An Old Magician’s trick!

“…lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

There is an old magicians’ trick called misdirection.  With it, a magician distracts his audience and gets them to focus on something unimportant (perhaps with his left hand), while he is setting up the real trick with his right hand.  And then — du-du-duuuuhh!!! — the bunny appears, seemingly from nowhere. (OMGOSH, DID YOU FREAKING SEE THAT??!!)  Wikipedia defines this as a form of deception.

Dude, in the same way, the “old magician” is still up to his old tricks.  And distraction is one of his fave things to do.  Sometimes I call it “the tyranny of the immediate.”  Let’s say that I have decided to spend more time with Jesus.  And then all hell seems to break loose and many things “just have to be dealt with.”  Or maybe I get pulled once again into the vortex of Facebook for an hour or more.  And before I know it, a week has gone by and I have spent little or no time with the Lover of my soul — the One who created me from nothing and redeemed me with His own blood.  And what is my excuse?  Uh…well…stuff happens.

“…the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)

What an amazing time to be alive!  What an incredible adventure is unfolding in our cities and across the planet!  Aslan is on the move!  As the Light and darkness intensify, and as we prepare for the Son of Man to return, God is desiring to pour out unparalleled anointing and blessings to those who are paying the price to really know Him.  What a tragic thing it would be to look back on this time and realize that, like Esau, we traded away our amazing inheritance for a bowlful of unsatisfying sludge and distraction.

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God!
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!

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No secrets…

One of the simplest, most profound, most transforming revelations I have received in my life is that I am never alone, and that because of this, I can have no secrets.

It makes a huge difference when you’re thinking you might do something like look at porn in “secret” or formulate a lie in your mind in “secret”, if you are also aware that at that same moment, the eternal, omniscient, Living God who created you and bled for you is with you and aware of absolutely EVERYTHING.  The idea of “getting away with it” becomes hilarious foolishness, as your plans are revealed and consumed by the Light of His Presence.

And when you finally, really “get it” — when it really sinks in that deception is not an option — then an incredible weight is lifted off of you — and you begin to experience true, lasting peace and rest, as that scheming, lying part of you realizes it has nowhere to go…and just dies…even as something else glorious begins to flow in and take its place.

And I believe that as you enter into this reality with your whole heart — as you really walk in “the fear of the Lord”, then God begins to reveal to you the deep things of His own heart…

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,”
(Psalm 25:14)

It is well with my unshakeable soul…

This last Wednesday, I was worshiping Jesus at a little house gathering with some friends, and the song being played was “It is well with my soul.” As we did, I was challenged by the Spirit. The lyrics basically say that it is well with this person’s soul (the song’s author), regardless of what joy or severe trauma he is going through. And the man who wrote the hymn indeed went through a mini-hell on earth (most of his family died and all his finances were ruined), and yet he could actually sing that it was well with his soul!

The Spirit said that this man’s soul was unshakeable. And He said He wanted to make my soul (and the souls all Christians) unshakeable, because great shakings are coming to the earth, and that only that which was of God would survive.

“At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12:26-27)

And He said that this miracle of being made unshakeable mainly happens in the Secret Place, forged in the glorious fire of intimacy.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

In the amazing, delightful, costly place of true intimacy, we are transformed more and more from intangible to tangible, from non-beings to true Be-ings.  God calls Himself “I AM”.  He IS!  The most glorious thing you can do is to truly BE.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

In the book THE GREAT DIVORCE by C.S. Lewis, the people of hell were intangible and unreal, and the people of heaven were extremely solid, tangible and real.  That which is truly real has nothing to fear from the kingdom of the unreal, and when shakings come, only the unreal things of darkness and the natural things crumble.

But He said that His children in America generally treat intimacy with Him too casually and don’t see it as the glorious, life-and-death matter that it is.  And He said that life here has been relatively gentle and slow, but that things are heating up and speeding up — and that NOW is the time to press in to the Secret Place to know Him and be transformed by Him — and to receive the necessary Grace needed for things that are coming.  The verse He gave me to underscore this is Jeremiah 12:5:

“If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”

But He says that in the midst of these shakings, those whose Tangibleness has been established in the Secret Place will not only survive, but actually flourish and shine brightly — and that many will come to the rising of this light in them:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and His glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
(Isaiah 60:1-3)

So, my dear brothers and sisters — I encourage you to run to the Secret Place and make it your home — not a visitation, but a habitation. You will one day be grateful beyond words if you do.

His grace is enough!

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

My friends, this is very good news! And if you are struggling in some area, take heart and keep looking to Jesus and His grace. If you never quit, you never lose.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
(Philippians 4:13)

The key is to not be wandering around this sick, crazy world on your own.  Yes, if we are born-again believers, He lives in us…but do we live in Him?  Only when we are found in Him (that’s what it means to “abide”) do we experience ongoing victory over sin and the junk of this world.  For those who pay the price to maintain intimacy and communication with Jesus, the rewards are amazing…

“Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered;” (John 15:4-6)

The choice is ours — will we wander around on our own, randomly stepping on demonic landmines and continuously falling into the enemy’s traps…or will we stay close to Him (in prayer, devotion, obedience) and walk in victory over sin and the world?

WE CAN DO THIS!  WE CAN WALK IN VICTORY!!  HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH!!!

How to find your mate.

Years ago, I went to a prayer meeting at a little Methodist church on the outskirts of Atlanta.  While there, I asked people to pray for me, that I would know what was God’s will as far as whether I would marry or not. (I had already made peace with God and knew I would be happy, whether married or single, as long as Jesus was with me.)  At the prayer meeting, a woman prophesied this to me: “You must sing your song to Jesus and only to Jesus.  And if it is His will that you be married, then He will send a woman to you who is singing her song to Jesus and only to Jesus.  And if she is the one for you, your two songs will harmonize perfectly and uniquely — and you will be united in Him and not just in yourselves.”

Recently, my wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary.  Our marriage has been infused with the joy and glory of God, and has, in some ways, seemed like a month rather than 25 years.  And when I look in her beautiful, green eyes, I know that Jesus is her ultimate Lord and Lover — and I am filled with unmeasurable peace and unspeakable joy — because I know that she is the ONE God has chosen for me.