New Wordpress Blog

Hey mom
I no longer use this site to post blog articles.  I do it at www.stevebremner.com which I think is much better.

Change your bookmarks.

Thanks!

Steve

Bow Not to the Music of this Age

^"If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Dan 3:17-18, ESV)

I initially wanted to write this article and name it after the life of Daniel, until I realized the major example I want to focus on in the third chapter doesn't even involve him or mention him at all. I want to glean from some examples found in the third chapter, and challenge each of us to be 'fireproof' (yes I am a Pillar fan).

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were 'fireproof' because of their resoluteness not to bow to anything other than the God of heaven. Malachi 3:2-3 mentions how in the day of the Lord's appearing, He comes like a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap--and that his ministers are purified like gold.

The reason these three Hebrew men could withstand this earthly fire is because they were made fireproof by heavenly fire, for God makes his ministers a flame of fire (Ps 104:4). These men were of a pure spirit that even the worldly king's fire couldn't harm. Just like if you take gold and purify it by fire, different impurities come to the surface, and the gold itself is made purer--likewise these men, in their devotion to God and not bowing to the idol of their age they were confronted with, were made resistant to the flame they were subjected to for their obedience and devotion to the God of heaven.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29).

The fire of this world can't touch you when you've been purged by the fire of God.

Those very people trying to punish them through fire died while Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego withstood the flames and another angelic presence was seen in the flames with the young men. The soldiers who carried the bodies of the three Hebrew men died themselves in the process. What a severe reaction the king had that these young men would dare not bow down to a statue made in his honor--he had the fire heated up 7 times more than normal, and the men who carried their bodies into it died in the process. This fire was a fire of distinction and distinguishing--the pure withstood it while the wicked in heart perished in it. The tares were separated from the wheat and burned up. The dross disappeared while the gold, silver and that which is precious purified, and the Lord of hosts magnified in the sight of all.

There's many things going on in our contemporary culture, where to take the stand of righteousness makes us look like we're the foolish ones, and ending our lives or political careers--if even just in the area of reputation. It's much easier to go with the flow, but the flow itself is perishable and when the flame of the fire of God touches it, it burns up like chaff.

Make no mistake, it was the king who called for the furnace to be the method of death for anybody unwilling to bow to his image, but what the enemy meant for evil, the Lord turned and made work out for His own purposes of exalting the men who remained faithful and loyal to Him despite the threat of earthly death put upon them. These men knew the God ,Who after taking one's life, had the power to cast their body and soul into hell (Luke 12:4-5). They feared the right King. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could remain fireproof and imperishable in the midst of this fire, because they'd pledged themselves to the kingdom made of imperishable substance. These men refused to bow to the rulers and authorities.

Can that be said of us in our age? Many ministries boast of their 'relevancy', and bow down to kiss the king of Babylon's ring, but that which is relevant to this age may not necessarily be relevant in the unshakable kingdom. Too many believers are capable of wasting their political vote for parties that will kill the unborn, because they have better financial policies than the party that won't. The decisions that pertain to the imperishable realm are overlooked for concerns about this perishable realm. Many build their lives and their ministries with wood, hay and straw, which will all perish when touched by the fire of His presence. What are YOU building with?

Wood, hay and straw are substance that grows or is found above the ground and visible in the sight of all. Gold, silver, and precious stones are beneath the surface, and aren’t visible--they are buried and hidden and require seeking. These three Hebrew men were made valuable, pervious, and fireproof by their time in the presence of His fire, in their secret place--unseen by men. That is why they could face the threat of death with such confidence because they were made strong in private. Wood, hay and straw on the one hand all burn in such fire, as we happened with the king's soldiers.

Friend, bow not! Don't be afraid of them who can harm your body but can't touch your inner man. Fear HIM who has power to throw both body and soul into hell. Bow the knee to the King of kings worthy of your praise and adoration. The closer we get to HIS fire, His presence presence, the more the impurities will leave from us, and though grueling as this process is, it’s more preferable than anything earthly kings can do to us! The fire in this furnace was not the flames started by a man, but the fiery presence of God, which is why the soldiers were but chaff and burned up in it as they attempted to dispose of the bodies of the men who wouldn't bow to earthly kings. However, because the three who pledged their allegiance to the King of all kings DID bow the knee before Him, they withstood.

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, though it is tested so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.“ (1 Peter 1:6-7,22-25 )

Please check out these related articles for further meditations on the fire of God:

All Consuming Fire

No Perishing Point

Enjoying Summer in South America

Greetings internet

It's been a few weeks since I've had an update to post. Not much has been going on, it's been sweaty hot down here since it's the thick of summer here in Peru. I've also marked the one year point of living here, and I'm still not used to living this close to the Equator. I've acquired a taste for Gatorade to help hydrate myself sufficiently, and despite constantly lathering up with sunscreen with SPF 30, I'm still bronzing up in this place. But I'd take that to being buried in all the snow I'm reading and hearing about from people in North America. I may be Canadian, but I was born for a warm climate. Don't let the extra 'natural sweater' fool you.

