It is Good Friday, and this little phrase came to me: CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER. But why? What is the Lord trying to say to me? To us?

We know that in team sports, CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER are not only sought, but necessary to win.

We know that in the world of commerce, companies buy up one another in CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER, to better compete in the marketplace.

We know that in the history of the world, one country after another has launched CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER to advance their national or political agenda.

What we see in the world’s religions today are CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER to win both converts and economic advantage. The desire to ‘win’ is a pretty normal thing in the animal kingdom.

Jesus Christ talked about another Kingdom. His Kingdom.

It seems to me there are CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER happening right now, not only on earth, but in the Spiritual realms. Look at the newspaper, or TV, or any source for news you have. It’s impossible to miss the tension developing all over the world between Islam and Christianity.

And yet, somehow, we must understand that Christianity is not a power. Christianity is a following. Christianity is a relationship with a person. Christianity is a faith IN someOne.

The Power in Christianity is not us; it is Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of Christ is His. His rule. His reign. His Power. It’s not like we join the winning side in some human contest and we win the trophy! Jesus Christ is the Victor, and we, if we will, are His.

It’s Good Friday, for us! His sacrifice was for us! His Victory is for us!

The great CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER going on right now, however they might be, have an outcome already decided. Jesus Christ defeats the other powers, builds His Kingdom, and unfolds eternity …

As we read through the 5 books of Moses we can’t escape the haunting questions about why Almighty God, the Eternal One, or whatever Name you like best to describe Him, would have entire populations of men, women, and children killed, to erase that people group from the Earth.

It doesn’t seem to square with the concept of a loving and merciful and forgiving God. We want to believe that everyone is redeemable, everyone can be saved, and find a way for that to happen. This is what WE want, the kind of a deity WE want.

We also believe in a ‘just’ God; One who does the right thing. But what is ‘right’? And who gets to say so? Let me tell you, this is the subject of great theological debate in every Seminary in the land. Certainly a ‘just’ God requires ‘justice.’ So what is the ‘justice’ for someone who firmly and repeatedly rejects the very One Who is offering to save them?

The Old Testament is story after story of how God dealt with people. He didn’t hide what He wanted from them. He explained Himself over and over. He told them what He was going to ask of them, then He told them what He wanted, and then He told them what He had previously told them! The entire concept of God’s “Blessing” is based upon His righteousness, yes, but also upon our obedience. In the Old Testament, failure to obey could be deadly.

I know this short piece won’t answer all the questions. It cannot. You are too good at trying to phrase a question to God that you think, as in a debate with the Almighty somehow, He has to answer your way. Me too. So let’s at least give Him thanks for the NEW TESTAMENT, and the available salvation to any through Jesus Christ. After all, it’s Easter-time, and we should focus on what He has done for us. Talk about mercy, grace, forgiveness, AND justice!

Does this New Covenant in Jesus Christ speak to you? Does it answer ANY questions about what God Almighty wants? If you’re having trouble reconciling the God of the Old Testament with Jesus Christ, God of the new Testament, can you at least make a decision about Him? Is Jesus Christ God? Is the Bible account of His life accurate, or myth? Is your faith in Him, or in man’s interpretations? How can you know? Is there a Spirit at work in YOUR life to help you? Is the Lord absent from your life, or have you shut Him out in spite of His repeated attempts to help you? Are we so selfish in our attempts to get what WE want that we completely forget that He wants to Bless us, if we would simply follow Him?

This New Covenant asks us to follow Jesus Christ. And it too is deadly. But this time it’s our old nature that dies; that old self caring only about self. Let that thing die, and put on the new nature Jesus has for you. It is complete; it is full; it is exciting; it is amazingly wonder-filled; it is “Christ IN you, the hope of Glory,” now living a new life through you. Yes, you.

In Leviticus there are instructions for many things – ways to approach God Almighty – Laws. It can get kind of technical, seem lengthy, even a bit boring, if we’re not paying attention.

