|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

Jesus is the faithful witness. He is called faithful and true. He calls us to faith, because He is the faithful one. Faith is believing that what you hope for will come to pass. In Psalm 37, Jesus says "live your life feeding on my faithfulness. Delight in the fact that even though I allow situations that don't look like they will turn out in your favor, they will. Trust me!" Jesus is the only man that could ever make this claim. His resume demonstrates He IS the faithful one. He created the sun and the moon after He created light. The steady sun, that rises each day, isn't as faithful as Jesus. The moon, which cycles like a clock...even more accurate than a clock over thousands of years, is less faithful than Jesus. He revealed His plans for salvation, His first appearance, and His return, thousands of years before any of the events took place, and He is executing that plan exactly as He described. What we see playing out on the world stage right now is a testimony o

God has a plan to reach the world with the truth of His love and His mercy, and His justice. In His wisdom, God has chosen to partner with those who have chosen Him. If you are saved, He intends for you to have a part in His plans to extend the invitation of salvation to everyone, judge sin and unrighteousness, and make all things new! There is a common thread in the experience of people being called by God that weaves through the story of the Bible: those God assigns to amazing plans FEEL least qualified. When an honest heart meets the power of God and learns not just of God’s love and acceptance, but His invitation to be a part of what God is doing, the response is always the same: denial of ability! Isaiah and Peter claimed to be sinners when God called them, Jeremiah tried to disqualify himself based on being too young, Abraham and Sarah said they were too old, Moses said he couldn't speak, Ezekiel and John just basically passed out!... The truth of our broken condition is ines

When you accept Jesus as your savior, He sends the Holy Spirit to live within you (John 14:17). At that moment, your spirit is made completely clean. Your spirit, which was dead when it was separate from God, becomes "the righteousness of God." Your spirit instantly becomes completely holy, otherwise God (the Holy Spirit) wouldn't dwell there. Although the Holy Spirit is connected fully to our spirit, we don't feel holy, and we usually don't live holy right away. Although our spirit, which we can't feel much, is a new creation, our heart, where our mind, will, and emotions are, doesn't feel any different. You could live the rest of your life with a new Spirit and never ever feel or see the power of it in your actual life. This is so much less of a life than Jesus wants for me! The trick to living and feeling different is this: I need turn to God in my spirit, the Holy Spirit, and begin to let my heart learn to "yield" to God. When two cars come t

Love. It is all about love. In His zeal for love, God created man. The Ancient of Days, the uncreated God of glory and power, in His zeal for love, chose to lock His gaze on mankind. In the garden, He formed the object of His love and gave him a family. In partnership with God, the first man, Adam, felt the purpose of existence: to love and be loved walking out a life in partnership with God. Love is what was violated in man's rebellion. Corrupted by a lie, the first Adam decided he wanted more than love, in not believing He was the apple of God's eye, Adam missed the fact that every good and perfect thing had ALREADY been given to him, Adam walked away from love, and exchanged truth for a lie. God never gave up on love. The endless One never took His gaze off of man. He made a way, through Jesus, to restore love. Just like love was a choice for man in the garden, love continues to be a choice to this day. Love doesn't demand its own way, it isn't boastful, or rude, or

God delights in each "step" of our day when we set our heart to agree with Him. Even the missteps are celebrated by Jesus when our desire is to follow Him. Jesus knows that each step dedicated to Him, even when we loose our footing, will bring us one step closer to the fullness of our experience of God. This is why He made me, to experience a life connected to Him, a life that is marked by His wisdom, power, and love. He wants me to both feel the power of them in my life, and to increase my ability to share them with others. I see Jesus saying in Psalm 37 "if you could see how committed I am to your success, you would never worry about anything but trying to know me more!" Jesus isn't short on power, love or wisdom. If you have committed your way to Him, His promise is that you can trust Him to bring your experience of Him to fullness. When you don't know how to follow, He knows how to lead you. He is searching for willingness, and when He finds it, His prom

God is interested in His word covering the land. He has words set aside for me today, and for you. His word is as important to take in as food is. It is food for our hearts and spirits, which will last much longer than our bodies. The food He gives through His word isn’t just for you though…He wants you to feed others, too. God promises that if I will spread His words around, even a little, it will actually change the world around me. His word is like a vine that grows and extends into new places, or a fire that catches from one place to another. If I will agree with God, and make myself available to the food He has for me today, and look for the places that are open to me releasing it, I will actually be powerful in helping to bring the world closer to agreeing with Him and His heart. Someday soon, God’s Glory is going to begin making even the landscape new….for real. I don’t have to wait until that day to start changing the landscape of the hearts around me! When my willingness meets