I spent two weeks back in intensive four hours per day language school at Hispana Idiomas. It had been nearly six months since I had been in language school, but I've gotten to practice it on the streets and with some Spanish-only speaking friends I've been making. The last class I had was the first week of three in the Intermediate 2 level. When I rejoined, they didn't remember where I had left off because most of their students are only in Peru temporarily or they are tourists and never come back, so they don't have a system in place to keep track of where students leave off. So suffice it to say, I found myself repeating some material I'd already paid to have, and at $220/week, on a missionary donation-based budget, you tend not to feel like re-taking classes you've already had--even if it's been six months. So the director understood this and I came back the next week to complete the last two weeks of Intermediate 2. All the while meeting with a few Peruvian friends with excellent English to help me practice the specific tenses that don't come natural to me since we don't have the equivalent in English.

But I'm loving it. I don't have the confidence to preach in Spanish yet, as I'm constantly needing people help correct or feed me words when I can't think of them but suffice it to say I can pretty much function in society here without an interpreter. Next time I go back, if/when the finances are there, I'll be beginning in Advanced level.

If you think of it, I'm working on a blog post for Fire On Your Head and possibly (probably) a follow up mp3 discussion for the FOHY podcast as well, about "crazy things people think Pentecostals believe". You can leave a comment here, write me, or leave feedback in any place I'll receive it. If it's a great idea, I'll included it or comment about it in a list of the top ones I'm receiving.

So far, I've gotten interesting feedback from the other site authors and my frequent podcast guests, and I'm thinking such an article is a great idea. It was sparked after wasting 20 minutes of my time watching some evangelical ministry implore his listeners to get the heck away from any charismatic who says you're not really saved unless you speak in tongues, and after listening to him go on to dismantle other straw man arguments, I began to wonder if he's even ever MET a pentecostal before or talked to one to find out what they ACTUALLY believe. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks how fun (or scary) it could be to reach out and see if any listeners or readers of the blog had feedback of their own they wanted to offer on it. So hit me up with any of your thoughts.

Other than those things, not much to update on and if you want to know know some more of what I'm doing in Peru, here's my latest newsletter in PDF form.

Blessings and fire on your head

The Customer's Never Right?

I’m sitting here in Starbucks where I thought I’d get faster internet and be able to sit in an air conditioned atmosphere to write this update post, but lo and behold, I’m compelled to face the speed of internet working as slow as molasses being poured in February in Canada. The readers should note this is tolerated as an acceptable speed for internet in Peru. Because it's taking a month to load the page, and though I’m sitting here getting some reprieve from the heat, I'm writing this as a Word document instead.

The thoughts going through my head are spurred on by the stuff below, but also by an article I just read about a Tim Horton’s in New Brunswick banning a customer for excessive complaining, and from a website I like visiting all the time called The Customer Is Not Always Right. But my almost year of living in Peru has smacked me in the face against that mentality, because here, if there’s a problem, it’s been my experience that you’re the one at fault, no matter how illogical or implausible the excuse given by the service provider.

We use Telefonica for phone and internet where I live. This amenity is included in my rent of course. However, we’re told to turn it off for four hours per day. I used to believe--when I first moved in—that the reason the property owners wanted us to do this, had to do with not using it at night when everybody’s sleeping, and that, though password protected, neighbors could use the WiFi and turning it off would be a step in preventing it’s use. However, turns out the real reason is because sometime in the past, when the internet wasn’t working, she had called the company and they told her it was because she wasn’t turning it off for four hours per day so it could ‘cool down’. Apparently, WiFi routers need four hours of rest time, or else it affects your internet connection adversely.

So they deflected on her their responsibility to provide working internet, and caused the customer to permanently believe--it seems—that if the internet isn’t working, they are at fault for not taking care of the router and letting it ‘get some rest’. Maybe there’s a hamster wheel inside it, and the poor little guy needs a break everyday or he won’t run his course efficiently enough for our internet to work properly. I don’t know, even after a year.

While I went back to Canada, my landlady seems to have stopped trusting all the tenants to turn it off at night, and now her or her mother set their alarm to come upstairs at 1:30am to turn it off themselves. I got talking to another lady who started renting here--when bumping into her in the kitchen--and she pointed out to me you don’t set your alarm to wake yourself up in the middle of the night to do something if you don’t seriously believe it’s necessary. I’ve tried talking to my landlady for over 45 minutes once trying to explain routers are supposed to be left on and left alone, and gave her other examples of products you don’t unplug when not in direct use (“You don’t unplug your refrigerator when you’re done eating, do you?”). I even tried, much to her refusal to accept—that other Peruvians I’ve met don’t do this with theirs and laugh at this idea when I tell them about it.