According to Strong’s Concordance, “the Hebrew word for ‘a memorial offering’ is that which calls to memory. It was the name of that part of the meat-offering which was burned with frankincense upon the altar; the sweet savor of which, ascending to heaven, was regarded as commending to God the ‘remembrance’ of the worshipper.’

So, does anything jump out at you about this?

God set up a system by which the people did things, sacrifices if you will, for the purpose of maintaining memory! Who’s memory? Was it so that the people would remember God, or that God would remember His covenant?

I’ll let you theologians work on that, but it surely included that the people would remember God. People tend to forget things; like healing, deliverance, and salvation. You know, the minor stuff.

Not only do we forget that God delivered His people out of Egypt, fed them, clothed them, led them, defeated their enemies before them, gave them children, taught them His Word, water, and a few other things I’m sure, but we also seem to forget that He asks OF US a thing or two.

Or maybe it was so that the people could keep reminding God of His covenant promises. After all, He might be getting forgetful in His old age.

Or, maybe it was a precursor. A foreshadow. A type of something to come. Perhaps God was ‘training’ His people, in preparation for Jesus Christ. Perhaps God was setting the stage for a Communion. Perhaps God wants His people, in the New Covenant, us, to obey the words of Jesus to “remember Me”.

By remembering Jesus Christ we accomplish both possibilities I think. We certainly get our minds back on the right track of faith in Christ’s work on the cross FOR US. That’s good. And we also remind God, every time we celebrate Communion, of what He has done for us, that wonderful New Covenant in His blood. This, I think, is always worthy of our study, for we are always the beneficiary.

I’ve been reading again the exceptional story of the Exodus of God’s people out of Egypt. Let’s face it, we don’t like being in captivity or bondage. We want out. We want freedom.

This happened thousands of years before America demanded freedom from the British, and yet we Americans have a passionate desire to KEEP our freedoms! What people on Earth would resist freedom? None! (The only freedom we would ever resist is the freedom of the other guy, so that WE could live better by having him be our slave.)
God shows up, tells Moses what to do, and helps the people out of bondage. Drinks all around, right? No; murmuring and complaining all around! What’s WITH these people?

As the story goes on it gets worse. Instead of being a people full of FAITH, convinced by the mighty Hand of God upon Egypt, they keep resisting Moses, and God Who is directing him. Moses goes to meet with God up on the mountain, and the people violate the previously given ‘commandments,’ by again ‘forgetting what God said’ and off to do their own thing. In this case an idol. (Doing our own thing doesn’t seem to be working.)

What happened to faith?

Why did the people so quickly abandon their faith?

I can quickly move into praising God as I read this story of such a stubborn, stiff-necked people of the Old Covenant, rejoicing that I now live in the time of the New Covenant. I can easily worship God when I consider what He has done for me in, with, by, and through Jesus Christ. He has paid the price, and I am set free. Glory Hallelujah! I must say, however, it humbles me to think that I am not so much different from those folks in the days of the Exodus.

What happened to faith?

And how do we get it back?

By doing what we’re doing now?

Or, do we need to make the leap?

Trust God. Believe. Rejoice. And let His Holy Spirit change things…

Introducing “Camino 3:52”

A “camino” is a walk, a path, and is meant to be an opportunity for spiritual discovery and growth. Walking gives one the time and solitude to be alone with God. Doug Terpening has shared how his walks, around his neighborhood, give him time to process life, and talk to God, so his testimony confirms what Carol and I discovered in Spain.

But not everyone can go to Spain, right? However, everyone CAN begin a Camino, and we will do so, together, for 2015!

This coming year we will all join in a “Camino of the Bible”- a walk through the Word of God!

Rev 12:11- we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, AND the word of our testimony! But so many ask, “What is my testimony?” or say “I don’t have one,” etc.

Camino 3:52 may solve the problem!

Psalm 143:8-10 gives us 3 prayers to ask God, which will give us, on a daily basis, a testimony!

Each week we will read the Scriptures provided in the Reading Plan, found in the bulletin every week, and posted on our website.

