Hunger NOW, Cry NOW, Be FILLED

In the Beatitudes (Luke 6:20-23), Jesus twice says "now."

"Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh." (NKJV) - verse 21

So if you want to be filled with food and filled with laughter, it's not enough to have hungered and cried previously and it won't do you current good to plan on hungering or crying tomorrow or later today. You need to do it NOW.

I have been instructed by my doctor and dietitian to eat 6 small meals a day in order to keep my blood sugar levels more stable. This has changed my life drastically in many ways. Firstly, my metabolism has increased which has caused me to lose weight (in a good way) and my energy has increased. Secondly, if I eat too much at any given meal, I won't be hungry in time to eat again. Then I have to eat when I'm not hungry.

Eating when I'm not hungry is one of the least satisfying things that I do. I really don't like to do it but I have to do it. And so I have become good at not eating too much and I seldom eat junk food anymore. That way when it is time to eat, I have a hunger to satisfy which makes ingesting that food all the more pleasurable to me. Much more satisfying!

Sometimes we eat the Word of God out of habit, out of discipline, out of obligation even when we are not hungry and it isn't nearly as satisfying. I do believe that you should read God's Word every day no matter how you feel, but I also do believe that we are responsible for our own level of hunger by being purposeful about not filling our lives with "junk food"... the junk food of busy-ness, meaningless entertainment, so on and so forth.

I need to come to God hungry. I need to open God's Word hungry and eager to eat! And when I do that, His Word promises that I will be filled!

The greatest times of weeping that I have experienced have been when I become aware of my own sin, failures and weaknesses. My mistakes and my disobedience towards my God. The conviction which the Holy Spirit brings upon us is necessary and the results are beautiful. I pour my heart out to God, I come to Him appealing for mercy and He grants it and I end up feeling so great and filled with joy! It is awesome to be cleansed from my sins and cleared of all unrighteousness. There is nothing else like that!

So the question that I am posing today is this. Are you hungry NOW? Are you crying NOW? When you hunger, wait to eat from the table of the Lord and don't accept inferior food. When you cry, direct your tears towards the feet of Jesus the same way the sinful woman with the alabaster jar did when she washed His feet and ask Him to cleanse you of your sins. If you hunger NOW and weep NOW, you WILL be filled! You will be satisfied!

Faithful is My God!

I can't help but singing the old song "Great is Thy Faithfulness" right now!

I'm in the Pastoral office alone because it is Monday. Most Pastors take the day off but I am the Pastor on Call on Mondays for Tabernacle of Faith International's Gateway and San Juan locations and I also conduct the 6:30am Staff Devotions for the Tabernacle of Faith Christian Academy.

This week-end was marvelous ministry-wise, but it was desperate financially. I had loaned a person close to me everything that I had except for about $10 in my pocket on Thursday with the promise of repayment on Friday. He only needed it for one day. But Friday came, then Saturday came, then Sunday came and now Monday is here and not a peep, not a call back, not an email,,,, nothing. We have been eating creatively all week-end now... :-) I know some of you know what I'm talking about.

I did have a miracle of Friday, an amount deposited in my bank in Chicago and so I went to the ATM on Saturday morning to withdraw. But I couldn't get it. I went to the bank web site on my tablet and found that there is a 3 business day hold on the deposit. Okey... I call that a delayed miracle. But still no money. I couldn't even drive my car because the empty light is already on.

But then just today I find out that a former member of my Church who has moved overseas has "thought" (the Holy Spirit did that!) about me and sent me more than enough to get me through the week. At least until the other check clears and hopefully my good friend pays me back the one day loan!

I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I went to the ATM and found out the first miracle was delayed. I had to overcome my negative emotions and thoughts with radical praise and machine gun scripture quotation. But because the second miracle has arrived, it feels good knowing that the first miracle is still in the pipeline, right on God's perfect schedule! Great Is His Faithfulness!!!

Oh another song is coming now... "Why should I feel discouraged.... why should the shadows come... why should my heart feel lonely and long for heaven and home... when Jesus is my portion... a constant Friend is He... His eye is on the sparrow... and I know He watches me...

