The Good News

Some time ago, I was studying Paul’s writings to the church in Ephesus in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy.  As I read through the aging apostle’s writings I was struck with his fascination of what he called, “the blessed Gospel.”  Here was a man who had seen and done it all for Christ.  He had matured as much or more than any man had in Christ, and yet, here he was, absolutely fascinated with the power and beauty of the Gospel!  I was pierced by my own flippancy toward what is “the power of God to us who are being saved.”  I had viewed the Gospel as something for non-Christians to hear, and for new Christians to make their foundation, but beyond that we should mature into something greater.  I’d been a Christian for years.  Yet again, I was confronted with Paul and his childlike adoration of what Jesus had accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.  Was it possible that I had far undervalued the enormity of what it meant that God Himself had become a man— to die, and then be raised from the tomb after three days?  What incredible wonder is this that the Creator would enter His own Creation simply to let them kill Him— just so He could have them???

Over the course of the following months, I was struck, stunned, astounded, and driven to my knees in awe and gratitude over what Jesus Christ did for me, for us.  I had never known how complete His work truly was, and why He was able to utter, “It is finished,” until that period of time, and my life was revolutionized once again.  All it took was one moment with God, when He opened my eyes and I saw what He’d done, and everything became clear:  ”It is finished.”

In two and a half weeks, at FireUP be.loved 2011, Jesus will be the center, the essence, and the everything of this event.  The Good News will be proclaimed, and lives will be changed.  I hope yours is one.

 

A Heart That Burns

A few years ago, I went to an event of a similar nature as FireUP, and it was at that event that I heard a man speak of something that so burned in my heart that it brings tears to my eyes to this day as I speak of it.

The preacher was a man about fifty years of age, he spoke with a burning passionate love for Jesus, and a conviction that what he spoke was Truth.  In his message, he told a story of being a man in his early twenties.  He was at a conference with about three thousand young people, the same age he was, and the man speaking asked the young people there to commit to live a life faithfully burning before the Lord.  And at that conference three thousand people in their early twenties responded to commit to a life of faithfulness before God.  They celebrated together dancing in worship before God.  Three thousand young people.  Commitment.  Dancing.

As I sat and listened to this fifty year old preacher tell this story, I was wondering why the tone of his story was tinged with sorrow.  He paused after telling of the dancing, and the commitment all three thousand had made.  His voice caught in his throat as he said, “three thousand young people, dancing…  and now, thirty years later, after trial, hardship, and time, of those three thousand, all that are left is a handful.  A handful out of three thousand that still dance, and burn before the Lord.”

Something in my heart tore open.  How grievous!  That at a conference, everyone is ready to live for Jesus, and when they get back home, life gets in the way.  Friends don’t want them to change.  Parents are uncomfortable with this new passion they have.  People wonder why they have to be so radical.  It’s like a wet blanket is being thrown on them… and the fire begins to fade…  Not right away, but slowly over time.  Soon a year has gone by, and they return to the conference where the year before they had committed to burn for Jesus, and here, a year later, they’re a bedraggled wreck, storm tossed and tattered on the sea of life.  How sorrowful!

So, as much as I love conferences, and watching people worship with passion before Jesus, what I love even more is when I meet one.  One person who wakes up in the middle of the night crying out for God to move in their city.  One person who walks with integrity in spite of the response of their friends, family, and workplace.  One person who sets all of their life aside to spend a couple hours everyday with God in prayer and in the Word.  I love conferences, and dancing masses of people, but I’d trade it all in a heartbeat for one.

So when we designed this event, the thrust was to lead people into an encounter, a personal meeting, with the Living God.  But we refuse to let it end Saturday, August 20th.  It must carry on throughout the year.  It’s not enough to get excited once a year at a big conference!  Jesus is exciting everyday!

But we can’t do it on our own.  We need the company and support of the family of believers. Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs. So, get involved in a church, a small group, a discipleship group.  Get tied in with people who will push you deeper and deeper into God’s burning heart. Find a friend that will commit to pursue Jesus with you, and commit to each other to hold the course.  My hope is that each year, as you return to FireUP, you’ll come back stronger and more in love than when you left the year before, and that throughout the year you will enjoy the strength and encouragement that comes from being a part of a local church body.

Because we know that resources are at a premium, we’re providing access throughout the year to weekly podcasts, devotionals, and books that will challenge you to continue to burn with love for Jesus— one day at a time, all year long.  That access will be provided for you when you sign in at FireUP be.loved in August.  See you then.

