Month: March 2017

Recently, I was thinking about this phrase that I’ve heard for many years and even said it myself numerous times: “Make Jesus the Lord of your life.” When I consider that he is the Lord of all creation, it seems rather absurd that I could make him anything when he actually made me!

What does it look like in reality when I do acknowledge the fact that he is the Lord of my life?

What if we considered that he (Jesus) is the center of all creation? I love the way the Apostle John begins his gospel –

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  (John 1:1-5)

 

Think about this. Before anything else existed, Jesus was. He was before anything else!

 

And then the Apostle Paul says this –

 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence.  (Colossians 1:15-18)

 

If he is before all things, then if I consider him to be the Lord of my life, wouldn’t he be before me?

In one of my recent times of morning prayer, I wrote these words in my journal –

 

“In the beginning was the Word.

He is before all things, and in him all things consist.

Before I speak, I must consider him.

Before I form an opinion, I must consider him.

Before I act, I must consider him who is before all things.

 

How many words have I spoken and never considered whether it sounded like Jesus? How many opinions have I formed and never considered whether they reflected Christ as presented in the gospels? How many of my actions have demonstrated what Jesus looks like to the world around me?

If we are going to see a spiritual awakening in our day, these are the things we must consider. In light of all the political divisiveness on display recently, I’m convinced that Jesus wouldn’t identify with any political party, despite claims by each to the contrary. You might want to read about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 to find out with whom he really identifies.

I have read John 1 and Colossians 1 many times, but had never seen them in this light before. Knowing Jesus, who is The Light, I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ll probably see something new again the next time.

 

Don’t you just love it?

 

In Him who is before,

 

Kevin

There is a revolution underway. It’s not a political one, even though there has been a shift in power which is nothing really new. It’s not the kind of revolution that happens by physical force. I’m talking about another kind of revolution. This revolution is in the way we see and understand the very nature of God. This revolution is not by physical force as I just said, but it is occasionally very violent.

Just write a book called “The Shack” like William P. Young did, turn it into a major motion picture, and you’ll see some conflict break out. Just do like I did and make a post on Facebook saying that you saw the movie and loved it. Swords will be drawn by a few religious folks, most of whom have never read the book or seen the movie, but have already been told that it’s heresy by some who feel it is their duty to point these things out and save us from deception.

So, what is it about this book that has so many people on a “witch hunt”, so to speak? I’m not going to tell you what the book is about, because I want you to read it for yourself.

I would like to tell you about my experience with it, though. When I read the book I experienced a degree of inner healing from some pain that I had from my earthly father. This was not what I was expecting when I picked it up. I just wanted to read a good novel. I saw myself in much of the story. I can’t even begin to tell you how many layers there are to this story.

There were also several layers around my heart that began to get peeled back as I faced my own anger, disappointment, bitterness, and unforgiveness.

Something else I saw that I had never considered before was the relationship that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have with each other. This relationship is hi-lighted in the book and movie. It is a real eye opener if you’ve never considered it before.

I used to have the idea that it was God the Father alone who created the heavens and the earth, and somewhere later the Son and the Holy Spirit showed up and thus we have the Trinity. However, they were there together in creation. (Genesis 1:2, 26)

They have forever been in perfect relationship with one another, and the most beautiful thing about it is this: They invite us into it with them!

Yes, there is a revolution beginning and it is violent because it requires a radical shift in our way of thinking. These ideas however, are not new. They are as ancient as God Himself. I will leave you with this quote from C. Baxter Kruger:

“The life that God lives as Father, Son and Spirit is not boring and sad and lonely. There is no emptiness in this circle, no depression or fear or angst. The Trinitarian life is a life of unchained fellowship and intimacy, fired by passionate, self-giving love and mutual delight. Such love, giving rise to such togetherness and fellowship, overflows in unbounded joy, in infinite creativity and unimaginable goodness. The gospel begins here with this God and with this divine life, for there is no other. Before time dawned and space was called to be, before the heavens were stretched out and filled with a sea of stars, before the earth was summoned and filled with people and life and endless beauty, before there was anything, there was the Father, Son, and Spirit and the great dance of Trinitarian life. The amazing truth is that this triune God, in staggering and lavish love, determined to open the circle and share the Trinitarian life with others. This is the one, eternal and abiding reason for the existence of the universe and human life within it. There is no other God, no other will of God, no second plan, no hidden agenda for human beings. From the beginning, God is Father, Son and Spirit, and from the beginning, this God has determined not to exist without us.”