God gives us a steady supply of miracles. I call them sustaining miracles. I am so happy to be a part of God's Kingdom. His Kingdom has incredible benefits!

Let us continue to believe God even in our times of need.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV) "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

The Lord's Supper at Supper

Last night was a truly special experience for me here in Melbourne. I attended a dinner with Pst Yudah and his wife Anna at the home of two sisters, one 96 years old and the other 88. They have lived together for well over 60 years. The elder sister had been married (her husband is with the Lord now) and has raised 3 sons. The younger sister had chosen not to marry and had assisted her elder sister in raising the 3 boys. They now have numerous grandchildren.

They attend Melbourne Praise Center and have attended it long before it became Melbourne Praise Center, when it was simply known as the local congregation of one of the Churches of Christ, which it still is.

It was amazing listening to the stories of their adventures. They even went "caravaning" in Europe for 18 months back in the 70's! The wisdom and the sweet spirit was refreshing to me. But I heard the sadness in their voices and saw it in their eyes when they spoke of the spiritual condition of Australia. I'm sure that elderly Christians in America, Canada or in European countries feel much the same way. They kept talking about how they are praying for their nation, praying for their city, praying for their grandchildren and more... They talked about how appreciative they are that God brought this predominantly Indonesian congregation together with theirs. They are so grateful and they love their Indonesian Pastor and Church mates.

We partook of the Lord's Supper and had a time of prayer at the end of the evening. Pst Yudah and Anna have been visiting them regularly because they haven't been able to come to service for some time due to frail health. I wish that more Pastors and lay people would have the kind of committment that I see in Pst Yudah and Anna to be there not only for the current generation, but to still be there for the Saints who are continuing to pray in their later years as we fight for the advancement of the Kingdom of God together!

The Church is not only an army. It is a family. A beautiful family of brothers, sisters, kids, grandkids, grandpa's and grandma's. United in Christ with one Father. Let us cherish this blessed family and not let our love fail or grow faint.

SHOUT!!

I've been thinking much about shouting because I'll be speaking for a camp this coming weekend in Melbourne, Australia with the title, "SHOUT." The camp will be on Phillip Island and it's a bit cold here right now, the reverse of weather in the USA but it's great for me because I hardly ever get to experience the cold, living in Manila. I'm excited!!! (you can check out the location at www.visitphillipisland.com)

It's a big subject and I will be conducting four sessions, but I want to share a little with you on this blog today...

We shout for many reasons, much the same as people shouted in the Bible. For joy, for battle, for victory, to attract attention, to warn, to proclaim the coming of someone important, etc. But it is people who shout. God doesn't shout. God thunders, roars, rumbles and more but He doesn't shout. And we don't have to shout at God to get His attention as the pagans do (see 1 Kings 18:27). God is always ready to hear even the faintest whisper of a prayer! But we shout to Him anyway out of sheer excitement and in gratitude! Our shouting to Him in praise and in adoration actually draws the attention of others so that they might join us in great acclaim. If you know me, I'm all for making a loud noise in praise to God! Mostly to try and get people out of a religious disposition during a worship service...

And so we shout! We shout to you, at you and for you today! We shout towards mankind in order to warn them that they must come out of darkness and into the light before it is too late! We shout that we have good news! Healing is here, miracles are here, deliverence is here, salvation is here, Jesus is here!!! We shout because you don't have to live this way anymore... because there is freedom, liberty and hope in Jesus! We shout and we will not be silent!!!

We shout because you don't have to be lonely anymore! We shout because you don't need to be bored anymore! We shout because God has a great plan for you... an army with a purpose to join! We shout because we care... because we love you and because Jesus loves you!

Will you shout? Will you join your voice with ours and shout towards everyone you know, proclaiming that there is hope, freedom and life eternal available to them? Will you live your life outloud for Him? Will you shout to the Lord in victory and with thanksgiving?

Come let us sing for joy together, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation!

