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I recently heard that Jane Marczewski died last week after a 5-year battle with cancer. You may have heard of her as “Nightbirde”. She competed on the 16th season of America’s Got Talent as was awarded the Golden Buzzer for singing an original piece called “It’s Okay.” If you have never watched that clip of her performance, I encourage you to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZJvBfoHDk0&ab_channel=America%27sGotTalent It’s 7:32 of bliss. In that amount of time, I went from my chair to the Garden of Gathsemene, to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then straight to the throne of God. I’ve watched it many times since and I have always been blessed. The final scenes of her audition are the image I have of the Judgement Seat of Christ. I won’t get this all correct, but when she died last week, she was 31. She had gone in and out of cancer three times, been through a difficult divorce and had her dreams of being a singer/songwriter…what do I say…interrupted? And here she was. A SHINING witness of hope and joy. After hearing her story at the audition, which was probably more than she ever intended telling anyone, she radiated with the ‘smoke’ of someone who was truly….borrowing a word from Howie Mandel…authentic. Her witness was so much more than her words. She was genuine. Following her since, I have found a few ‘quick quotes’ from Jane for all of us to PONDER.
Dear Jane. Thank you for not being afraid. Jeff
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Everyone once in a while something happens that makes you go, ‘huh?”. I met Benny at the gym today. I was working on crunches and apparently making some noise. He stared at me until I had to acknowledge him and finally asked if I needed him to call an ambulance. Turns out Benny is 91. I would never have guessed that. I might have said mid-70s. So, I was interested enough to engage him for a little while. In the conversation, Benny told me several things which were very interesting:
1.Benny had cancer in his lymph nodes in his late 80s. They told him they wouldn’t do anything about because of his age, so he got a new doctor. During the chemo, he said he went to Wendy’s and got chocolate Frostys. He would drink one before chemo, one after chemo and on that night. He never had a problem and swears it was the Frostys. 2.Laughter is medicine. Laugh a lot if you want to live a long life. 3.Work your mind. He told me about the trips he would take to Outer Banks in the Carolinas. He would make up math games to play while he was driving. Now, I can’t figure this out, but he talked about figuring out how many times the wheels were turning a mile. Then, he would try and figure out how many times the wheels turned as he was driving through a particular state. Then, he would shift the speed and do it all again. I didn’t follow much of that, but the point was, keep your mind moving because it shrinks as you get older. That’s what Benny said. 4.Actually, his name was “Hey Benny”. He worked in marketing and when he would go to these big cities someone would eventually recognize him on the street and call out ‘Hey Benny”. The guys at work thought it was funny and so they changed his name to “Hey Benny.” I don’t know if there’s a space between the two names? That’s it. Nothing too profound. But, if I guy looks that good at 91, he deserves a little respect and worth my time. By the way, I noticed he had about an hour work out on some pretty strenuous equipment. Dear Lord, I want to look as good as Benny when I’m that age! Keep laughing....and drink Frostys.  Where Do We Go When We Die?
My friend Ann and I like to talk when we work out at the gym. Sometimes, she’ll pose a question about the Bible, which I love to talk about. Here was her most recent questions: What happens to us when we die? I told her that it might be better if I wrote down my answer to that instead of trying to explain it between short puffs of breath. That was about a week ago and I’m still writing. Since I’ve spent a good bit of time on it, I thought I would just share with all of you. Before I begin, let me say two things:
Because I love the subject of Eschatology, I’ve formulated some ideas about it based on a Judeo-Christian worldview found in the Bible. The Bible frames the way I look at everything. So, this is my understanding (at this point) of what the Bible says about the afterlife. To begin with, I think that where we go when we die will move around a little bit based on the timeline of human history and then eternity. I will provide my scriptural basis for each phase of this progression. Generally, I believe it will go something like this FOR THE BELIEVER.