In hope,

Charlie

…but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

The last time I felt the Lord move me to write was almost two years ago.  The things happening in my heart were involving the disappointment I was having regarding a promise God had given to me about the leadership of FireUP (I have had dreams of speaking at FireUP since 2003.)  A year before I wrote about hope deferred, I had shared my vision with the Board of Directors of FireUP and had been rejected.  I knew God had promised this to me, and my heart was broken…  I was hurt, angry, frustrated, discouraged, everything I wrote about in those two blogs…

And now almost two years to the date after I wrote the first of those about my disappointment, we will be hosting our first ever FireUP be.loved and I have been charged with being the director.  The Lord did a mighty and amazing work to bring this about.  So what I want to share with you, is the path I had to walk to get here…  While I won’t share all of the details of the last three and a half years, what I will tell you is this:  Jesus is the dream, and whatever the current assignment he has you in, if you’re found faithful with that, he will entrust you with the potential he has planned for your life.

When God gives us these dreams, these promises, these hopes for our lives, He is giving us a potential we can live up to, if we walk faithfully with Him in love and obedience in what He has given us to do.  Our coming into His potential for us is dependent upon our abiding obedience.  Jesus spoke of the importance of abiding in His love, and how obedience and abiding are inseparably yoked together, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:10-11)  See, there isn’t joy apart from abiding in his love.  And there isn’t abiding in his love apart from obedience.  Joy, love, and obedience are all inseparably bound together.

So my point is this:  you can walk in the fullness of joy, and in the fullness of His love, long before you ever step into the full potential He has for your life.  If you’re waiting for circumstances to change before you walk in His pleasure, you’re falling more in love with an assignment, than you are with the Beautiful God who gives that assignment.  So establish yourself now in a deep and intimate love relationship with Jesus, walk in obedience in your current assignment, and He will bring you into the potential that He desires for your life.  That is the part that’s up to us.

But the truth of the matter is, He is the only one who gets us into the promises He has for us.  Over the years, we give up so many times, we complain, we stumble, we want to walk away, we run out of strength, and it is God, all God who finishes the good work He began in us.  The only thing we do is let Him pull us along in love and obedience.  And when we come into the promise he gave us, we’re so awestruck by His ability to get weak, broken, and powerless people into a glorious destiny that only He could create, that we’re humbled to tears at His kindness and sovereignty.

So now, FireUP.  To be honest, a lot of circumstances have changed in the last three and a half years.  We have a baby girl, Elisa Joy.  We bought a house.  We have another baby due in December.  I’m the Associate Pastor of Water’s Edge Church.  I’m the Director of the School of Life and Ministry, an equipping discipleship program in Marquette.  And I’m the director ofFireUP be.loved.  And I still work at Babycakes Muffin Company, a coffee shop downtown.  And I can tell you honestly, that while my joy has increased, the source has been the ever-increasing awareness of His pleasure in me as I walk obediently in love before Him.  He is just so kind, so good.  I’m so thankful that He kept me, and brought me into this time of life.

I’ll be writing the Director’s Blog here over the next months, both to keep everyone updated on our progress, but then as a resource for people who’ve attended the event to continue to go deeper with God throughout the year.  It’ll also be continually updated on the SLM website.  I look forward to this season God has for us together.

Hope deferred (Pt. 2)

The next part of disappointment that I have been chewing on is this:  we’re so used to “surrendering everything to God,” that we often take the promises of God and stop believing that He is going to fulfill them because somewhere along the line, we hoped, and it didn’t happen and so we “surrendered” it —right into unbelief.

It’s like this:  we get a word or a promise from God.  Something we’re super excited for.  For me it was the ministry God had before me.  Three years ago I got a word that it would happen around Thanksgiving time.  Well, let me tell you, that Thanksgiving three years ago was the least thankful givings I may have ever had.  So anyway, I “surrendered” my dream, my promise, my desire to the Lord and told Him, “fine, Lord, I’ll just stay in my job for the rest of my life, and I won’t think about the ministry thing again!”  So I tried and I tried to forget about this dream, but it haunted me.  I was believing for revival in my workplace (still am), and trying to surrender this dream and give it back to God that I might get His desire for my life.  There was just this one problem:  The very promise I was working so hard to give up, was the very one He was wanting to give to me!

See, we get promises from God, that He wants us to joyfully and excitedly expect to be fulfilled.  Then, when they don’t come how and when we thought they should, we get disappointed and beat ourselves up for ever wanting anything from God other than His Presence, and we try to surrender ourselves right back into holiness.  Only it’s not holiness that we’re surrendering into—- it’s stupidity!  Here’s why:  God gave us promises to be excited about, promises that He fully intends to fulfill.  But because we are so afraid of being disappointed, we stop believing Him, just to protect ourselves from being let down again.  We actually slide into unbelief because of our fear of disappointment.

