When we become part of the Church, we bring with us unhealthy ways of thinking that the Lord wants to change. One thing we bring is an unhealthy form of hero worship. From time to time, this misdirected understanding of a leader's role needs to be excised from our...
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Prophetic Horizons
Aligning people with their God-Defined identity.
SETTING THE STAGE
In the opening chapter of I Corinthians, Paul had a lot to say to the church in Corinth. He wanted believers to know the difference between earthly wisdom and power and the wisdom and power of God. Paul used his opening comments to set the stage for gaining that...
THE PRESENCE OF FALSE TEACHERS
False teachers have always been present within the Church. It is nothing new. Often, we allow false teachers to remain in the Church unchallenged. Not all false teachers stand behind pulpits. Some have been given places of influence among us, even becoming...
Softening a Hardening Heart
When I find myself not particularly liking someone or when I sense the first pulse beat of a hardening heart toward them I will go out of my way to affirm the person. I might pray and ask God to bless them or hit a “like” button on their social media account or send...
Over-Controlled Lives
When we over-control our lives, we lose a sense of wonder and mystery. Some people have so over-planned and controlled every aspect of their lives they have taken on the sole responsibility for the realization of all aspects of their future. To the natural mind, this...
The Impartations of God
With the recent passing of the prophet Paul Cain, Jan and I were talking about his life and calling. As we continued our conversation, Jan said, “Do you remember the time at a conference in the 1990s in Switzerland when Paul Cain, Rick Joyner, and Bobby Connor prayed...
Evaluating Our Maturity
I have noticed an interesting phenomenon taking place in the Church. We like titles. Using a descriptor like “pastor” is comfortable for most people. Even “teacher” and in some cases “evangelist”, if you are a bit more evangelical. When words like apostle or prophet...
Removing the Weight of Fear and Worry
In the winter of 1968-69, I was a freshman at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. That year loads of snow was dumped on the city. The snow was measured in feet, not inches. There was so much snow it was feared roofs would begin to collapse under the...
Living Beyond the Point of No Return
I watched an inspiring video about a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. The recipient of the medal was a pilot leading a squadron of aircraft sent to protect bombers in route to a bombing mission. The distance they had to fly was at the limit of their fuel...
The Snake in the Wall
A wall stands in your way and you have been assigned to dismantle its opposing presence. As you engage this spiritual demolition project, trust no assumptions you are carrying from your current assignment or relationships. This is between you and God and no one else....
Speak to the Ashes
I saw the image of an urn holding the ashes from a dead season of life. The urn was reluctantly placed on the mantle of someone’s personal history thinking they only had one chance and that chance had died. In their grief, they saw their future as nothing more than...
The Roller Derby Women of Faith
As a kid, I remember watching a television show called Roller Derby. The show depicted women on roller skates racing as a team on an indoor track against an opposing team. I had never seen women act so tough. At age 8, I thought, “Man, I would never mess with any of...
Unsolicited Criticism
In this life, you will receive unsolicited criticism and suggestions. Everybody has an opinion. Choose to be large enough in your spirit to be willing to review each of these, even those that appear absurd. Embedded somewhere in such suggestions may be the very thing...
A Cultural Eruption is Taking Place
In the Spirit, I saw the image of multiple cultural volcanoes beginning an eruption cycle. This eruption cycle has not been detected by natural observation. These volcanoes have been smoldering inside each of the 7 mountains of societal influence (Government,...
Finding Hope in a Dark Place
In our many years of living life together, Jan and I can speak with confidence (in the Lord) when it comes to navigating through the unexpected and fearful changes that life can bring. In the beginning, the challenging and unplanned interruptions in our lives felt as...