Hades/Sheol/Abraham's Bosom The NT/OT word, Hades or Sheol is interpreted to mean: 1. The Grave - The Place Of Bodily Decay 2. The Place Of The Punishment For The Wicked 3. Possibly As A General Term For The Unseen Realm Of The Dead This is NOT a place of punishment. It is an intermediate state where all were sent upon death prior to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remember that no judgements have been declared by the Righteous Judge of Revelation. The Bema Seat Judgement set aside for CHRISTIANS alone, will be the first of (probably) five judgements as described in the Bible. Prior to the resurrection, this intermediate holding place was best described in Luke 16: 19-31. I have included it here for reference. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” You can see that Hades is ‘compartmentalized’. It has a place of pleasure and a place of torment separated by a large chasm that can NOT be crossed after death. The righteous dead were in Abraham’s Bosom. The forsaken or lost are in ‘a place of torment’. I refrain from calling this place “Hell” because this place is not their final destination. We are told in several places of scripture that Jesus descended to Hades to ‘set the captives free’. Since Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, the righteous dead in Abraham’s Bosom, were given the chance to put their faith expressed during their lives on earth in Jesus. I do not believe that Jesus shared that message with the unrighteous because as Abraham told the rich man in the parable. If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. I also believe that Abraham’s reference to the chasm was a separation that would never again be bridged. If this were not so, Abraham would have told the rich man otherwise. Paradise/Present Heaven: Jesus speaks to the thief on the cross next to him at his crucifixion saying, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) The Greek word is paradeisos which means “a garden or pleasure ground.” In Persian kingdoms it was a well-watered, shady park where animals were kept. In every translation, it’s considered pleasurable. The word is only used three times in the New Testament. In Luke, and then again by Paul when he was taken up to ‘paradise’ in 2 Corinthians 12:4. Perhaps the most telling verse is Revelation 2:7: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. It’s interesting that the paradeisos sounds very familiar to the Garden of Eden. I don’t think this is a coincidence since God’s intention was to be WITH man in a paradise where man had dominion over God’s creation and regular communion with the Creator. Of course, as in Revelation 2:7, the “Tree of Life” was in the center of the Garden of Eden. This is all to say that the text says that after the repentant thief on the cross died (Jesus, when you come into your kingdom, remember me! Luke 23:42), he went to paradise to be WITH Jesus. (“Today you will be WITH ME in Paradise”.) When Jesus died, he did not ascend directly to ‘heaven’ where God is. He told Mary as much after his resurrection. (John 20:17). But, he did tell the thief that ‘today’ you will be with me in Paradise. While I have not done an exhaustive study of any of this, I would say that means exactly what it says. In fact, the thief on the cross may have been the very first person who entered Paradise. THAT is an extraordinary thought. While we know little about this man, we know that his confession of faith alone and his contrite and repentant heart was enough to bring him salvation that very day. Perhaps Jesus took him to Paradise straight away and told him to “hold down the fort until I go get your brothers and sisters in faith.” Then Jesus descended to Abraham’s bosom, set the captives free there, and brought them all to Paradise. Moving on…. As to where “Paradise” is, we get more into speculation. To say that Paradise is heaven is hard to support. First of all, that’s not what the text says. Secondly, the Greek word for ‘heaven’ is Ouranos and has several meanings to include the air, the sky, and/or the heavenlies. When Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 he said, “Our Father who are in Ouranos…” Jewish belief was the heaven was the air around them. It was a dimension outside themselves. In fact, God is everywhere. Still, Paul speaks of being taken to a “third” heaven. In 2 Cor 12: 2-4. This was a real physical place that Paul must have been referring to when he said “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared in His Wonderful World for those who love him.” 1 Cor 2:9. I do know this: Paradise is NOT eternity. Randy Alcorn, who has several books on “heaven,” says there is a “present heaven” and a “future heaven”. I like this language because the word ‘heaven’ is very nebulous in interpretation. I would agree that the ‘present heaven’ is Paradise. It is only a temporary dwelling where the saints of God go to await being joined to their resurrected bodies. This occurs at Rapture. Think in terms of continuity. If you’re looking for a shining example of what you’re resurrected body will be like, look no further than Jesus’ as he walked the earth for 40 days after his resurrection. He had a body. It was glorified and could do a variety of things that our current bodies can’t. It is also adaptable to both the present heaven and the present earth’. Jesus was NOT translated again at his ascension or not at least that the Bible mentions. God made you perfectly. But your frame and form were sinful. So, they have to be renewed. This is exactly why you have to have a new body to get into the ‘future heaven’. But God is not starting over. He will take your old physical form and remake it in the very ‘image’ of Christ. Remember that other than Mary Magdalene and the two friends on the road to Emmaus, Jesus was recognizable to everyone. You won’t look that different in heaven. But your old body will be raised incorruptible. 