do you have a "death wish?"

When someone regularly does dangerous things, for instance, parachuting, driving too fast, eating fatty foods, etc., we jokingly say in America that they might have a "death wish."  The idea is that they don't care enough to live and so they risk their lives through their behavior.  Of course it is a figure of speech and they don't really have the wish to die.  You get the point...

But some people do seem to have something like a death wish in an even more important realm.  In their spiritual walk.  Let's check it out...

Romans 8 (NIV)

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

 

You are likely familiar with the fact that the Bible says our words have the power of life and death in them.  But let's go further to the root of the problem.  After all, our words come from our thoughts which are generated in our minds.

 

This scripture tells us that when our minds are set on what the flesh desires, that our minds literally are Death.  Our thoughts literally are death.  Nothing good can come from a mind like that and a mind that is set on what the flesh desires generates thoughts and words which destroy us and other people.

 

But a mind that is set on what the Spirit desires literally is Life and Peace.  That means that a mind focused on what God desires can please God, can be "in the Spirit" and can generate thoughts, words and actions which accomplish life and peace for the one who has developed this kind of mind and focuses it on Kingdom desires.

 

This is why it is so important that we renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2) and develop the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). 

 

Sometimes people struggle when I encourage them in times of prayer or worship to "get into the Spirit."  Usually it is because they are waiting for something to "happen to them" like the Holy Spirit coming and jumping on them or something.  What they need to do to get into the Spirit is simply start to focus on the Spirit and on what the Spirit desires.  The Bible encourages us to "find out what pleases God" (Ephesians 5:10).  When we think to the Word and begin to repent and humble ourselves, it's amazing how quickly God's Holy Spirit will descend on us.

 

So if things are dying around you, it would be wise to ask yourself right now.  Is it because your mind is death?  If so, it's time to kill the flesh, to focus your mind on what the Spirit of God desires and therefore transform your mind to Life and Peace!

Joseph is with the Lord

Hi everyone.  Many have inquired about Joseph who I spoke of in my last blog post.  He went to be with the Lord just hours ago.  His wife and his daughter made it to Manila just in time to spend precious time with him.

He is with the Lord!  The other good news is that his wife is in remission from her cancer.  She is completely bald from the chemo therapy for which she took the last dose this month. 

Please pray for the entire Ostia family during this difficult time.  It is not easy to lose a 34 year old Dad, Husband, Son and Brother. 

These kinds of cases are hard for me.  I have seen hundreds of people come up out of their beds at the touch of my hand extending the power of God.  I have also prayed for people in their beds hundreds of times only to conduct or attend their funeral later.  God is sovereign and He knows what is ultimately best.

I know that in Joseph's life, the enemy was defeated and we experienced the power and the presence of God in his room every time we were there.  We fought for his life in prayer and in the end, Jesus still did not let go, but took Joseph to be with Him in glory where we will meet again.

Joseph has many family members who are not yet serving God.  Let us pray that this will be a season of harvest in his family.  Thank you for your continued prayers.

Jesus Never Let's Go

I visited a 34 year old man in the hospital yesterday.  He has lung cancer and is literally fighting for every breath.  He has a 6 year old daughter and a wife, in another city which he cannot get to because of his critical state.  The wife also has cancer but her case is 50/50 at this point.  Without a miracle, he will survive only days or weeks.  It very well could be that their daughter will become an orphan if God does not heal one or both of them.

 I led him to the Lord.  He had a religious background but was not born again.  He and his family had also involved themselves in the world of faith healers, those who practice witchcraft under the guise of being Christian friendly.  There was worry in the family that this husband and wife are under a curse because of a jilted half brother who had converted to Islam and had said he would curse them.  In Asia, Muslims often are involved in witchcraft.

We prayed, we dealt with all of the possible issues and the presence of God came into the room in a tremendous way!  We could barely stand in His presence.  It was awesome!  But sometimes the presence of God comes and He does not yet choose to heal or to heal completely.  God is sovereign.  And so we are continuing to pray for his healing.  A team of our intercessors will return today and I will go back again in two days with another team.  We are not going to let go of him.

