2019: Shake Off The Snake

Acts 28 New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul on the Island of Malta

28 Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2 The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.

3 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4 The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” 5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6 The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.

7 Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. 8 As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. 10 As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.

I sense that there is a word here for us concerning 2019. I believe that there have been things that have been driven out because of the intense heat of the fire that have attached themselves to us. There have been things that have wanted to distract and take our focus off of the Promise, off of the Word, off of the prophecies. There have been things that have wanted to distract us from community. There have been things that have wanted to destroy community. 

These things have wanted to create chaos in our lives. They have wanted to stop us to the point of even wanting to kill us and the promise. 

I sense that 2019 is a year to shake off the snake, just like Paul. Shake off that which so easily besets us. This is a year where we must shake off the snake and keep on going, just like Paul did. 

Paul kept doing what he knew he had been called and created to do. He kept doing the will of God. He kept flowing in the healing wave. As we keep doing what we are doing, honors will be showered. Respect will be showered. Our needs will be supplied. 

We must understand though, that the snake needs to be shaken off first. God will do what He promises. 

This snake has been a test for us. Are we going give in to the attack or are we going to look at the attack and shake it off? 

Let's do the latter: shake off the attack and keep moving forward.

The Wilderness & The Spirit

Wilderness seasons. Ever have one? Or two? Or many? No one is exempt from having them. Dry seasons where we don't "feel" the closeness of God can be confusing and frustrating. Dry seasons where we don't "feel" the anointing like we used to.

Maybe that's the whole issue. We rely more on feeling rather than simply trust that God is there.

Sometimes we view the wilderness as punishment rather than viewing it as the place where the Holy Spirit leads us to.

The wilderness is the place where we put into practice what we have learned concerning the Presence of God. We say that but when we are in the wilderness, we forget that.

Luke 4:1
Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil.


We have to begin to look at things differently. The Holy Spirit graciously leads us into dry seasons, wilderness seasons so that we grow and mature in our faith and trust. I love what the Amplified Bible is saying.

1) Jesus was full. - Are we full? Are we filling up on the good things of God in the fruitful seasons of life? It is so important draw close in the good times because that is what we will need to draw upon in the dry wilderness times of life. If I don't fill myself in the good times, there will be nothing to draw upon when I am in the wilderness seasons.

2) Jesus was in perfection communication with the Holy Spirit. - This is key. I need to be sensitive and responsive to the Holy Spirit and that comes from being in communion with Him in the good times. If I trust the Holy Spirit in the good times, then shouldn't I be able to trust Him in the dry times?

3) Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. - Jesus wasn't afraid of the wilderness. The dry seasons aren't anything to be afraid of if I truly trust that I will be led THROUGH the wilderness. The wilderness is NOT my home. It's NOT my dwelling place.

There have been many seasons that have been dry-like in my life. There have been seasons of doubt, frustration, questioning. There have been times where I have had to toss everything I've believed up in the air, re-evaluate my belief system.

Just because I am in a dry season doesn't mean that I am less anointed. It has nothing to do with that. Maybe that is how anointing grows and matures.

Maybe that is how our relationship grows with the Holy Spirit.

We will be tempted. We will go through trials. The Holy Spirit WILL NOT keep us from them. He will actually lead us to them. That is why we need to have the Word of God deposited into our lives so that we have something to draw upon in those seasons of temptation and drought.

Jesus didn't despise the wilderness. He welcomed it.

Luke 4
14 Then Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread through the entire region. 

We all love this verse because Jesus came up out of the wilderness in power of the Spirit. What we don't necessarily appreciate or want to think about is the HOW He came filled with the power of the Spirit. The power only comes one way and that is going THROUGH the wilderness experience.

He embraced the dry season, the wilderness. He didn't fight it.

Let's be like Him and walk through the season we may find ourselves in.

Am I Missing Out?

I think we have had a wrong perception of the Holy Spirit for many generations. The enemy of our souls has lied to us concerning the Holy Spirit. How? He has tried to teach us that we miss out on what God wants to do. He has told us that if we aren't where we are "supposed" to be, we can't get what God is doing in a specific place.

How is that possible when the King of Kings lives on the inside of us?