The Bible clearly states that Jesus has a plan to return, drive evil off the planet, and establish a world-wide government based on love and righteousness. The Jewish world waited for thousands of years from the time of the prophecies of the messiah, until the birth of Jesus. After thousands of years of waiting, on one day, the prophecy was fulfilled. The world was literally turned upside down by Jesus physical 33-year life as a man. What seemed long in coming, came like a tidal wave and began on a day no one expected. Those same prophets that predicted Jesus coming like a lamb the first time spent much more time describing how He will come a second time like a lion. Jesus Himself described the state of the world at His second coming. He said He would come "like flood," and said "like in the days of Noah" people would be caught totally unaware, despite the incredible signs happening all around them. The world is nearing the crest of a wave of incredible change. When

Jesus said what comes out of our mouth reflects what is in our heart. There is a powerful connection between our heart and our mouth. This works both ways. When we worship God, what we say/sing with our mouths is formed or strengthened in our heart. Ethan the Ezrahite (one of the wisest men of his time) said it like this: Psalm 89:15 How happy are the people who worship you with songs, who live in the light of your kindness! 16 Because of you they rejoice all day long, and they praise you for your goodness. 17 You give us great victories; in your love you make us triumphant. When you worship God, you step from the darkness of the trouble that is found in every life, into the "light of God's presence.". In this light, we see things from God's perspective. No trouble is bigger than Him. We actually strengthen our heart with truth in worship. The light of His presence can overcome all darkness. If you feel the darkness of trouble today, you can step into the light of His

The "fear of the Lord" is a truth that has been running through my mind lately. The Bible says that those who fear the Lord lack no good thing. I really want the fear of the Lord, but it seems so strange to fear someone who I know loves me more than anyone else has ever loved me. For years I have equated fearing the Lord with "respecting the Lord". I think this is a small part of fear of the Lord, but God is showing me a different and more important depth to the fear of the Lord. Like all things God wants in my life, the fear of the Lord is meant to free me, not limit me. God has been showing me that the fear of the Lord is the opposite of the fear of man. The fear of man is a little easier to wrap my mind around. It means to fear man's opinion, what someone might think of you, or do to you, in reaction to the choices you make. The fear of man keeps many from being true to their heart. The fear of man limits us from openly following God and speaking the truth, a

God is not far from any one of us. Each of us, whether we realize it or not, lives, breathes, and has our being in Him. If God were to withdraw His spark of life in our frame, we would cease...but He sustains us. God has no needs, yet He supplies our every need. God desires us, not because He needs us, but because He loves us. His burning desire is to be with us, to spend time with us. To hear what is in our heart, and to reveal to us what is in His heart. What God made to be simple, we have complicated. The heart of man wants to distill God into a method...a religion. He made us for relationship. God describes a relationship with Himself in the most amazing terms: Father and Husband. It is no coincidence that these two relationships are the most attacked in our culture. Our idea of fathers and husbands is less than God's is. God is a Father who longs to provide for us. A Father who enjoys to watch us explore all that is His. A Father that longs for a good life for His children. A

Jesus said that one of the signs that would reveal the time for His return would be the "love of many growing cold.". When I watch the news it is easy to see this happening right before my eyes. The awful things many are willing to do to each other grows more intense by the year. Crimes against the children that would have been unfathomable 20 years ago are now barely newsworthy, and the stories of mom's and dad's killing their entire families are unfortunately not uncommon anymore. Shooting rampages in workplaces and schools happen with alarming regularity. The love of many has, in fact, grown cold. Not only did Jesus say the love of many would grow cold, He said that as the time of His return drew near, the love of those that were His...that remained in Him and He in them...their love would increase. Jesus said this dramatic difference between the world's love growing cold and our love increasing would be a powerful witness to who He is! Love is one of the most

Jesus created a billion galaxies, invented the human cell, created light, thought of the idea of fire, miraculously placed a coin in a fish's mouth to pay his own taxes, walked on water, and multiplied food...not to name all the other things He did, that the disciple John said, if written down, would have filled so many books the world couldn't hold them! Jesus is powerful. His creative ability through the power of the Holy spirit, combined with the perfect knowledge of the Father... WOW! He said His power is most obvious in our weakness. Our need is where He loves to reveal His power. I look at my needs as weakness, and He looks at them as a theater to display little glimpses of His awesome power. Healing is seriously no problem for God. Money is the smallest detail. Restoration of a broken relationship...check. There is literally no limit to what Jesus can do. Genesis I creation is on His resume! Jesus' creative and sustaining genius, and the Holy Spirit's jaw droppin

Prayer is powerful. Speaking in agreement with God really moves things in the natural and spiritual realms, but there is something more powerful: fellowship with God. Talking with God is the most powerful reality available to mankind. It is why God made us...He made us to be with Him. When Jesus made Adam and Eve, He made them to be family. When He made THEM, He saw YOU! As He was forming them, He already knew you would be a part of that family. The loss of complete fellowship with Adam and Eve because of their rebellion also meant a loss of complete fellowship with you. Jesus is so committed to restoring His full fellowship with me, that He was willing to take all the penalty for my rebellion. Once I accepted His payment as my own, bit by bit He is teaching me to agree with Him in restoring our fellowship...our ability to be together. When I take time to settle my heart and talk with Him...even if I don't FEEL the power of it, I am giving Jesus the thing He wants most from me. To

Isaiah 26:3. You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. If you have kept you purpose firm, decided that you are going to go after God and His plan for you with everything, now is time for part 2: put your trust in Him. If you don't have perfect peace, you are lacking one of these two! Trust isn't a feeling. It is a choice. Choices become habits. God wants you to do the hard work of making the near-constant choices to trust now, so you can reap the perfect peace that comes from a habit of trust married to a firm purpose to go after God and all He has promised you. God has a plan for you. I think of it like a new world of delight, and excitement, and wonder. You walk into this new world by agreeing with Him wholeheartedly, and then trusting Him in the very odd route He takes you on. First you need the firm resolve to follow Him...then you build the habit of trust. If I will really take a hold of this, there is no difference betw

How many mornings will I have in my life? I spend most mornings reading my bible and talking to God. Ever since I turned my life over to Him in 1999, this has been my habit. He dramatically saved our marriage that year, and I realized I needed to be near Him if I wanted to live a life that was good. Some mornings I FEEL Him in my heart, some mornings I don't. Most mornings I have to fight the distraction of daydreaming when I really want to engage with Him, or the distraction of the news, or even "studying" the Bible for a kids church lesson I need to get ready, or whatever. To actually settle my heart and talk and listen to God...to let myself "be" in His presence...I am running about a 30 percent success rate. This morning, it struck me: how many mornings will I have to press into Him? To get to know Him on this side of eternity? To carry the fragrance of His presence and the light of His face into a world that mostly doesn't know Him. I can't carry so

God is faithful, and merciful, and just. He cares about what has been stolen from you. He is committed to see His people restored. The ultimate thief is the enemy of our souls. He has stolen what is precious to God, and what is precious to us. Know that your loss will never go unnoticed. Maybe you have been resisted today. Maybe you have been hurt by someone that was supposed to defend you. Maybe you have been overlooked or insulted. Know that every bit of your loss...whether it is physical, spiritual, or emotional...it matters to God. He has a plan to restore every stolen thing. When He led the Israelites He gave them laws after His own heart. Laws to live by that were in agreement with who He is. Exodus 22 documents how just His laws were regarding theft. If God is this serious about material things that are temporary in every way, How much more so will He protect and defend that which is precious and eternal? Your loss, even what seems little to you, matters to God! Exodus 22:1 &quo

God sets the time and the seasons for all things. He set the time for Moses and the first covenant between God and men. He set the time for Jesus to come, and He has set the time for the final judgment of the current age of sin and selfishness. In each of these times, a great transition happened. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, those who were God's people saw the awesome power of God with their own eyes. The sea split, food came out of heaven, water gushed from the dry desert, and pillars of fire and smoke led the people day by day. That generation still refused to go after God with everything they had, and many longed for the comfort of Egypt, where they were slaves! No one from that generation entered the land promised to them. Even Moses could only view it from afar. When Jesus came the first time, the new covenant was established. Jesus fulfilled the penalty of sin for man, and salvation was extended freely to all who accept it on God's terms. The power of God w