JUDGMENT: Pressed Down, Shaken Together and Running Over..

Do you remember the catchy old Ron Kenoly song? "Give, it will come back to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and, running over..." It got our feet tappin' and our wallets open every time we sang it before we passed the offering basket around. (I'm talkin' the 80's guys, for those of you youngsters who have no idea what I'm talking about) After all, who doesn't want finances coming back to you, using the same measure in which you used to give, but pressed down, shaken together and running over into your lap!

But the primary context of the scripture used for this song is not correct. The principle is fine to apply to taking an offering, because it is the principle of sowing and reaping which has to do with giving and receiving financial blessings. But personally, I'm a stickler when it comes to using scripture in context. In other words, I won't use that scripture or allow my worship team to sing that song when it comes to taking an offering. (On a side note to be discussed further down, even though I don't allow it in my Church, I don't judge others who do it in their Churches because it is not heresy. I'll even give when the basket comes around.)

Why not, you ask? Because the primary principle in the scripture is too important for us to understand to use it in any other way. It refers firstly to judgment.

Let's take a look:

Luke 6:36-38 (NIV)
"Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Okay so giving is there. But giving what? Judgment, condemnation, mercy and forgiveness. Examples both to the positive and to the negative. Can we apply this to finances? Yes. But I recommend that you please find a different verse to use that is in primary context.

This is interesting though. Many times I have wondered, what is the open window? How is the enemy getting in, either to my life or to the life of the person I'm trying to help. We blame the devil and everything else, when the answer often is simply that we have been merciless or judgmental to someone else and now God is pouring it back into our laps, using the same measurement that we gave it with, only pressed down, shaken together and running over. If you judged someone a little bit, you are getting much more right back in your face. Not from the enemy, but from God.

Whoa! Remember some other scriptures that speak of pride? The idea is that God is with the humble, but He is the enemy of the proud. Jesus said He judges no one. Paul said not to judge, to wait until the end which is when Christ returns. Yet we do it all the time and we think we are under a generational curse or something when the cause of it all is simpler than that. It is condescending, condemning, gossipy, competitive judgement of other people.

It could be as simple as making fun of somebodies accent, economic status, car, home, education or mannerisms.

Or it could be something more, shall we say "religious." Scientists tell us that we are made mostly of water. But I believe we are made mostly of opinions. When someone believes differently than we do, we often judge.

I'm not talking about the non-negotiables. We all know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that nobody can enter into eternity with the Father except through Him. People who don't trust Jesus for their salvation exclusively, are not heading for heaven, but rather, they are heading for eternal destruction and it has nothing to do with how good or how bad they are.

What I am talking about are the legalistic things. Do you judge someone who drinks? I hope not! Should you drink? I don't. I don't think it's wise, but I'm not going to be more strict with others than what the Bible is. The Bible says not to get drunk. It doesn't say you can't drink. What about wearing a bikini? Do you think someone who wears a bikini is going to make it to heaven or not? Hey don't laugh. I just had this conversation with someone the other day. Seriously. Being a Pastor has it's moments. The Bible says to be modest. Is there such a thing as a modest bikini? I have personally seen many two piece women's swim suits that are more modest than many of the one piece suits I have seen. The thing is that we can all be very legalistic and religious in our thinking. What about tattoo's, movies, going to bowling alley's (my Grandmother would roll over in her grave!), etc. etc. etc.

I was in a country in Eastern Europe and the prevailing thought in the Church is this. If you wear gold jewelry, you are in the same category as a prostitute. If you wear silver jewelry, you are saved, but barely. If you don't wear jewelry at all, except maybe a wooden carving of the cross, you are a solid and strong believer in Christ. Wow! They also think that youth should not jump during worship because it's demonic.

