Oral Robers Death

Oral Roberts Death.

I am an alumni of Oral Roberts University.

I graduated in 2002 and am sad to see Oral Roberts pass on, but I believe he has stepped from this earth into eternity with the Eternal.

Although there were mixed aspects to attending Oral Roberts University, I believe most of these have been resolved with the new administration.

I'll never forget the peace and calm that Oral Roberts brought to my heart on September 11, 2001. He thoroughly expressed the spirit of God by bringing calm to a storm.

I believe the death of Oral Roberts is a sign and wonder of the times.

I believe the death of Oral Roberts is a sign of one wind of God passing as he blows new winds upon the earth.

We watch and wait...

"Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then siad to Peter very sternly, "Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing merely from a human point of view, not from God's."

Mark 8:33

So if Jesus lived with me in my daily life, he would probably use this rebuke on me very often.

Read his rebuke again - very slowly.

You are seeing merely from a human point of view - not from God's.

That is heavy. Everyting we seem to do in our day needs to be rebuked until we understand the will of God. Paul made it very clear that no one knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God. This is why we must daily pray in the Spirit until we receive revelation on what his will is for us today.

How often do I make decisions based on how much it will work towards my advantage, if it fits into my future plans or financial stability? How does, go and sell everything you own and give it to the poor sound for your 401k? Hmmm. This is the radical lifestyle Jesus calls his disciples to. One of total surrender that he could tell any one of us at any moment to empty our savings account, or better yet our checking account and give it to the homeless.

Of course, we don't just go and do these things because we think we should, but when God speaks we must be ready to move quickly.

Jesus rebukes Peter because he's not seeing with a heavenly perspective. He's using his logical mind, his reasoning to try to accomplish the work of God's kingdom. It didn't work then and it will not work today. It's time we throw out the human efforts to save people and get them to come to our Christian clubs and we begin to cry out to God to reveal his will, his way of doing things. Besides, this is his church.

I guess the question for today is are you looking at things merely from a human point of view or God's?

Contemplate

"Oh God, we meditate on your unfailing love..." Psalm 48:9

Meditation is one aspect of our faith that is talked about so much in the Bible but isn't practiced. I believe that our current way of worshiping was an evolution from active meditation or corporate prayers and chants. In essence when we gather with the people of God and sing the songs we do, we are praying together, declaring together and actively meditating together.

Obviously, meditation is now mostly recognized with the New Age and Far East religions. Many Christians have such a negative association with the word that they've dismissed it from their daily life in God. Yet, I believe meditation is crucial in remembering him and growing in faith.

I know I am so familiar with the Bible that many times I can read an entire chapter and remember one sentence and even at that it's a vague memory. Yet, when I take the time to meditate on one verse, great understanding, revelation and life springs forth. For example, if I take one verse from the Bible like, "flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit," and I begin to say it over and over again, or sing it over and over again, eventually each word comes alive and deeper meaning springs up. The Holy Spirit comes and breathes life on the words I'm saying and before you know it, I could write an entire book on that one verse.

David knew this well. That's why there are so many references in the Psalms to meditating on God's promise, his word. Give it a try today. Instead of reading a whole bunch of verses or chapters and not remembering much, take one or two lines and begin to chew on it. Repeat it, sing it, write it, pray it. You'll see how quickly the words will take on life and slowly work their way into your very make up. The words will become permanently written on your heart, not just memory in your mind.

Get away today for some time and purposely meditate on his unfailing love.

His Beauty

Worshiping God is natural. It should never be conjured up, never pushed out or performed. The same way the our hearts leap when we see the breathtaking landscape of New Zealand or when we watch the mind-boggling opening ceremony of the Olympics - we're simply amazed, in awe.

Worshiping God can be likened unto being intimate with your spouse. Her beauty overtakes you, you tell her, you're drawn to her. Eventually, she becomes so desirable there's no other appropriate response of the heart but to give your self fully to her.

Worshiping God is allowing his Spirit to open our eyes to see Him and then we just can't help ourselves but respond. As we gaze on his beauty, we become overwhelmed with joy, excitement, mystery. We don't know what else to do, or how else to express ourselves so we become undignified. Like when you're in love and do stupid things you wouldn't ever do otherwise. This is the organic, human responds of the soul to our Creator.

