July 15, 2014–Going from Faith to Faith

July 15, 2014 By

from faith to faithAnd without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Perhaps you, like me, consider yourself a person of faith and have even walked in a certain measure of it.  Romans 1:17 has two interesting concepts that I want to share with you today.  Firstly it says, “The just shall live by faith.”  Faith in our walk is like the breath that we breathe.  We cannot please God without faith and by faith we grow in faith.

And then it says, that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.  We learn to trust God not in a moment but through time.  We learn to trust Him with the multiple circumstances that we face in this life.  We learn to trust Him first with our lives and then the lives of our families.

We learn to have faith to trust Him for our finances, health, safety, and salvation.  And then once we have learned to trust Him with our own lives, we must learn to trust Him for the finances, health, safety and salvation of those we love dearly.

In this way we learn faith by going from faith to faith.

 

There have been a number of times in my life when I have been preaching the gospel in various cities and have faced dangers of various kinds.  Once I came close to being shot and many times I have nearly been in car accidents.  My knowledge that God would take care of me during such trials has been strengthened because of the trials I have faced.

But then I faced the same situations with my family.  Just this week I was with my family in a city in the United States.  I had planned to have a nice evening at a hotel with them on the ocean.  A friend of mine blessed us with a hotel room on a beach front, but when I got to the hotel I soon realized that we were in a very bad part of town.

I sent my wife in to check into the hotel room and she was gone for a long time.  She told me that she felt danger inside that hotel and while waiting for her, I noticed a number of drug addicts stumbling down the sidewalk.  I had my four sons in the car and these people looked like they could cause trouble for me and my family.

In that moment I didn’t trust God with my family.  We brought our stuff into the hotel room where the furniture was falling apart.  That is when I started to panic.  About a month before this experience I saw that it would occur in a dream.  I ended up hurting people in the dream because of the fear of my family being hurt.

I decided I was leaving the hotel.  I went to the desk to check out and the man politely asked me why.  I said, “The furniture is falling apart in the room.”

He said, “Well, let’s see if I can get you another room.”

It wasn’t the furniture that I was concerned about.  It was the drug addicts in the streets.  I pictured them breaking into my car and hurting my little boys.  I was walking in fear and not faith.

I got upset with the guy at the desk and told him we were leaving.  You could tell that I had offended him and that he was quite sad.  I actually had made a spectacle of myself.

As I drove away from that hotel, I realized that I didn’t trust God with my family.  I repented with tears and asked God to forgive me.  I understood that I had learned another valuable lesson.  I now knew that in order to walk the path that He had for me I would have to learn to trust Him even with my children.

Perhaps you also need to learn such faith.  I pray for you today and ask the Holy Spirit to impart this knowledge supernaturally into you so that you don’t have to go through what I went through.  I pray that you will have strong faith to face every trial and that you will know that God is present in all your circumstances protecting you and even your family.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

July 14, 2014–Who caught the goat?

July 15, 2014 By

Peggy-Kennedy(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 14, 2014 by guest contributor Peggy Kennedy)

“Not for us, O Eternal One; this glory is not for us–but for Your name, because of Your loyal love and truth.” (Psalm 115:1)

“Who caught the goat?” 

This was the main question arising from the dream. As I awoke I remembered the details well: the goat escaped the handlers and the runaway was making a straight path right towards me.  Even though I was all dressed up I didn’t hesitate to move resolutely right into its path.  With my one risky yet solid embrace the goat was stopped in its tracks.

The handlers were excited!  With joy they came running to secure the goat.  They pulled out their camera to take a picture of the “rescue” so the owner would know just how wonderful the brave and timely intervention had been.  There was only one problem. 

They called my “friend” (who suddenly appeared into the scene from somewhere) and put the goat’s tether line in his hand and aimed their camera.  I was openly upset!  Loudly I protested:  “But, who caught the goat?!!!!!”

Except for that closing scene it would have been easy to dismiss the dream. However, as I awoke, that closing scenario lingered and so did the realization that the Lord had given that dream.  He was exposing my heart and revealing His! The inequity of being passed by and having the praise go to another was clearly on display.

I had felt the sting of resentment toward the goat-handlers who clearly knew that I was the one who had bravely done the deed.  And, anger and frustration arose when my own “friend” received their enthusiastic “applause” and took the spotlight for something I had accomplished. 

