The first Thanksgiving took place when the settlers at Plymouth had a three-day feast with the Wampanoag Tribe in 1621. This event marking the first real successful harvest was a break in the hostilities between the two groups that lasted for decades and led to the ultimate decimation of the Wampanoag tribe and the loss of lives of hundreds of settlers.
In several recent holidays, I have been grateful for broad efforts to honor service members’ valor and patriotic dedication. At the same time, I have been struck by how many Christians’ thinking about such topics is a hodgepodge of cultural traditions (accepted or rejected to varying extents) but largely disconnected from biblical truth—and a historical understanding. I invite you to join me in reflecting on a few items regarding our nation, the Kingdom of God, and our role as dual citizens.
There is something that the Old and New Testament believers possessed that I’m convinced is missing in many believers of today. It’s living and moving in the Holy Spirit. In fact, living and moving in the Holy Spirit is referred to over 270 times in the Bible. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit does not seem very important today, even in charismatic circles. This understanding was foundational to the early church: Acts 17:28 (ESV)
The following is an article that Cheryl wrote for a Christian Women’s virtue magazine back in 2004. She spoke on this topic again last Friday night at our Friday Shabbat service. Enjoy!
I was meditating upon the majesty of God today and suddenly, I received a revelation of why it is so necessary for the day we live in. Lets first lay a background for where we are going. The first scripture I want to look at Is Isaiah 6:1-8
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
I included the entire Psalm because it is such an incredible portion. It shows God’s intent and care for those He has created in His image. One of Satan’s schemes is trying to convince us that God is not near but actually non-present when I’m in despair or when I feel alone is abandoned. Nothing could be further than the truth. He is always present. Verses 7-8 prove this.
The term “seeking the Lord” is a common catchphrase in the church but have we ever considered what it really means? The modern Christian culture puts the emphasis the other way around, that God seeks us out. Although there is the truth to that, there is a danger that the gospel becomes “me” centered and not “Christ” centered. In this blog, we will examine a few verses to try to understand why it is so important to God that we seek Him. The first verse I want to look is a well-known verse from Isaiah 55:6-7 (ESV)
Today, we finished cleaning out the 66 Waverley facility with 22 years of items to either take with us or discard. We are so grateful to all those who have helped us. It would be dangerous for me to name all those who helped us, but the Lord knows who you are. However, special thanks to Victor and Laura Lugo who were our special assistants in giving direction. Watching you all work last Saturday, especially was the best gift any of you could have given this pastor. In all my 45 years of pastoral ministry, I had never seen so many work in such harmony and unity to get the job done. An atmosphere of love was so present, and I couldn’t help but think that the Lord was pleased. Psalm 133 came to mind.
There is a major sensing that this year’s “Rosh Hashanah” will bring major changes from both a prophetic and global perspective. Time will certainly tell if this is true but it would seem that our world is demanding change. The dates of this year’s Jewish New Year begins this Sunday at sundown and will end on Tuesday, September 27. We can read about “Rosh Hashanah” in Leviticus 23:23-25 (ESV)
I imagine they would need to remember that promise over and over because being used by God to birth something brand new is often incredibly lonely and difficult. They along with the Apostle Paul, were foundational to the “mystery” that was about to be revealed, the church. Tradition tells us that every one of the disciples would die a martyr’s death. All except the Apostle John who was most likely the youngest of the disciples who walked with Jesus. Jesus said this about him in John 21:22 (ESV)
Does putting Jesus first allow me to live life as I please and treat people any way I like? Is it correct to call oneself and “follower” of Jesus or a “Christian” yet never crack open the scripture or even spend one minute in prayer and believe you’re putting Jesus first?
In the late 1990’s, Cheryl and I traveled to Argentina with team organized by Ed Silvoso. We had a truly awesome time and we learned so many things that remain a part of our ministry philosophy.
One of the principles we learned is that of “spiritual mapping”. Spiritual mapping involves a study of any given area and understanding what Lucifer has done to defile the area thus limiting the flow of God to bless the given area. Both God and Lucifer are into real estate and there is a cosmic battle raging for control of the area. Lucifer first waged war in Heaven then according to John in the Book of Revelation, chapter 12 was cast down to the earth; verses 7-12 (ESV)
I want to start out with a blog from our dear friend Susan Hawkins who writes a blog daily. The Lord has really had this topic of “tithing” on my heart for the last several weeks as I have tried to objectively examine it without guilt or condemnation. I loved Susan’s approach that “You can’t outgive God”. Susan wrote the following from Luke 6:38.
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
If you have seen the movie “The Passion” by Mel Gibson, you might remember a scene when Jesus was on His way to the cross on the “Via Dolorosa”. He stumbles by the weight of the cross and while He is on His knees while regathering Himself, He says to His mother “you see mother, I make all things new again”. Although it’s nice scene and is indeed what Jesus is doing, the verse is way out of Biblical context. That verse is actually from Revelation 21:5 and is spoken by the Father;
From Salome
“As I woke up this morning I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit alert me to an URGENCY for Watchman to come into POSITION and the BODY of Christ to TRIMM their lamps and to be READY, for we are to discern the TIMES!
I continued hearing and writing….
I wanted to expand a little further on what I spoke about last Sunday. Why? Because it is imperative that we get this right before the last great move of the Holy Spirit! There is a portion of Scripture in the Book of Genesis that is a fascinating read. It is the first “special forces” rescue and recovery in the Bible. Apparently, sometime after Lot had moved to Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities were taken captive during a war with the neighboring Kingdoms of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim.
Charlie just sent Cheryl and I a word that he recorded on his Rumble channel “School of Bass, Treble & Troubled Prophets, Vol 4”. I will set up the prophetic word with the following verses from Janes 1:2-8 (ESV)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
When Cornerstone moved into its present facility over 22 years ago, I sensed the Lord telling me that we would know when He was done with us and would have another place ready for us to go. Well, that notification came last Thursday when our Muslim landlord asked us to be out by the end of August (he later changed it to September after my dear wife asked him for a month extension). After letting the shock pass, we both began to get excited about the future realizing that the Lord in constantly moving to increased levels of glory, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV)
We had the privilege of knowing Kim Clement and his team since the middle of the 2000’s. I had filled in for him one night while we were in Oregon at a Steve Schultz’s “Elijah List” conference. He came to Frederick as a return favor. However, we hosted Kim and his team a total of three times in the Frederick region. It was always a powerful time. Little did we know that so many of his words were so applicable to the present-day scenario. In the process, Charlie Jordan, Kim’s bassist became a very good friend of ours. In leu of Charlie being with us this Sunday, I thought it would be great to include one of the last prophetic words he spoke over Cornerstone. Enjoy it prayerfully and be sure to come Sunday to hear Charlie both play and speak. Here is the word from Kim.
There is an awful price that one pays for disobedience. The Scriptures are full of examples of such. Not only does disobedience bring broken relationship with our Lord, it always fills the heart of the disobedient with tremendous anguish. The closer one walks with Jesus, the deeper the anguish of the broken relationship when one sins. Perhaps the greatest example of this in the Old Testament is King David. David had spent his entire life worshipping the Lord. He had spent countless hours under the stars as a young shepherd boy perfecting his craft both as a worshipper and a warrior. Psalm 144:1-2 is a record of how David understood this.