Like when you haven't seen a loved one in a few days and then you're reunited - you freak out. You jump all over them, you cry and won't let go of them. This is worship, this is Love. It doesn't take much to worship God. Just look at him - he is so gorgeous, so beautiful, so appealing.

These Remain

"These things will last forever - faith, hope and love - and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

God, today may you breathe greater revelation in our souls to live by the reality of the eternal. Give us eyes to see beyond our nominal, human exsistence into the celestrial exsistence that is more real than the life we live. May we strive to seek the knowledge of your will before we move, before we talk, before we journey from this place.

Restore faith to those who are plagued by fear and anxiety. Remove the smoke screen and expose the liar who is provoking unbelief and terror. Give back vision to your Bride that she may walk in the light and see that your heart is good and perfect. Grace her with true faith that conquers the Red Sea, the inability to walk on water and the audacity to push through a crowd just to touch your hem.

Give hope to the hopeless for you are our glory and lifter of our head. Give a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness and fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit. Peer into the dark places of the hopeless soul with a spark - a spark of light, a flicker, a flame. Ignite a fire of passionate hope rooted in the knowledge of your love and your coming Kingdom. That every day is getting better because it's one day closer to your return.

Shower us with love. Purify us and remind us that love is more powerful than the grave. That love covers a multitude of sins and has the power to rescue. Make love the foundation and cornerstone of your Church again. Remind us that others will know we are your people because of the great love we will have for one another. Rid us of division, hatred and competition. Convict us deeply of our failure to love perfectly and fill us with the ability to love as you have loved us.

Your ways are not our ways, yet we trust you. We wait patiently for you and we are strengthened in the eternal realities that surround us even when we are unaware. Build us up today on the foundation of that which is not seen and that which is immortal - faith, hope and love.

The Drama of God

There's an intolerance in our modern society with people who are strong in personality, opinionated and dramatic. It's as if society is attempting to deaden us all, to make us subdued and indifferent. The spirit of age is attempting to rid the Earth of those who will be a mouth piece for the truth and righteousness of God. Even in the church we see this everywhere. Preachers are attempting to preach a non-offensive gospel, worship can't get too radical and those with contrary convictions are forced into "submission." This is ironic considering the Bible and those highlighted in the Bible are very opinionated, dramatic and strong willed individuals.

Beginning with God himself - he doesn't ever do anything indifferently. Look at how dramatic he always chose to display his power. He used a burning bush that didn't burn, a prophet married to a whore to send a message to his people and of course, Jesus turning over the tables in the Temple. Even after Christ died, the Earth shook, dead people came out of their graves and most importantly, the curtain in separating man from God tore in half. This is drama! This is God.

The book of Revelation reads like a sci-fi movie filled with terror, redemption and triumph. God is dramatic. He is filled with emotion, desire and opinion and so should should his people be as well. God wants to show himself again the way he did in the day of the prophets.

The prophets were not a liked people. Every one of them brought a strong message that offend most, but brought comfort to the ones who had ears to hear. Even the New Testament prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus and John carried the same spirit of strong will, strong opinion and, what we call today, personality. This is coming again to the church and it will have the same result in people; offense or freedom.

Grace is Stronger Than Sin

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more...

Romans 5:20

How beautiful is He?

His grace literally takes my breath away. Even now as I write these words my heart is beating fast because his grace is overwhelming.

His grace doesn't do anything in theory - only when you've murdered your brother, cursed the one you love and given into the sin that so easily knocks you off your rocker does his grace amaze.

Greater revelation has been given to me over the last few days of how lovely this verse is. Even Paul's conclusion, "what does this mean then? Should we sin all the more? Of course not!" If the motive is to sin, grace is obsolete. It's when we defile our rights as heirs to God's kingdom and then hear him call us by name, pick us up, dust us off and kiss us - then we really know how incredible his grace is.

Sin can't stop his grace - it magnifies it! How ingenious is God? How above the schemes and intentions of the evil one is He? And how much of a side note is our short comings when we are depended on Him for salvation, justification and redemption.

To think anything otherwise would be to trivialize the blood of Christ.

Is it not enough? Do we ever have to earn anything from him?

This is what makes Christ's blood so powerful - it abolished our sin, removed and forgave us for our crooked hearts.

His grace draws me to my knees, causes tears to well up in my eyes and awakens my soul to a love that is beyond my human comprehension.