What God would have us do instead, is to draw near to Him (see Pt. 1), and taste and see that He is good.  When we have tasted of His goodness, faith arises once more for the promises that have been given to us.  See, when God gives a promise, He wants us to excitedly believe for it, and watch for it, celebrating its arrival even before we have it.  When disappointment comes, we are to press into Him, and through the disappointment, to maintain and actually grow in faith of the promise that just days ago we were ready to abandon!  It is not God’s desire that we would abandon His promises for our lives because we’ve been disappointed by their (in our esteem) untimely arrival!  It is His desire that we would rejoice in His goodness as we continue to let faith build in us, knowing that God is good and that good is on the way for us!

We have two options left to us:  One, because of our fear of disappointment, to not allow ourselves to hope for anything, and to maintain an even keel at all times in the name of “surrendering everything to God,” and by doing so live a life with no faith and no impact and no disappointment.  Two, to live such a radical life of faith and hope, that we are unwilling to let our own disappointments hinder us from hanging on to the goodness of God and of the promises that He has given to us!  I would rather be disappointed a thousand times and yet live with such great faith that mountains move, rather than live a life without faith, never tasting of disappointment again and leaving no mark on eternity whatsoever.

Hope deferred…

I think something that most of us are at least semi-familiar with, is the feeling that through our own failure we have somehow let God down, and coming back into restoration can be a bit of a process.  As in the case when David sinned and it took the prophet Nathan to rebuke him to restore him to his rightful place.  Or when Peter denied Jesus, it took Jesus chasing him down on the beach and restoring him there.  When we fail, it hurts.  It’s hard to look God in the eyes when we feel we have disappointed Him.  (Check out Saturday night’s message by Pastor T.  www.marquettechurch.com.)

Beyond that, I’ve spent the last couple years walking through something slightly different, but equally as challenging.  Because I think it is even harder to look God in the eyes when we feel that He has disappointed us.  When we have been faithful, and haven’t stepped into sin, even more, we have done everything that He has asked of us to do, and what we had hoped for is deferred.  It makes your heart sick, for real.  When your dreams seem to get farther and farther away in spite of your faithfulness.  When your hopes and dreams and promises from God seem to come so close, and the moment that you think you are going to step into them, disappointment.  

In my mind, all it takes to overcome my own failure is humility and brokenness, and a willingness to let God bring restoration.  That’s not too bad.  But when I feel like God has failed me???  When I feel like the One that I am supposed to run to is actually the One who has broken my heart???  What to do then?  

I believe what we do in this moment is what qualifies or disqualifies us to actually step into the fullness of the promise that God desires us to step into.  The question before us is this:  Do I love the promise more than the Presence?  Because when God has not released my promise, and I feel He has disappointed me, if I value His promise more than His Presence, I will be offended by Him and will begin to harden my heart and let my own feelings keep me from the depth of relationship that we once had.  Let me repeat that:  when God has not released my promise, and I feel He has disappointed me, if I value His promise more than His Presence, I will be offended by Him and will begin to harden my heart and let my own feelings keep me from the depth of relationship that we once had.  And as soon as I begin to harden my heart, I have begun to believe the lie that God is not good toward me.

But!!!  If I value God and His Presence with me more than the promise He gave me, then I will surely go directly to Him and express my disappointment, discouragement, hurt, frustration.  I refuse to accuse God of doing anything wrong, because He hasn’t.  But this is a genuine, “God my heart is broken, and even though I know you haven’t, I still feel like you broke it.” moment.  And in this honesty, in this humble brokenness, sometimes after a little while, He comes.  When our heart has shone itself to love His Presence more than his promise, and the refining has taken place, Jesus comes.  He doesn’t speak, He just arrives.  To be with me.  I tell you there is no promise that can compare to the ecstasy of being with God in a room.  No blessing comes close to the joy experienced when He sits beside you and your body trembles because the One who created it now has wrapped His arms around it.  The Promise to desire is this:  that we, get to be, with God.

If you have experienced disappointment with God, and it hasn’t been on your end (if it has you need to repent, and get back on track), then right now you need to get before Him and pour out your heart to Him.  Don’t accuse Him, that’s just dumb.  But tell Him how you’re feeling, and what you had hoped for, and how much you want to have the intimacy with Him back.  Pour out your heart before God and don’t stop until He comes.

[More to come]

Mustard seed

When the seed of faith is first sown into our heart for salvation, it is but the mustard seed that Jesus referred to that would move a mountain.

When faith springs up in our heart, it is but the smallest morsel of what will eventually take over the garden of our heart.  Jesus said that the mustard seed, though the smallest, would take over the garden and become the largest plant growing there, well He knew what He was saying when He called faith a mustard seed.

It is God’s intent that faith would continue to increase and grow, and become the support system that holds up our entire way of life.  

