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Lagging Behind

February 5, 2019/1 Comment/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Luke 24:9-11 And having returned from the tomb, they reported all these things [taken together] to the eleven apostles and to all the rest.Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who reported these things to the apostles.But these reports seemed to the men an idle tale (madness, feigned things, nonsense), and they did not believe the women.

From the Garden to the Crucifixion, from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection men seem to be lagging behind women. Eve met satan as tempter in the Garden. Where was Adam? Right there beside her not saying a word. At the cross of Christ’s crucifixion the women stood at the foot of Jesus’ cross, while the men – Jesus’ Disciples, except one, ran away and hid behind closed doors. At the resurrection the women got up early and went to the tomb, only to find Jesus resurrected from the dead. Where were the men? Back at home, behind closed doors. When the women came and reported Jesus had risen from the dead they thought the women were outside their minds. Why? They did not believe. From Adam, to the Disciples at Jesus’ Crucifixion, to His Resurrection, till now – men lag behind women in belief. Men lag behind women in action. Men lag behind women in follow through. What’s the solution?

Leonard Ravenhill: THERES NOTHING MORE transfiguring than prayer. People often ask, “Why do you insist on prayer so much?” The answer is very simple – because Jesus did. You could change the title of the Gospel according to St. Luke to the Gospel of Prayer. It’s the prayer life of Jesus. The other evangelists say that Jesus was in the Jordan and the Spirit descended on Him as a dove – Luke says it was while He was praying that the Spirit descended on Him. The other evangelists say that Jesus chose 12 disciples – Luke says it was after He spent a night in prayer that He chose 12 disciples. The other evangelists say that Jesus died on a cross – Luke says that even when He was dying Jesus was praying for those who persecuted Him. The other evangelists say Jesus went on a mount and He was transfigured – Luke says it was while He was praying that He was transfigured. There’s nothing more transfiguring than prayer. The Scriptures say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray – as was His custom. It was His custom to pray. Now Jesus was the Son of God – He was definitely anointed for His ministry. If Jesus needed all that time in prayer, don’t you and I need time in prayer? If Jesus needed it in every crisis, don’t you and I need it in every crisis? The story goes that a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village saw an old man sitting by a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors asked, “Were any great men born in this village?” Without looking up the old man replied, “No, only babies.” The greatest men were once babies. The greatest saints were once toddlers in the things of the Spirit.

Jesus, as a man never lagged behind anyone. He made the way for us to follow. But like Jesus’ disciples who chose to go to bed while He was transfigured with Light – are you sleeping in the “Light?” Are you sleeping in the Light – while the Lord is calling for us to fight? It’s time to seek the Lord to be transfigured by prayer, and His Presence. Will it cost you? Absolutely. Remember, it cost Jesus His life – what’s a little lost sleep?

The Gap

February 4, 2019/1 Comment/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.

A. W. Tozer prophesied years ago when he said: “Until self-effacing men return again to spiritual leadership, we may expect a progressive deterioration in the quality of popular Christianity year after year till we reach the point where the grieved Holy Spirit withdraws like the Shekinah from the temple.”

Oswald Chambers “A great many people do not pray because they do not feel any sense of need. The sign that the Holy Spirit is in us is that we realize that we are empty, not that we are full. We have a sense of absolute need. We come across people who try us, circumstances that are difficult, conditions that are perplexing, and all these things awaken a dumb sense of need, which is a sign that the Holy Spirit is there. If we are ever free from the sense of need, it is not because the Holy Spirit has satisfied us, but because we have been satisfied with as much as we have. ‘A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.’ A sense of need is one of the greatest benedictions because it keeps our life rightly related to Jesus Christ.”

What Are You Shouldering?

January 30, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

1 Chronicles 15-16 records David’s desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of God’s Presence into Jerusalem, near his home. He wanted to have God as close to him as possible. I love David’s heart and passion for God and His Presence. I desire the same in my own life. In the reading of this narrative it is easy to overlook some powerful truths. 1 Chronicles 15:15 The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses commanded by the word of the Lord. What’s the significance of this tiny passage? The shoulders of a man, Biblically are symbolic of government. In other words, what you are being governed by. When I was a kid I would watch Tom and Jerry cartoons. When someone was being tempted they would portray it with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other. What that cartoon character surrendered to was what they were going to be governed by. When the priests lifted God’s Ark upon their shoulders they were lifting, or shouldering more responsibility than they understood. For God’s Ark, or the Ark of His Presence or Covenant symbolized so many things. It was a symbol of: Intimacy with God; God’s Voice; God’s Mercy; His Testimony; the Sword of the Spirit; the Holy Things or furnishings of the tabernacle or temple; God’s Leading and Direction; God’s Sanctuary; His Worship; His Power; the Future Reign of Christ; God’s Presence; God’s Throne, or Reign. This week we’ve been seeing all of the implications behind raising up the Fallen Tent of David. For us to truly raise this tent requires that we begin shouldering God’s Kingdom, and His Reign. When we do, all of the above begins to fill “David’s Tent.” Which in all reality is the Son of David’s Tent – Jesus. If you belong to Jesus you are His Tent; and if we are His Church, His Body, then we are also the Son of David’s Tent. Jesus said in John 12:32 And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw and attract all men [Gentiles as well as Jews] to Myself. When we are allowing intimacy with God; God’s Voice; God’s Mercy; His Testimony; the Sword of the Spirit; the Holy Things or furnishings of the tabernacle or temple; God’s Leading and Direction; God’s Sanctuary; His Worship; His Power; the Future Reign of Christ; God’s Presence; God’s Throne, or Reign – govern, rule and rest upon our shoulders then the Tent of David, the Son of David’s Tent, which ultimately is our tent – will be “lifted up.” Jesus will be drawing all people to Himself. Isn’t that what you want? Rev. 7:9 After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

God’s Divine Order

January 29, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

1 Chronicles 16:1 “So they brought the ark of God and set it in the midst of the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.”

