backside of with its loose ends dangling haphazardly in seeming disarray. After all, time is in His hand. Past, present, and future are all before His eyes at the same time. As they say in Jamaica, "No worries."

So, rather than entrusting part of the battle for life to like-minded (I hesitate to say, "like-spirited," since they are politicians, for sure) representatives,  I must increasingly take the responsibility to ask Holy Spirit what I should do to passionately and boldly state the case for life in America. I will trust my Father to give me the wisdom and strength to make a difference in a society that increasingly accepts the fact that we can choose to throw away children who are inconvenient, since we have devised our own code of morality to replace our loving Heavenly Father's revelation. I will gladly accept the personal responsibility to bring Kingdom realities to desperate women (and men) in the throes of confusing choices, by pointing them to a Shepherd Father who loves them unconditionally and desires to provide them with living water and abundant pasture, rather than a graveyard. I will joyfully choose to contend for the glorious light of intimacy in order to navigate through a maze where the natural lights seem even dimmer this morning.

My precious grandchildren have survived and are thriving in an Egypt where so many evil schemes wish to crush their lives inside their woven-reed baskets. Love has accomplished miracles that evil is powerless to stop. If we are alert and vigilant on the wall in our generation as watchmen (and watchwomen) of our King, we will have the privilege of participating in the impossible becoming possible on a daily basis. Welcome to the battle, Judah William Jacquet! Not a casualty in the struggle for life, but part of a end-time army of mighty reinforcements who will be led by and filled with the Spirit of the Most High!

If you have read this, please comment


Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Guest Blog Author: Personal Convictions on Voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin

We live in the greatest God-given nation in the history of the world. At this point, as the election is tomorrow, I want to share a few thoughts of my own. As a Christian man who submits himself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, my first and foremost resolution of heart in all matters is determined by His influence. I desire my core values, as a follower of Him, to be established by His heart, values, and nature. As a supreme ruler of the universe, the Lord's desire and plan for this nation was established on the basis of His character, His grace, His mercy and His life. Everything I believe is founded and run through the grid of the heart of God, as He is the only One who will guide, protect, and maintain the foundational elements of freedom in this land that all of us have been given the right to enjoy and the responsibility to cultivate for other generations to follow. This is not a light matter. I have a choice to embrace or not to embrace God's purposes for America, realizing that my choices always have consequences. You have the right of choice. So, amid all the rhetoric and opinions of man, my ultimate desire is to ask the Lord, what do You say and what are You doing in this hour? I believe that those who humble themselves under His banner will hear from Him and be used to carry out His heart, which is ultimate goodness for this nation. When a poisonous apple covered in gold is offered, true Godly wisdom will warn of the inherent poison of the apple. Our own thinking will see only the apparent goodness or outer gold. Most people would agree that evil should not be tolerated, so that goodness would prevail. Unfortunately, what the Lord considers evil is not understood or seen by many. Why? It takes a humbling of heart to allow Jesus to speak His desires and then for each of us to hear what He is saying. So many form their opinions according to what they personally think alone rather than on what the Lord says and directs. He is speaking. He is not an opinion. He is not an idea. He is truth. Can we as a nation hear what the Lord is saying and act on it? I believe we can.