God's love and His justice are two sides of the same coin. God doesn't suspend any of His love to execute His just judgment of sin, and He doesn't suspend justice to pour out His love into an undeserving life, like mine. This is why Jesus sacrificed His own life for people. Because God made me to be with Him forever, Jesus was the only possible way forward. Jesus took the punishment that belonged to me. When He did that, He offered me the gift of everlasting life. When someone holds a gift out to you, what is inside the box isn't yours until you accept it. If you don't take the box into your hand and unwrap it, you never really get the gift, even though it was bought and paid for just for you. You take this gift of life from Jesus like you would accept a gift of a new shirt: you give up your right to not have the gift...which means your right to your own dying life, and the punishment that you are entitled to along with it because of the mistakes you have made and g

God wants to talk to His people. He has much He would like to reveal to us. He wants to whisper things to us that will build confidence of His love in our hearts, give us direction to flow in His plans, and reveal to us the things that get between us and God. There is SO much He will say to us if we "ask, seek, and knock." Elijah described hearing God as listening to a "still small voice." Although when people have heard the audible voice of the Lord they describe it as sounding like thunder, or the crashing of ocean waves, when we hear God with the ears of our heart, it is His "still small voice." There is a principle in God's kingdom that those who are faithful with a little are given much more. If you aren't faithful with a little, you usually aren't given any more. If God whispers something to you, or shows you something, and you write it off as coincidence or imagination, don't expect a more clear revelation. Like Zecharia told Zerubba

It seems like there is so much for me to get accomplished right now. When I think ahead even a week, or so, I feel unsure how I will get it all done. I was praying about it this morning, and felt God say to my heart "you felt this way last week when you thought ahead to this week." This is true, when I consider my worries last week, they were focused on how to accomplish what I had to do this week. Sure enough, everything is getting done this week. This week is no longer the source of my worry...it has moved on to next week! God's point was this: If I look ahead, I will always worry about the uncertainty of next week, or tomorrow, or next year. Even though the vast majority of my life experience...my history of faith...says the everything will be fine, if I let my mind wander to what might happen next, worry takes the place of faith. If you feel like I did this morning, I believe the Lord would say to you: I have carried you every day of your life. I know what you can, an

Suffering, patience, and endurance... These were the qualities that marked the people who really knew Jesus. Paul, Peter, James, John....these men served Jesus to the point of death and exile. Jesus was like a rock dropped into water in the sense that the 120 people who stood with Him in the end spread out like ripples on the surface of the water. They made a large wave at first, washing over Greece, and Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. The further from Jesus the ripples have traveled, the more we have lost of the original message. The more we have painted following Jesus to be about us, and less about Him and what the God of the universe is working out before our very eyes. Being a Christian in America looks very little like it did for those disciples closest to Jesus. Very few of us have any idea that patience, endurance, and suffering are part of the CALLING to follow Jesus! We have bought hook, line, and sinker that we can have "Our Best Life Now." This is not the messa

The Bible says that God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. God's wisdom is foolishness to the world, and the world's wisdom is foolishness to God. God uses weak and broken people, like me and you, to accomplish His huge plan for the redemption of mankind. To many it seems like God is indefinitely waiting to move forward in His plans. Many, even in churches, think things have "always been this way," all the while God is steadily moving His plan along, patiently waiting for His people to come into agreement with Him. I get so concerned with the day to day "tasks" I think need to be accomplished, while God softly sings to my heart that there is something better, something bigger that He is inviting me to be a part of. I see the meetings I have today as part of my agenda to accomplish, but God says they are divine appointments, that if I would have eyes to see, will move His agenda forward in a huge way. He doesn't force me to

I have been given the reins of my desire. I can steer my heart to whatever I like. This is free will and everyone has it. The choices we make have real outcomes, real consequences, real rewards, and real cost. When I have focused my desire on me, or earthly stuff, I have been satisfied for a moment, only to find that my hunger for more grows...it eventually overtakes my ability to produce the experience, and frustration results. The cost of trying to satisfy an eternal soul with temporary pleasure is extreme frustration and ultimately the death of my spirit. I have tasted a little bit of the reward of pointing my desire towards communion with God...actually spending time with Him. Joy results when I talk to God, not just talk about Him, or request things from Him, but spend time enjoying His presence, and caring about the things He is about. Speaking and listening to the Genesis 1 Creator is satisfying. The eternal God knows perfectly how to captivate and satisfy the eternal soul that