Two things you notice from this passage. First is that they brought the Ark, and second, who were the “they?” To understand the significance behind the first point you have to understand that the Ark was a symbol or shadow of something far greater than we can comprehend or understand. According to Hebrews 8:5 “[But these offer] service [merely] as a pattern and as a foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly sanctuary. For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, See to it that you make it all [exactly] according to the copy (the model) which was shown to you on the mountain.” Then it says in Hebrews 9:2-5 “For a tabernacle (tent) was erected, in the outer division or compartment of which were the lampstand and the table with [its loaves of] the showbread set forth. [This portion] is called the Holy Place.³But [inside] beyond the second curtain or veil, [there stood another] tabernacle [division] known as the Holy of Holies.⁴It had the golden altar of incense and the ark (chest) of the covenant, covered over with wrought gold. This [ark] contained a golden jar which held the manna and the rod of Aaron that sprouted and the [two stone] slabs of the covenant [bearing the Ten Commandments].⁵Above [the ark] and overshadowing the mercy seat were the representations of the cherubim [winged creatures which were the symbols] of glory. We cannot now go into detail about these things.” Hebrews 9:8 concludes by saying: “Seeing that that first [outer portion of the] tabernacle was a parable (a visible symbol or type or picture of the present age).” The Ark of the Covenant of God was a symbol of God’s throne, and His covenant with Israel. (There’s even more symbols imbedded in the manna and the Rod of Aaron but I will not get into that now). God’s throne is a symbol of His reign and rule over our hearts. When this is accomplished, God’s Kingdom has come through Jesus, the Spirit and the Word. When these have complete rule and reign over us God’s Kingdom and His Throne (His Ark) have manifested their reality in our shadowy lives. Thus David is bringing in God’s Kingdom, a symbol of Christ’s Kingdom, to rule and reign over Israel. The second thing that I want you to notice is the “they” of 1 Chronicle 16:1. “They” are the priests of Israel, who are made up of the men of Israel. There are several points I want to draw your attention to: (a) The priests were men. It was part of God’s divine order. (b) We are all now a priesthood before the Lord Jesus, as men and women of God. This isn’t an either or scenario but a both/and. God desires for the men to take their rightful place as spiritual leaders. Unfortunately many churches are filled with mostly women who believe that they need Jesus more than the other things that they have in their lives. In this day and hour God needs the men to arise and recapture what it means to be the man. Why is it that in many churches it seems that the only ones who appear to have a testimony of what God is doing in their lives is the women of the Church and not the men? Jezebel lives and has emasculated the men of our country, reducing their manhood to sports, hunting, fishing, entertainment, alcohol, and pornography. The men of Jesus’ Church can only arise to the fullness of who God has made them to be when Jesus has His rightful place on the throne of their hearts. When these two things take place, the Reign of God, and those who carry His reign in their hearts – then will the Tabernacle of David be raised across the land. Have mercy on us oh Lord.

Ministering to the Lord

January 28, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

1 Chronicles 16:4 “He appointed Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to celebrate [by calling to mind], thanking and praising the Lord, the God of Israel”

Ministering to the Lord. Now there’s a concept that’s out of this world -literally and figuratively. Several months ago our church’s mother’s day out program offered a Thanksgiving service whose participants were ages 2-5 years old. Parents, grandparents, relatives and friends of the family packed the church sanctuary to get a glimpse of a child or children who were part of their family. I was as fascinated watching them as I was watching the children bumble through their lines and lyrics while lighting up the room with their innocence and joy. Following that service I was praying in that same sanctuary and I sensed the Lord say something to me. He said, “That’s what I do when you sing to Me.” Our worship, and our prayers cause God to light up with joy, expectation, and delight as we seek to draw near to Him. Now that’s ministering to the Lord. What’s fascinating is David posted priests to perform this task twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Why? David had glimpsed the millennial, or thousand year reign of Christ, when all nations would gather before Him to worship Him on earth. David was getting the priests “warmed up” for the return of their Messiah. This week I wanted us to seek to do this. To warm up, if you will, for the return of Jesus. Why not conclude our fast in seeking to minister to Him?

Are You Becoming A Little Christ?

January 16, 2019/3 Comments/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

2 Chronicles 15:12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to yearn for Him with all their heart’s desire and with all their soul;

Where did they go to look for God? Many scholars suggest that the covenant that was birthed from this passage actually aided in the birthing of Pharisaism. How can something that began as a pure thing; an honest desire to seek after and pursue God, evolve into a movement that many of its adherents Jesus called “sons of hell?”

Several things the Lord has been surfacing for me during the last few weeks: being a little Christ, raising up the fallen Tent of David, and the Great Commission. As I was praying today I realized that there’s a thread that connects one with the other.

Little Christ – Acts 11:26 “…and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. To be designated and characterized a “Christian” in New Testament times required that you be a disciple of Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus implied that you were f-o-l-l-o-w-i-n-g…Jesus. When I first became a believer, surrendering my faith for salvation from hell and forgiveness of sins, I did not have an understanding that I was signing up to follow Jesus. Later I learned that this was “Christian-eze,” or code for being a Christian. In other words the question would go like this: “Are you a Christian, or Follower of Jesus?” One supposedly equated one with the other. If I had not been inoculated by religion and the tradition of my fathers, common sense would have begged the question, “How do you follow Jesus? Where’s He going? I can’t even hear or see Him? How am I to follow Him?” That would have been common sense – too much so. And there’s the problem: religion. Religion, man’s desire to cover his shame, fear, and nakedness with fig leaves of his own making – is what keeps us following these code words without really examining their meanings. Truth be known I wasn’t following Jesus. I was following what my traditions teachers and adherents said I should believe. Jesus called these kind of teachers “blind guides.” I’ve had a lot of “blind guides” in my life. Guides who were afraid to question the answers. Guides who encouraged the maddening march into the darkest of ditches. Guides who were threatened by the questions, and encouraged us to avoid them at all costs. Religions, traditions, and its teachers are designed to keep us in the dark, walking in circles, never discovering the way out into the Light of Reality. There’s the rub. Are you searching for reality or the comfort of the status quo? The assurances from blind teachers? The living, resurrected Jesus – is THE LIGHT! He is REALITY! Why do we settle in our search for more darkness and blindness? In your time of prayer and fasting ask these questions. Make sure you haven’t settled for reassuring blind guides, and more deafening, dulling, blinding darkness. One way to know for sure whether you have settled for the ditches of man’s religion, and traditions is by asking this simple question, “Are you becoming a little Christ?”

Walking in White

January 15, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Oswald Chambers reminds us of what should be happening as we seek God through fasting and prayer: our death. Jesus and the devil have one thing in common – they’re both out to kill us. Have you truly identified with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, and Lord? It’s all about control and our surrender of it.

Romans 6:4 “…We were buried with Him…. that just as Christ was raised from the dead … even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life…There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him…Have you really come to your last days?…Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death…Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day?…The moment of agreement depends on you.

Alone With God?

January 14, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Mark 4:10, 34 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable… And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

Oswald Chambers has the following insights worth noting: Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls….We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage? We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride…His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us….His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26)…..The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.

Prepare the Way

January 14, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God!

I just wanted to let our church family know that of the 9 Affinity Groups six of the nine have been committed to. There are only three left: Central Asian Peoples, Sub-Saharan African Peoples, and Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples. If God is leading you to commit to one of these areas please let me know.

Yesterday’s message we were challenged to prepare the Way of the Lord through prayer and fasting. Prepare the Way through clearing away the confusion. Prepare the way through clearing things that stand in the Way – Jesus being the Way. Prepare the Way by putting your house in order. Lastly we were challenged to prepare the Way through making a way – for the Way! This is done through choosing the fast: media, Daniel Fast (fruits, vegetables, nuts), or sleep, or all food and liquids. But remember its fasting and prayer. Your goal is not to go without food, or the media. You goal should be to turn or return to God, seeking His Presence.

