Oh, Joseph!

There's a line in the movie, It's A Wonderful Life where Clarence, George Bailey's guardian angel, is being subdued by Bert the cop. In a moment of desperation, Clarence cries out, "Oh Joseph", in a cry for help from his angelic boss. Help comes comes in the form of Clarence disappearing, thus escaping Bert's clutches.

The church world as a whole is like Clarence. At times we get into desperate situations prompting us to cry out for deliverance. In the church's case, it cries out, "Oh, Jesus". In those moments God sends His answer, often in the form of a "Joseph."

Joseph, the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons, was a dreamer whose dreams seemed preposterous at the time. Time, however, proved that there was deliverance in those dreams. Over time, Joseph was used of God to bring deliverance to Egypt from famine. The right person, at the right time.

When God responded to the prayers of many people for a move of His healing power, He sent a "Joseph" by the name of Oral Roberts who, along with others, demonstrated the healing power of God during the great Healing Revival of 1947-58. When the hearts of many hungered for the teaching of God's Word, God sent a "Joseph" in the person of Kenneth Hagin to teach faith to multiple generations around the world. Both men had visitations from God involving the world as a whole, starting where they were living.

We need more "Josephs" in the Church-those who have believed on Jesus as their Lord and Savior-to deliver us from modern-day "Berts"-forces which are at work to subdue us, to hold us back from achieving and enjoying the success God has made available to all of us.

Maybe you're one of God's "Josephs", a dreamer whom He wants to use to bring deliverance to His people-you and me. Rather than healing or teaching God's Word, God may want to use you in the area of technology, social media, or some other arena to deliver folks from the famines of mediocrity, the status quo, and refusal to change.

In the end, It's A Wonderful Life shows George Bailey becoming the richest man in town by doing things differently than Old Man Potter. One man's life changed an entire community-and Clarence got his wings.

How does God want to use you? God doesn't need another Oral Roberts or Kenneth Hagin; He has something for the one of you. What is He speaking to your heart to do to influence those around you? What kind of a dream has God put in your heart? How big is it? More importantly, what are you doing about it?

 Finally, if you can bring your dream to pass without God, it's too small. Sweet dreams.

Truth or counterfeit?

Years ago I was part of a nationally known ministry. Each summer we held an indoor campmeeting, three services a day, that drew thousands of people from around the world. One year I was assigned to help supervise this ministry's book table. Due to an influx of counterfeit bills being introduced into this country from abroad an agent, trained in identifying counterfeit bills, came to our table to educate us in how to spot the counterfeit from the real.

What the agent proceeded to tell us was simple, yet so effective. In training bank employees to spot counterfeit bills, participants saw only authentic ones throughout the course; they never saw the counterfeit. When asked why, the answer was simple. The instructor wanted those taking the course to become familiar with the true , making it pretty easy to spot the counterfeit.

The same is true in our walk with God. We have the Bible, God's Word, to guide us in life. We have God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to lead us in line with the Word, which is the Truth, according to John 17:17. The Holy Spirit will never lead us apart from His written Word. It is, therefore, very important that new believers are taught the truth from birth, spiritually speaking. From the time someone becomes a Christian it is other Christians' responsibility-not just pastors-to teach the truth to that new believer.

In teaching basic truths to Christians, I've found that the sooner I can reach new Christians with the truth of God's Word, the easier it is for them to be rooted, built up, and established in Christ. That's why it's so important to teach God's Word to children, who'll then have the privilege of growing up with the Truth, rather than counterfeits. God, our Heavenly "Instructor", wants children of all ages to be able to distinguish truth from counterfeit, in every area of life.

How, then, do I distinguish truth from counterfeit, right from wrong? In math, 2+2=4, not 3.9,  4.1, or some other close number. Pretty simple, right? In teaching the truth of God's Word, Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). This being true, anything contrary to what Jesus said is not truth; it's counterfeit.

