You Are In!

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Daniel

I grew up in Spokane Washington. As a teenager I became aware of the gang activity in the area. Of course it was no where near as bad in Spokane as it is for many other urban areas but, nonetheless, it was traumatizing as a teen to hear about how these gangs would drive around with a baseball bat and when they found someone who was wearing the wrong color they would send out the newest members of the gang to beat them up. It was terrorizing to hear about some of the violent things they would talk about like giving smileys (curb-stomping) to their enemies.

I liked a recent thing I heard Dr. Who say, “An enemy is just a friend you don’t really know yet.” The Quakers have a saying, “AN enemy is someone whose story you haven’t heard yet.

If you see this gang roaming the street, run for your life!

If you see this gang roaming the street, run for your life!

At any rate, I can understand how people who are surrounded by this sort of culture causes them to feel like you had to be part of the biggest baddest gang just to survive (like life in prison I would imagine).

I hated this violence and avoided all violent people. For some reason though I was attracted to the idea of having a group of people, a community that you felt like you could belong to. I even started wearing a white bandana with my few friends because, to my knowledge it wasn’t associated with any gangs. This was a mistake as all gangs seem to have claimed all the colors… except maybe pink? That would be hilarious! I don’t think anyone would take them seriously.

One day I was standing out in front of a 7-11 gas station and I watched as a truck saw me, yell something and turn around back toward me. I ran back into the alley. (Tip: If someone is chasing you with ill intent, the alley is definitely NOT the place to go!)

Once back in the alley I literally believe that the angels were coaching me. “Now get up on that dumpster. Ok, now jump up onto the roof. Lie flat and keep still.” So I did.

I watched from the roof of the 7-11 as two guys ran back into the alley after me. Dumbfounded they said to each other, “Where’d he go?” God was watching out for me.

My best friend’s sister was really drawn to the sense of belonging a gang could provide. She so wanted to belong to community, a family that accepted one another just as they were, that looked out for each other, who “loved” each other, and would protect and stand up for each other… Isn’t that what we all want?

In this gang, the way that they would initiate new members was to “beat them in”. I remember well the day she was beat in. I was at my friends house when she came home from the hospital. Her faced was black and blue and all puffy. As soon as she was able to move again, the first thing she did was to call up one of her gang member friends and say, “Am I in? Am I in?”

It broke my heart the other day to think about this story and about that deep need we all share to belong. Then, Jesus spoke the following words into my heart and dropped the following image into my mind:

“You Are In!”

the-passion-of-the-christ

Jesus was “beaten in” on our behalf so we could be a part of the most amazing family ever! A family that knows you and even all your faults and accepts you anyway – though they might just love you SO much to not let you remain in sin! This is a family that has your back, looks out for you, protects and stands up for you, values you, and truly loves you. You belong! You are in!

P.S.

If you haven’t found the joy of that sense of belonging in the church (the body of Christ), I would recommend finding a Christ honoring, bible believing church in your area. Smaller fellowships (home groups) that meet through the week are awesome for developing a deeper walk with God. Check it out! Go become part of a local church!

But be sure to pray about it! God will lead you to the right place where you are a perfect fit. If you don’t fit somewhere, don’t lose heart. Some churches may not be as passionate about the same things that God has made you to be passionate about. You might not be able to plug in and use the gifts God’s given you. If that is the case, consider moving on.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.” Where is he leading you?

Categories: Church | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazing Testimony – Robby Dawkins

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Daniel

I love this guy and I love this story.

I do pray Robby gets his millions… you’ll know what I mean if you’ve watched the video. Don’t you just love this?

Here is some more back story:

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Forgive Like There’s No Tomorrow!

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Daniel

Cuz… there just might not be… a tomorrow that is.

Our NEW Song “Forgive”:
Forgive, new Reflect Worship Song Please Read Our Previous Post Introducing the Song Forgive HERE

Yesterday I watched this talk by Hector Black about forgiving the man who had brought such great pain to him and his family after he murdered his adopted daughter. It was a powerful talk and not to be missed! Please watch it:

Wow right? Can you believe how that story ended? That was amazing! How could that even be possible?!?

I don’t pretend to suggest that forgiveness is ever easy. Our wounds may run very deep. But God’s love and grace can run deeper still and by his grace we can experience a “peace that passes all understanding”.