1 Corinthians 15 has much to say about this subject. At this point in the discussion, I say that all believers are in the ‘Present Heaven/Paradise” and all unbelievers are in Hades. What happens next is the Rapture of the church; the bride of Christ. Future Heaven/Wedding Feast of the Lamb This imagery of Jesus returning for his bride is NOT coincidental. The Jewish idioms used for the rapture of the church are generally about a wedding and wedding festivities. Jesus said in John 14: 2-4, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jewish custom dictated that the FATHER of the GROOM announced when the wedding would take place once the house of the bride and groom was ready. Do you see it? When Jesus said that he didn’t know the time or date of the rapture, he was saying that only the FATHER knew because that was the understanding of the Jewish wedding customs. (Matthew 24:36) One day, the Father (God) tells his son the Groom (Jesus) to go and get his bride (The Church) because their place is prepared. The bride took the groom to the wedding chambers for seven days. That would be a parallel time to the Tribulation. So, after the Rapture, the ‘bride’ and the ‘groom’ are together in the wedding chambers and celebrating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. One of the best parables Jesus shared on this subject is the Parable of the Talents. (Matthew 25: 14-30). I do NOT know if this Wedding Feast happens in a separate place than what I’m referring to as the ‘Future Heaven’. I would think that it is the same general ‘place’. I believe in a Pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture, which is to say that the next prophetic event in scripture that must happen is the rapture of the church. It is also at this point that believers will be judged at the Bema Seat, which means AT THIS POINT IN TIME, they will….for the first time….have incorruptible bodies to go with their eternal spirits. WOW. So, during the Tribulation, the last seven years of prior to Christ’s return to earth, we will be at a place where Jesus promised us that he would take us as His bride. My best guess is that this is the eternal city, the New Jerusalem which is STILL in heaven. Now, if you’ve made it this far hold on; we’re almost home. When Jesus returns, he will reign from Jerusalem. We will reign with him in his Millennial Kingdom. (2 Timothy 2:12). Because we have resurrected bodies, we will be able to dwell both in ‘heaven’ and on ‘earth’. I assume it will be like going to work each day. And don’t be alarmed by the notion that we will work forever. Again, think of the Garden of Eden. That is the restoration of all things and THIS has always been God’s plan for us. What man did there was work, and it was part of a holy calling. WORK is good. You may have to take that out of the context of your daily grind! I assume that this ‘work’ will have something to do with the Kingdom of God on earth. So for 1,000 years, we’ll be dual citizens. I can only assume we’ll have residence in the “future heaven” and residence in the Kingdom of God with its capital in Jerusalem. But that’s still not ETERNITY. Eternity Finally, after the judgement of all peoples at the Great White Throne, (Revelation 20: 11-15) people will only be in one of two places: The New Heaven and the New Earth or The Lake of Fire. Those who denied God’s plan and purpose for their life and rejected His plan for their salvation will spend eternity in The Lake of Fire. The horrors of this place can not be overstated. More than anything else, it will be eternal separation from the Creator God. On the other hand, the New Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21. It is a glorious site where the presence of God will dwell forever with those who love Him. In his book, “The Book of Signs”, David Jeremiah has this to say about the city[1]: “Revelation 21:15, 16 says, “He who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, it’s gates and it’s wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. It’s length breadth and height are equal.” I today’s terms that means New Jerusalem will be about 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long, AND 1500 miles high.” There are 2 million square miles on the first floor ALONE. Even if each floor was a mile high that’s still 1500 floors and each floor the size of a continent. Assuming that the entirety of the new heaven and the new earth is inhabitable by our new bodies, there will be PLENTY of room in eternity. In his seminal work, “The Divine Conspiracy”, Dallas Willard says: “The intention of God is that we should each become the kind of person whom he can set free in his universe, empowered to do what we want to do. Just as we direct and intend this for our children and others we love, so God desires and intends it for his children. But, character, the inner directedness of the self, must develop to the point where that is possible.”[2] As I close, I return to what I said at the beginning.
In closing, I would add the plan of salvation so you can START your journey towards an eternity with God.
[1] David Jeremiah, “The Book of Signs”. (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publsihing, 2019), p.407 [2] Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy. (San Francisco, Harper San Francisco, 1997), p. 379 [3] Jeff Smith, The Funnel. (Chesterfield, VA, 2021).  They’ve Asked Me to Be a Small Group Leader in Children’s Ministry.