Like I said, forty-five minutes of my life I’ll never get back trying to change their minds. But suffice it to say, each of the homeowners here are convinced they heroically saving our lives every night and that if it weren’t for them, the router would overheat, explode, burn the house down, and kill us all, because all of us are too irresponsible to bother turning off this ticking timebomb every night. Or we just know better and that we don’t need to bother, whichever of the two it is.

But this business with the internet company being the one who put this idea in her mind and building such a mental stronghold that nobody seems to be able to demolish with sound reasoning or logic, also got me thinking about the ‘customer is always right’ business ethic we take for granted in North America. Instead of just doing something about the problem, it's easier to make up some retarded reason for why the customer’s behavior has done something to provoke the undesired results.

My friend and fellow missionary to Peru, Denise and her husband Martin were telling me a number of months ago about losing four pairs of jeans in one load of laundry when taking her clothes to be cleaned, and not being able to do anything about it because the worker denied that she ever brought that many pants. Or one of my favorites she told me; getting film developed, and they mismatched the image on the negative with the print they were putting it onto, causing the about 80 % of one photo to show with 20% of the next one on the same print. My friend explained to her the problem and that she wasn’t going to pay for this, and was repeatedly told the problem was not their mistake in processing the photos, but hers. She, according to them, just took the photos wrong and that’s why they turned out that way!

Living in a culture that does this, makes me wonder when I’m being too aggressive or coming on to strong about when I’m receiving lousy service or being ripped off or taken advantage of in some way. Do I act like I’m in North America, or lower my standards? After all, my culture is no better than theirs nor theirs than mine. Are the things that bother missionaries and foreigners to other countries matters of opinion, or are some things universal no matter the culture--like good customer service.

These are thoughts almost every missionary goes through, I’m sure, living abroad.

Unconditional Obedience?

"And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'" 1 Kings 13:20-22


This is a passage that confuses many of us, and in all honesty, for a long time I couldn’t honestly admit I understood its implications or what exactly was supposed to be conveyed here. We read in 1 Kings 13, the story of a prophet sent by the Lord to speak a harsh word of judgment against the backslidden kingdom of Judah. Oh how mightily this young man operated! He was clearly not a novice to the ministry!

The prophet went to Bethel, and he challenged King Jeroboam of Judah, delivered a word that came to pass generations after this concerning Josiah’s reforms to the nation, and proclaimed judgment on the current king. The moment Jeroboam tried to seize him, his hand was withered, and the prophet mercifully entreated the Lord, and healed him. When the king sought to reward him and offered him a meal, the man refused and resisted, while repeating what the Lord had commanded him to do. This prophet was unflinching in his focus to only do as the Lord commanded him, and refused to have any communion with wicked idolaters. No doubt this would cause him either persecution or at the very least, inconvenience.

Too bad the story doesn’t end here on a good note, as we continue reading. The narrative changes focus and zeros in on this “old prophet” who lived in Bethel. It’s observable that the Lord did not use this old prophet to speak to the king. In fact, it's clear he was unworthy of being used mightily of the Lord for the purpose of which the Lord had to send this other young prophet who still had character issues to be worked out.

This old prophet’s sons came and told him about what the other young prophet had done—such as the predictions he offered and the healing power he operated in. Why the sons of ‘the prophet’ were at the king’s sacrifices is pure speculation—it could have been as spectators, or maybe as participants. When the old man rode his donkey to the place the young prophet was found, it should be noted the young man was sitting under an oak tree—likely fatigued since he was fasting and had been on a long journey as well, and probably in his physical weakness he was more vulnerable, and impressionable. The old prophet not only invited him to his house like the king had done, but deceived the man and said the Lord told him it was alright:

And he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." And he said, "I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, 'You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'" And he said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.'" But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

At first, the man told the older prophet the same thing as he said to the king, only this time, a man who is supposed to be seasoned in the ministry of the prophetic—or at least wears the title--told him “no no, the Lord told me to tell you…” which is a common form of manipulation in the Body of Christ. The older prophet used the 'God card" and coerced the young man into obedience. Each and every one of us will at some point face people we should be able to trust, but will throw the 'God card' at us in order to manipulate us to do their desires. Not only that, but the old man said an angel of the Lord spoke to him. The young prophet probably didn’t think he could argue that! But verse 18 indicates the old man was lying. In fact, it might be possible that the man did hear from an angel—an angel of darkness seeking to discredit the young prophet’s ministry and destroy him early in his ministry, and the old man--for whatever reason--was open game to it. Who knows conclusively, but false prophets have always been among the worst enemies of true prophets.