Making a way – for the Way is done through Position yourself to meet with King Jesus. Daniel had a dedicated time of prayer 3x a day – morning, noon, and night. Do you have a dedicated time of prayer? Do you begin your day with time in the Word and prayer? Making a way – for the Way is done through Entering through God’s Gate(s): (Isa. 62:10 Go through, go through the gates!) Before entering the gates you address them. Psalm 24:

Ps. 24:6-10 This is the generation [description] of those who seek Him [who inquire of and for Him and of necessity require Him], who seek Your face, [O God of] Jacob. Selah [pause, and think of that]! Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; yes, lift them up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

The generation of those who seek God’s face address the gates, and enter through them. We enter God’s Presence through the Holy Spirit. John 10:3-7 The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out. When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call. Jesus used this parable (illustration) with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about. So Jesus said again, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that I Myself am the Door for the sheep.

The Watchman in Jesus’ parable is the Holy Spirit Who leads us to know Jesus, and Jesus is the Door He take us to and through. It is through and by the Spirit that we know Jesus: Jn. 15:26 But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me. In other words the Holy Spirit gives us testimony regarding Who Jesus is so that we can know Jesus.

We make a way -for the Way through Writing God’s Word Upon Your Gates: The Gates of your mind, emotions, soul, spirit, and your body. Your body alone had several gates: eye gate, ear gate, mouth gate, gate of touch. God’s Word of God of necessity has to be central to your life. It must be written over everything you do! Written over everything you are: mind, emotion, soul, spirit, body = eyes, ears, mouth, and touch. (See Deut. 6:6-10)

We make a way – for the Way through entering His gates with the giving of thanks. Ps. 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

The Hebrew word for Thanksgiving is Todaw = which means “to extend the hand; to give thanks; to be giving. (See Eph. 5:18-20; Php. 4:6; Col. 2:6-7; 1 Thess. 5:18)/ and though being “thankful to Him,” Yadah = which means to “lift up your hands to Him.” Lastly we are to Enter His courts with Praise or Tehillah which is “singing a song of praise – especially spontaneously; standing in honor or respect (note: it can be the person or thing the person glories in); and shouting. NOTE: halal, as in Hallelu-JAH, is praise that is seen. But tehillah is praise that is heard! Praise is not only heard, but the idea is that we are louder for our God than we would be for ourselves.)

Expecting Results Through Fasting

January 12, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

More from Dr. Bill Bright on Fasting:

Expect Results

If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, repent, pray, and seek God’s face; if you consistently meditate on His Word, you will experience a heightened awareness of His presence (John 14:21). The Lord will give you fresh, new spiritual insights. Your confidence and faith in God will be strengthened. You will feel mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshed. You will see answers to your prayers.

A single fast, however, is not a spiritual cure-all. Just as we need fresh infillings of the Holy Spirit daily, we also need new times of fasting before God. A 24-hour fast each week has been greatly rewarding to many Christians.

It takes time to build your spiritual fasting muscles. If you fail to make it through your first fast, do not be discouraged. You may have tried to fast too long the first time out, or your may need to strengthen your understanding and resolve. As soon as possible, undertake another fast until you do succeed. God will honor you for your faithfulness.

I encourage you to join me in fasting and prayer again and again until we truly experience revival in our homes, our churches, our beloved nation, and throughout the world.

How To Experience and Maintain Personal Revival

Fasting & Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any unconfessed sin in your life.
Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you. Make restitution where God leads.
Examine your motives in every word and deed. Ask the Lord to search and cleanse your heart daily.
Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your walk against complacency and mediocrity.
Praise and give thanks to God continually in all ways on all days, regardless of your circumstances.
Refuse to obey your carnal (worldy) nature (Galatians 5:16,17).
Surrender your life to Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Develop utter dependence on Him with total submission and humility.
Study the attributes of God.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
Love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).
Appropriate the continual fullness and control of the Holy Spirit by faith on the basis of God’s command (Ephesians 5:18) and promise (1 John 5:14,15).
Read, study, meditate on, and memorize God’s holy, inspired, inerrant Word daily (Colossians 3:16).
Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Fast and pray one 24-hour period each week. Prayerfully consider becoming one of the two million Christians who will fast for forty days before the end of the year 2000.
Seek to share Christ daily as a way of life.
Determine to live a holy, godly life of obedience and faith.
Start or join a home or church Bible study group that emphasizes revival and a holy life.

The Basics of Fasting

January 10, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

The following is taken from Dr. Bill Bright, former Campus Crusade leader, who has fasted for 40 days or more:

How you begin and conduct your fast will largely determine your success. By following these seven basic steps to fasting, you will make your time with the Lord more meaningful and spiritually rewarding.

STEP 1: Set Your Objective

Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically.

Through fasting and prayer we humble ourselves before God so the Holy Spirit will stir our souls, awaken our churches, and heal our land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Make this a priority in your fasting.

STEP 2: Make Your Commitment

Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake. Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast (Matthew 6:16-18; 9:14,15) For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it. Before you fast, decide the following up front:

How long you will fast – one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.)
The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often).
What physical or social activities you will restrict.
How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God’s Word.

Making these commitments ahead of time will help you sustain your fast when physical temptations and life’s pressures tempt you to abandon it.

STEP 3: Prepare Yourself Spiritually

The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance. Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:

Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins.
Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4).
Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you.
Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15.
Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2).
Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness, grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8, 11-13).
Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6).
Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17).

STEP 4: Prepare Yourself Physically

Fasting requires reasonable precautions. Consult your physician first, especially if you take prescription medication or have a chronic ailment. Some persons should never fast without professional supervision.

Physical preparation makes the drastic change in your eating routine a little easier so that you can turn your full attention to the Lord in prayer.

Do not rush into your fast.
Prepare your body. Eat smaller meals before starting a fast. Avoid high-fat and sugary foods.
Eat raw fruit and vegetables for two days before starting a fast.

Waiting for A Wedding

January 9, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

When Jesus was asked a question on the subject of fasting as recorded in Matthew 9, he answered in a way that God’s people should well understand. He used a wedding metaphor:

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'” (Matt. 9:14-15)

The basic lesson of this metaphor is that fasting is like waiting for a wedding. Better yet, fasting is like the bride longing for the wedding and bringing it more quickly by that longing. It is asking the lover of your soul to come and make a holy visitation.

With this metaphor, Jesus explained that his disciples were not fasting at the time because he was with them. But when he would leave to go to heaven where he is now, note what he says will happen. Look at the last three words of verse 15: “they will fast.” Jesus expects Christians to fast.