What do I do? Written by Jeff Smith Small Groups. It’s the building block of all `ministry. You are creating an emerging community. In children’s ministry the large group/small group model has made its way into all types of macro and micro programming. I recently had the opportunity to speak at a church that was changing their kid’s church model to a large group/small group model. I googled the subject to find a list of bullet points for teacher training and leadership development. But mostly, I didn’t find anything that fit the bill for this particular church. So, I decided to develop my own outline and share this resource on my blog. VIM. This is an acronym base on the word of Dallas Willard, as far as I can tell. It outlines transformative ways to engage with God. It stands for: VISION INTENTION MEANS. ( I sometimes substitute the word methodology here.) To begin with, changing to a small group model involves two primary paradigm shifts. The first is spectator or volunteer to pastor. The second is a shift from teacher to storyteller. In my presentation this morning, I spent the first two hours on the latter subject. That material can be more than adequately covered in my book, “RIVET: Making Your Message Stick”. It is about engagement for effective communication. The ideas in that book are tried and true and very helpful if you want to be a better communicator. I would like to use the VIM acronym to discuss the paradigm shift from spectator to pastor. Pastor? Does that sound intimidating? I’m not sure how you’re recruiting your small group leaders, but they need to know that their primary function as a small group leader becomes pastoral. So, we start with vision. Vision. How do you see yourself in this role? Proverbs 20:19 says, “Without a vision, people perish”. If you can’t see yourself in an active role in a child’s spiritual formation, you’re not suited to be a small group leader. First of all, you’re working with a demographic that has the greatest opportunity for receiving Christ. For years, church leaders have heard the claim that nearly nine out of ten Christians accept Jesus as their savior before the age of 18. If that statistic was accurate in the past, it no longer depicts U.S. society. The current Barna study indicates that nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (43%), and that two out of three born again Christians (64%) made that commitment to Christ before their 18th birthday. One out of eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old. Less than one out of every four born again Christians (23%) embraced Christ after their twenty-first birthday. Barna noted that these figures are consistent with similar studies it has conducted during the past twenty years.[1] Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, “Remember God when you are young.” That sentence was written by a guy who wanted to tell everyone after him that you don’t have to get hit by a Mack Truck to know that it hurts, right? The School of Hard Knocks is people that want to learn the Hard Way. You have a chance to bring them into the Kingdom of God at an early age. You need to see yourself as being life-giving and vital in that process. Intention. What are you here for? Let me introduce you to an idiom I’ve heard. THIS is not about THIS. That’s not easy to explain in a blog like this. The short answer is that you may think you’re presenting a lesson in a small group, but what you’re really doing is building relationships. This is your new mantra: Ministry is relationships, relationships, relationships. So be prepared to communicate a lesson but be intent on building relationships. I had a friend in ministry who was called to rebuild an ark. Not any ark. Noah’s Ark. It would be a sign of God’s return. He called his church “God’s Ark of Safety.” He actually built a part of the frame along the highway outside of Frostburg, MD. It was an amazing story. However, Ken Hamm came along and beat him to the punch. (The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, is a powerful experience and visual replica of that edifice.) The Lord told my pastor friend to build the church and he would build the ark. That’s what he was faithful to do. He reached many with the Gospel using the ark as sanctified bait. I’ve not spoken with him about how he feels regarding the ark. But THIS was never about THIS. Do you see? Relating the Bible lesson may not be the primary reason you are there. As a pastor, you are building an emerging community and developing relationship. No one cares what you know until they know that you care. That includes kids. They are very intuitive. These relational platforms will be the place of your ministry to these kids. Means (Methodology) Finally, you have the meat of your outline. What is your methodology? Means will be provided for by the Children’s Pastors or kid worship teams. They will give you curriculum, space, supplies, etc. But how will you go about building these communities that you will pastor? Let’s start with your greeting. I assume that most small groups will be age specific. The church I was working with called their small groups, ‘huddles’. It reminded me of teams. So perhaps you could have a team mascot? Your group could be the Wolverines? You might have a group cheer that you start or end small group time. What about first contact? Make your greeting unique. Learn names as quickly as possible. The next thing you may want to learn is love languages.[2] Be strategic in your initial contact by better understanding a child’s love language. I know it’s a lot of work. But, it will pay huge dividends. · words of affirmation, · quality time, · receiving gifts, · acts of service, · physical touch. Generally, the large group time will be first, right? Use this time to watch. Hopefully, the children’s pastors or ministry leaders will lead worship. This is not your personal worship time. You do that somewhere else. A pastor does not use worship for their personal worship. Worship is the litmus test of a person’s spiritual condition. This period of service is your BEST opportunity to gauge where your kids are that day: emotionally, spiritually, physically, etc. Take note. Again, I have a great resource on this subject called “Points for Praise”. It’s on the subject matter of children and worship. My grandpa was a farmer. His old adage, “You got to make hay while the sun is shining” is relevant here. Let’s assume that worship is followed by offering and then it’s small group