Hos is that possible when the Holiest of the Holy lives on the inside of us?

Is God not able to make sure that you get what you need no matter where you find yourself?

Is God not able to make sure that you get what you need, whether you are at this church or another?

Is God not able to make sure that you get what you need, no matter the circumstance you find yourself in?

When we believe the false teaching of "missing out", we are simply reliving the Fall back in Genesis.

The enemy of the soul said to Eve, "Did God really say...?" He was suggesting that God was holding back things from them.

When we believe that we are missing out, we are agreeing that God is holding back from us.

This is not how the Holy Spirit operates. This is not how the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Spirit lives on the inside of us.

There truly is no "missing out" when we truly understand that the Holy Spirit is forever breathing on the inside of us. When I am in relationship with the Holy Spirit, He is forever making sure that the oil is flowing over me and then I am in position for receiving.

It's not about what church you are in!

It's not about who the speaker is!

It's not about what songs are sung!

It's about the connection between the Holy Spirit and us.

Did the blind man miss out? How about the lame man?

When Jesus showed up, the blind man was there ready for encounter.

When Jesus showed up, the lame man was sitting there ready for encounter.

We must understand that Jesus approaches us with healing in His hands. I'm not missing out! You are not missing out!

The Holy Spirit ISN'T Limited By Me

The Holy Spirit is so much Bigger than I can ever imagine. This may seem like a strange statement to make or to launch from. But it is Truth. The Holy Spirit in operation is so much deeper than my physical response. He is ever so much a Gentleman. He is known as THE Comforter. He is known as THE Intercessor. THE Helper.

He is UNLIMITED in nature. He is always at work, whether or not we can see it with our eyes.

The Anointing, being a byproduct of the Holy Spirit, can not be contained. I am so thankful for that. If the Anointing depended upon me, how scary would that be. The Anointing is 100% dependent on the Holy Spirit.

Can the Anointing be held back by a mere person? If that is the case, the Anointing would never be released.

Where is the focus? Is the focus on me OR is the focus on THE HOLY SPIRIT? 

Am I that powerful to keep the Anointing from being who The Holy Spirit is?

Wow....

That's a scary thing to think of...

The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is incapable of being limited by me or anyone else. Sure, if I don't open the gates and let the Anointing flow through, that's one thing.... but one thing I know about the Holy Spirit, He will make sure the job gets done. He'll flow through someone else.

And even if I don't allow the Anointing to flow through, guess what? I'll learn a quick lesson because I know that when the Anointing is released through my life, things happen. Let's say that I do hold back and the job gets done through someone else. When I see how blessed they are because of obedience, it will cause me to be obedient the next time. Why? Because I will want that same blessing in my life.

I don't think the Holy Spirit is as concerned as we think He is. I don't think He is legalistic in nature whatsoever. He is our Teacher. Allow Him to teach us.

When Faith is Shaken...

I read an article about a well-known worship duo who have recorded music over the last few years that actually made me sad. The husband has now declared himself an atheist. The wife is struggling and has now decided not to identify with Christianity. I want to first state that there is no condemnation or judgment in what I am about to write. I do not know these people however it does break my heart.

It causes me to ask this question: How does one end up coming to this conclusion? What causes people to have such a crisis in faith?

I look back over the course of my life and find that there have been many crisis’ of faith. There have been many struggles, many circumstances that have blindsided me.

There have been times where I have questioned who God was in the situation but I must say that I have never thought of turning my back on Him.

It will be 10 years ago this coming February where I had a huge crisis of faith when my niece was diagnosed with cancer. It shook my world. It rattled my cage. It broke my heart. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I was weakened by such a tragedy. There were times we came close to losing her.

I remember reaching out to my family of faith when I couldn’t or didn’t have the faith on my own. I listened to songs for comfort. I learned quickly that I needed to bury myself in my relationship with Jesus. I knew I couldn’t do this on my own.

Thankfully, my niece beat the cancer. It had nothing to do with my strength or faith. It had everything to do with trusting God in the midst of the dark season of the soul. It helped me develop my faith and make it stronger.

