Pioneering

Let Us Arise, Yet Again!

There is so very much more than we are experiencing in and of Christ Jesus. There is so very much more of the Kingdom of God than we know or understand. There is so very much more of life in the Spirit than we are living out on a daily basis. There simply is so very much more yet to do and that needs to be done; I for one, long to know, do and experience the more. I also am haunted by what I have known, have accomplished or think I know. I also understand how tempting, as I get older, it is to remain in what I have come to know and experience.

What I mean is, that what I have known, done or think I know of Christ Jesus and the Kingdom of God, seems at times to get in the way of the more. It gets in the way by having captured my attention, my heart and the battles that were for or needed to contend for it has passed. Yesterdays victories become all too easily today’s excuses. As I look forward to the more, this means more battles, contending, more stretching, more dying, more of that which we already and all too often resist in our growing in the Lord Jesus Christ. This looking forward seems to be less and less attractive when I honestly consider the cost of the past. While I know that nothing of what life and ministry has cost us compares to that sacrifice of Christ Jesus, it still, for us remains a very tangible, real and essential counting of the cost. We have given our all so many times, yet the call remains, to surrender our all yet once again.

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Categories: A Genuine Heart Cry, Abiding, Absolute Dependency, Anointing, Awakening, Belief System, Believer, Body of Christ, Breaking Forth, Calling, Character, Christian Maturity, Church, Commands, Confidence, Covering, Dependency, Dying to Self Will, Edification, Empowerment, Encouragement, Exhortation, Faith, Family, Father, Fear of God, Flesh, Following Through, Foundations, Genuineness, God's Faithfulness, God's Love, Grace, Healing, His Chosen, His Gift of Love, Holiness, Holy Ghost Burdens, Hope, Humility, In Spirit and In Truth, Inspiration, Light, Ministry, Mother, Noise and Distractions, Now Word, Obedience, Persecution, Perseverance, Pioneering, Prayer, Priorities, Process, Promises, Readiness, Relationship, Rest, Resurrection Life, Righteousness, Sacrifice, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Self Justification, Selfishness, Selflessness, Separatism, Simplicity, Spiritual Fathers/Mothers, Spiritual Warfare, Standing in Faith, Steadfastness, Tenaciousness, Thanksgiving, The Lord Jesus, The Lord's Fullness, The Power of God, Timing, Truth, Victory, Wind of the Spirit, Witness, Word, Word of God | Leave a comment

I’m No Scholar, I’m Just a Guy

Acts 4:13 (NKJV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

I can think of no greater compliment than that one was recognized as having been with Jesus. I believe that for me, this is genuinely my goal in life, to become one who is recognized as having been with Jesus. To become one whose life was so changed and impacted by the Life of Christ Jesus that while my other deficiencies may be noted, Christ Jesus is still readily visible and evident in and through my life.

 As was true of Peter and John, I would find myself, in regards to ministry, as fairly uneducated and common. I come from a line, albeit brief line (grandpa, dad and myself), of uneducated and common men who loved the Lord and believed that Jesus had called them to follow Him and so they picked up their Bibles and did so.

 My grandfather was saved out of the Navy shortly after World War 2 under Amy Semple McPherson’s ministry. He believed that he was called into the ministry as preacher of the Lord Jesus. He bought a tent, a flatbed truck (to use as a platform for services and to haul the tent), picked up his Bible and went preaching the Word of God.

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Categories: A Simple Faith, Abiding, Absolute Dependency, Anointing, Authenticity, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Being Built Up, Belief System, Benefits, Body of Christ, Breaking Forth, Calling, Christian Maturity, Church, Churches, Confidence, Dad, Dependency, Empowerment, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Father, Following Through, Foundations, Genuineness, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Growing in Faith, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit Benefits, Holy Spirit Hearing, Holy Spirit Listening, Holy Spirit Seeing, Hope, Humility, illumination, In Spirit and In Truth, Inspiration, Ministry, Ministry Motivation, Now Word, Obedience, Open Ears, Open Eyes, Openness, Pastor, Pioneering, Prayer, Preaching, Priorities, Process, Promises, Reflections, Relationship, Rhema, Righteousness, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Simplicity, Source, Speaking in Tongues, Spirit, Surrender, Teaching, Thanksgiving, The Power of God, Theology, Training, Transcendence, True Love, Truth, Vulnerability, Waiting on the Lord, Word, Work of God | 2 Comments

Reflections Of An Earlier Season

Genesis 12:1 (NKJV) Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

I was just reflecting upon our life in the ministry and specifically the very early years. It was in those times, seemingly so long ago, that my wife and I helped to pioneer several churches and restart a few more. It was interesting because when we began, we had little if any money, resources or support and absolutely no training, at all. I worked in construction and pastored bi-vocationally for many years off and on. Even then, it was still financially very difficult.

As the years went on, pioneering churches seemed to catch on more and more in other denominations and church organizations. It became much more institutionalized and structured. Money became more available for what now was called, planting churches, as did other resources such as training and relational support systems. All that we see today, including the books, conferences, etc. just was not available back then.

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Categories: The Lord Jesus, Anointing, Dependency, Worship, Confidence, Foundations, Righteousness, Following Through, Steadfastness, Churches, Work of God, Isolation, Faith, In Spirit and In Truth, Calling, Simplicity, Source, Word, Grace, Mercy, Intimacy, Surrender, Abiding, Empowerment, Communion, Priorities, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Thanksgiving, Thankfulness, Sacrifice, Obedience, Being Built Up, Holy Ghost Burdens, Christian Maturity, Remembrances, History, Authenticity, Reflections, Church Planting Days, Pioneering | Leave a comment

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