If you’re like most evangelical Christians who don’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit, you’ve probably rejected the possibility men in sin could prophesy accurately--if you're one that believes we can at all. But this passage shows otherwise. In verse 20 the man who brought the young prophet back, at the dinner table stood up and told him: "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'"

Isn’t that interesting?! The deceiving prophet proclaimed a word from the Lord, and it came to pass! And not only that, he had a word of knowledge about what the Lord told the young prophet. If you’re a good charismatic, you’ve been told that you can’t prophesy anything accurately if you’re living in sin, so get the sin out. Which is true—clean up your life! When reading this passage, notice the young prophet just gets up from the table and goes on his way. If someone just prophesied to me that I disobeyed God and would be killed for it, I’m sure I’d be more concerned than that! Maybe the writer of this passage is simply omitting other details, and forgot to write "and he left trembling in fear uncontrollably" but the text doesn't specify or go into more detail than we have here.

Obey Your Leaders Without Question?

Sometimes the hardest people we must refuse to be persuaded by are those who are 'mature leaders' or spiritual pioneers in our lives. Though it is important to be submissive to our leaders, and trust those who've gone before us in the Lord, they're capable of being wrong! Not only that, they’re capable of being in sin or deceived. Recent headline news of scandals and leaders falling from grace make that abundantly clear. It is very easy to fall for what leaders and people we look up to in our lives tell us. It's easy to fear contradicting people we should trust, and just believe what we're told and not ruffle any feathers or disappoint anyone we respect when we develop an understanding or convictions of our own.


I’ve been in situations before that will remain vague due to the fact I don't know who may read this. I've run with a few different Christian circles the following applies to, so people may read this and believe I'm talking about them. I am, and I'm not. I've been told more than once in my life I was in rebellion to certain people or persons when I stepped out and obeyed and did what the Lord told me to do--or didn't do someone else's wishes because I could not in good conscience before the Lord. In situations like these it’s very easy to be persuaded by the people who have gone before us or who wear spiritual titles because we trust they know better and are out for our best interests.

It’s easy to stand tall in a wicked society that rejects God, but it’s even harder to do so in the midst of a compromised Church. It’s not so easy to resist people when they cast doubt on if we really heard the Lord or not, because they throw out the “God told me” card—implying WE haven’t heard the Lord for ourselves if we contradict what the Lord allegedly told them. While I don’t judge the hearts or intentions of any of those people I’ve mentioned, it bears noting that just because people older and mature in the Lord advise us to do or not do something does not guarantee they're hearing from--or have heard from--the Lord. They could be old useless prophets who've missed their calling and are encamped at Bethel, instead of having moved on, and are just jealous and envious that you are willing to step out and be used mightily in ways they are missing out on.



It's a strong possibility. I've been told a few times in my life--by people who sincerely believe this no doubt!--that "when you have authority over you and they tell you not to do something, even if it's wrong, God will judge them and you'll be protected so long as you stay under their authority". Supposedly, even if they're wrong, YOU won't be affected by the judgment or consequence that falls on them. Is such a notion even Biblical, or true in history? What of the Nazi soldiers who committed unspeakable atrocities to Jews, and used as their defense "I was just following orders." They did not avoid consequence for their actions and faced the death penalty and life sentences for their crimes.


We see in passages like this that such "covering" and "protection" teachings are not true--even though someone listened to someone else more seasoned in the Lord tell them "God told me to tell you to do this", that there was still grave consequences for not obeying the direct word from the Lord he was initially given. I know many believers who sincerely believe God will judge you if you disobey the orders of a so-called apostle or prophet--especially the former--because in the way God has set up his 'church government' that you venture into unsafe territory if you leave your 'covering' of your pastor or apostolic ministry.

But the thing is, as we see in this passage, it's even more unsafe if you disobey the Lord--even while listening to a so-called leader or more experienced minister. Who are you going to listen to?

Creative Entrepreneurship

A week or two ago, I was having the rare trouble with my Macbook that I was contemplating rebooting my hard drive to fix any bugs.  It was worth blogging about at the time while it was fresh, but I didn't have time and didn't get around to it until today.

Since my Leopard disc seems to be scratched or something, I couldn't get it to finish rebooting past the 17% mark, so I decided to suck it up and finally upgrade to Snow Leopard since $30 is not going to break the bank for me like if it were priced similarly to Leopard.