Our Lord made that clear earlier in the gospel of Matthew. In the Sermon on the Mount, he gave instructions on a number of spiritual disciplines, saying “when you pray” or “when you give” in the assumption Christians will do these things. Then he said in Matthew 6:16-18, And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

In his book _Spiritual Disciplines, _Donald Whitney writes,
Until the ascended Bridegroom returns for His bride, fasting is a spiritual discipline His disciples will occasionally practice. This was the understanding of Christians in the book of Acts…and church history reports that since the days of the New Testament, the followers of Jesus have likewise engaged in fasting.”
The Lord wants you to experience communion with him in a way only prayer and fasting can bring. Fasting is not presented by him as something to bind you up in legalism, like the Pharisees practiced it. Rather, Jesus encouraged what John Piper captures simply with the title of his book on this subject – _Hunger for God. _In another of his writings, Piper quotes Jonathan Edwards who wrote,
Our hungerings and thirstings after God and Jesus Christ and after holiness can’t be too great for the value of these things, for they are things of infinite value… [Therefore] endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of allurement… There is no such thing as excess in our taking of this spiritual food. There is no such virtue as temperance in spiritual feasting.” (John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World, p. 90)
Jesus’s teachings on fasting can be summarized this way. Fasting is either a religious rite you feel compelled to do to be seen by men to feed your pride, or a spiritual discipline you desire to do to be seen by God who will feed your soul. The former expression represents salvation by works; the latter salvation by grace. The first is self-centered; the other is Christ-centered.

How would one go about fasting and prayer if it is an unfamiliar practice? Here are five guidelines.

First, get hungry! Though fasting is a Christian discipline that has been practiced throughout the history of the church, and is still prevalent in other parts of God’s kingdom in the world, in the West we are not accustomed to practicing it. Our comforts have lulled us to sleep in our spirituality. We do not hunger for God like we should and seek greater experiences of him. So our heart is not drawn to it.

But, listen to this. If you fast and pray for him, Jesus will come to you. As God has said, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Jesus told his church, “Behold, I stand and the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). That’s a promise! Fasting puts the heart and hunger needed in our praying.

**_Make a plan! _**Fasting will not happen without planning. If you are going to meet with someone, you must put it on your calendar. Or, to continue with Jesus’ metaphor, think of all the planning involved in a wedding. So if you want to meet with your bridegroom, set aside a day, the amount of time that day, and the location (make sure it is a quiet place) where you will fast and pray. Be sure not to schedule other activities that will interfere. This time should involve missing at least one meal. As far as possible, do not call attention to your fasting. Fasting in secret requires planning.

**_Change your diet! **A.W. Tozer said that the church “appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment — she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers…Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God.” _Part of the reason we need to fast in our modern age is to remove our hyper-connectivity to technology and the entertainment mindset it encourages. So do not use technical devices while fasting. Decide what you will read during the time – the psalms and devotional literature are good sources. Plan out what will you pray for and seek from God during this time. You are to be hungry for him! Will it be personal growth in an area of sanctification, victory over besetting sin, guidance and strength regarding a difficulty you are facing, wisdom in making a major decision, ministry plans for you or your congregation, or simply yet wonderfully just a deeper experience of God? Know what will be on the menu as you fast.

**_Build up to it! _**Because many of us are weak in the discipline of fasting, we need to be built up in this practice. Fasting is not one of those things you can just throw at yourself in one step. If you are wanting to build up a scrawny kid’s muscles, you don’t take him to the gym, put him under a 300-pound barbell, and tell him to start lifting. No, you start small and build up with repetition. In the same way, if you have not fasted before, consider missing at least one meal and set several hours aside for it rather than trying to do a multi-day fast. You cannot run if you cannot even crawl.

Finally, expect God’s visitation!_ _As stated above, if you fast as Jesus instructs, your Father will see and reward you with the great gift of his fuller presence through the Holy Spirit who dwells in you. The experience of others can encourage us in this regard.

David Brainerd was a missionary to the Native Americans in New Jersey during the first half of the eighteenth century. His short life (he lived to be only 29) has inspired many other missionaries, for he persevered despite great illness and discouragement. He was a man who sought after God. He wrote the following in his journal.

Monday****_, April 19, 1742. __I set apart this day for fasting, and prayer to God for his grace… In the forenoon, I felt the power of intercession for precious, immortal souls; for the advancement of the kingdom of my dear Lord and Saviour in the word; and withal, a most sweet resignation, and even consolation and joy in the thoughts of suffering hardships, distresses, and even death itself…I enjoyed great sweetness in communion with my dear Saviour. I think I never in my life felt such an entire weanedness from this world, and so much resigned to God in every thing. O that I may always live to and upon my blessed God! Amen, Amen. _
You see, as Brainerd makes clear, the expectation of fasting goes both ways. Jesus expects you to do it. And you can expect him to to visit with you when you do.

Is My Sacrifice Living?

January 8, 2019/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Genesis 22:9 “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there; then he laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on the wood.”

Oswald Chambers: This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”

We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.

Precious Church family while you are praying about what to fast during our 21 day fast know that it’s not what you are giving up that matters to the Lord. Rather it is what you are in pursuit of. Are we giving those things up for the only ting worth having and that is Jesus Himself? The year of 2019 should be a year of pursuing Jesus. May God bless you with His Grace in this endeavor.

Lottie Moon

December 8, 2018/in Blog /by John David

One hundred years ago, in 1918, the name Lottie Moon was affixed to Southern Baptists’ annual Christmas offering for missions. It had been Lottie herself who first suggested a Christmas offering—thirty-one years before—in a letter she wrote from China where she spent four decades as a single woman devoting her life to the spread of the gospel.

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The “Sloppy, Wet Kiss” and Kissing Jesus?

October 23, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

In 2005 John Mark McMillan wrote and released the song, “How He Loves” and thousands were divided over one verse in the song: “So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,..” Awakening imaginations to the idea of kissing Jesus. How wrong and weird is that? Yet it shines light on something lurking just beneath the surface. That being our own perversions, lusts, wickedness and quite frankly evil. The paradox is exposed: on the one hand we love the idea of Jesus’ passionate love for us, yet on the other hand we hate that His love exposes the darkness in us. That hurts. It creates discomfort, making us feel bad about ourselves. Yet Scripture states: Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude]. Revelation 3:19

Ouch!!! None of that makes me get the “warm fuzzies.” Yet, in a “Me” centered culture people are often taken aback by any truth that seems to make them feel or look bad. They reason that a loving God would never make us feel bad about ourselves. Yet God’s Word, not our culture, reveals the higher truth: that from time to time, Jesus’ love and words are going to hurt and wound us deeply. “Those whom Jesus tenderly loves…He tells them their faults.” Though Jesus’ words have wounded me deeply at times, I rejoice that He loves me enough to bring it to my attention. (You should too) For without His correction, and wounding you can rest assured you do not really know Him. He is the TRUTH, and He is LOVE. Yet His LOVE does not take it’s direction from our cultures syrupy sweet version. Because He is LOVE He corrects, making us feel bad about ourselves. And that is the problem: SELF. The Bible teaches that our SELF hates God and the things of God.