Every DAY we will be looking at the text to answer our 3-pronged prayer. As God shows us in His Word how He answers these prayers, our personal testimony is revealed. Write it down on the pad provided.
Listen to Heb 8:8-12. Did you notice that it says we won’t have to teach each other? What? How can that be? What will happen to all the preachers in all the churches?

So, here is where it gets interesting. Every Sunday you will be able to share your testimony, fulfilling Revelation’s promise of overcoming Victory!

You won’t forget it, because you will have it written down, and in your Bible.

You’ll be able to tell others how God “showed” you how to walk, “rescued” you from an enemy, or “taught” you His will. Wow!

Not sermons, but testimonies of God’s intervention and power in your life!

I had a profound experience going on a long walk. Now I’m having profound experiences walking. What is happening? What is the Lord saying? I’ll try to explain.

This isn’t about exercising, weight loss, or being physically fit- although it all seems to happen as a byproduct. It isn’t about oxygenating, although that happens. It isn’t about being out in nature or observing the countryside, which of course happens every time. Our tendency is to try to make the walk mean something, and the effort of walking mean something more, when, in fact, the walk and the walking are mere vehicles one rides in for this wonderful discovery and adventure.

The walk of profound experience was the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile foot-path across Spain, known as a Christian Pilgrimage, accomplished by millions over the last 1100 years or so. In 2013, my year, about 225,000 pilgrims made their way to the cathedral in Santiago de Compestela for the Pilgrim’s Mass at noon, to celebrate physical accomplishment and spiritual discovery. Multi-generational, multi-faith, multi-experiential, and certainly multi-testimonial it was for all.

The end, however, seems to have been the beginning. What started as a pure and simple “unction,” (that which I try to explain but can’t do very well), was an actual “obedience” to the voice of the Lord to simply obey and do a thing. To “feel” God speaking, to “hear” Him whispering in your inner person, to “know” that you just have to go do this thing, amazing and exciting as it was, but not scary or intimidating, may boggle the mind even as it frees the soul! One does what one has to do.

So, it’s done, right? What was never even ON the ‘bucket list’ is now checked off, and life can return to normal. Ha. The end of the Camino, you see, unleashes the beginning of more wonder, more discovery, and more awe of God.

I’m almost 70 years old, so I’ve done a lot of walking. Walking has always been a way to get somewhere and is so common to all of us that talking about it seems a bit ridiculous. Except that now walking is no longer the act of getting somewhere, but rather the vehicle one rides in along a journey, a Camino, a path. That is, if one “gets it.”

Walking, you see, requires more than effort, calorie burn, oxygen exchange, etc. Walking requires perspective. Perspective opens the doors of wonder. Or not.

Walking to get from here to there is accomplishment all its own. No big revelation, and no real discovery; no wonder; no awe. It may be beneficial in many ways, but probably not very spiritual or transformative. But that’s what we seek, as people, is to get beyond the practical and TO the spiritual, because we know in our knower’s that something greater is happening, something more than we comprehend is all about us.

The new kind of walking I’m enjoying has nothing to do with getting someplace, but rather to BE someplace. The world gets shut out as I walk. My mind gets the chance to think and to “try thoughts” about all sorts of things. Walking this way allows the inner man, the soul, if you will, a vehicle to ride to a spiritual encounter. And God shows up! The Lord begins to speak. He leads the thoughts by discarding the trite ones and developing the deep ones. Jesus becomes real, as He uses His humankind understanding to reach even me! This IS transformative! This IS awesome!

I say “A” rather than “The” because there are other swings I’m sure we could look at, but this one is about “winning” souls, and what that might mean in Kingdom terms.

The pendulum I refer to is the Giant one that swings from “Fear” to “Love.” Over the ages the church has preached both to win converts, and cited quotes from the Bible, which certainly contains much of both. One might point to the Old Testament as a book of fear, especially the “fear of God” doctrine.