So I first to go to this building near my house--I forget the nickname for it--but it's like a tower of just computer related stores.  I get to the Mac Reseller, and see a box of Snow Leopard in the display, and ask how much it costs.  They told me 80 soles (about $27 US give or take).  So I state I'd like to buy one, and the guy then explains to me that they can't actually sell it to me; it's only bootleg copies they have, and that it costs 80 soles for them to install it for me on my hard drive.  I really didn't want to buy a bootleg copy, but I was more interested in buying the disc than merely paying to have them install it for me, when presumably I'd probably need to reinstall again it in the future.  But I wasn't surprised that they'd be selling a bootleg copy in Peru.  So instead of actually selling me the product, they wanted me to pay the same price to have them install it on my computer and keep the product--a bootleg at that.  No thanks.

So I suck it up and take a taxi out to Jockey Plaza where the iStore is, and upon getting there, find out they're sold out of Snow Leopard, and won't have in stock sent from the USA until the second week of February.  So I linger around and I'm looking at other products because--if the price was right--I could use a thing or two.  As soon as I realize the guy at the 'genius bar' has nothing to do, I pull out my laptop and explain to him the problem I was having with my computer--the browsers all didn't work, but would freeze after about 30 seconds of usage, making it practically impossible to do anything useful on the computer and that I didn't desire to wait until February to fix this if he knew the solution.  He didn't.  Some genius. 

So he runs some kind of test by plugging in a hard drive through my USB port and it shows nothing wrong with my computer--and by now I've got two people waiting in line behind me with iPod touches.  So he encourages me to sign into my Windows partitioned drive, and see if I have problems with the browser in Windows mode.  I sign in, and of course, no problem.  Other than the internet working slower than molasses being poured in January in Northern Canada, I have no problem.  But at this point I'm out of sight out of mind and the 'genius' is no longer giving me any kind of attention...for an hour.  I finally force him to look at my computer and he tells me "well, I don't know what the problem is".

At this point, he offers to install Snow Leopard for me--for 200 soles!  I asked him whether if he did that, would I be able to come in February and pick up a copy of Snow Leopard for free having 'paid' for it today as part of him installing it on my hard drive.  He said he doubted it, but I could wait for the boss to come in later that day who was supposed to be there any minute.  I waited another half hour and when it was obvious I was wasting my time, I tried reasoning with the 'genius' again, and of course, he was too afraid of giving me a definitive answer about paying MORE than what the disc cost, even though I was leary of not actually getting the disc.

Gotta love this culture's entrepreneurial spirit:
"Senor, we'd love to install it for you and have you pay more than it costs, but not actually give you what you came here for-- a disc!"

Anyway, that's my latest cultural experience to share.  It reminds me of things I take for granted when in North America, where I can just go get something, as opposed to living in a third world country where I have to wait for leftovers to be shipped here and then sold overpriced to cover the import costs.

Anyway, check out Apple's Epic Fail = the iPad.  The Failblog posted this the very day the announcement was made.  I can't help but wonder if Apple even has any women working for its marketing department who could have warned them to come up with a better name?

How To Catch the Foxes That Ruin The Vineyard

"O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." Song of Solomon 2:14-15 (ESV)

I originally wrote an article on this a number of years ago specifically about the insights I had at that time about the effects of praying in tongues, but with the revelation and insight into this Bridal paradigm God's giving me lately--and to flow with the articles I've been posting in the last few months--I couldn't help but feel that a re-working and revisit to this subject were necessary. Especially in light of our spending significant time lately reflecting on truths of Christ based in the Song of Solomon and talking about "love being more excellent than wine". I have always had a profound revelation from this passage about the way speaking and praying in tongues builds up the believer and helps them overcome in their life and ward off the foxes and demons trying to ruin the work of the Spirit in our lives.

The whole book, whether you read it allegorically or just as a song, is about the love between the Bridegroom and His Bride. We can glean from it in more specific and personal ways for our individual journeys with the Lord, and not just the collective Body of Christ. When I read these simple yet profound verses in the Song, I'm compelled to think of passages like the following in the Gospel of John:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8 emphasis mine)

We go to the "hiding place", signifying a place of privacy, but more specifically that of intimacy with Christ in our relationship with Him. It speaks of letting Him hear our voice, hence re-enforcing that you can’t only think your prayers, but He desires to hear it out of our mouths as well. Click here for more articles on the importance of confession and just what it is exactly. Hearing our voice is also applied to our worship of Him.

The Hebrew for the word “ruin” in S.O.S. 2:15, is Châbal: A primitive root; meaning to wind tightly as a rope, or to bind, specifically by a pledge. It also means figuratively to pervert, or destroy; also to writhe in pain, especially of parturition. The English Standard Version I quote from uses the word spoil, which shows the same concept.