Romans 8:7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.

Galatians 5:17 states: “For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.

We need to be perfectly clear, God HATES sin, our sin nature, and everything associated with it. Sin is what crucified Jesus. Thus at times our SELF is going to be offended, rebuked, hurt, wounded, and even angry at God’s TRUTH. But remember: Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful. Proverbs 27:6

Oswald Chambers, author of “My Utmost for His Highest,” writes: “We want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do…Why doesn’t God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because YOU are in the way as long as you won’t abandon yourself to Him in total surrender…The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason.”

Remember this? “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:4-6 We rejoice that this prophecy is about Jesus and how He was punished for our sin so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. What is often overlooked is verse 10: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin,…” It pleased the Lord to bruise Him??? Mull that offensive verse around in your mind and heart. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him in order to see our redemption and salvation. For my salvation and yours I am more than grateful that it pleased the Lord to have Jesus bruised for my sins. Praise God for His stripes and bruises. But we need to understand, it will also please the Lord to see our ego bruised, and our flesh crucified dead with Jesus’ crucifixion. That pleases the Lord and that is more than unpleasant – it makes me feel bad.

Lastly an odd verse pokes a hole in our cultural idea of love: Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. Ps. 2:12

This Messianic prophecy regarding Jesus would cause many to respond, “I would gladly kiss Jesus for all He has done for me. For that matter I would kiss His feet wetting them with my tears of gratitude and thanksgiving.” Yet there’s a side to kissing Jesus that you need to understand: “..out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,..” Rev. 1:16 AND Rev. 1:15 His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace,..”

Whether we stand to kiss the Son, or bow down to kiss His feet, our passion for Jesus, just like His passion for us, is going to hurt, and at times make us feel pretty bad. Yet on the other end of that “kiss” is Perfect Love… (and a Sword and Fire.) Can you pray: “Keep wounding me Lord Jesus that I might live again in perfect love freeing me from the SELF that hates You and is antagonistic towards You. Grace to kiss You again and again. May heaven meet my earth with a sloppy wet kiss and may I respond with similar passion.”

Every Believer A Witness Testimonials

October 16, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

I trust that following last Sunday’s message everyone has had the opportunity to edit and rewrite their personal testimony. Until this week our challenges have been to see people the way God sees them, loving them from an eternal perspective. The other was to seek to obey the Lord in the area of sharing your faith. This Sunday we were challenged to not only write our testimony but to share our testimony. Remember the beginning line to open up the conversation regarding sharing your testimony? “I’m going through this class at church and they’ve asked us to share our personal story with two people who aren’t members of our church. Could I take 3 minutes of your time and read my story to you?” There aren’t too many people who will turn you down when you take this approach. So I encourage you, if you haven’t taken the time to share, to do so. Someone you love or care for may have been waiting for you to do so.

New Church Leadership

September 24, 2018/in Blog /by John David

No Service Tomorrow

September 15, 2018/in Blog /by John David

Do to the severe weather and significant power outages, we will not have service tomorrow, Sept 16. Please help spread the word and stay safe.

Blinding Investments

September 13, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Pastor Chuck Smith: Life exists on two planes: the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical axis on which your life revolves is your relationship with God. The horizontal is your relationship with others. There is a fixed center point so that if the vertical axis is out of line, your life is doomed to become topsy turvy. People are always seeking to find the balance. Get the vertical axis correct, and the horizontal will automatically balance out. That is why it is significant that in the giving of the law, the first four commandments have to do with your relationship with God.

During these 10 Days of Awe it is important to examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and Spirit. The second commandment states: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Exodus 20:4

Very few Americans are in the practice of carving for themselves idols. In fact very few Americans are in the business of carving anything. What is similar is the process of making an idol and the lifestyles we live today. For someone to make an idol they had to pay a price, or make an investment. Whether they had to exert the effort to find a tree to chop down, sand, and carve, OR whether they made the idol out of some precious metal the results were determined by the investment. What do we invest in today? Investing involves putting money, time, effort, etc. in order to get an advantage. Very few invest in what really matters like their marriage, or their children. But we will invest in houses, cars, material possessions, education, jobs, cultural status, entertainment, outward appearances, keeping up with the Jone’s, drugs or alcohol, religion, sports, exercise, and animals. All of which are not bad in and of themselves but when these things become who we are, what we trust in, and center our lives around – then you’ve crossed the line into a form of self-destruction. Not only are you destroying your life but the lives of those you love.

You maybe surprised that I included religion in the list of investments. But remember religion with out a relationship with Jesus is what crucified Jesus. Religion is what resulted when Adam and Eve chose to be God; when they chose to reject God’s Word for satan’s lie. That agreement became an allegiance that resulted in their spiritual death. Remember Jesus stated: It is the Spirit Who gives life [He is the Life-giver]; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever [there is no profit in it]. The words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life. John 6:63

Only the Holy Spirit can breathe life into God’s Words. Divorced or separated from God’s Spirit they simply become another idol, and some Christians and church goers worship it rather than knowing God through His Word. The Pharisees knew God’s Word better than anybody but Jesus called them “sons of hell.”

Romans 8:5-8 states: For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit. Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

The balance between the vertical and horizontal is achieved when we get the vertical in order. When we place God first the other will be taken care of. Notice in the passage above that those who set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh are dead spiritually and the passage states that they hate God. On the other hand those who are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit.

Today I was talking with Brayden Poovey and he mentioned the difference between Mormons and Christians. He observed that the Mormons seemed happier and more appealing than the Christians. We bounced around ideas as to why this was so. Ultimately we tracked it down to the Romans 8:5-8 passage. Christians and church goers settle for religion. Mormons are ignorant of the Truth and as the old adage states: Ignorance is bliss. Paul stated that knowledge puffs up. (1 Cor. 8:1) This is evident in Pharisaism and exemplified in American Christianity Sunday after Sunday. In Colossians 2:1 Paul states that he is deeply concerned for the Colossians and Laodiceans. Why? See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah). Col. 2:8

Four things: philosophy, intellectualism, vain deceit, and human tradition – were what caused Paul to be concerned. Why? Because these investments were causing them to drift away from knowing Jesus. Thirty years later the results of their choices are sobering and all too familiar with the modern day church: Revelation 3:14-17 And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

The consequences and results were catastrophic. They had become lukewarm in their passion towards Jesus; they made Jesus sick; they were poor in the things of the Spirit; spiritually blind; and spiritually naked – and they didn’t know it. The final disaster? Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

They were having their traditional, intellectual pursuits while leaving Jesus out of their worship. They were so blind spiritually that they didn’t even notice that Jesus wasn’t even in church. Worse than their blindness they had quit hearing the “still, small Voice of the Spirit.” Tradition and intellectualism had made them spiritually dull unable to hear and recognize Jesus’ Voice.