Then one might point to the New Testament as a book of love, especially the “love of God” doctrine. Obviously this is too simplistic, but it illustrates the point of the pendulum in doctrines. I think we should all agree we need both, because I don’t know how to eliminate one without peril. ☺

Fear of Hell, “going” to hell, being “lost,” and somewhat more gentle the urging to “get saved” are all connected to the reality of sin in our lives, the Great Fall of man, etc. Fear is easy to develop, even without Scripture to help, but all the more easy with it!

Love, at the other end of the arc of the pendulum, is very attractive, enticing, even compelling in a way fear is not. It contains the concept of Blessing, and appeals to our desire of not only being saved, but also enhanced, enriched, able to live “better” somehow. Blessed is far better than cursed, after all.

When the pendulum swings to the fear side, with all the truths of God the Puritans and holiness preachers teach, quite rightly, many seem to be “won” to the faith. Whether transformation is happening or not I don’t know, but confessions and baptisms are happening so the scribes of church accounting offices are kept busy and the tithes boxes are fuller.

When the pendulum swings to the love side, when all the truths of the promises of God are emphasized with glorious music, big screen projections, staging that rivals any professional show and a message of forgiveness that includes everyone, complete with ecstatic emotional responses, again I wonder about transformation, although the claimants of salvation increase.

On the fear side we may find people memorizing Scripture to quote to every possible occurrence in life while dressing up in the armor of God, while the love people are dancing in the Spirit and prophesying to any and all, quoting the Blessings of God instead of the Biblical obedience-to-God passages.

Can you see how we swing back and forth, almost rhythmically? Some of us moving to the one side, others to the other side, passing each other as we “discover” one another’s different understanding, all the while trying to understand the truth!

But I continue to ask the question, “Is anyone being transformed?” Are hearts being changed? Are the clothes of the old man being shed and the clothes of the new man being put on? Is there a difference in us? My prayer as a shepherd is for the protection of the sheep, of course, but even more for the LIVES of the sheep! That they may be those who manifest Christ, in all His Ways, to the Glory of God! “Change my heart, O God, make it ever new. Change my heart O God, may it be like YOU.” Amen.

The other day my wife said something startling to me, and I’ve been chewing on it ever since. Perhaps you’d like to chew along.

Women, you see, have sensitivity to some things that men do not, and when they share these things we men too often disregard them. One of the most basic of these is smell. Women use perfumes and lotions and all kinds of aromatic things to both enhance their attractiveness, and help cover up what we males don’t pay enough attention to when we are with them, especially when the person needing the cover up is us. Even if men don’t care as much about bad smells, they learn that good smelling women are indeed attractive; certainly more than poor smelling ones.

But this isn’t about the smells of people, which makes it all the more difficult for us men to grasp, being out of our “nature.” Being alert to spiritual things is beneficial to both men and women, and in order to be alert one must be aware. If we aren’t careful we will discount the very possibility of a thing and then not notice it when it’s right in front of us. This can be a problem, spiritually, as you will understand by what my wife said:
While reading the morning paper, with all the international news of conflicts around the world and at home, and then pondering the terrible horror of human beheadings by Islamic radicals, my wife said: “There’s a strong smell of Satan in the air.”

What a curious comment I thought. In fact, it’s completely beyond my observational practices, and probably yours. Sure, there’s trouble almost everywhere, and the news makes us almost numb to it after awhile; we become de-sensitized to it all just to get through the day. We get to the place where we don’t even notice the “bad” things going on all around us; and don’t get involved, because it’s “none of our business.”

In the realm of things spiritual this is incredibly important. When we stop noticing evil, stop being aware of it, then we stop being alert to it, and, ultimately, lose the ability to discern spiritual things. The Bible informs us that we are either walking “in the Spirit” or “in the flesh,” so the difference is profound in both mental understanding and physical practice and outcome!

The reality that a spiritual environment exists must be comprehended. We need to be more keen on the ability to discern it, even through the senses, like an aroma! How often have we heard someone say “That really stinks” when referring to something that didn’t go the way they wanted? It makes sense, then, that evil has an aroma, that stinks, and that we can smell the presence of Satan.

Go ahead, chew on this and let the Spirit teach you more on the subject. Perhaps we can get better at spiritual discernment, and then awareness, and then alertness, and then victorious defeat of the enemy!

