UCBONZ ICNRME

See the Battle!

2006-01-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

One of the enemy's tricks is to keep people from seeing the Spiritual battle that goes on everyday. If you can't see the battle, then you can't fight the battle! One of the passages from the Old Testament that speaks to me about this topic is in 1 Samuel 11
1 Samuel 11:1-11
1 At this time Nahash led the army of the Ammonites against the Israeli city of Jabesh-gilead. But the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. "Leave us alone and we will be your servants," they pleaded. 2 "All right," Nahash said, "but only on one condition: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace upon all Israel!" 3 "Give us seven days to see if we can get some help!" replied the elders of Jabesh. "If none of our brothers will come and save us, we will agree to your terms." 4 When a messenger came to Gibeah, Saul's hometown, and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears. 5 Saul was plowing in the field, and when he returned to town he asked, "What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?" So they told him about the message from Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God came strongly upon Saul and he became very angry. 7 He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent messengers to carry them throughout all Israel. "This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel to battle!" he announced. And God caused the people to be afraid of Saul's anger, and they came to him as one man. 8 He counted them in Bezek and found that there were three hundred thousand of them in addition to thirty thousand from Judah. 9 So he sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, "We will rescue you before tomorrow noon!" What joy there was throughout the city when that message arrived! 10 The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, "We surrender. Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do to us as you wish." 11 But early the next morning Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments, and launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them all morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together. (TLB)
When I first read this I thought "This is about not surrendering to your enemy" but after discussing it with a friend and researching in my study Bible I found some deeper things out about this passage. One, I found this note about the "right" eye and what gouging it out would really mean...
1 Samuel 11:2
This cruel condition would serve at once as a badge of their slavery, and a means of incapacitating them from being effective warriors. Theodoret observes, "He who opposes his shield to the enemy with his left hand, thereby hides his left eye, and looks at his enemy with his right eye; he therefore who plucks out that right eye makes men useless in war." Josephus gives the same reason.
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
I f you can't see the battle than you can't fight the battle and this is the enemy's trick to keep people out of the Spiritual war! Also, another fact about this passage, the Hebrew word for serpent is nahash! Read it for yourself, pray about what the passage means and you decide. If you know Jesus, may your relationship grow! If you don't, ask Jesus into your heart and your life will never be the same... God bless you! Kairo

Let the Revolution Begin!

2006-01-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

This is a Quote from George Barna's Book "Revolution" that my friend Shari sent to me. This is our life!

As we journey together, I want to show you what our research has uncovered regarding a growing sub-nation of people, already well over 20 million strong, who are what we call Revolutionaries.What "established systems" are they seeking to "overthow or repudiate" and "thoroughly replace," in Webster's words?They have no use for churches that play religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit. Revolutionaries eschew ministries that compromise or soft sell our sinful nature to expand organizational turf. They refuse to follow people in ministry in leadership positions who cast a personal vision rather than God's, or who seek popularity rather than the proclamation of truth in their public statements, or who are more concerned about their own legacy than that of Jesus Christ. They refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments that mark their own achievements and guarantee their place in history. The are unimpressed by accredited degrees and endowed chairs in Christian colleges and seminaries that produce young people incapable of defending the Bible or unwilling to devote their life to serving others. And Revolutionaries are embarrassed by language that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all sizzle and no substance.In fact, many Revolutionaries have been active in good churches that have biblical preaching, people coming to Christ and being baptized, a full roster of interesting classes and programs, and a congregation packed with nice people. There is nothing overtly wrong with anything taking place at such churches. But Revolutionaries innately realize that it is just not enough to go with the flow. The experience provided through their church, although better than average, still seems flat. They are seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe-inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects...Revolutionaries zealously pursue an intimate relationship with God, which Jesus Christ promised we could have through Him...In this book I will describe what The Barna Group has learned about this under-the-radar but seminal renaissance of faith that will remake the religious contours of this country over the coming quarter-century.

ANOTHER EXCERPT:

Whereas "Christian community" has generally been limited to the relationships facilitated within a congregation, the Revolution is bursting open the walls of the worldwide Church to birth a truly international network of relationships...The U.S. will see a reduction in the number of churches, as presently configured (i.e. congregational-formatted ministries). Church service attendance will drop... Donations to churches will drop... Churches' already limited political and cultural influence will diminish even further at the same time that Christians will exert greater influence through more disparate mechanisms. Fewer church programs will be sustained in favor of more communal experiences among Christians...To some, this will sound like the Great Fall of the Church. To Revolutionaries, it will be the Great Reawakening of the Church. New scenarios do not mean mayhem and dissipation. In this case, they represent a new day in which the Church can truly be the Church--different than what we know today, but more responsive to and reflective of God. Viva la Revolution!

More Doors

2006-01-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

Today I had 2 meetings. One at the Unleavened Bread Cafe in Downtown Indy. What a wonderful place to meet and hang out. People were having Bible study, talking about ministry, eating, and loving each other. This was also training on blogging and now, a few hours later, I have my own site thanks to Brian and Neil. They are really working hard to get people out there and connecting up ministries. Thank God!

I also went to a planning meeting for "Really Big City" festival coming in September. www.reallybigcity.com This is going to be a great event! Two days of live concerts, speakers, panel discussions, service opportunities and more. Check it out, all good stuff for "young adults and community leaders from all ethnic groups". This is what this city needs! We need to involve any and every organization, group, church leaders, pastors, anyone excited to serve and worship Jesus! Don't just think about it! Don't just talk about it! Do something about it!