Can you see the importance of filling our hearts, mouths, and minds with the truth of God's Word? What would happen if our focus would be on the simplicity of what God is saying in His Word, rather than opinions, theories, and experiences out of line with New Testament teaching? How can today's post help you to stay focused on the Truth, rather than counterfeits?

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Codependency

In the broadest sense, codependency is where each person in a relationship offers something that the other person in that relationship is dependent upon. Marriage relationships often fall into this category: each spouse depends on the other for spiritual, emotional, and/or physical fulfillment. Taken to an extreme, being codependent leads to selfishness, abuse, and regret.

Being codependent can be healthy when all parties forgo what they want, to meet the needs of the other person. We see this in our relationship with Jesus, the Head of the Church-those who have believed on Him as Lord.

The book of Ephesians illustrates our relationship to Jesus using body parts. Ephesians 1:22,23 portray Jesus as the Head of the Church, the Church being us. Ephesians 3:29, 32 points this out as well. Colossians 1:18 states that Jesus is "the head of the body, the church:..." You get the picture.

We all agree that our physical body is helpless without our head. As believers we, the Body of Christ, are just as helpless without our Head, Jesus Christ. At the same time we need to recognize that Jesus, as our Head, is helpless without us believers, His Body. If our physical head cannot function apart from our physical body, how can we expect Jesus, our spiritual Head, to accomplish His will, plans, and purposes for mankind apart from the Church, His spiritual Body?

As impossible as this may seem this is still true, which is why the devil fights so hard to keep believers like you and me from finding this out. Why? Because he knows that the Body of Christ-the Church-will put him on the run at every turn, once they see themselves as possessing the same life, nature, ability, and authority as Jesus, its Head.

As the Body of Christ, we are His hands and feet taking the Good News of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Is that something we do apart from Jesus, our Head? No, the body is dependent on the head for instructions, direction, and guidance. At the same time the head is equally dependent on the body for carrying out the head's orders. Your head may tell your body to go to the store, however it needs its body to get there. Ever seen a head drive without its body? I haven't either, not even in the movies.

Do you see why there's a codependency between Jesus, the Head of the Church, and us, His Body? It's a relationship that's mutually beneficial: God accomplishes His will for Mankind through Jesus and His Body. In return are to enjoy God's abundance in every area of life right here on earth, even before we get to Heaven. Heaven on earth.

If not already, it's time for all of us to see the codependency Jesus and us have on each other. Not selfishly but, rather, in ways beyond our natural reasoning.

Have you ever thought of God being dependent upon you, about Jesus needing you as much as you need Him? How has your viewpoint changed from reading this post?

It's Your Move!

As a kid growing up, our family time often consisted of playing games. Card games, board games-there were a lot to choose from. One board game was checkers. I learned to play checkers at an early age from my dad, who then proceeded to beat me regularly (at checkers that is). There were times when I failed to notice when my dad would move. When this happened Dad would wait a moment before saying something like "It's your move". He said this to remind me that he had already moved; now it was my turn. There were times I hadn't realized when-or where-he had moved, unless he let me know. Later, with some opponents,  I had to figure out where that person had moved. It pays to pay attention to what the other person is doing in a game.

The same is true in life. Often, when believing God for direction in our lives, we think it's His move, so to speak when He's already moved. In essence, He's saying to us,"It's your move". This means that God's waiting for us to take the next step before He can do anything else. Remember, God is a gentleman; He waits His turn. In matters of believing God, as in checkers, God doesn't move twice without the other person taking his/her turn.

What is it that you're trusting God for? Is it finances, physical healing, restoration of a broken relationship, a new or better job? In every situation there is a God-ward part and a man-ward part. God can't do your part and you can't do God's-though we've all tried to do His at some point.

Unlike checkers, life is not a game, yet both God and we have moves to make. If we're not careful God's move can be overlooked, resulting in us waiting on Him to do something about our situation when, in reality, it's our move. If this describes you, ask God to show you where you need to move so it can be His turn.