I'm not trying to define or defend what is right or what is wrong when it comes to styles. I went to a Christian school as a kid that didn't allow us to part our hair in the middle because that was "worldy." My goodness! They also didn't let us listen to the Christian Rock Band "Petra" because they were Spirit filled and some of the folks thought that the Holy Spirit stopped working on the earth generations ago. They thought we were delusional or possessed. :-)

For those of us who have chosen to do some things that others have not and you believe that you are right before God, go ahead. But just remember that you are supposed to choose to not dress in a way that offends others and you aren't supposed to drink your mojito around people who would be offended, no matter how silly it is that they would be so torn up about it.

But for those of us who struggle with judging others, a group that often includes me. Let us take ahold of the Word of God, stop blaming the devil for our disasters and realize that when we judge, we receive judgment and we are simply reaping what we have sown. Our lives will immediately improve if we allow the Lord to change our attitudes and put our words into check.

Don't judge, or you will be judged.

50 peso's of Hope

I have been on my knees praying for resources.. We have all been on our knees here in the Philippines praying for resources. These are financially trying times for sure. But I found out something the other day that gave me amazing hope and perspective in midst of my fleshly panic storm. Someone has been sending 50 peso's a month to my cellular phone provider towards my bill. Now 50 peso's may not seem like much to you, it is a little more than one US$. But here in the Philippines, many people work 3 hours to make that dollar. If you live in America and make a very typical $20 per hour, that would be the equivelant of a $60 monthly donation. If the Spirit of God moves on someone to give a "widow's mite" (see Luke 21:2), then I know He is working in other hearts as well. He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. One wise proverb explains that "God is seldom early, but He is always on time." Amen!

Fire Update - Miracle upon Miracle!

The fire at TFI San Juan/Tabernacle of Faith Christian Academy was a major event. It was all over the local news, there were several Youtube vids and it has been the talk of the town. We thank God that He spared the 1st and 2nd floors which are the primary areas of the school. Only the Sanctuary (3rd floor) and the Mezzanine (sort of a 4th floor) are destroyed by the fire.

We have been awaiting findings from professionals about the structural integrity of the building and we have been told by the independent Structural Engineer that the structure is in good condition. We of course will proceed with a complete retro-fitting along with the reconstruction of the Sanctuary and Mezzanine floor. The Fire Department has given us initial clearance to resume classes and we plan to do this on Thursday as long as clean up has progressed well enough by then. It's looking good!

The plan as of now is that construction will take place only when school is not in session, this for the safety of our students. For example, if everyone is out of the building by 4pm every day, then construction begins at 4pm and goes into the wee hours of the morning.

If this plan turns out to be viable, then this eliminates the need to rent or purchase an additional site, which we have no budget for. This is a majorly great thing! :-) God is putting all the pieces together and because we have such an awesome workforce of teachers, admin and staff, and because we have amazingly supportive students and parents, I can see that everything is going to be great! Genesis 50:20 tells us that what the enemy means for harm, God intends for our good and the saving of many lives. The vision of TFCA is to raise up leaders who will affect society for the glory of God! The enemy cannot stop an entity with this kind of vision! Amen!

What we need is financial help. Though the building is insured, all items inside such as sound system, chairs, air conditioning, carpentry and such are not. This is long term help. But we also need short term help in the expenses for clean up, supplies, extra labor, damaged learning resources and electronics, etc. In the short run, we need about US$20k. In the long term (6 months to 1 year), the estimate will likely exceed US$100k, though it is impossible to get an exact figure at the moment.

If you are so led to make a donation, please E-mail me at pastorstevemckinney@gmail.com to receive the details on how to do this. We have a peso bank account specifically set up to receive donations for this project in the name of TFCA at MetroBank in the Philippines that you can directly deposit to. You can send to Global Evangelistic Ministries (GEM) through the mail in the United States and receive a tax deductible receipt from them. You can direct deposit into my account at any Chase Bank nation wide in the USA and TFCA will issue you a receipt in peso equivalent. You can also use Western Union, Money Gram or Xoom.

But even more importantly, we need prayer. Prayer for favor with city, insurance company, construction professionals, suppliers, finances and strength. For continued favor and an encouraged spirit and positive disposition in everyone involved.

Thank you everyone!! More miracles are on their way for sure!!!