All posts filed under: Blog Series

Closed Doors… Part 3

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What do you do when the doors slam shut before you? When we think about Jesus, we rightly think of him as a trailblazer; a way maker; a miracle worker. But at least on one occasion, this door opener, who is in fact “The Door,” had a door shut closed before him. It’s also amazing to discover that that closed door, (especially when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “take this cup away from me”) led to greater and wider opened doors – even doors that would lead many into the Kingdom of God. Matthew 26:36-46 The Prayer in the Garden Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O …

Doors: How to recognize them

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Crossroads Have you ever been at a Crossroad in life? We all have. In fact right now in our world, after the #parisattacks, nations are at crossroads. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! The French President told his fellow countrymen a few days ago, “We are at war!” And rightly so! Other nations are adjusting their approach to the growing threat of ISIS. And just a day or two ago, 20 or more governors have decided against bringing Syrian refugees into their state. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! In fact right now, Congress wants to halt the process of bringing Syrian refugees into the United States. This is not a debate about whether they are right or wrong; I’m just trying to point out – that life is sometimes filled with hard choices and difficult circumstances to navigate. The valley of decisions – You may be facing one today: Should I go back to school? Should I change careers? Should I confront that person in love or seek reconciliation? Who should I marry? Is he/she the right person? Where should …

Doors: Blog Series

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Part 1: The Shepherd Sheep Relationship Doors are divine opportunities God purposefully and thoughtfully sets before us. God sets these doors before us so that we can walked through them. It takes seeing eyes; hearing ears and understanding hearts to recognize them. It takes courage and obedience to walk through them. The Door of Freedom (Acts 16:26) The Door for an effectual Work for God (1 Corinthians 16:9) God’s Open Door of Preaching (2 Corinthians 2:12) The Door of Witness (Col 4:3) Utterance The Door of Opportunity and none can shut it (Rev 3:8) The Door of Salvation is always OPEN! (Rev 3:20) His Name is Jesus! The door of Hope – Joshua 7 Door of Healing and reconciliation Opened doors of unique friendship and partnerships To recognize and walk through these doors we must cultivate a relationship with the Father. In fact throughout the scripture God invites us into: Shepherd and Sheep Relationship – Psalm 23 is a classic example that relationship: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. It’s good to know …

Two things I learned about Mercy in Jude’s Epistle

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As you may know, Jude the Epistle, was written by Jude, brother of James and Jesus (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3. “Judas” is the same as “Jude” in Jude 1). I have written and spoken from the passage below many times, but every time I revisit, something new pops up. Take a peek: Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 1:21-23 Looking again at these verses, the word mercy stands out for the first time. Therefore, I want to share about two things I’ve learned about mercy in the book of Jude. First let’s define it: What is Mercy? According to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of biblical Theology, “the chief Hebrew term is hesed [d,s,j], God’s covenant “lovingkindness.” In both the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the LXX) and the New Testament, the term behind “mercy” …

Learning anew the old ways of Kingdom life/ Part 3

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1 Chronicles 14:13-17 Inquire | Watch | Action Learning anew the old ways of Kingdom Life 1. Action And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. 1 Chronicles 14:16, 17 It was about four three months of intense seeking. I can still see myself walking down the hill from my apartment to church every morning where I would spend the entire day sometimes the entire night seeking God about what He wanted to do. Three months earlier God had spoken to me and told me that the plan I had come up with was not going to work. In fact He wasn’t really pleased that I had gone about forming my plans without Him. As He spoke to me in my sleep, His words from Isaiah shook me to the core – “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely …

Living anew ways of kingdom life/ part 2

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1 Chronicles 14:13-17 Inquire | Watch | Action Learning anew the old ways of kingdom life 2. Watch Welcome to the place of tension. I promise you – it is an exciting place to be – wrestling with yourself about the right move you need to make and with God about whether He knows what he is doing. If you’re like me, I am usually screaming at the top of my lungs – Give me a revelation Show me what to do ‘Cause I’ve been trying To find my way I haven’t got a clue Tell me should I stay here Or do I need to move? Give me a revelation I’ve got nothing without You I’ve got nothing without You. Third Day Today we will continue with part two of our current 3 part blog series.  Here is the verse we are focusing on today: God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out …

Learning anew the old ways of Kingdom Life/ part 1

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1 Chronicles 14:13-17 Inquire | Watch | Action Learning anew the old ways of Kingdom Life 1. Inquire How do you go about decision-making? Do you ask the Lord before making decisions, or do you just wing it. Do you rely on a hunch or a gut felling? I would assume that most of you reading this blog post take very seriously these words – “in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.” Unfortunately, many believers don’t have that much patience to acknowledge the Lord in anything. In 1 chronicles 14:14 we find this really great example of David seeking guidance from the Lord about the way he should take. What a great example: And when David again inquired of God, It is not clear how David inquired of the Lord, since Abiathar did not come until David was already in Keilah (1 Sam. 23:2, 6). Perhaps he inquired through the prophet Gad (cf. 22:5). But we can confidently say that he inquired of the Lord directly in prayer. Unfortunately, this old fashion kingdom lifestyle has been abuse so much that many …

Adrift

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I heard a story some time ago about an ungodly farmer. It is said that when he  died, it was discovered in his will that he had left his farm to the Devil. In the court, they didn’t quite know what to do with it — how do you give a farm to the Devil? Finally, the judge decided: “The best way to carry out the wishes of the deceased is to allow the farm to grow weeds, the soil to erode, and the house and barn to rot. In our opinion, the best way to leave something to the Devil is to do nothing.” In the same way, we can leave our lives to the Devil doing nothing. Just let the weeds grow, and the soil of our hearts erode and our spiritual house rot, slowly drifting away with whatever currents this world might. But the Bible warns of the dangers of neglecting our great salvation: Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the …

EGO – The Final Episode

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The story and book of Jonah closes with a question that actually is left unanswered. I believe that is was left unanswered for one reason – for readers to answer the question. What is the question? And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle? Let’s put the question in perspective. After Jonah preaches to Nineveh and the city repents, Jonah is mad.  Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the …

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Originally posted on Walter Bright:
 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9 ESV) This is one of the most awkward verses in the book of Jonah. a vivid example of how sometimes our talk really doesn’t match our walk. Jonah is claiming to be a God fearing person at the same time living in rebellion. I know the sailors were going awhhh, Mr., this is weird – why are you running from Him? Related articles EGO – Edging God Out (waltbrite.wordpress.com) Edging God Out – Episode Four (waltbrite.wordpress.com) Edging God Out – The main thing! (waltbrite.wordpress.com) Edging God out – Second Episode (waltbrite.wordpress.com)