Perhaps your move is to remove any hindrance that is keeping God's move from working in your life, beginning with unforgiveness. As Jesus mentioned in Mark 11:25,26, forgiveness is the first place to look. The blessings of God, answers to prayer, are hindered in an atmosphere of strife and unforgiveness.

Whether it's getting rid of unforgiveness, doubt, fear, impatience, or being willing to do something you haven't done before , find out from God where your next move is.

Like Dad would say, "It's your move".

Is it your move? If so, what is it that you need to do, little, small, or insignificant that it may seems to be for you to continue in life?

Failure Is Not Defeat

One fine summer afternoon in late July, 1968, two baseball teams competed for the right to play in the city finals. The game was close; one pitcher pitched a no-hitter, allowing no hits in the entire game. The other pitcher did likewise, through most of the game. Neither side was hitting, much less scoring any runs. Near the end of the game one batter managed to hit a short fly ball between second base and center field. The second baseman failed to catch the ball, allowing it to fall for a hit. A few walks and an error later, the runner scored the only run of the game. The final score was 1-0, ending the season for the losing team. Their second baseman was in anguish, knowing that the ball that fell could have been caught.  Failure on his part to catch a ball led to the only run of the game, and subsequent defeat.

I was that second baseman.  Although no one blamed me for the loss, I viewed my failure as causing our team's defeat.

Fortunately, God doesn't see failure as defeat. Even those who became successful failed, sometimes quite often. The Bible paints pictures of success stories with sordid details of many who failed, yet were not defeated:

Moses: murdered an Egyptian/had problems with anger management

David: combination adulterer/murderer/poor father

Peter: severe case of foot-in-mouth disease/lied to Jesus about never leaving Him/denied Jesus three times

Each of these men failed, yet succeeded. Moses led over a million people to the edge of the promised land. David had a heart after God; wrote most of the book of Psalms. Peter wrote two books of the New Testament. boldly serving the Lord until he died a martyr's death.

You may be a failure in the eyes of others-even your own-but not in God's. Why not begin to see yourself as God does-successfully carrying out His will for your life? You are who God says you are, you can do what God says you can do, and you have what God says you have, according to the New Testament.

Failure is not defeat for you, unless you choose to have it that way. What past failure(s) do you need to let go of today to enjoy life?

Why Tithe? (The missing story)

First, my apology for not including this with the previous post, Why Tithe? (part 2). That being said the following story actually took place years ago It involves two business partners whose business was in the red. While neither man was saved, each man's wife was and attended church faithfully. Somehow the two men heard about tithing-perhaps from their wives-and decided to try it. The decision was made for the business to tithe, the reasoning being they had nothing to lose. The tithe was divided between the two partners; half to the church where one man's wife attended, half to the church where the other man's wife went. Again, neither man was a believer; they were seeing whether this tithing "thing" would work. Perhaps they figured they had nothing to lose.

God meets people where they're at. These businessmen were at a point of desperation regarding their business finances, willing to put what little they had heard to the test. Within 90 days of faithfully tithing, these two men's business was out of the red and into the black. I know for a fact that one of the men ( I'll call him Sam) did become a Christian.

How do I know this? I had the privilege of meeting Sam years after this happened, enjoying a friendship with him and his wife that lasted for over 20 years. I had heard the story I just related, then found out that it involved Sam and his business partner. Sam wound up getting saved and serving God until he went to Heaven, over 50 years after this event I just related took place.

Why am I sharing this true story? To illustrate that laws work, regardless of whether you believe them or not. The natural law of gravity will work for anyone. The same is true for the spiritual law of tithing. If tithing will work for a sinner how much more should it work for believers, those who have put their trust in God, through His Son, Jesus Christ?

What did you get out of reading this true account of tithing working in someone's life and business?

Can you see how it pays-financially and otherwise-to honor God with your finances?

Share how this post has been a blessing to you, then share it with others.