Forgiveness frees us from being tortured by the wounds others have inflicted upon us. And then by extending this forgiveness to those who have wounded us, we have the power to release the offender from the hell of their dark prison cell and into the redemptive comforting light of Christ. Yes, there is truly no one beyond the reach of his redemption.

Are you or I prepared to annul Christ’s sacrifice for any lost and wretched soul?

I am planning in future blog posts to talk about all those lost and wretched souls in Scripture who had found forgiveness with God and became trophies of God’s grace. It never was about us anyway, but about displaying the profound mercy and grace of our loving heavenly Papa.

Manasseh is one of the most profound examples that shows us the extent of God’s forgiveness. He had murdered hundreds of innocent people and terrorized Israel as its most wicked king for fifty some years. He even sacrificed his own children in sacrifice to demons and was lured into the power and seduction of sorcery. He finally reached out to God from a prison cell and God forgave him! Not only that but God restored him as king! With his last few remaining years as king, Manasseh encouraged everyone to worship God. But, the nation of Israel still had to suffer the consequences of his past choices. Yes, sin still may have some unavoidable consequences. We all know this.

Paul the apostle who was essentially the ISIS of his day hunting down and murdering Christians was shown mercy and then made the spokesperson for the Christian faith to all the Gentiles.

King David had one of his best and most loyal friends killed so he could have his wife! Yet he was shown mercy and God said of him that he was a man after God’s own heart.

The list goes on and on.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORGIVENESS

So, how important is forgiveness? According to Jesus it is absolutely vital to healthy spirituality both for this life and for eternity. Jesus said,

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 NLT

This has a positive and negative side. Have you ever considered the positive side? If you do forgive others, you can be assured that your sins are forgiven as well! Breathe a sigh of relief all you forgiving people reading this right now! You are forgiven!

The negative side and sober warning here is that if you stubbornly hold a grudge and refuse to forgive others then you will not be forgiven your sins. (Have you never read Matthew 18:21-35?) And if you die in this condition? I shudder to think what that would mean for you.

This is why it is Christ and the angels top priority to work forgiveness in your heart while we are still alive. He is on the job! Our job is to cooperate. Be the pliable clay in the hands of the Potter.

Who do you need to forgive from your heart today? Talk with Jesus about it and work it out, You’ll be grateful you did!

Psalm 103:4 says, “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (ESV)

Need more inspiration about this issue of forgiveness? Read our previous blog on the topic! It has a list at the end of more blogs I’ve written on forgiveness.

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Forgive, New Song from Reflect Worship

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Daniel

Forgive, new Reflect Worship Song

Forgiveness. Nothing can heal and even protect our heart from all wounds like forgiveness. In fact, nothing else ever will. And though forgiveness is vital to healthy spirituality (and our salvation) let’s not pretend that it is easy.

Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Where is the justice in just letting someone off the hook? To let them walk free after what they did to me? To forgive their debt? Where is the justice in that?

Well, one needs to look no further than the cross to find the answer. The justice for all wrongs and wounds was meted out and inflicted upon the LORD Jesus Christ as he was brutally tortured and nailed to a suspended wooden beam to suffocate in agony. His heart literally exploded from all the pressure and stress and strain of not only the physical torture he endured, but also of bearing the hellish torment of every sin ever committed. Because he loves us that much Jesus experienced the hell (the justice) that you deserved. He experienced the hell (the justice) that those who have wounded you deserve. He forgave us once for all at the cross and so, he asks us – No, he even requires – that we forgive those who have sinned against us.

Here is our latest song Forgive:


(adapted from a poem by Rosamond Herklots)

This song “Forgive” is about how forgiveness is such a vital element of the Lord’s Prayer:

“…forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” Luke 11:4 NLT

Do we think about the fact that we are asking God to be as forgiving to us as we are to others? Hmmm… that should make us stop and ask ourselves, ‘God, is there anyone I am not forgiving? Will you help me to learn to forgive everyone fully from my heart?’

Jesus was once asked by his disciples:

“Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NASB

I think about that as it relates to forgiveness as well. I would suggest that apart from a move of God and a profound act of grace from God on our behalf, it would be impossible to forgive. But with God…

I think about my friend Jon Stoffel. As they were out for a family outing, Jon, his wife, and his daughter Olivia were shot in a random act of violence by a distraught man. Jon and his daughter were killed and his wife survived. His last words to his wife in his parting moments were, “Forgive the shooter.”