Are there any graven images, and investments that have cut you off from knowing Jesus? Now that is something we can all confess and repent of.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

September 12, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

There was an old song from the band Chicago Transit Authority back in 1969 titled, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” There’s a line in the lyrics that says: “People runnin’ everywhere, Don’t know where to go, Don’t know where I am, Can’t see past the next step, Don’t have time to think past the last mile, Have no time to look around, Just run around, run around and think why”

I bet if people from 1969 were to visit our world that they would think our life is a blur in comparison. Which begs the question, “Do you have time to know what time it is?” According to God – that is?

The Jewish new year began at sundown, Sunday night and went through sundown Tuesday night. Thus today marks a countdown in what the Jewish people called the “Days of Awe.” You may be tempted to ask, “What business does a Christian have with things that are Jewish?” Do you mean other than Jesus, the 12 Disciples, and the Bible? Obviously there are a whole lot of things we are already doing “business” with. Yet there is still one more thing that many Christians ignore because, mistakenly, they believe that it was done away with the Law. What in particular am I referring to? Why I am referring to God’s Calendar. God’s calendar is portrayed in His holy days. The holy days being Passover, Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Hanukah.

IN the beginning God created time and you can rest assured that He intended that events on earth should reflect heavenly realities. The Apostle Paul stated that the events that God put on the Jewish calendar were to be to us as a tutor (Gal. 3:24). In fact he stated that they were a “shadow” of things that were to come or occur (Col. 2:16-17). In Lev. 23:2 God calls the feasts of Israel, His calendared items, His “appointed times.”

From today through sundown September 18 the Jewish people observe a time of fasting, confession of sin, and repentance. Thus you have ten days of seeking God through recognizing your sins, asking for forgiveness and grace to repent. It was more than a New Year’s resolution. It was to be a complete life change.

As I arose early this morning to pray and seek the Lord I pondered why there were 10 days. I wondered how many objects were used to worship God in the Tabernacle and I realized if you count the door (there was only one way in and out of the Tabernacle) that there were only 7. Wanting to ignore the obvious I kept hoping there was something that seemed deeper, but when it was all said and done I could only come up with the 10 Commandments. Then it hit me: “What if I took one commandment for each day, meditating on it, using it to prompt me in my confession?”

The first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me.” That didn’t hit me that hard until the Spirit of God stirred up Jesus’ teaching on this matter. In Matt. 22:37-38 “And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.” When I lined my life up against that passage I realized I did have other “gods.” They were things that I loved more than God. Things I had given my whole heart, soul and mind to. Even as I type this I realize that there are some more sins I need to confess. Because even when something is good, like loving my wife or children, I can place them above God. I’ve had times in my life where I loved the martial arts, exercise, scuba diving, and entertainment more than I did God. Also when you think about it, “what is a god?” A god can be anything I place or put my trust in. In fact a god can be anything I serve. What we serve and trust above God, is a god.

God give us these calendared reminders because He knows we all have a tendency to drift off course, especially when our center isn’t His Word and Spirit but our selves. So I wanted to take this time to invite you to join me in seeking God, making an appointment to get on His calendar. Who knows what might happen. Jesus was born according to God’s calendar, crucified according to God’s calendar, raised from the dead on God’s calendar, and His Spirit was poured out on God’s calendar. Guess what else? He’s coming back on God’s calendar. Get on God’s calendar and possibly while you are participating Jesus will show up and you will experience Him in ways you never imagined.

New Staff Member Coming Soon!

August 14, 2018/in Blog, Uncategorized /by Robert Shaw

It is my great pleasure to introduce a new staff member to Bethany Church: Lincoln Lawing has accepted an invitation to work with our youth part-time beginning September 5. His efforts will be focused primarily on Wednesday evening ministry with youth until the new year when he completes a prior ministry commitment with another church. Please be in prayer for Lincoln and his family as they begin their transition process.

This new ministry assignment will enable John David to apply his gifts and talents in the areas of worship, technology and assisting the pastor with various responsibilities associated with administration. Please continue to lift up John David and our youth in prayer.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, Pastor Robert, by phone or email.

Overflowing!

August 13, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Colossians 2:6-7 “So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Today Jackie’s heart and mine overflow with thankfulness as we think on how God has blessed us with the staff, leadership and people of Bethany Church. Thank you so much for remembering our anniversary, the card and the gift that you presented. We love you and it may sound crazy – but we like you too. (I’v heard people say, “I may have to love you, but I don’t have to like you.”)

I don’t know what the future holds for Bethany, but it appears that the Lord is preparing us for a visitation. Though He loves visiting with us but is goal is to dwell with us forever. So our assignment on earth is to establish a resting place whose foundation is LOVE. I’m of the opinion that you have been doing a pretty good job in the love department. So may I say from Jackie and I, “Thank you for accepting that assignment, loving Jesus, loving one another, and loving us.”

It all reminds me of a story I read years ago: There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: “Pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need”.

Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didnt work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find.

Let’s keep priming the pump at our “little shack” Bethany through choosing the water of praise, worship, thanksgiving, prayer, service, and obedience centered in His Love and we will not only have enough to satisfy our needs, but there will be extra to go around. God’s Spirit is more than a pump – He is a Mighty River! God bless you guys.

Up-Lift!

August 6, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

1 Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that in every place men should pray, ….without anger or quarreling or resentment or doubt [in their minds], ….lifting up holy hands.

People are having face lifts, neck lifts, chin lifts, forehead lifts, mid-face lifts, eye lid lifts, lower face lifts, mini face lifts, to their bodies. But what about Christ’s Body? What would happen if we began focusing on a prayer lift? Following yesterday’s service Sister Linda Stalls had a wonderful idea: EDIFY!

Edify means to encourage, build up, comfort, or LIFT UP. Historically the Latin noun aedes, means “house” or “temple,” and at it’s root is the word aedificare, a verb meaning “to erect a house.” Generations of speakers built on that meaning, and by the Late Latin period, the verb had gained the figurative sense of “to instruct or improve spiritually.” The word eventually passed through Anglo-French before Middle English speakers adopted it as edify during the 14th century.

Linda’s challenge? “Choose one person, from our body, to pray for this week. Ask Holy Spirit what He would have you say to that person to bring spiritual edification. Keep notes as to what you feel Holy Spirit has given you. It could be a word, a smile, a sentence, scriptures, a song, a psalm or whatever would come to your mind when you are praying. When we meet together on Sunday, share that edification with them. Doing this week to week will give us opportunity for Holy Spirit to build up our body through His Spirit working through us. Let’s EDIFY!!”

In taking Linda’s challenge we will be lifting up the Lord’s House – His Body, His Church (that’s you and I). Jesus promises that when we lift Him up He will draw all people to Himself. John 12:32. Isn’t that what we want to see? Jesus in and through us – through His Church. Let’s take Linda’s challenge beginning “Operation Up Lift” and raise up our hearts, voices and hands to the Lord in Prayer asking for words, scriptures, smiles, cards, sentences, songs, psalms, and other creative ways that would and could express the love of the Father to a member of our church body.