America faces many challenges, and our government is so locked up in political disagreement that neither side can accomplish much. Why is this? Does history give us any clues, or answers? I think it does.

When a people quit depending upon the Lord and just do what they want to do, then the Lord allows them to decay. He withholds His Blessings, and the nation hurts or fails. When the pain is so great that the people call again upon God, He answers them and re-enters their daily lives to lead them, and to see if they will follow.

Nothing is impossible with Him, but He doesn’t seem to provide the miraculous power at His command until a people are surrendered to Him. In other words, He lets us do whatever we think we can do, until we get to the point where we recognize that we really DO need the Lord! I suggest that is the answer to the problems America faces today.

Providing for thousands of immigrants is no problem for God Almighty, and He can do it such that the nation absorbing them prospers instead of declines. Generosity, after all, doesn’t COST us, it provides the pipeline for God to pour Blessings.

It seems to me that the issues of the day, so hotly debated in Congress, are all being debated without any concern for God at all. No mention of Jesus Christ. No invitation for the Holy Spirit. So the Godhead waits.

The Biblical history of the Jews is there for us to learn from. It wasn’t the people who rallied to call upon the Lord to effect a deliverance, it was a King, who, in desperation sought the advice of a “man of God,” heard the call to repent, and did so. Time and again the record shows that a certain King “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and bad things happened, until, after too many years and too much pain, another king “did what was pleasing to the Lord” and was blessed.

The argument that America is not a kingdom is silly. We are told in Romans to submit to our authorities, and the New Testament instructs us to honor and obey them. Why? Because if our “authorities” don’t seek and obey the Lord then God will remove blessings, and when the people figure this out they will call again upon the Lord and vote in Godly “authorities.” That’s where we find ourselves today, sort of.

We are beginning to see that it isn’t working, but who is calling out to God? Are Christians really doing so? I wonder. Are we voting for Godly people or people who claim a political view we like? How bad does it have to get? Can America survive that long?

My point here is that by removing Jesus Christ from the every-day efforts of the Congress and the Courts we have severed our very life-line. We’ve gone way past being faith neutral, to being aggressively faith denying, as far as government goes.

Skip Heiney, in Banks, Oregon, can call upon the Lord, and does, but I think the hope for America is for our President, our Congress, and our Courts to do so. They are our authorities. They are the ones who must lead this Nation back, and they don’t care! I will write them and share my advice, praying that God will give them eyes to read …

We at Dayspring Christian Fellowship are almost halfway through the Bible reading for 2014! This is tremendous! Do you realize that this book has ALL the answers to ALL your needs?

Last Tuesday evening, during the Ken Ham video teaching, I was “visited” by a wonderful memory. I can’t say I was “caught up in the Lord,” but maybe I was. It was like I was back in the 1970’s, the time in my life, as a 20-something, when the Lord was becoming so real to me! I had a hunger that I couldn’t satisfy. Has that happened to you?

We went to church 3 times a week, and often went to “special meetings” on other days. We just couldn’t get enough of Jesus! We couldn’t get enough of His Word! And of the Fellowship of on-fire believers!

As we read thru the Bible this year, the whole thing in one year, it’s obvious that we can’t do a deep study and mine the pages for what we need and seek. Not on Sunday mornings alone, and not with just a short sermon!

But we CAN spend the time, individually. We CAN cry out to Jesus and ask for His help in every area, and then we CAN listen for Him to speak. We CAN read His Book and search, every day, for His Ways and His Life, for us, to us, in us.

What matters isn’t whether you’re behind or ahead or right on task with this reading. What matters is that you get to God and let Him do what He wants! His Word, the Bible, can help in so many ways.

I encourage you to keep up the good work and fight the good fight of faith. I encourage you to read the Bible, every day, as much as you can or as much as He leads you. This could be dangerous. Wonderfully dangerous to the worldly ways of life and living.

In addition to my advice, consider Paul’s advice in Ephesians 6:18: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me too.”