The foxes represent the devil or demons, and could also be applied to our flesh and our carnal leanings & tendencies. I believe it represents both: in our own neglect of our relationship with Christ, the opportunity is created for outside spiritual and demonic schemes to come in when we've let our guard down through neglect or lack of personal devotion. In either case, if the foxes are not dealt with at this time, they will cause more damage and be more difficult to overcome. When we're growing and the vineyard is in bloom and ripe, THAT is the time they are the most vulnerable and sensitive. Little foxes can destroy the vine that yields fruit. They do this by gnawing and breaking the little branches and leaves, and the bark, by digging holes in the vineyards, and so spoiling the roots by eating the grapes, and any other way to hinder the growth of the vine.

Our First Fruits

What are vineyards for? Grapes. And what are grapes used for? To produce wine. Chapter 5:22-23 of Galatians lists the fruit of the Spirit, and these are some of the evidences there will be in our lives if we're intimately connected to the vine, we'll produce fruit and become more like Him whom we're beholding and Whose image we're being transformed into. Though many times different symbols are used in different ways in Scripture, the vineyard is often a type or a symbol of the Church in the New Testament, Israel in the Old Testament, and just the people of God in general. And of course, if you've been reading my series on "Love, the More Excellent Way" you'd already be familiar with examples of how wine is correlated with the work of the Holy Spirit, and used in chapter 1:2, and 4:10 in the song as representative of GOOD things and finer pleasures of this world. The devil is always seeking to destroy us in any way he can. He desires to ruin the work of the Spirit, in our lives individually and collectively as the Body of Christ, and there's no better way to do it than at the foundational root level, like the foxes seek to do to the vineyard.

More specifically, we know one symbol for the Holy Spirit is new wine--which is made from fresh just-picked grapes, and the passage here in Song of Solomon talks about how the foxes ruin the vineyards that are in bloom--when they're young, tender or sensitive. Most plants and trees require that you remove the first fruits as soon as they appear, and then after that the fruit appears in larger size and more quantity. But if it's not obtained properly in that first fruit stage, the tree will never grow properly and yield very much fruit--in other words, will never realize its full potential. I'm sure there's a sermon in that on giving God our first fruits with all things in our lives, but that's another post. Suffice it to say, it's the first fruits the foxes are trying to spoil, so the vine never comes to its full potential. Therefore it's at this crucial moment the foxes must be stopped from doing any damage or else it will be irreparable and the young one in Christ may not fully recover from the damage caused.

Intimacy with God

God calls us through this passage to the hiding place in the rock (the Rock Christ Jesus) and wants to see our face and hear our voice. This is indicative of prayer, and definitely indicating intimacy. Viewing these verses in that lens, we see that going and being alone with God and praying, we’ll wind up “catching those foxes” that ruin the Spirit’s work in our lives because we’re bound to them instead of walking in freedom. When the vineyard is getting watered with the Word of God (Eph 5:26), then the things of the Spirit, such as the gifts and the fruit, and new wine revelation will flow, and it's THIS the foxes try to destroy, stop or pervert and prevent from happening.

If you are struggling with fleshly tendencies, or overcoming habitual sin, experience and my understanding of this passage encourages me to encourage you to go be alone with Christ and 'behold Him' in this manner. Doing so will help you catch the foxes in your life that spoil the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit in turn will help you grow strong in your inner man to overcome these areas.


Notice how it states in verse 14 that He loves the sound of her voice, so what better thing to be offering up with our voices than tongues since according to Romans 8:26 we don’t know what we ought to be praying? Jude 20 mentions praying in the Holy Spirit to build ourselves up in the the most holy faith. Another way of saying it, is that praying in tongues builds up the inner man and helps keep those foxes from spoiling the vine. Jude was writing to the early Church–which was young and still in formation like ‘tender grapes’–to contend for the faith because false doctrine (foxes) had gotten into the Church and was rendering it powerless at this crucial moment in its history. Early on, while the Body of Christ was still young and getting established, much like the vineyard with grapes in bloom in spring time--was the most sensitive and important time for false doctrine to be weeded out from spoiling things. So the remedy to that is verse 20, praying in the Holy Ghost. Praying in the Spirit is our inoculation against false doctrine (the foxes) because it is how the Holy Spirit teaches us.

The Apostle John stated in his epistle: "I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing [of the Holy Spirit] that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him." (1 John 2:26-27, emphasis mine, and parenthesis mine). The Holy Spirit, and abiding in Him IS the way you'll avoid and be protected from deception.

So the application of this teaching? Be intimate with Christ, and pray a whole lot in tongues as well. Not only will it help with your understanding and revelation of the Word of God, but it will help crucify your flesh and overcome the foxes that are holding us back. As you dwell in the pure Word of God and allow it to 'water your vineyard', it will result in wine being produced.