Praise Report

July 3, 2018/1 Comment/in Blog, Uncategorized /by Robert Shaw

This morning while reviewing my emails I saw one that I thought I should share with you. During the service the Lord released a word of knowledge that someone’s lower back was in need of healing. I asked if anyone in the service was having lower back pain and several hands shot up. The challenge was brought forth inviting the Church Body to lay hands on each other for God to release healing and creative miracles in response to our obedience and faith. When everyone was through praying Andrew Meza said that God had healed his back. We praised and thanked God for what He had done, and being pressed for time I proceeded to preach. What a surprise to read the following Facebook post from Paula Harkey:

“I want to thank all those praying people that laid hands on me yesterday …I’m thankful the Lord led Robert to pray for ALL those with lower back trouble. Heat always feels good on my back and sometimes I’ll stand in the shower and let the hot water hit on that spot. Yesterday the Lord radiated through His people’s hands and I felt His healing warmth and power. As the song says, “What a Mighty God We Serve.”

After responding to Paula’s post she wrote back stating: “I am still in awe of what took place. Like the song says, “My Jesus I Love Thee.”

I just wanted to share what happened so that we can praise the Lord together expecting and anticipating what He will do next as we gather in worship, praise and thanksgiving.

Freely Volunteering

June 22, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

1 Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things. And now I have seen with joy Your people who are present here offer voluntarily and freely to You.

As summer time is in full swing we are seeking to bring God’s House into order. As Haggai 1:9 reminds us: You looked for much [harvest], and behold, it came to little; and even when you brought that home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of My house, which lies waste while you yourselves run each man to his own house [eager to build and adorn it]. As I mentioned in a previous blog our connections truly are indicators of our relationship with God. They symbolize our relationship with God. If the House of God, we worship in, is in neglect and we don’t notice – could it be that the same is true of our spiritual lives? Again the Biblical principle conveys the thought that physical truths point to greater spiritual truths. All of that to say many thanks to those who have volunteered freely of their time and resources: Mary Quinn and her friend Carolyn, Lisa Drogan, Kent Lee, Vic Medlin, Jake Denofrio, Charlotte Price and the girls, and then those who have cared for Cass Thompson, Sherlyn Medlin, Lisa Drogan, Kristen Wagenmaker, and Mary Quinn. If I left anyone out please forgive me. Im saying all of this to say thank you to those who do the behind the scenes – unnoticed things that contribute to our church family becoming a home. God bless you! Our Church Home is getting into shape and I’m pretty sure it’s a reflection of our spiritual lives also.

Raise the Roof!

June 18, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

“How often do you get a chance to reach deep into history and bring something back?” –Rick Brown

“Raise the Roof” was a PBS documentary regarding the reconstruction of an 18th century, Polish wooden synagogue by acclaimed artists/educators Rick and Laura Brown, in the country of Poland. After working for ten years with hundreds of students, educators, scholars and craftsmen, the Browns’ Gwozdziec synagogue reconstruction project has become the iconic centerpiece of the new POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. “Raise the Roof” is the story of this epic journey.

But closer to our hearts a similar project began in Acts 15:16: “After this I will come back, and will rebuild the house of David, which has fallen; I will rebuild its [very] ruins, and I will set it up again,…” James, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, was quoting from Amos 9:11. Responding to a division that had occurred in the newly born church of Pentecost fame – Gentiles, Goyim, or Peoples other than Jews were coming to faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah – presenting a conundrum to the newly birthed Christianity which was still very Jewish. Should these “Goyim” be expected to observe the Mosaic Law, the Feasts and Festivals, and be required to have circumcision? Some believed, “Yes,” others like Paul believed in God’s grace and that the standards held by the Jewish people should not be imposed upon these baby Christians. Thus James alludes to a prophecy regarding the fallen Tent of David. What is the fallen Tent of David? The prophet refers to a time in the history of Israel – in which the Ark was brought up to Jerusalem to sit in a tent David had pitched for it. This was unprecedented in that the Ark had always remained with the Tabernacle of Moses, and it could only be seen by the High Priest once a year. David broke all of those rules by removing the veil that had been positioned to separate the Holy from the common. When that veil came down – King David himself would position himself in front of the Ark, or symbol of the Throne of God, for communion. Not only did David sit before it and interact with the Godhead, he would make sacrifices of praise, clap and lift his hands all to the worship of God before the Ark of His Presence. He would shout, dance, play instruments, seeking the Lord – encouraging others to do the same. None of these things had occurred in the worship of God in the Mosaic Tabernacle. But David knew something of the Mercy of God and his desire and longing to be in God’s Presence was unequalled or paralleled since the days of his Great, Great, Great Granddaddy – Enoch. But this should have never surprised the priests or the people of David’s day, for even Moses had taken his own tent and pitched it far outside the camp of Israel so that people could have the opportunity to pursue, seek and interact with the Living God. In fact the writer of Hebrews refers to this by stating: Let us then go forth [from all that would prevent us] to Him outside the camp [at Calvary], bearing the contempt and abuse and shame with Him. Hebrews 13:13

Thus the true Church, and Christian must sometimes go outside the traditions and expectations of the organizations of men to commune and interact with Jesus. That’s the calling of every true, born-again, blood-washed saint of Jesus. The calling that hungers and thirsts to know Him – to be with Him – to interact with Him – to love Him. David repeatedly stated the same concept and idea throughout his Psalms to God: O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is. Psalm 63:1 Repeatedly Scripture admonishes the believer and sojourner to seek after knowing God; and being with God. Hebrews 11:6 states: But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. These longings of David to know and be with God are shared by the sons of David who, even up to this present time, question the status quo, writing such songs as, “This Is the Air I Breathe, “As the Deer Pants for the Water,” and “I Will Run to You.” The son and daughter of David raises the roof of David’s Tent higher and higher through abandoned worship, praise, prayer and thanksgiving. Moving from more than a song, or an outward expression of physical adoration, to outbursts of passionate, abandoned sacrificial obedience and service. Trapped in the camp they take the journey out from that ordinary, comfortable and expected place to the foot of the cross. Here, at His feet, they find the Living, Loving God. From the dying place they come to know the Living God and can never go back to letting His “Tent” droop to the ground. Rest is not an option for those discontented with the status quo, raising the roof with the Glory and Presence of God.

Are You Making the Connection?