The faith that you now possess may be but a small, but growing, seedling, that will one day be so strong, so great, that it will have taken over your heart entirely.  Do not despise the day of small beginnings of faith.  

Be encouraged in your faith by dwelling in the place of what God is doing, and what He has done, and thanking Him for it.  This will be your encouragement as to the measure of your faith, even as you watch it grow.  Nurture your faith by holding fast to the testimony of your life that is Jesus living within you.  Water your faith with the encouragement of the promises of God over your life that will be fulfilled.  And such, that which was once small and seemingly insignificant, will soon be that mighty tree that has conquered all that once tried to choke it.

Good God

I have been spending a lot of time of late pressing in for a deeper revelation of God’s goodness.  In this pursuit, I have been dreaming with God often, and immediately one of the things I find springs up at me is the accusation of being prideful or “fleshly” in my thinking, hoping, or dreaming.  This is the subtle fear of being arrogant, or presumptuous that has kept us so long in the bondage of safety and ineffectiveness.  I become aware that the enemy has a wily tool with which he keeps these brave brazen dreamers captive.

I realize, though, that throughout history, the Scriptures are full of men and women who were altogether normal, they just had a huge idea of how good God is, and how much He wanted to accomplish through them and with them!  I allow myself to continue dreaming, and listening as God makes known the wonders that are ahead for our lives, and again, the “cautioning” from a well-meaning Christian, “just make sure that’s not the flesh talking.”  Well, when was the last time the flesh came up with an incredible idea for advancing the Kingdom of God?!?!

I believe that God in all His incredible goodness, graciousness, and excitement is just waiting for someone, anyone to take a jump in faith of how amazingly good He is.  If “by faith they obtained the promise,” then who will be bold enough to believe God for all His goodness and abundant blessing?

God wants to bring revival to cities across the globe.  But finding anyone who believes for it in their city, and then lives accordingly is astoundingly difficult!  ”His eyes are roaming to and fro throughout the earth, searching for a heart that is completely his.”  Who will be found full of faith as it comes to the fulfillment of the goodness of God and His abundant desires for our cities and our nation?  Who will be the one that will know God as He truly is, and by faith obtain the promises that He has.

The great harvest is yet at hand, but so is the great falling away.  ”Will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when He returns?”  

O Lord, that you would find it in abundance in me.  May my heart expand, and my mind submit to the enormity of your goodness, and your desire to bless your people.  Lord, let your promises fall not on deaf ears, but upon ears that hear, and mixed with a heart that believes, find someone that will boldly declare what you have in store for your people.

Faith

There are times when we feel ourselves step from the “Platform of Faith”, and begin down the “Slide of Discouragement and Frustration” with ever-increasing speed toward the “Wallowing Pool of Despair and Disappointment.”  

It is as though, as we stand atop the platform, we see the many disillusioned believers who have gone before us into the stinking cesspool of Disappointment, we feel almost compelled to follow.  In fact, some have even set up pulpits in the Pool preaching their doctrine as to why they are justified in their Wallowing.  We feel the line of Christians growing behind us and pressing forward to have their chance to stand atop the platform.  They press forward, straining to have their chance to stand in Faith.

Oddly enough, there seems no other way off the platform but down, down into the depths of dissatisfaction and disappointment with God.  But shockingly, there are some scattered platforms above the platform on which we stand.  The ladders to get to them are not visible, but some people are perched atop these platforms for sure.

In fact, there seem to be people climbing in mid-air!  Clinging to something, but to what it is can’t be seen!  There stands John G. Lake’s platform–healing that changes a city.  And above the platform on which we stand climb great men of God.  Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, Reinhardt Bonnke.  Men and women who have laid hold to something–but what?

They too once stood upon the Platform of Faith that we now find ourselves precariously clinging.  But they, rather than follow in the footsteps of those Discouraged brothers before them, laid hold of God by faith.  They began to boldly climb the “Invisible Ladder of Faith” to the Throne of Grace, sometimes violently, sometimes like a child.  They grabbed hold of God’s infinite goodness, and His abundant grace, and they plunged ahead.  Upward, onward.  They had cast off all selfish pursuits, and desired nothing but God.  God in His Glory.  Either one lays hold of God and who He is, or they believe according to their own experience.  To live according to our lack is to slide, to live according to who God says He is, is to climb.  These above were unwilling to slide down Discouragement and into Doubt, but instead believed God for Whom He claimed to Be!  Good!  Gracious!  Abundantly Loving!  And they climbed!  They left a trail for us to follow!  

For any who might be unwilling to have anything less than all of God, there is a Ladder.  It is Faith.  It is full certainty in what God says about Himself being Truth.  And then we climb.