Beautiful.

Come join the dance.

 

Kevin

I just recently experienced the most extraordinary ten days of my life. I have tried to find words to describe it, such as incredible, wonderful, amazing, but none of them seem adequate. I’ve been on a mission trip to Belize. Perhaps certain images are conjured up in your mind’s eye when I say the words “mission trip” – building an orphanage, assisting in a feeding program for starving children, doing a vacation bible school, constructing a church building, etc.

None of the above.

We laid hands on people and prayed. Most of them were in need of physical healing. Many of them were healed. We conducted healing crusades in four places – Orange Walk, San Ignacio, Dangriga, and in the Toledo Disrtict near Punta Gorda. We travelled over 900 miles in two passenger vans, one of which I was called upon to drive the entire time. Let me just say that I may never complain about road conditions in my own country again.

Having covered the nation of Belize from top to bottom (literally), I can say that there is no lack of presentation of the gospel. The gospel of salvation, that is. There are billboards, signs, and bumper stickers galore proclaiming man’s need to turn from his sin and accept Christ. There are also a great number of missionaries in Belize. As we were travelling out of the city of Belmopan toward San Ignacio, my friend Danny, who lives in Belize, pointed out that this stretch of road is called “Missionary Row” because so many missionaries and ministries are stationed on it. There is no shortage of the gospel in Belize.

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples and later seventy, he specifically told them to heal the sick among other things, such as raising the dead and casting out demons. He told them to preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

Jesus spoke a lot about the kingdom of God. Most of us are familiar with these words Jesus taught us to pray – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  I’ve never been to heaven, but I’m confident there is no sickness there.

Jesus didn’t come just so that we could go to heaven when we die. He brought heaven with him. Now he commissions us to bring heaven wherever we go.

Why did Jesus tell his disciples to heal the sick? Physical healing is a tangible sign of the kingdom. It is an undeniable sign that the kingdom of God is present. Healing seemed to be so easy those ten days in Belize. Was it because we were travelling with a man who operates regularly in a powerful gift of healing? Was it because we were in a country where most of the citizens have fewer options than we do when it comes to physical needs being met? Maybe.

Recently I asked the Lord about this, and for me personally the answer was simply, compassion. A few weeks before the trip, I began asking God to give me a love for the people of Belize. As I laid my hands on and prayed for each person, I could literally feel the love of God go out from me. It is indescribable.

One night in San Ignacio a young man, probably 18-19 years old, came to me for prayer. I asked him what was wrong and he said he had injured his right knee playing football (soccer). I put my hand on his knee and prayed. Then I asked him how he felt. He said “better”, but still had some pain. I thanked God and prayed again. This time his pain was completely gone. There were many people I prayed for who were healed, but this one was a little unusual. I’ll tell you why.

A few hours earlier, some of us had visited the Xunantunich Mayan ruins and while climbing up the steep steps, I tweaked my right knee. What started out as slight discomfort had become severe pain by the time the young man came to me for prayer. He was healed, but my pain was getting worse by the minute. As the ministry time was coming to a close I asked three different team members to pray for my knee. Each time my pain got worse until I could not take a step without wincing in pain. By the time we arrived back at the place we were staying, I could barely make it up the flight of stairs to my room. To my surprise, I resisted the natural inclination to be upset with God for not healing my knee. His grace is so good! Instead, I was remembering the smile on that young man’s face when the pain left his knee. When I woke up the next morning my pain was gone completely and never returned.

But what about the ones who weren’t healed? I don’t have an answer except to say this – they went away knowing someone loved them enough to come all the way from Texas to pray for them.

I really don’t understand why everybody is not healed when I pray for them, but I do understand this – it’s not about healing. It is about releasing the love of God to someone who needs to know they’re loved.

I’ve never been to heaven, but I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of love there.

 

On earth, as it is in heaven.

Kevin