I think about the families of the nine victims who were shot and killed by Dylann Roof in the South Carolina hate crime shooting who, by the grace of God, extended forgiveness to him. “This is how we deal with hate crimes”, they said. What the devil intended for evil God turned into good as the healing message of forgiveness went out across the world.

I think about Jesus last words to those who crucified him:

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NLT

I think about Stephen, the first martyr, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit was able to say in his last moments:

“Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” Acts 7:60 NLT

I don’t pretend to suggest that forgiveness is ever easy. Our wounds may run very deep. But God’s love and grace can run deeper still and by His grace we can experience a “peace that passes all understanding” and extend that peace to others.

Who wouldn’t want that?

forgiveness kitten

I have written many other blogs on Forgiveness. Here are a few of them:

One of my favorite quotes about forgiveness:

‘Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.’ – Anne Lammot

Categories: Forgive, Forgiveness, Redemption, Reflect Worship Music | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

The “Share Your Story” Challenge

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Daniel

You have to watch the video below. It is of my friend Nathan Wheeler. I have been following his story over the past year as he has shared his testimony through videos on Youtube. He is one of a kind. I have never heard someone be so real and share so openly the truth of all he has experienced of God and his search for God in his life. He has had a heart problem for awhile now and over a year ago he died for a short time from his heart condition while in the hospital and was in heaven for what seemed like a half hour or so. He was instructed by four angels to share what he calls his testimonial. It soon became my favorite “TV show”. (I blogged about this HERE)

In his testimonial he talks about his interactions and relationship with God from a very young age. He was terrified of death and was seeking a way to avoid that. As a young boy he attended a “straight-laced everything in its place suit and tie” church and wasn’t convinced they had anything worth having. You all know what I’m talking about. Hypocrisy. People never even reading this book that they claim is God’s Word. Lack of excitement and enthusiasm and joy. Boring, dry, driven by sense of duty and obligation church.

His search led him to plumb the depths of other religions in search of God and the truth and a way to avoid death. He discarded those religions in which he could spot fundamental flaws in like Mormonism and Islam and some of the other whacked religions. His search led him to explore Buddhism because Buddha didn’t claim to be God and it promised enlightenment which he believed could be a way to avoid death, until he plumbed its depths to the point where the local Buddhist monastery wanted him to come and teach them! He came to realize it was empty. He then explored New Age and Toltec shamanism and plumbed its depths until he realized they were a magicians trick to deceive and manipulate and control. He finally found Christ (even though he had experienced him powerfully on an earlier occasion) in video 8 of his series. On the verge of tears he said that his experience of the love of Jesus so far out shined anything, any joy that life had to offer, or any other mystical spiritual experience he had ever had in his entire life!

Nathan was just in the hospital with a blood clot in his neck. If the blood clot moves, he dies. He has internal bleeding from some kidney stones and had just filmed the following video with what may very well be his last days on this planet. Please stop right now to pray for him and then listen to his encouragement and challenge here:

Will you join me in this challenge to publicly share your faith, your story with the world? I am going to start to film and share my story – my experiences and encounters with God. Will you make this idea of sharing your faith as viral as an ice bucket challenge? Will someone help me out here and repackage this challenge so that more people will actually do this?

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (NLT)

ps. If you want to watch Nathan Wheelers testimonial visit HERE (I suggest picking it up in video 8 if you don’t have the interest or time to go through his entire journey. I understand, you have other shows that require your attention.)

A word from Nathan:

It’s time we start telling people about all the ways He has blessed us and brought us onto our faith!

The enemy wants to silence those who share the Joy of the Lord. We must not let fear, illness, age, gender, race, profession, or the sins we struggle with to keep us silent any more. If you are a “believer” you have two things you are joyously obligated to do…

1) Share the good word and baptize in the Name Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. (Jesus the Messiah)

2) Tell your testimony of what God has done in your life. If your saved but weren’t always a believer, tell people the things that made you believe. If you’ve always believed then tell people why you continue to believe regardless of life struggles. If you weren’t always walking right and then got right with the Lord… tell people what changed. This is how other people will grow in God and believe.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing alone… if you allow the devil to keep you silent, how will other believe?

The struggle is real… the blessings of His Truth are too. See both in this video.
Thank you and please share this if it blesses you.

Categories: Following Jesus | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

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