We have witnessed this very scenario in the realm of the growing atrocity of the murders of those who have no voice. There has been no stopping the carnage of millions of aborted lives. To date, 42-52 million lives have been snuffed out since the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision. That's a fact, and it is not refutable. Many in America have tried to justify this with their multifaceted defenses that ultimately hold no weight when it comes to life and death. Their thoughts have been cleverly woven together, presented as moral acts to benefit our society. Ultimately those who defy what the Lord has put in place for us to enjoy in our families, workplaces, and communities, unknowingly allow the very enemy of their souls to steal it away. The bottom line is, millions and millions of lives have been snuffed out. Period. An entire generation of future scientists, governmental leaders, missionaries, business people, architects, mothers and fathers, lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, etc. are lost and can't be brought back. What does the Lord think about all of this? How does this affect us personally and as a nation? Compare this number to the entire population of many countries; it's amazing. Along that same line, look at the numbers of those lives taken during the Holocaust....6 million Jews. America has already murdered 42 - 52 million defenseless people. Who was (and still is) represented in this infanticide of the womb? An entire generation of American children, who had wonderful destinies and plans for their lives, have been eradicated from the land of the free and the home of the brave. This is unequivocally and demonstratively against the heart and law of the very Lord who has allowed us to live in this land and carry out His mandates fro true justice and freedom. We need to cry out for forgiveness and mercy so we can get back on track with His heart, as it grieves Him and will allow more of our rights, freedoms, and enjoyments to be taken away. We need to recognize the real enemy of our land and do what it takes to stop the evil. The law of life and love has been repeatedly ignored, pushed aside, resisted, and militantly opposed under the guise of preference for the rights of others. There is no comparison. Here is the golden apple. If we choose to lift up righteousness and turn away from evil, God promises to heal our land. The Word of God states in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that "If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways (which is lifting up righteousness), THEN I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land." We need a healing in our land. A nation that exalts righteousness will be blessed. Everything positive will spill out of that effort....the increase in our economy, world security, Godly family values, and all the other issues that challenge our nation. Anyone who studies the history of nations can see the contagious thread of unrighteousness being the cause of the elimination of true freedom. For us in America, nothing should be allowed to trump this vital issue of life and death, as only the knowledge of the truth will set us free and keep us free. We have been the recipients of life and goodness, and must strongly resist anything that will rob us (and future generations) of this inheritance from the Lord. Many have gone before me to protect my rights and have even given their lives for my freedom and yours! I must demonstrate my gratitude to them (and the Lord) through my attitudes and actions. Also, I have a responsibility to leave that precious inheritance to my son, David, his children, and grandchildren. Our purpose in living is not for ourselves, but for others, just as Jesus rose from the dead to give us new life in Him as we fully embrace who He is and what it means to follow Him wholeheartedly. In America, we need eyes to see these truths.

Obama said on national television for all to hear (during one of the Presidential debates) that the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision was a good one. My heart was deeply grieved when I heard him speak. He obviously has not seen the inherent evil of the slaughter of live (aka, abortion) in this nation. That's unconscionable. No matter the rhetoric, both Obama and Biden are firmly and blatantly pro-abortion. Someone who is against something will do whatever it takes to stop evil, not to promote it, or skirt around it. Their walk will match their talk. The Obama/Biden ticket has made it clear that, if elected, one of Obama's first actions as President would be the signing of the Freedom of Choice Act. This act would eliminate every other law against partial-, birth abortion, parental notification, etc. They hold many other unrighteous positions, but this one alone is particularly heinous, and significant enough to render my stand for total unacceptability of their ticket. Additionally, we need justices in the Supreme Court that would uphold the family values that undergird our society. Both Obama and Biden have track records that have voted against the justices who have attempted to uphold these traditions. Check it for yourself and don't be fooled, Obama has his own standard for the appointment of future justices, as well, and one of the "tests" will be where a person stands on Roe vs. Wade. This lack of understanding, judgment, and vision are clear indicators that the Obama/Biden ticket is not God's best for our country, as these qualities are foundational for all other issues. If we Americans think that we can freely exist in a country that continues to violate the very nature of the One who gave us life to begin with, we are grievously in error. Arrogance loves to take the form of true humility, but it's only a facade, and will rear it ugly head in due time. My hope is that America will wake up and realize the great stakes of this election, the seriousness of the timing, and God's attempts to make Himself, His purposes, and His goodness known. Obama is not the one who should be put at the helm of the greatest country in the world. We are at a crossroads in our nation, and I will vote for those who will stand for a voice for the unborn and will appoint justices who will attempt to be led by a voice bigger than their own. We must work toward the removal of the moral decay and societal degeneration  of values from this great country so we can look forward to the future of one nation, under God, indivisible. with liberty and justice for all. This will then insure our national security, economic stability, educational advancement, energy viability, healthcare reform, family values, and more. Don't be caught up in the hype, ask the Lord for His vision. He is the One who is behind life and will open the eyes of any who truly want His heart to be carried throughout this great nation. I urge you to pray and vote for those who are determined to uphold the sanctity of life andf righteousness, which will unleash the true hope and prosperity that this nation had once valued so highly....and by God's grace, will again.

I have so many more reasons, but I hope you all take time to consider and pray what would be the will of God in this election-- as there are stark differences in the direction this country will be taking. God bless you all and God Bless America! May His perfect will reign supreme.



Michael Wheeler