June 13, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

I don’t know if you’ve noticed the landscaping that has been done around the church lately – but it’s looking pretty good. This did not happen by itself. Last Friday Kent Lee, Vic Medlin, and Jake Donofrio mowed grass and edged for several hours to achieve a look exemplifying our care for God and His house. If you see them this Sunday say a simple thank you for their hard work, service and sacrifice. There are many more things that need to be done which reminds me of a passage of Scripture: Haggai 1:4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Clearly stated the Prophet Haggai reveals an interesting connection between the physical condition of God’s house and the spiritual condition of the people. A similar connection is made between the messengers of God and Jesus: John 13:20 “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, he who receives and welcomes and takes into his heart any messenger of Mine receives Me [in just that way]; and he who receives and welcomes and takes Me into his heart receives Him Who sent Me [in that same way].” Jesus is clearly stating that how people respond to His servants is a direct reflection of how they respond to Him. One more example is stated in 1 John 4:19-20 We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? The Apostle John is reiterating Jesus’ words, and I paraphrase their meaning, “How you treat your spouse, family member, brother, sister, neighbor, cashier, or waitress is a direct reflection of how you have been treating Me.” The “Cotton-Patch Version of the New Testament states it like this: “Because He first loved us, we ourselves are practicing love. If someone says, “I love God,” and is hating his brother, he is a phony. For the man who has no love for his visible brother cannot possibly have love for the invisible God.”

I’ve often wondered what will really happen when I see Jesus face-to-face. Will I see Him as He really is or will I seek to impose on Him the god I made in my own image? The Bible is comparable to a mirror in that if you really look into it you will see yourself as you really are – not as you hope to be. In our narcissistic, self-centered culture, we of all people need to be looking into the mirror of God’s Word seeing clearly how our relationship with God is progressing, or digressing. Over the years I’ve been overwhelmed by the respect, love and generosity of God’s people. All of which I had never earned to receive. God’s people were simply honoring God’s messenger – a response that reflected their relationship with God. The messenger may not have even deserved the honor, yet their God was more than deserving.

There’s a principle seen throughout Scripture, Physical truth often points to greater spiritual truth. In other words the physical object is actually a symbol of far greater spiritual truths. Mentioned above are several object lessons. Along with these you could add the Bible, prayer, church attendance, worship, etc., etc. Truth is all of these reflect the truth and reality of the relationship. The question is, “What are our interactions stating?” Returning to my introduction, “What does the condition of God’s physical building say about the condition of our spiritual building?”

Call to Rebuild the House of God

May 30, 2018/1 Comment/in Blog /by John David

Haggai 1:2-11 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.” Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?” And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again. “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much— a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what. That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.” Then God said: “Here’s what I want you to do: Climb into the hills and cut some timber. Bring it down and rebuild the Temple. Do it just for me. Honor me. You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves, but nothing has come of it. The little you have brought to my Temple I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it. “And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”

We are in the process of replanting God’s Church, but along with that comes a great need to repair, and refurbish the building and the grounds. Would you prayerfully consider sharing, in addition to your tithe, your time, and resources to help God’s be a place that glorifies Him? Here’s what we are needing:

* drought proof shrubs to replace the ones that have died and decayed

* washing of siding to remove mold on sanctuary and youth building

* removal of honey suckle vines, bushes, and weeds on the north parking lot between the church offices and prayer walk

* trimming of bushes around the youth building

* painting the blue plastic on the sun bleached playground equipment

* removal of dead trees and limbs in the northern part of our property

* painting the hallways, and church offices

* lawnmower for our volunteer landscaping crew

* new computer for sanctuary

Where Do We Go From Here?

May 10, 2018/in Blog /by Robert Shaw

Back in the “eighties” a pop rock group called the Alan Parsons Project released a song titled, “Where Do We Go From Here?” It’s lyrics were:

“Where do we go from here now that all other children are growin’ up

And how do we spend our lives if there’s no one to lend us a hand

I don’t wanna live here no more, I don’t wanna stay

Ain’t gonna spend the rest of my life, Quietly fading away

Games people play, you take it or you leave it

Things that they say, Honor Brite

If I promise you the Moon and the Stars, Would you believe it

Games people play in the middle of the night”

They express a condition in the Church regarding our present existence and history. Church history depicts something of a spiritual shell game that has manipulated and duped Church leadership and members for centuries. Not to bore you, but a brief history lesson is required to even grasp what I am attempting to communicate. From the birthing of the New Testament Church at Pentecost communing with Christ was the central focus of the Church. According to Acts 2:42 they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. But in 326 AD Emperor Constantine shifted the church from Apostolic authority to Church authority, making the Church the centerpiece of Christianity. Unfortunately with that shift the Church became an economic, political, religious power-broker. Paganism infiltrated the Church and communion – common union with Christ – became ritualized and diluted. Following this major event, a schism occurred between Greek Orthodoxy, in the East and Roman Catholicism, in the West. Greek Orthodoxy emphasized mysticism, and the supernatural, whereas Roman Catholicism emphasized the intellect. This event occurred around 1054 AD. Polishing these events off was the Protestant Reformation which occurred in 1517 AD with it’s emphasis on the authority of the Word of God devaluing the Catholic emphasis on Church and Pope.

If you were attempting to track the “seed” under the Christian shell you would have noticed some slight of hand happening slowly moving the focus away from what mattered to things that were secondary. Thoroughly distracted, the Church and it’s members, have forgotten all about that “seed” beneath the shell quite simply becoming enamored with the shells. New Testament Christians for 326 years focused on knowing and communing with Jesus. So much so that they practiced it every time they came together. Wonder, awe and expectation kept the blessed event from becoming empty ritual. It’s practice granted the participant a front row seat in knowing, and fellowshipping with Jesus. Through it a portal was open-end into His Presence. Unfortunately, 1692 years of Christian history has succeeded in substituting knowing Jesus with the Church, the Bible and the mind. These three helped to create a new trinity – a substitute trinity. Through these the divorce was solidified and intimacy, communion, and a personal relationship with the Godhead was no longer an emphasis. Through simple, slight of hand, the Church Triumphant has become the Church of Impotence. Games are being played alright, through the middle of the night, the children are growing up, and the church seems to be quietly fading away – yet, always, always, God sets aside a remnant who say:

I don’t wanna live here no more, I don’t wanna stay

Ain’t gonna spend the rest of my life, Quietly fading away.

There’s a Christian song I really like called “The Motions” by Matthew West. The lyrics are appropriate for a such a time as ours:

This might hurt, it’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care if I break,
At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?

No regrets, not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

Cause I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me

Maybe it’s time for a new reformation that ends this divorce, knocking the shells to the floor, exposing the “Seed” of knowing Christ.

National Day of Prayer at Red Classic Transportation

May 4, 2018/in Blog, Uncategorized /by Robert Shaw

Yesterday for the National Day of Prayer Robert Russell and I joined Ron and Lisa Drogan at Red Classic Transportation for the National Day of Prayer. We had a great time of prayer and intercession.

More from Dr. Bill Bright on Fasting:

Expect Results

Fasting & Prayer

STEP 1: Set Your Objective

STEP 2: Make Your Commitment

STEP 3: Prepare Yourself Spiritually

STEP 4: Prepare Yourself Physically

Contact

Messaging

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