The Holy Spirit is more easily able to flow through those who are intimate with Christ.

Related posts:

What Are You Feeding Your Tree?

How's Your Connection To The Vine?

Finney on Intimacy With God

As some readers may have noticed by the direction of my recent postings--and on Fire On Your Head--a blog site intended to motivate readers towards revival--I've been focusing a lot on intimacy with God, and His love. I've personally been having a paradigm shift where I'm realizing unless we individually have a personal revival, there's not much point in seeking global or national revival.

The reason and my motivation for taking so much time to do so is important. If we're going to see the fires of revival spread, then we need to understand what the fuel for that fire is: intimacy with God. And statistically and anecdotally speaking, many of us struggle in that one area of our lives. Many Christians skip books like the Song of Solomon in their Bible because of not understanding Scriptures through a Bridal paradigm. Or many of us have struggled in our relationships with our earthly fathers, and have a hard time viewing God as a loving Father.

At any rate, for whatever the specific reason, it's not uncommon for many Christians to struggle with their intimate relationship with Christ. I personally used to struggle with approaching my prayer and quiet time from a place of enjoyment, but instead out of duty and obligation, or out of the desire to find something to study so as to have good material to blog or preach about. It took a long time for my stubborn heart to be open to the idea God was pursuing me; that God delights in me and wants to have a relationship with me just because He'd like to, not just because He wants to 'use me' to fulfill a purpose.

That all being said, one of the greatest revivalists in Christendom knew this secret to intimacy with God: Charles Finney, a man credited with being responsible for the Second Great Awakening. He had a deep intimacy with God that most people don't know about, which also is why He was so effective in ministry and revival. I've been re-reading a favorite book of mine I got years ago called "Finney On Revival" by V. Raymond Edman.

Check out what Finney says of his conversion experience:

...I returned to the front office and found that the fire I had made of large wood was nearly burned out. But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the embers, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without any expectation of it or ever having a thought in my mind that there were such a thing for me, and without any recollection that I had ever heard of it mentioned by anyone before, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go right through my body and soul like a wave of electricity. Indeed, it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recall distinctly that it seemed to fan me like immense wings.

No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love, and literally bellowed out the unutterable fullness of my heart. These waves came over me and over me, one after the other, until I cried out, "I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me!" I said "Lord, I cannot bear any more"; yet I had no fear of death. (p.34)

"At home, I soon fell asleep, but almost as soon awoke again on account of the great flow of the love of God that was in my heart. Then I fell asleep again, and awoke in the same manner. Thus I continued till late into the night, when I obtained some sound repose. "(p.35)

One thing that interests me about the account of Finney's conversion experience, is how much it underscores the God who was pursuing him. God was after Him before He realized it to be so. Just like Adam in the Garden, Abraham, Gideon, the Apostle Paul, and scores of other Biblical and historical men of God, the Lord was the one who initiated the relationship. How much more so we could each look at our own salvation experiences and see God at work in the same manner!

He goes on to continue to describe a new baptism that he experienced again the following morning when he awoke, stating:

"In this state I was taught the doctrine of justification by faith as a present experience. I could now see and understand what was meant by the passage "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." I could see in the moment I believed all sense of condemnation had entirely dropped out of my mind, and that from that moment I could not feel sense of guilt or condemnation by any effort I could make. My sense of guilt was gone; my sins were gone and I do not think I felt any more sense of guilt than if I had never sinned.

This was just the revelation that I needed. I felt myself justified by faith...my heart was so full of love that it overflowed. My cup ran over with blessing and with love...I could not recover the least sense of guilt for my past sins. Of this experience I said nothing at the time to anybody." (p.35, emphasis mine)

Later in his life:

In those days there came a profound desire to search out his heart and test his consecration to all the will of God. It was at that time that Finney had the soul-searching struggle of a deeper consecration than ever before, which included his dear wife and family. With utter and unreserved yielding to all that the will of God might be, he came to a perfect resting in that will as he had never known before:

"At this time it seemed as if my soul was wedded to Christ in a sense in which I had never had any thought or concept before. The language of the Song of Solomon was as natural to me as my breath. I thought I could understand well the state of mind he was in when he wrote that song; and concluded then, as I have ever thought since, that that song was written after he had been reclaimed from his great backsliding. I not only had all the freshness of my first love, but a vast increase to it. Indeed, the Lord lifted me so far above anything that I had ever experienced before and taught me so much of the meaning of the Bible of Christ's power and faithfulness, that I often found myself saying to Him, "I had not known or conceived that any such thing was true." I then realized what is meant by the saying, "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think." He did at that time teach me infinitely above all that I had ever asked or thought. I had had no concept of the length and breath, and height and depth and efficiency of his grace."