time. Huddle time. Tribes. Pods. Camps. Classes. Schools. Again, this short article is not about the communication component of small groups. It’s about the relational component. It’s not a small person. It’s a small group. It’s a community. There is much to learn about managing community. First of all, it’s messy. People in groups are messy. One child won’t speak or engage. The next one hijacks every conversation. Another, talks while you’re talking. Only one will pray aloud. Everyone is so self-conscience; especially the older grades. “He’s touching me.” Did I mention you also need to be a social worker, psychologist, doctor, policeman…Yikes. These are typical small-group issues, and you will face them at some point if you haven't already. Here are some steps for addressing these types of small-group problems: • Pray. Don't use prayer as a last resort; stay on offense with prayer. You’re talking to the Divine Creator of the Universe. He’s still the Smartest Person in the Room. • Address the issue first with the person individually. Be natural and seek to understand from their perspective. Make "observations" instead of accusations. For instance, "I've noticed that you don't comment much in the discussion. Is there something we can do to make it easier for you to engage the topic?" • Be creative. This is especially helpful for the person skipping down rabbit trails. Come up with a time limit, a hand signal, or some other means to help them stay on track. You can actually make this fun and not burdensome. Jim Carrey is not my favorite actor (anymore). But his teacher saw a raw talent. Instead of trying to squelch it, she offered him ‘stand up’ time at the end of every class, if he would be quiet and behaved the rest of the time. It worked. • Be patient. None of these problems will kill your group, and taking the time to allow them to be solved naturally will create a culture where community can emerge. As a matter of fact, there is only one behavioral problem that I would like to address here. REBELLION. Sin is attractive. Can a bad apple spoil the whole bunch? I know Jesus went after the one lost sheep and left the other 99….somewhere. But, that’s not a winning strategy in small group leadership. You have to consider the group first. Rebellion is an attitude. It’s not necessarily behavioral. It’s a hard heart. It says, “I won’t and you can’t make me.” It must be broken for the sake of the individual and the group. It requires discernment. It must be handled deftly and within rules laid out by the leadership. Here’s how I used to handle it as a children’s pastor. First of all, I always framed the issue in terms of rebellion. For example, “If you push Joe again, I will set you outside the group (until you’re ready to be a part of the community/group within our rules.) My kid’s church was called “Tabernacle”. I did a lot of teaching within that construct of how God dealt with “sin in the camp” as told through stories in Numbers and Deuteronomy. God’s presence can not abide where sin resides. This is true on every level. Framing an issue this way was always my last resort. See the story of Achan in Joshua 7-9. But once I said it, I meant it. How many times have you been in public and heard a parent say to a child, “If you do that one more time, you’re going to get a spanking.” It makes me cringe. Not because of the punishment, but because when that action happens again, stated punishment is not carried out. Rebellion has no consequence. That is NOT a spiritual reality. Once framed, I would set the person outside the group, alone in a separate area of the space. The only acceptable response to rebellion is a contrite heart; repentance. Once that repentance occurred they were welcomed back into the community without fanfare and with open arms. There are some other tools and ideas you can use in managing your small group of children.
I’m not saying that your “successful” if your kids answer both of those questions well. But it doesn’t hurt. If you’re taking the time to read this and feeling overwhelmed already, then I’ve misinformed you. “Greater is He who is in YOU than HE that is in the small group” The work is dwarfed by the rewards, and there are many. To include that most sought after commendations, “Well done good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) (All of my books referenced in this blog are available on my website at www.saltandlightmin.org) [1] Barna, G. (2004, October). Evangelism Is Most Effective Among Kids. Barna. https://www.barna.com/research/evangelism-is-most-ffective-among-kids/ [2] Gary Chapman, Ross Campbell, The Five Love Languages of Children (Chicago: Norfield Publishing, 2016).  It’s Super Bowl night. While the world watches a temporal game, we continue to focus on eternal things; things that matter for ever.
As I was considering this, I’m reminded about the nature of faith and how it plays into who we are as sojourners and aliens in this world. Faith is the essence of things hoped for and the promise d0 things unseen. It’s not science for that very reason. It is not things that are observable or about things which we can see. Yet they are things that are certainly more important than a game that is the most highly watched event on television. Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. I recently did study of the Gospels and how Jesus commended faith. I found that the spectrum went from “No faith” to “Some faith” to “Faith” to “Faith that was great” to “Great Faith.” I wondered who fit into each of these categories and how did Jesus seem to assign the various levels of faith. So, who wins the Super Bowl of Faith in the Gospels? In the “No Faith” category we have:
In the “Little faith” category, we have:
The phrase for ‘little faith’ is Oligopistos (Trusting little; lacking faith). Interesting that so far, the faith losers have included the man whose confession of faith would be the foundation of the church and the disciples whose faith would change the world. This says something important about faith, in general. It’s not about the amount of faith you have (although more is better); it’s about the subject of that faith. “If you have the faith of a mustard seed…” Then, there are those commended for their faith. My definition of faith is “Move and God will meet you there.” I like that. It requires that we do something to demonstrate faith. Miracles worked this way in the Bible. All things spiritual work this way. Again, remember that faith without works is dead.