Seven Years ago, my Dad was diagnosed and ultimately was defeated by cancer in a 13 week battle. Again, an earth shattering experience, faith shaking experience. Was I mad at God? Yes, for a while. It hurt to lose him. That was a hard one to face. I had believed that God was a God who healed. I had believed that God was a good God. I had believed that God was for me and not against me. I had believed that God loved me.

So if God was all of those things, why did He allow my Dad to go through this battle and lose?

It didn’t seem fair.

It wasn’t fair, if you asked my finite mind.

In the end, I came to this conclusion: My Dad still got healed. It just didn’t happen the way I wanted it to.

And here lies the issue. I try and figure out the ways of God. I try to dictate to God how He should do things.

It’s not wrong to question God BUT the longer I stay there, doubt will take over. Doubt in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Did I doubt God in these two examples I shared? Yes. But I also allowed my doubt to propel me into trusting God. My doubt caused me to make a choice, a decision. I choose to believe.

I choose to believe that God is a God who heals EVEN THOUGH healing didn’t come the way I wanted.

I choose to believe that God is a good God EVEN THOUGH it seems like things are falling apart.

I choose to believe that God is for me and not against me EVEN THOUGH some of my connections may change.

I choose to believe that God loves me EVEN THOUGH I give Him plenty of reasons to turn His back on me.

I’ve had too many experiences to let go of.

I’ve had too many encounters to let go of.

I’ve come too far to turn my back on God now.

Where could I go to get away from Him?

I know that in the last days there will be a great falling away. I don’t want to fall away. I need to stay plugged in.

I don’t want to sing about Him. I want to sing to Him.

Psalm 139:7-12

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[c]hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall ^[d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness ^[e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Even when I don't think He's there, I have to believe that He is. When I can't feel Him, He's there. 

How else do I think I got to where I am today? Did I do it on my own? No.  

In the end, I have to surrender my doubts and questions and place them at the Feet of Jesus... at the foot of the Cross. 

I have to trust God. Period.  

Jesus told a parable of two men who built on 2 different kinds of foundations. One built on the rock, something stable and secure. The other built on the sand, which is not stable and secure. Both looked the same until the storm came. The storm reveals much about the foundations. Either we will be found standing after the storm or else we will be destroyed after the storm. 

I must take the time every so often and consider the foundation. I must go back to the foundation of my faith from time to time and examine it. 

 

I pray for this husband and wife that they will encounter God in such a way that will change their hearts and minds toward Him. I pray that even in the midst of questions and doubts that those questions and doubts will propel them into a place of trusting God rather than turning their back on Him and forget their identity.

I pray for myself that I will guard my heart and mind and not allow the enemy to bring me to that place where I lose sight of the important things and turn my back on God.

I pray that we all will keep the fire of First Love burning in our hearts.

Long Time; No Post

So it has been a long time since we have posted on this site (2 Years). I'm not all that faithful to it. I hope this will change.

God has done some amazing things in the last little while for me and Staircase Ministries. We brought our Saturday Afternoon Gathering to a close after a 3 1/2 year stint. Though this was difficult at the time, God has been faithful at every turn.

There have been some awesome opportunities to share at my home church. I was honored to share a few weeks ago on the topic of "Come Weary...Go Rested." I think we have all been there from time to time where life seems to weigh us down and cause us to be weary but we must never forsake the coming together to the House God has joined us to. We need the local body. We need the local church. I love the local church. I thank God for the comfort, the strength and the joy I find being connected to the local body.

I will be speaking in a few weeks in another church which I am totally excited about. I plan to share a message "Have A Seat". How many times do I get riled up, angry, frustrated and want to fight battles that I know deep down I can never win. Every time I leave my seated position in Christ due to anger, I feel the Hand of Jesus tap me on the knee and tell me, "Have a seat. I've got this." It's a totally different way to do spiritual warfare. I think it's a better deal. I sure have a lot to learn about that.

I will be heading up the local Forward Kids ministry at our church. I hope to bring some leadership, encouragement, and fun for our leaders and create a strong team.

I also hope to take some time and blog some thoughts and encouragement to you, the reader. Whether you are a leader, a follower, or just need a drink from the Water of the Word, I hope to come on here and express thoughts that will challenge but also help you grow in your journey.