Visits are limited in ICU and so the time came for us to leave.  He was looking at me with tears rolling down his cheeks.  He could say nothing because of the tube in his throat...  But he grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go.  He didn’t want me to leave.  Every time that I tried to pull away, he would squeeze and hold, pleading me with his touch not to go.  It took me 15 minutes to leave while the nurse gave me the look.  I kept assuring him that even though I must go, Jesus never lets go.  I also assured him of our continued prayers and of our impending return.  It was heart-wrenching...  I could barely stay composed.

While in the room, I kept hearing a song in my spirit which I had heard by David Crowder from his album, “Remedy.”  This group and this album are certainly not traditional in any sense of the word, definitely a part of the new generation sound (in other words, most of you over the age of 40 won’t like the music from this group).  Frankly, the song had not appealed to me in the past as I had bought the album specifically for 2 other songs on it.  But the chorus kept repeating in my ears.  “You never let go, You never let go-oh.”

In the car before I pulled out of the parking space, I found the song on my I-pod and I played it 3 times with tears rolling down my face.  Below I have included some of the lyrics (edited where redundant).

Jesus never let’s go.  If you read this message, pray for the healing of Joseph and Jisel Ostia.  God is able!

“You Never Let Go” (David Crowder Band)

When clouds veil the sun and disaster comes
When waters rise and hope takes flight
Ever faithful, ever true
You, I know, You never let go
You never let go, You never let go
When clouds brought rain and disaster came
When waters rose and hope had flown
Ever faithful, ever true
You, I know, You never let go
Oh, my soul overflows
Oh what love, oh what love
Oh, my soul fills with hope
Perfect love that never lets go
In joy and pain, in sun and rain
You’re the same, oh, You never let go

Ignore

Hebrews 12:25a (NIV) "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks."

We have all been ignored. I hate it! I would rather have a rousing disagreement or even a verbal battle with someone than to be ignored by them. Usually a person who will engage you in an argument will at least be open to dialogue and you can eventually come to some kind of an agreement in the end. But silence isn't productive and it speaks to me of abandonment, lack of motivation, shutting down, rejection. Now I understand that sometimes there needs to be a period of cooling down, but even that can be done with an explanation like "give me a bit of time first..."

So the author of Hebrews warns us to not refuse to hear the voice of God... not to ignore Him.

My son hurt me severely awhile back. It was right after Church at a lunch with several people and not only did he hurt me but he embarassed me... you could say humiliated me. Hurt with humiliation is a potentially lethal combination to your emotions. In the car, I exploded and he knew how what he did made me feel. We took the rest of the ride home in silence. I went to my room and locked the door, falling into the bed and staying there motionless, struggling.

I knew that God was speaking to me but I was closing my ears, purposefully wallowing in the dirt. I was refusing His voice. Then I heard something slide under my door. I was sure it was a note from my son, but I wasn't "in the mood" yet. I didn't even look. Then I heard the note being drawn back out. It was then slid under my door again a few minutes later. A couple of hours later, I finally got up to read it.

The first part said, "i am sorry" followed by a frowny face and a picture of a broken heart then with "so so sorry sorry Sorry"
The second part of it was what he wrote after I didn't respond and he took the note away and then re-submitted it. "if you don't accept my apologi thats ok Just thro me in the trash"... he is 10 years old.
Manipulation? Of course. Real feelings? Of course! Both.

I refused God's voice and I refused my sons voice. Because of my ignoring of the two, I had made a bad situation worse. I had hardened my spirit towards God and I had harmed my son.

The scripture goes on to explain that God shakes us with His voice in order to shake out of us those things that need to go; much like chaff gets shaken off of grain or rice so that only those things that cannot be shaken remain. Then comes verse 28 which I want to present in two versions:

Hebrews 12:28 (NKJV) "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear"

Hebrews 12:28 (NIV) "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe"

The big difference in the two translations is the word which in english is translated to "grace" in the NKJV and "be thankful" in the NIV.

This is a grace which does not come from God (the more common kind of grace we talk about), but it is a grace or a thankful attitude that we must develop in out own character and spirit. We must become gracious. How do we develop this grace? By serving and worshipping God in reverance and Godly fear (or awe). And so we go back to the beginning of the scripture: we graciously, reverantly and as a form of our worshipful service, refuse to refuse the voice of God. We soften our hearts to let His voice come in and shake us. And not only God's voice, but the voices of those that we struggle with in this life. Everyone has a voice and everyone needs to be heard.