The word used for faith in the New Testament is Pistis/Pestice: It means a conviction of truth, moral convictions, or beliefs. In every one of these cases, the person had to do something, maybe even something out of the ordinary, in order to show faith and for the healing to occur. But the winners of the Faith Super Bowl in the Gospels are two of the most unlikely characters you would find. In one case, Jesus calls their faith ‘great’. In other he refers to ‘great faith’. Matthew 15 tells the story of a Gentile woman whose daughter had a demon. She begged Jesus to heal her. The disciples try to silence her and chase her away. Even Jesus brushed her off. But the woman would not be turned away. She was desperate and she knew that Jesus had the power to heal her daughter. She may have not known all the answers, but she did have GREAT FAITH. The Greek word is “megas”. When Jesus tells her that it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs, she is undeterred. I’ll bet her response was instantaneous. “But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters table.” WOW. She didn’t argue. She stated the truth and it showed humility and great understanding and Jesus saw in that moment that her faith was certainly great. It was great enough to be noticed by the Author and Perfecter of Faith himself. THAT is quite a commendation,. But the winner of Super Bowl of Faith was even more unlikely. He was a Gentile. He was a Roman. He was a Centurion. Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Matthew 8: 15-13 is worth your time to read again. I believe this specific Centurion was sympathetic to the Jews. I believe he understood Jesus’ claim as being the Messiah. But what he understood the best was authority. He knew the nature of it and how it worked. He explained it in his response. The Bible says that Jesus was amazed by his faith. “I have never found such GREAT FAITH in all of Israel.” Not among the chosen people. Not among the learned of those people. Not among his followers. Not among his family, neighbors or friends. This man was UNRELATED. Yet, he understood faith and exercised its power because he recognized authority. BINGO. The modifier for faith used here is “Tosotos” and means, ‘so many, so much, so great’. So, we see in the New Testament, varying degrees of faith being exercised. The go from no faith to great faith and in between. It begs the question: What must I do to have more faith?” The disciples asked Jesus to ‘increase our faith!” Here’s my Super Response to increasing your faith! A. Know the game:
It's important. It's not a game at all. Why do you think we do what we do and call it faith? It's the air we breath in the spirit realm. Oh, And I know who wins!  Abraham and the Great
I AM. by Jeff Smith (Genesis 17) I am God God I Am And I rename you Abraham I like that name God I am I like the name of Abraham Would you like It Abaham to covenant with me, I AM And I will make your family tree A holy nation unto me I would like that God I AM To bless the seed of Abraham I would like it for my tree I would like it just for me. Would you like your family To be like kings and royalty? Would you like them to be crowned? Would you like their names renowned? I would like that God I Am All the seed of Abraham I would like my family To be kings and royalty I would like them to be crowned I would like their names renowned Oh, I would like it very much All that royalty and such. Well would you like it Abraham If you could own all of this land? All the land around you now Over there to yonder cow Over there to farthest knoll Or up there to that canyon hole? You see that groundhog near that tree That would be your property Everything the sun hits low The animals and plants that grow OH I would like that God I AM If all of it was Abrahams All the land around me now As far as yonder spotted cow Or over there to farthest knoll I’ve got relatives down in that hole Or where the groundhog burrows down I won’t evict him from my town I’ll sit and watch the sun set low And know I own it all below. We’ll sit and eat our bread and jam Sarai and her Abraham Oh Sarai! That will never do We’ll change her name to something new We’ll call her Sarah, Abraham She’ll be the mother of your fam. Do you like it Abraham? The name that’s given by I AM Oh, I like it. Yes. I do. I do. I like the name that comes from YOU. I’ll say it by the yonder cow I’ll say it over my land now. I’ll say it when on farthest knoll It echoes down the canyon hole I’ll say so the groundhog knows Whether up above or down below I’ll say it when the sun arises I’ll say it loud so it surprises I’ll say it when we have our jam Sarah and her Abraham. Then one more thing, old Abraham Just need to mention ‘fore I scram. You will need to have a son To carry on when you are done. I will do that Abraham Because I am a GREAT I AM A boy to play around your feet You’ll need to add another seat For when you eat your bread and jam Isaac, Sarah, and Abraham. Would you like that Abraham? To have a son to share your jam? OH. I would like that most of all. To have my own son grow up tall? We could milk the spotted cow And ride the camels to the brow And take a hike to farthest knoll And throw rocks at the creek below And chase the groundhog when it rises And watch the sunsets and sunrises And we could have green eggs and ham When we eat our bread and jam That would be the best, I AM A son for this old Abraham. But I’m afraid it’s past the time To speak of things in children’s rhyme We’re much too old I fear, I AM We’d make a better Gramp and Gram. It’s almost laughable to say Sarah’s son is on the way We couldn’t even do the laundry Being old is quite a quandry. THEN the GREAT IAM he thundered: Would you like it ABRAHAM To be reminded WHO I AM. I’m the one who made the cow And camels and the camel’s brow The farthest knoll? Well you should know I made it many years ago. That sound you heard? The splash of rock? I made it on a morning walk To see the groundhog in the hole, The canyon like a mixing bowl The sunrise and the sunsets too I even made the sky for you And I made you Oh Abraham Because I am the Great I AM And I can make green eggs and ham And bread and jam and Abraham I can make for you a son And now the conversations done So be it in a year from now You’ll take that walk to see the cow So do you like that Abraham? Well, could I call him Sam? I AM? His name is Isaac, Abraham. Got it. Thank you God the Great I AM. (The following article was written as a response to an email from my friend, Kurt Jarvis, who was making a anthology of mission reflections and asked for contributions from friends.) 