The River of Life

Posted on by

Kingdom life requires that we enter into life as the King has decreed. God in his personhood holds a space and declares a way that life is to be and comes about, and it is as we enter into this way that we begin to experience kingdom living.

Too many times though, we mistake the Kingdom way for nice platitudes or rules and regulations. It is very easy to miss the heart of the kingdom and when we do this, we miss out on the legacy of the kingdom in our own lives.

The best way that I can describe it is that the kingdom of God is like a might river. The waters are clean and cool, refreshing and energizing. These waters run through many lands, past many peoples, nourishing the nations. These living waters clean us, restore us, heal us. These waters wash away the grit and grime of our lives. In these waters shame and guilt are removed.

Continue reading →

Addressing the Roots of Difficulty and Despair

Posted on by

At CCIM we are called to address the roots of difficulty and despair. Instead of trying to fix the bad fruit of our lives, our communities, and our nations, we go right to the heart of the matter by breaking down strongholds in the spirit realm, by leading in repentance and honesty before the Lord, and by teaching individuals and communities to stand in the gap for their people in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CCIM at the roots

Leadership Lesson Four – Relationships before Productivity

Posted on by

Those who gravitate to leadership are often those able to make things happen. Those who ‘do’ among us are rewarded and given positions of responsibility and authority. And yet any leader who wants to continue in respected positions of leadership must learn that at the heart of all great leadership is an ability to relate with people. John 13:34-35

Now, many of us would shake our heads ‘Yes!’ as we hear this, and yet what happens when a relationship goes bad? What happens when we are given the choice of choosing productivity or relationship?

Sadly, particularly when we are immature, we often choose the productivity rather than working to right any relationships. And yet, relationships reveal the heart of any leader. Matthew 5:23-24

Continue reading →

Capturing God’s Heart – Identified With Christ – Volume 37

Posted on by

Identity is important. Who we know ourselves to be brings stability and confidence to our lives and how we walk out our days.

Because identity is so important we are easily fooled into identifying with the wrong things. We know of course about those who identify themselves with a licentious lifestyle. We know those who identify and live out drugs and partying and drunkenness and we know that these identities will lead us to death and destruction. So we know to avoid this and to find our identity elsewhere.

Continue reading →

Come Now, Let us Reason Together

Posted on by

I see the veins of sin deeply planted in our lives. Not outright blatant sin but the more difficult brokenness’ that stem from our hearts. I look back on my own life, seeing what I now know to be unhealthy decisions, manners of being that led to no good thing, and I see these same subtleties within my children and if I could fly back over the generations I would most likely see many of the same things in the years gone by.

There is as corporate and communal an aspect to sin as to anything and I am quite aware that this brings us to either deeper humility or compounding condemnation.

The latter, this place of heart and soul whereby we place our own sense of condemnation onto others only serves to make matters worse.

Thing is, we’ve all sinned. We are sinners.

Yet because of Jesus Christ this need not bring us to personal despair or to condemnation of our fellow human beings. Condemnation simply reveals our still sin-riddled consciences. Why else would we lash out at others?

Grappling with our sin-state and sin-habits and sins-past we have two choices. We can remain in horror and regret or we can come into the grace of Christ. We can’t do both. The cross demands that we choose.

As a minister of prayer it has been my privilege to stand alongside many, many brave souls as they bring their lives into the grace of Christ. It is hard but liberating work and this opportunity of witnessing freedom and love poured out from God’s heart to theirs has changed me as much as my own personal healing prayer.

I’ve seen healing. I’ve seen freedom. I’ve seen regrets washed away in the blood of Christ. I’ve seen burdens of guilt and shame brought to the cross and heaved off and left there. I’ve seen condemnations changed into compassion.

 

What we don’t readily realize is that dying to ourselves is as much about dying to our regret as anything. Have you died to regret? Have you brought your shame and guilt and regret to the cross?

These things, regret, guilt, shame, are their own addiction. If we do not loose them off at the cross of Christ then we will go on to worry over them, to fret over them and to nurture them in an odd sick way. If we do this they grow and compact and it won’t take too many years until their poison will seep out into every single other area of life.