If we don't allow ourselves to be shaken by the voice of God, even by the voices of other people, then our circumstances and our consequences will shake us even more. It is better to be shaken by voices than by consequences.

And then the final verse of this passage seals the deal: Heberews 12:28 (NIV) "for our “God is a consuming fire.”

The implication is this. God is going to burn the chaff. Better let go of it and allow the shaking to get it all out and off or else you are in danger of getting burned.

Father, I need your voice, I want your voice. Help me, help my brothers and my sisters, help your Church. We willingly ask you to shake us, mold us and make us into vessels pleasing to You. Amen

"Bind Up"

The term "bind up" is found in multiple locations in the Bible. God "bind's up" wounds and broken hearts. This is a way of healing which takes time. Wounds (or bones) are bound together or set in place so that they can heal through natural processes and time. Another way the term is used is that you can be bound up in the midst of battle so that you can finish the task even before healing can occur.

We all get wounded from time to time and some of the wounds are incredibly deep. The broken hearted are particularly affected... you can see it in their eyes.

Many suffer because of broken or difficult family relationships or friendships. Others from loss. But some of the most wounded, some of the most broken hearted people that I know are ministers.

I watched a Senior Pastor who I worked with for years, pour his life into one of the men who came to know the Lord in the Church. The guy had been gay for most of his life but experienced true salvation and became a leader. He also succeeded in business in such a way that it was obviously the hand of God. Today, he is married with children. My Pastor met with him virtually every Thursday evening for years and years. He invited him to accompany him for ministry locally and even internationally. But the every Thursday mentoring commitment wasn't the only price my Pastor payed for this guy. He fasted and he prayed for him regularly. I watched him lift this man's name before the Lord on a regular basis. What a price my Pastor payed... Honestly, I have not seen many receive that kind of consistent favor in that form. It was unusual to say the least.

Then came the difficult situation... the mis-understanding. You know what they say... "You don't know that you have a real friend until you survive a real fight." It's not in the Word, but I find it to be true.

This man not only quit the Church, but completely turned his back on Pastor and gave him not just a cold shoulder, but a frigid one. It was a "super snub" for sure. My Pastor never said an unkind word about it but I could see how deeply hurt he was.

To have invested in seen and un-seen ways into the life of somebody just to have them turn with a snap with no grace or understanding is simply heart wrenching. And to then withstand the rumors and lies without lashing back. Not just rumors started by "Johnnie Q. Member", but by a very "credible" person who many would believe. Wow. It's enough to make most people give up.

But God's ministers are not most people. They persevere and overcome. They get their wounds bound up and finish the race, finish the fight, running through the pain, continuing to pour into the lives of those who in the future may reject and snub them. At least the true ministers do.

You may be wondering why this is on my mind. Am I going through something like this? Yes. For about the 20th time so far in my life time. It's fresh and it hurts, and one of the worst things about it is it tries to drag up the memories of the past similar experiences, but Jesus has already visited me and He has been binding me up. He is so faithful and wonderful!

My prayer is that we all will allow the Lord to bind up our wounds and hearts so that we will be able to persevere in pain. Healing will eventually come with time, even if that time is at the end of time as we know it now. But God promises to bind us up so that we will be able to finish the race. Someday we who know Christ will all sit at the same banquet together and there will be no more tears, no more suffering and no more sorrow. As long as we finish well.

The Lost

I was walking down a narrow but busy street to drop off an item for a Church member the other day. I had to park about a half a kilometer away. All of a sudden this little girl ran out of her house screaming "mama" with tears bursting from her eyes. She couldn't have been two years old and she was wearing nothing but slippers. She ran into the street and without scarcely thinking, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back just as a vehicle almost clipped her. She freaked out even more because I'm pretty sure a big white guy had never grabbed her arm before, but I needed to hold her so that she wouldn't get killed in her confusion and emotion. She was lost... or rather, she probably woke up in her house alone and was so startled and upset, that she went out to try and find her mother. The mom did show up a few long minutes later. She was carrying a bag of groceries. It appeared to me that she had left her daughter sleeping for just a few minutes and didn't anticipate what would happen.