2015 and I had been asked to return to South Africa for a children’s ministry conference hosted by Ivangeli and my dear friend, Lisa Ekman. Lisa and her husband, Colin have been some of the “treasures in the fields” that I’ve discovered in 32 years of full time ministry. However, in the beginning of that year, I started to experience a debilitating illness that put me at the crossroads of a breakdown. It was something I had never experienced before and was harrowing because I didn’t understand it or what was happening to me. After a few months of a severe depression, I finally went to a doctor. (I have no idea why no one suggested that to me or why I didn’t think that the problem might be physical.) The practicing physician took one look at me and told me I was having panic attacks. I sat there in shock. Anyone who has ever known me would be surprised to hear that I was struggling with any type of anxiety. Anxiety? Me? It turns out to have been a simple case of chemical imbalance. Actually, it was simple enough that a small dosage of medicine took care of it almost immediately. However, I would spend the next two years working through the spiritual side of the issue through counselling and discipleship. But, that is only the backdrop for my mission reflection. About the time I went to the doctor, I was considering cancelling my mission trip to South Africa. It would have been a gross misjudgment to minister to anyone in my state, let alone travel to South Africa and work with 1500+ children’s pastors over two weeks. I don’t even remember the sequence of events, but I can tell you they were extraordinary. God foiled every plan I had to cancel and at the last minute, I found myself on a plane to South Africa clutching on to my little bottle of medication and the faith I had built up in a miracle-working God over all those years. He didn’t disappoint. Although I didn’t know if it would, the medicine kept everything intact. But the miracle was how God used so many people in South Africa to minister to me. Colin and Lisa were brilliant and spoke to my soul at every level. I actually went away with Colin on a mini-retreat between conferences and he ministered to me as an angel of God in the desert. THREE (3) different missionaries that I worked with at the conferences were led to speak the same verse to me without necessarily knowing the extent of my story. Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” THREE. They were arrows that directly hit their mark. Without any assurances, God put me on a plane and asked me to trust him in South Africa so that He could turn me around and set my feet on solid ground. Not only was it the beginning of my healing, it was the beginning of a five year journey that has led me deeper into a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Missions. I trust God will use you as part of his plan to reach others. But I KNOW that you will be changed by trusting God in outreach.  
Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” I would have been Peter. Remember when they were all on the boat and Jesus said, “Come”? I would have been Peter. The others would have thought of all the reasons why not and I would have said “Why not?”. I would have walked on water that day….and almost drowned. But, I would have walked on water. Of course, the difference between faith and foolishness is obedience to the command of Christ. That was the case in Matthew 14. Until the moment when Jesus said the word, it would have been ridiculous to think you could walk on water, right? But once Jesus said the word, “COME”, all bets were off. Practical and Pragmatic made way for Phenomenal. I can talk like this because I have lived that life. At almost every juncture in the road, I took the path less traveled; the one that required more faith. Almost everyone advised me not to do it. But here I am. There are NO regrets. So, I’m used to looking at things through a different prism; things like COVID-19. I’ll start by saying that I agree with everything we’re being TOLD to do. How could you argue safe practices and social distancing in times like these? And yet, there is something hiding in the shadows. Most people are going to talk about this pandemic in terms of the natural. They’re going to talk about it ad-nauseum. I turned off the TV weeks ago. But what is going on in the supernatural? I’ve been trying to listen to God’s Spirit without the noise of the world in the background. I’ve talked to a lot of people. Everyone has an opinion. But what is The Spirit saying? I don’t know. But here’s what I sense: Governments in the West shut down the churches without a whimper from them. We are quite “non-essential”. However, the ABC stores are still open in Virginia. Oddly enough, AA can’t hold their meetings anymore, but we can get liquor. We can also get an abortion because that's not elective surgery? Meanwhile, churches around the world meet in homes where it’s illegal to gather in the name of Christ. They are underground, you see. And they face the threat of death every time they gather together. There are more martyrs in the 20th Century than through all history. Who haunts them? Governments. By the way, their faith is on FIRE. Churches in Iraq, Iran, China, and Africa are growing like wild-FIRE. They’re alive. Our faith is NOT on fire. That may be one of the many reasons that people are leaving organized religions here in droves. We are the Church at Laodicea. This is Jesus’ response to that last days’ church in Revelation 3:15-18: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Christians have been dancing around words like practical, cautious, responsible, safe, etc. Just look at that list of words. Does it reflect ANYTHING of the person of JESUS CHRIST and his bride, THE CHURCH? I think (?) that the Spirit of God may be using COVID-19 as a mirror to show us that we are deceived. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 3:22) Social graces require that there are three things never to be discussed in polite company: Politics, religion, and money. All my life, I have never been one to discuss politics. Mostly, I have been not been interested. As I have gotten older, I am at least more aware and better prepared to discuss politics, if cornered. Still, my peace-keeping personality generally shies away from bringing up subjects with political themes. Until now…. Politics are supposed to be about ideologies; their built around how you see the world. Isn’t everything? I see the world through a Judeo-Christian worldview. That means, I understand things through the way I’ve been taught to understand the Bible. Interestingly enough, the Bible is also given to many different interpretations. It has always amazed me that a Supreme Court that evaluates everything based on one document (The Constitution) is generally split 5-4. Aren’t they all looking at the same document? The Bible is like that. Aren’t we all reading the same book? And yet, we have hundreds of Christian denominations. So, I understand that my worldview is MY worldview and I admit that I could be wrong on certain topics. Somebody has to be! We can’t all be right. However, we all have convictions. These aren’t preferences. These are my convictions. Based on my worldview, I believe abortion is wrong. I believe we need to stand with Israel because they are God’s chosen people. I believe traditional marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe in eternity and the only way to get there is through the person of Jesus Christ. In my lifetime, these beliefs that were once mainstream have become marginalized and even now are considered dangerous. The Bible spawns ‘hate speech’. At this is mostly because it makes my view look different than yours. Narrow-mindedness? Please. The Democrats took the name “God” out of their party platform in 2012. When they tried to reinstate it in 2016, it elicited boos and controversy. Apparantly the separation of church and state, which was an integral part of the founding of our country, now has a new meaning. They have left God out altogether. At least, they have left the God of my Judeo-Christian worldview behind. Today, the political fight is not about ideology. It is about light versus darkness. It’s a stark struggle between good and evil. Donald Trump is not the enemy. Our enemy is not flesh and blood, but the rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Jesus, a man who came for the good of the world, was crucified by the religious and political leaders of his day. While Donald Trump is no Jesus, he is light to a dark world and the darkness can not abide it. They are trying to crucify him also. The reason I can no longer be silent about politics is that it’s now overtly spiritual. Christians, or at least those who share the Judeo-Christian worldview of the traditional evangelical community can no longer be silent. I know I won’t win friends this way. I know I’ll lose family relationships, but to be silent while babies are being murdered for body parts when they are still in the womb is unthinkable anymore. As David Platt says in his book “Counter Culture”, every Christian can do three things:
Not every Republican is good and not every Democratic is bad. But the battle lines of spiritual warfare have been drawn between light and darkness. I’ve waited long enough. I’m in.  It's been almost a year since our dog, Stryder, died. Like all families, we can say he was the perfect pet and miss him all the time. I put together a few words together to share with my family when we buried him and thought it might be a helpful document for anyone who needs words to share during the loss of family pet: But however and whenever we part from one another, I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Tim—shall we—or this first parting that there was among us?" Death is a part of life. Learning to face it and deal with it is as much a part of life as breathing. . · “The risk of love is loss and the price of loss is grief. But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.” – And so we are grateful for ____________________. We remember the many ways he brought us LIFE and taught us more about the unconditional love of God in so many ways. I know the world would be a much better place if everyone learned the unconditional love of a dog. If they have a fault at all, it is that their lives are too short. But we know that going in. We know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with him, never failing to share his joy or delight in his innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price.” So, we never really owned _________________. We had him on a lease. I’m thankful that the lease was this long. And so as we bury_________________ in the ground today, I know that his final resting place is in our hearts and will be there, truly, forever. We shall never forget this first parting among us or our faithful family friend, __________________ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 Prayer: You are our comfort God. As we mourn the loss of our pet, ______________ I pray that you would help us to be brave; to face the days ahead without him. Thank you for giving him to us, this little leap in my spirit who brought us so much joy and so much happiness. In many ways, he was the embodiment of you in the life. He taught us and showed us love. For his life forever tied to ours, we are grateful.  |
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