When Joseph was imprisoned for not submitting to Potiphar’s adulterous wife, he was put in Pharaoh’s prison, not the county jail. Being in that prison, he was in proximity to the throne on which Yahweh was preparing him to rule. Since there was a purpose in being in that place that aligned with his destiny so intricately, it is appropriate to really say that he was in Yahweh’s prison. Even […]
Category Archives: Kingdom
Maturity, Responsibility, Authority
I have become deeply convinced that the level of our maturity should not be measured by how large our following is, or how deep our revelation is, or how powerful our miracles are. I believe that the only reliable measure of maturity is the responses we have to situations. The quicker we are to respond with something that has its source in the fruit of God’s Spirit, the more mature we […]
Humble Empowerment
Some of us may be surprised that we take what our King has invested in us (talents & minas) to Heaven with us without having invested it in anything ourselves. Paul, to the congregations in Philippi, wrote in what we call chapter 2 of his letter that they should have the mindset Jesus had. He was humble. He emptied Himself. He became a slave. He died for the cause. Paul made it […]
Entering the Kingdom, or Going to Heaven 3
What Jesus said to the rich young ruler (Luke 18:22, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21) was, “Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.” What He said about the rich young ruler was, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) […]
Entering the Kingdom, or Going to Heaven 2
“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’ “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. “‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go. “Which of the two did his father’s will?” “The first,” they […]
Entering the Kingdom, or Going to Heaven
Being confused about the nature and of the manifestations of the Kingdom of Heaven, many have effectively closed the doors of the Kingdom to those who want to enter it. By not having knowledge that could open the doors, they have left them closed and hidden. Jesus promised a curse of woes to lawyers who were doing this in Luke 11:52. Issues related to the future include whether I will live […]
The Congregation in the Real World
Disciplines, or, as John Wesley would call them, “means of grace,” are activities (or refrains from action in some cases) that can put us in a position or a condition in which the Holy Spirit can work in us and/or for us more easily or more deeply. They can help us focus or communicate (both speaking and listening) by insulating us or preparing us for an exchange with God. They […]
Who Are You Mad At?
A woman was in my office this week who was dependent on county-funded, chartered transportation. She was brought from a nursing home in a van, and the van driver left to go deliver others elsewhere. When she called for a pickup service to take her back to the home, she was not satisfied with the van that was sent, so she refused to accept the ride. She spent the next […]
Discerning The Word of the Lord
The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence. In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread. 1 Samuel 3:1 Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 1 Samuel 3:7 Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let nothing he said prove false. All Israel from […]
Til Your Warfare is Accomplished
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be […]