To me, this represented the lost of the world. Those who don't know Jesus Christ. They pass us in the street all of the time, lost, dazed and confused, but we don't have the urgency to reach them, to care for them, to comfort them or to protect them. Maybe we forget the danger that they are in, the danger of becoming eternally lost.

My prayer for my own life and I hope will be your prayer too, is that we will become more sensitive to those who are lost... who need a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

As with this little girl, I believe that we arrive at just the right place at the right time on a regular basis even though we may not know it. May the Lord open our eyes to see every opportunity to save the lives we come accross in this journey. In the end, our lifes work will be calculated by how many of the lost we saved before going to our eternal reward.

Floods and Ministry in Mindanao

It is December 20, just days before Christmas of 2011. Ethan and I have accompanied my parents to Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines. We flew into Cagayan De Oro yesterday and then took a van the rest of the way. We are here to spend precious time with them while they are near. My Mom is now 74 and my Dad 72 and they are still going strong, full time in ministry. My Father was invited to preach the special sessions for the Lanao District Council Convention for the Philippine Assemblies of God.
This trip has been planned for many months but as of this past week-end, we weren’t sure if the ministry would continue due to the typhoon, heavy rains and the flash floods we were hearing about on the news Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Manila. The coordinator didn’t contact us and so we boarded the flight, not being certain that they would meet us at the airport, because all that we had was an E-mail address and no phone number.
In the newspaper on the flight, I saw that the number of confirmed dead in this area has now reached over 600 and the death toll is expected to exceed 1,000 because hundreds are yet missing. It was the wife of the District Superintendant who picked us up. We found that from their Church alone, 12 people are confirmed dead. The flash flood which took the lives hit at around 1am and swept entire homes and families away. We crossed the river on the way to Iligan, one which had swelled and overflowed to deadly levels. We saw flattened foliage, cars and trucks bashed, turned sideways and even upside down. Houses and business establishments were crumbled and destroyed for several kilometres. Mud is everywhere even on the highway miles away from the disaster zone. So much mud that vehicles are literally stuck like they have been cemented and doors of houses cannot be opened because the mud is more than half way up.
Many of the funeral homes and hospitals have stopped receiving bodies because they have no more facility or materials to treat the bodies. They have run out of chemicals. The bodies, since they are filled with muddy water are decaying so quickly that there is a fear that identification in many cases will be impossible. It’s sad, friends. Very very sad...
There were water trucks in Cagayan De Oro stopping in neighborhoods to provide fresh water to people waiting with plastic containers. Relief workers are arriving in groups of dozens and hundreds from all over the Philippines. The trip from Cagayan to Iligan which normally would take maybe 1 ½ hours took almost 4 hours because of the incredible amount of traffic.
But there are miracles! God is sovereign and He chooses what to do when people pray based on what is best according to the “big picture” that only He knows. One Church member had only ankle deep water in their home, but the rest of the homes around them had water beyond the first floor. It just doesn’t make sense! A Church which is in a low lying area and has been flooded repeatedly through the years is bone dry! Amazing! My favorite miracle I have heard so far saved the life of an 80+ year old woman.
She was on the roof of a neighbors 3 story house in one of the worst hit areas with many other people when the house was struck by a large tree in the flood. The house was in her words, “broken” and everyone was swept off into the mud and debris filled water... except for her. She called on the name of Jesus and as she spoke His name, her dress caught on something which held her in place until the flood waters subsided and she was safe. Awesome God!!!
The Philippine authorities have actually picked people up at sea who were swept out from rivers of flood waters. But for every one that survives, multiple dozens didn’t survive.
I am watching God move in these meetings in a spectacular way! We know that God moves when hearts are broken, open and hungry. Please pray not only for this current ministry, but for the Church in Iligan, Cagayan, Dumaguete and the other affected cities in Mindanao, Philippines. Rebuilding these lives is going to take much hard work, sacrifice, outside help and supernatural intervention. Our greatest prayer is towards the harvest! May God use this catastrophe in order to save lives for eternity! May His Church be mobilised in power, strength, determination and with compassion!
If you are led to donate to the victims of this catastrophe, we will funnel the funds directly and in full to the Churches that we personally know and work with in Iligan City. Please E-mail me for instructions on how to deliver the funds most rapidly depending on where you are. pastorstevemckinney@gmail.com