It shows up in condemnations and control of others; where we have not yet met the grace of Christ we will demand others to a higher standard than we ourselves have lived. It shows up in pride and an inability to relax, to give way, to allow the Lord his gifts in our lives.

When we live or minister out of compounded regret we become toxic people incapable of the truth of the gospel.

We will sneer at the flirting women. We will reject the beggar man. We will avoid the prostitute.

It shows up in our pride of effort, our beliefs in disqualifications; instead of being innocent till proven guilty we assume guilt until proven innocent. Suspicions rise based on the state of our own hearts.

Wherever our hurt has been this will become our condemnations. Fathers will demand their sons to be perfect. Women will demand their daughter to get their act together. Pastors will demand unity and make purity an idol.

The cross of Christ, however, cuts through all of this. Cleanly. Wholly.

If we will allow it. If we will come under it and receive it’s work in our lives.

I’ve been thinking about Barabbas lately. Because of Christ Barabbas walked away a free man that day.

The worst of all of us walked away. The worst in all of us, freed.

Now Barabbas would have known that he deserved the death penalty and I wonder if he allowed this extravagant gift of life to penetrate his heart, his regrets, or his shame.

If he did allow this Christ-exchanging-grace to penetrate he would have gone on to live a different kind of life. If he didn’t allow it to penetrate he would have gone on to live an even worse life.

It is the same exact choice we all have every single day. Will we allow the grace of Christ (a grace that transforms us from the inside out) to penetrate our hearts and minds, spirits and lives?

To do so we must lay down regret, shame, and condemnation at the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We then take HIM on, God in all his glory and presence, we enter into the fire of God and allow the dross of our hearts to be burned away.

Condemnations get burned up in the presence of God. Defiling assumptions of others cannot stand the heat.

We find compassion, we live in compassion, we give compassion to everyone around us.

We find forgiveness, we live forgiveness, we give forgiveness to everyone around us.

Christ brings to our communal experience of sin this communal experience of grace. To live out the gospel of Christ is to also bring this communal experience of grace into all of our interactions and relationships. We extend the same manner of God himself, understanding (Isaiah 1:18), compassion (Galatians 6:2), forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32), a generosity of heart and mind (1 John 2:6).

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

 

American Pastor Saeed Writes Easter Message as a Prisoner in the Darkness of Iran

Posted on by

Stunning and beautiful and Oh So True! Christ calls us to two things, to enter into life unimaginable and to die, to pick up our cross and follow Christ; what is He asking you to die to today?

Are We Theorists or Practitioners of Unity – The Proof is in the Pudding

Posted on by

We must be practitioners of unity rather than preachers of unity. This of course holds true of anything we might relay. The question must always be asked, “Am I a theorist of this or am I a practitioner of this?”

Theorists have knowledge and information and often a very strong desire toward something but they do not have an appreciable personal experience of what they teach; they have not yet personally succeeded towards the actual thing they so desire.

In the coaching world this is often the dilemma at hand. When coaches are working from theory they are incapable of taking their clients all the way through, so to speak. In contrast to this, when coaches are working from the perspective of a practitioner, one who has his or her own mastery of which they coach, they have the fine-tuned insights and wisdoms of those who have been there.

And this makes all the difference in the world. As a coach I have coached from both places. When I coached as a theorist I put all sorts of pressure on my clients to get what I vaguely alluded to. The undercurrent to my coaching was a sort of desperation for them to move forward so that I might be validated. This is awful, crazy kind of pressure to put on people.

When I coach as a practitioner I bring to the table and create a space of ease and confidence that encourages and empowers others. I know they can progress this same way, I know the inner workings, I know the path from beginning to end, and it makes all the difference. As practitioner my coaching is not heavy or combative but light and refreshing.

In translation and in regards to pleas of unity coming from within our churches and from our pulpits it is imperative that we look beneath the words of those who are preaching unity and perceive whether they are speaking from theory or from practice.

Theorists of unity are marked by a burning desire to see unity and they speak of it often. Yet theorists of unity often demand unity and there is an underlying pressure for the ‘people’ to get it. What is not understood by theorists of unity is that the moment one demands unity, unity is in fact broken.

Practitioners of unity are also marked by a burning desire to see unity but they speak of it rarely for they are too busy taking on 100% responsibility for the environment of unity around them. They are learning to be nurturers of unity and in turn become master growers of unity as do their people.

It is akin to parents with their toddlers. Imagine as a parent of a young child berating them to talk, “Talk damn it.”

Does the child in this kind of environment learn to talk sooner or later? Put under emotional pressure and under the fears of the parent that, “this child may never talk” the child regresses. Talking, this natural growth process, is hindered by the over-bearing and insecure admonitions of the parent.

The same goes for demands (or pleas or well-crafted arguments) of unity. Instead of nurturing unity these demands merely inculcate underlying fear, apprehension, anxiety, and a pervasive sense of failure. Unity cannot grow in this environment.

The ones pleading for unity in this way are often those ill-equipped to dispense it.

I write this today so that we may all take heed of theorists of unity. They will make you feel very bad. And it will be your fault. Avoid this at all costs.

In contrast practitioners of unity nurture respect, give honour, and invite differences. Consider the following.

Practitioners of Unity Refuse: 

  1. To set people up against each other
  2. To keep people small
  3. To be great (and don’t make a point of talking about not being great)
  4. To have secret conversations
  5. To have things their way
  6. To discount the opinions and experiences of others
  7. To humiliate and discredit others
  8. To put others on the spot
  9. To make excuses or cast blame

Practitioners of Unity Do:

  1. Listen well and with an intent of understanding rather than responding
  2. Invite varied opinions with an eye to strength found only in diversity
  3. Welcome tension as that creative space where humans thrive and grow
  4. Receive from what others are bringing to the table
  5. Work to establish safe spaces gauged by answers to this simple question, “Do you feel safe?”
  6. Determine their effectiveness based on the fruit – the proof is in the pudding, how good does the pudding taste?
  7. Continually work to increase gladness of heart in all interactions and situations
  8. Give and act in dignity and honor to all people
  9. Take 100% responsibility for the state of unity about them

I write this because I am concerned, as I work with pastors and churches in many places, that unity is an oft misunderstood Biblical command.

Within the church we too often seem to focus on the outer signs, and in some cases bully, to ensure veneers of unity rather than doing the hard work in ourselves as leaders to become agents of unity. And the difference is found in the fruit. God never said, “Make others be in unity with you.” Simply put we would hate to be preaching unity when we haven’t yet found it ourselves.

As leaders, no matter where or what we are leading, we must lead as practitioners. If something that you are working at is not working for you, is not ‘coming round’, then you are probably leading as a theorist. Stop and take the time, as much time as it takes, to become a practitioner. The change and resulting impact will prove to be profound.

Capturing God’s Heart – Love – Volume 36

Posted on by

I write these God’s Hearts as the Holy Spirit leads me. I don’t have an agenda of topics chosen months in advance, I simply write in accord with the Lord’s leading. And these last few weeks I’ve been brought back to the central truth of God’s love for us and am compelled to pass that on.

It feels to me that the Lord wants to remind all of us that while we are working and serving alongside the Lord in His kingdom that we must not forget how much we are loved.

Continue reading →

Refusing Grace is Refusing Christ as Focusing on Sin Clouds our Site of God

Posted on by

It is impossible to be at peace with God if we are not at peace with ourselves. This is why integrity and honest living is so absolutely necessary.

We are told a number of different places in the Bible that it is not God who is standing apart from us, but rather that it is our sins that are in the way between us and God.

Consider Isaiah 59:1-2, ” Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God.”

God himself says, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

He is saying, those sins of yours, the things you are ashamed of, the mistakes you’ve made, the actions you would rather forget about, bring them to me, don’t hide them behind your back.

When we have sins hidden behind our back we know about it. We cannot escape the fact that we are hiding things.

Our conscience is well aware that something is wrong.

But it is not so much the sin that is wrong, it is the fact that we are hiding the sin.

Christ came to take care of the sin. Sin no longer needs to hold any of us. This doesn’t mean that we will live perfect. What it means is that we no longer fear sin. We don’t cater to it; we don’t give it attention any longer.

Rather, we turn toward Christ with our sin in hand and turn it over to him. We give Christ our sin.

This is what he died for and why he came. If we do not take him on his word and deed then we are rejecting the cross and rejecting Christ.

Sin isn’t the problem any longer. Refusing to live in the grace of Christ is.

Leadership Lesson Three – Let Your Yes be Yes and Your No be No

Posted on by

To become a trusted and respected leader we must be straight-up with others. This means that we don’t play games with our words, we don’t lie or cover over things, and we don’t manipulate to get what we want.

To deal dishonestly with people may seem a solution to some problems but it is short-term thinking. Dishonesty of our words and intentions will always come back in a bad way. We want to make decisions out of integrity with others and ourselves.

Integrity is a word we use to indicate the strength of something through and through. For instance, imagine a board, a piece of wood made from a tree. Imagine that you want to use this board to make a stage to stand on. Now, to stand on a stage the stage must be made from good boards.

Continue reading →

Pastor Irene

Posted on by

As I’m thinking ahead to another ministry trip to Uganda I am remembering Pastor Irene in Iganga. She is a beautiful and powerful woman of God. Her heart and ministry have been forged through the toughest of circumstances and testings (as do most great things).

In the early days of her ministry, after the Lord had clearly directed her to Iganga, she tells of inquiring of God what was to be her influence and gifting. And the Lord gave her Jordan.

Jordan as we know it from the scriptures is the river that Nahum washed himself in seven times to be healed of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14). Jordan as Pastor Irene knows it is a small pond of water about five minutes walk from her home and the church that she pastors.

I was told story after story from others that had gathered the same time I was there about how they themselves had come and dipped themselves seven times in this Jordan and had found healing. One woman had breast cancer and came and dipped and the cancer disappeared.

I’ve been to Pastor Irene’s place twice now. The first time was just for a Sunday service and lunch afterwards (along with this visit to Jordan as you see here). The second time I stayed a couple of nights and days.

While Pastor Irene moves powerfully in the Spirit the area in which she lives is darkened by oppressive spirits. It is hard to be there, and yet she by her faith and obedience in the Lord knows it is her work to declare his presence in that place.

The last afternoon of my ministry time alongside her there had been much worship and celebration and prayers in the Lord. Pastor Irene herself was spent as God poured through her and onto others. She then got down on her knees and with arms raised cried out, “If only someone would come and pray over me.”

I know how she felt. I’ve been there. Pouring out to others, giving and giving some more and then wondering how might I be encouraged as a leader.

Within a seconds time I realized that I was the one to pray over her. So I went and put some olive oil on my hands, the same they had been using for everyone else, and I went to her and touched my hands to hers.

There was all sorts of rolicking in the spirit then. I cannot describe the incredible privilege of anointing and praying over this amazing woman of God.

(did I mention that every time I am there she washes my feet and blesses on me too – this receiving from each other is called mutual submission and is the hallmark by which unity in the body happens)

Now, when I pray over someone the Lord gives me the words to say and an image in my mind’s eye of what to declare for him or her. Here on this warm afternoon in Iganga it was the same. There had been something over her since childhood, darts of some kind in the spirit realm, and so in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ is simply spoke these away and soothed her wounds with the oil of the lamb.

In clear terms, I spoke against the bad stuff against her, and I spoke God’s peace and healing and refreshment for her (Matthew 18:19). It was a lovely time. We ended up on our knees together on the dirt floor and simply fellowshipped in the Spirit together and as a witness to all those in attendance.

When I think of returning once more to Uganda, this time to many more places than I’ve yet been, alongside many other leaders, I recall this simple ministry to Pastor Irene. In many ways this sums up the work that I do. Leaders, no matter what country, are giving out in enourmous measures.

They are the communities healers, wisdoms, teachers, preachers, prayer warriors, and encouragers, and who is to encourage them? Who is to lift them up and refresh them in the Spirit of our Lord?

At CCI we are bringing spiritual refreshment first to leaders and then to their congregations. It is a work that touches beyond our minds and into the depths of our hearts. God, in his mercy, delights to refresh us and I am simply honored to stand alongside agreeing in the Lord to this work over his many servants.

In this same vein, many blessings to each of you today. May the power of our Lord, His peace and grace and touch of life and wisdom break in upon your days in increasing measure. We simply agree together saying yes and amen to the touch of God in all of our lives.

Come Lord Jesus Come.