Yes, my heart was being clearly exposed.  No rational thought of how often my friend has faithfully worked behind the scenes and “deserved” a moment of recognition would cancel the resentment that I had done the deed but someone else was getting the glory!

And, where did that dream come from?  Likely this foundational kingdom principle was being stirred by the Lord as a result of my current reading of the amazing, self-less ministry of Barnabas to the newly converted Saul.

Barnabas had already befriended the once fierce persecutor of the Church who was aflame with the transforming power of the Lord from that Damascus Road encounter.  Now Barnabas goes to Tarsus, retrieves Saul, and brings him to the revival scene in Antioch. (Acts 11:22-26).  There Barnabas, this man of encouragement, shares the platform with Saul for a very productive year.

It is to be noted that when the names are listed, Barnabas’s name always comes first.  This is a common way in scripture to denote the prominent one. However, by the time the two are on their first joint ministry tour, the names are reversed.  “Paul” now replaces the name “Saul” and it is “Paul and Barnabas”.

Years ago I heard it said, “There could be more done for the Lord’s glory if we didn’t care who got the glory for what was done.”  As a result of my dream I can say a huge “amen”!

The goal is the “goat”, not the acclaim and celebration!  Rise up within me, O Barnabas-nature, so that His work is accomplished and others are brought forward in their gifting and ministry!

Who caught the goat?  That is not the issue at all!  The issue is His glory and the advance of His kingdom!

(Peggy Kennedy is a respected member of the Canadian Prophetic Council. According to her pastor Matt Tapley: “Peggy Kennedy carries a powerful anointing to consistently bring the Word of the Lord in a way that is both powerful and timely…mantled to walk in a heavenly grace that brings people of diverse backgrounds together in unity.”)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 13, 2014–The LeBron James Shift

July 15, 2014 By

Lebron-James Heat CavsRecently, the sports world was abuzz with the news that LeBron James had chosen to leave the Miami Heat to play for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.

In a thoughtful article released through Sports Illustrated, LeBron outlines his reason for leaving Cleveland in the first place and now choosing to return four years later: “When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two.”

LeBron candidly admits that his reason for initially leaving the Cavaliers was purely personal, and dare we say, selfish? It was all about him “seeking championships.” Since he could not see himself winning one in Cleveland at the time, he jumped ship and set sail for Miami.

Was that mission accomplished? With four straight trips to the finals and two championship rings to show for them, a big, resounding YES!

But the LeBron James of 2014 is not the same one who left in 2010. You can sense the change in his maturity level when he goes on to say in the same article: “I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys…I think I can help Kyle Irving become one of the best point guards on our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Walters.” Not to mention recent draft picks such as Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.

What excites LeBron now is how he can help teammates reach greater levels of personal excellence and achieve success together as a team in a city that has never won the NBA title nor any other national championship for 50 long years. “My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.”

Clearly, there is a shift in LeBron’s goals. The joy of seeing his younger, inexperienced teammates blossom into mature superstars under his tutelage motivates him more than shooting for another championship next year in Miami.

Dear DWOD friend, as you advance toward your destiny, you too will need to make this shift that LeBron James has made in his life. What is this shift?

Some would label it as a shift from success to significance. When we first start out on our journey, all we want to do is achieve success for ourselves. But our life moves beyond success to significance when we invest ourselves in others and help them achieve the kind of success that we have already tasted.

It is what the apostle Paul calls “equipping the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). It is not just about you becoming an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher but about you equipping others to also become one.

You could also call it a shift in mindset from Empire to Kingdom. Rather than focus on building an empire where everything revolves around your enterprise, you choose to invest your time, effort and energy into that which advances the Kingdom of God.

In practical terms, this could mean that you, as a ministry/church leader focus not only on equipping your own team, but anyone in your Region who needs to be equipped, and thus advance the Kingdom.

It could lead someone who is already successful in their own business choosing to bless young entrepreneurs with the benefit of their experience and offering them wise counsel and guidance.

You are now re-defining your criterion of satisfaction from achieving personal success to helping others achieve success.

Years from now, one of LeBron’s fellow Cavs will likely say something like: “I could’ve never made it this far without LeBron’s influence on my life when I played with him in Cleveland.” It is at times such as this that LeBron James will shed tears of joy and be glad that he not only made the move from Miami to Cleveland, but more importantly, the shift from success to significance.

When you choose to make the LeBron James shift today, you too will experience something similar in the days to come. And it will be well worth the shift.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam