In a sea of change and a season of political headliners, most of us are legitimately concerned about our country and where our culture is headed.  Politics have become really nasty, bitter and causes great dissension in our nation.  If you eat from that plate, you will dine on a constant diet of poison.

But we should engage and we should be an element of change.  That’s what we’re called to do.  So we pray for revival in our nation.  And we pray for revival in our churches.  We come on Sundays asking God to “fill this temple”.

Yet I believe we’re missing an important point.  God doesn’t desire to send revival or fill the temple.  He desires to bring revival to me…to fill me up as His Holy Temple!  He desires to see His Church on fire for Him with you and I filled with the Holy Spirit.  That’s it!

Galatians 5 is a pretty clear picture of what a follower of Jesus looks like.  They bear fruit.  That’s it!  Fruit – tangible and obvious.

Signs of a Spirit-filled life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control.

Signs of a flesh-filled life: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,envy,drunkenness

It’s time we stop praying for God to send revival in our nation or church and ask God to send revival in me.  Me…not him or her or them.  Me!  It’s time we bear good fruit and hold each other accountable then call out the bad for what it is.

You ready for that?  It’s our choice…Spirit-filled life is the way of Jesus.  It’s what we were made for!

Recently, while trying to be a good husband, I’ve watched (endured) an HGTV show with Lisa called Fixer Upper.  Lisa loves the show and really wanted to share it with me.  Although I’m in amazement of how they do what they do, for the most part, I end up drooling through half the show and eventually falling unconscious until I get an elbow in the ribs.

The stars of the show take a run down dilapidated house and restore it.  They basically take a piece of junk and make it new.  It’s amazing.  The end result seems almost impossible.  How in the world could you begin with something in such bad condition and end up with a masterpiece.

When we, as a TV audience, are given a glimpse of the house in the “before” condition, there is no way most of us could visualize a pathway where this out of date, run down, aged, tired, used house becomes a work of art.

But it does!

And you know why?  Because someone with the power to transform sees potential.  When everyone else says “tear it down” these architects of renewal say “we’ll make it new”.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and gazed at a reflection that feels out of date, run down, aged and tired?  Or maybe you feel useless and valueless.  You just can’t see the potential anymore.  Regardless of your age you might just feel like the house that simply is what it is: worn, weary and spent.  Your soul is tired and your heart has lost it’s passion.

From Psalm 23:3 falls a small nugget of truth that cracks the foundation of lies with a bold and beautiful truth: “He RESTORES my soul.”

God is the architect of transformation.  He sees you as you are and offers you a full renovation.  A transformation.  A restoration!

It’s more than paint and spackling.  It’s not cosmetic but foundational.  He longs to rebuild your walls, shore up your foundation and add some new features.  He sees you as a masterpiece, even before the work has begun.  He sees the end result way before the job has broken ground.

If this is you, then you need a restoration.  It all begins with a view of what He sees.  The journey begins with a tiny glimpse of the plan from the Grand Architect.  See you as He sees you!

You are a pearl of great worth.  You are a masterpiece under construction.

Completion date sometime after your spirit escapes the bounds of this life!  Make sure you’re there for the unveiling!

It’ll be a moment you won’t want to miss!

A couple of weeks ago I put an amazing article of technology on Jake’s jeep.  To his great dismay, wailing and gnashing of teeth – I connected a little thing called HUM. This amazing contraption gives me his exact location, speed and alerts me to reckless driving (strong braking and so forth).  Isn’t that brilliant?

I am so (heavy emphasis on SO) glad my parents had nothing remotely like this when I was 16!

As a parent, I want to control the circumstances around my son’s driving.  I desire to protect him…even when I’m not around.  I feel like it’s an extra level of safety and a defense from the things I can’t possibly control.

And there’s the word: CONTROL

Let’s just be real honest here; we are control freaks.  We live under this veiled assumption that we have dominion over our lives.  We like to believe we control the circumstances surrounding us by the way we interact with it.  By pure influence, tactical reasoning, situational response and stealth we can control our footing or position in this ever changing world.

We say we believe God’s sovereignty and lean towards faith.  But just in case God falls asleep or forbid it that His will is different from ours, we place a tracking devise to make sure He’s headed where we want to go!

“Lord bless me and my family” (as long as you give me the salary, retirement account, the house and boat I want).

“Lord, show me your ways” (as long as I don’t have to compromise my comfort).

“Lord, win our community for Christ and His Kingdom” (as long as I don’t have to engage in awkward hallway conversations about you).

“Lord bless our church” (as long as that preacher gives me my kind of sermon, my kids think it’s hip, and the music doesn’t lull me to sleep).

A really hard and often uncomfortable truth for me is this: I control absolutely nothing except the choices I make. My very heartbeat is subject to the quantity of days given by God before it’s first beat.  My only control: the choice for whom it beats!  This world and all it’s charms or His pleasure.

Jesus asks us this question: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46

So I sit here looking at this HUM app on my phone.  I’m checking to make sure my son is safely where he’s suppose to be.  Just information really.  Not that I can do anything about it.  But it makes me feel better.  I’m in control.

All the time the Spirit is whispering: “he’s not yours, he’s mine.  I love him more than you ever will and I will send my angels to protect him.  His righteousness is my work.  His obedience is my work.  Don’t call me Lord and not trust one of your greatest worldly possessions to me.  I am shaping His heart for those things that are eternal.”

My choice is in the Lordship of Christ.  He really is Lord!  Over it all…every little bit of it!  It’s actually true. And it’s worthy of your deepest surrender and choice too!  As only a faithful father can, He is shaping you for the eternal.

 

Very soon we will enter the week of passover observance. And so it was on the eve of the cross Jesus gathered with His disciples in the upper room to observe passover; a traditional feast they had each participated in countless times. It was a recognition of God’s covenant with His people. They would break bread and take the cup to remember the miraculous salvation of the Hebrews from the angel of death and thus the oppression of Pharaoh.

It was a covenant that would soon be updated! For it would, in just a brief moment, be eclipsed by the a bold pronouncement from Christ Himself: “This is MY BODY…this is MY BLOOD”! The new covenant was now replacing the old.

Sin once forgiven for a moment, now forgotten for eternity through the Lamb – our sin debt paid in full.
Now the Angel of Death would pass over us. The red crimson blood was placed on our forehead, upon our heart and the sting of death banished from all who find shelter in the shadow of His mercy.
Next week Passover begins. Our Jewish brothers and sisters will gather to reflect on the faithfulness of Yaweh to deliver His people.

For it is through the line of David that we as gentiles find our salvation.
And because of this they’ve become the most persecuted people since the call of Abraham and the birth of a new nation. Today I can’t help but be drawn to the plight of Israel. I sense God’s longing to bring them home to Himself. I sense time is fleeting and we must be praying for the salvation of Israel.
Have you ever noticed how so much political unrest and deep hatred centers around Israel?  She is a democratic nation surrounded by enemies on all sides.  Yet, even so, she continues to thrive and prosper.  We would be wise to remember God’s covenant with His people, for it has no expiration date.  We are commanded to pray for Israel (Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. – Psalm 122:6).

The symbolism is profound and has deep meaning. Don’t miss it! God leaves nothing to chance.
Jesus was the Messiah who fulfilled every prophecy and now stands as the Lion of Judah!
He has come to save His covenant people and we have the enormous benefit of being the orphaned child, adopted, upgraded and placed at the same table with His chosen.
Thank you Jesus!