After that meeting with his Master, there never came to Finney the great struggles and protracted agonizing prayer over the will of God; rather he had come to a calmness and perfect confidence in the fulfillment of the divine will, and to say,

"He enables me now to rest in Him and let everything sink into His perfect will, with much more readiness than ever before the experience of that winter. I have felt since then a religious freedom, a religious buoyancy and delight in God and in His Word, a steadiness of faith, a Christian liberty and overflowing love that I had only experienced, I may say, occasionally before...It seems to me that I can find God within me in such a sense that I can rest upon Him and be quiet, lay my heart in His hands, nestle down in His perfect will, and have no worry or anxiety. (p. 54-55, bold emphasis mine)

Finney learned that only a few seem to understand the experience of rest in God:

"But in preaching, I have found that nowhere can I preach those truths on which my own soul delights to live, and be understood, except it be by very small number. I have never found that more than a very few, even of my own people, appreciate and receive those views of God and Christ, and the fullness of His free salvation, upon which my own soul still delights to feed. (p.55)

Father, don't let us become a people who seek to mimic methods and styles of evangelists and revivalists of the past, but without an intimacy with You. Grant us this understanding and revelation of rest that so few seem to understand and know about You. Draw us into that deeper place, for only there will we have any efficacy in our labors for You--if they're born of love and from the secret place alone with You. Make of us a people who delight to feed on You and Your Word

Draw us in Father, for we desire to have it said of us that we are first and foremost a people who delight ourselves in You!

Amen

Love: The More Excellent Way, part 3

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears has not been made perfect in love." 1 John 4:16-18

In our first part of this series, we looked at how the love of God as motivation for operating in and serving with the Spiritual gifts was more important than any use of the gifts in and of itself. Our phraseology has been that 'love [agape] is better than wine [works of the Spirit] but not excluding them as mentioned in Song of Solomon 1:2, 4:10. We've been establishing the context for which I've been saying those things: that the gifts and ministries of the holy Spirit are not either/or, but both/and and that true filling and operating in the Holy Spirit will also be characterized by love for God and for one another. Then in our second part, we looked at Ephesians 5:17-33 for another witness in Scripture about this and how it ties into the Bridal paradigm of the New Testament. Reading the first two parts of this study will be highly beneficial for proceeding further, and hopefully we'll destroy some misconceptions about the fear of God. Let's face it, how can we be intimate with someone if we're afraid of Him?

The reason I'd like to look at these verses from 1 John for some reflection and meditating in this context of our series, is because most of us still view God with fear, instead of awe. Many people feel obligated--myself included--to obey God out of fear instead of out of love and appreciation of Him. Many preachers I love listening to and reading emphasize the consequence of disobedience, and the consequences of sin, and talking about what we've been saved FROM, but they don't nearly emphasize as much what we've been saved TO. The side effect as a result, is fear, shame, and guilt motivating much preaching rather than obedience as a fruit of intimacy.

Love Instead of Fear as a Motivation For Obedience

In Revelation 1: 17 we read the Apostle John say upon seeing Jesus in all his glory in the verses preceding, that "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead." Most of us don't finish the sentence and read Jesus' reaction to this: "But he laid his right hand on me saying, "Fear not." Even though Jesus is clothed in all his splendor--and the human heart's reaction would be to be fearful of being struck by lightning or something of that sort--we are SAFE in the presence of the Savior. He reaches out His hand, yearning for us to come near and not fear.


A friend of mine once remarked to me that most of us are so preoccupied with loving God with all our heart, that we forget to realize and accept how much He loves us. Author, speaker and teacher S.J. Hill says this:

Personally, I'm deeply troubled by messages that use the fear of punishment as a motivation for obedience. Jesus deserves so much better! In fact, if our obedience is not motivated by love, it's not the kind of obedience Jesus is wanting from us in the first place. If some want to talk about God testing our motives, then let's talk about the proper motivation for walking in holiness. Our obedience must be affection-based. If it isn't, then it's not true obedience at all. How can an obedience motivated by a fear of punishment in this life or the life to come really be pleasing to the Lord?

In my book, ENJOYING GOD, I write, "Passages such as 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 have been used to provoke individuals to radical obedience. However, what's overlooked is John's statement in 1 John 4:16-18 (Emphasis mine)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears has not been made perfect in love.'" (v 18)

Most of us mistakenly view fearing God as the same thing as being afraid of Him. How on earth could we be intimate with Him if we were afraid of Him? How many children have had deep meaningful relationship with their earthly fathers if they were afraid of them--maybe growing up in abusive situations? Afraid that at any given moment the father might fly off the handle and snap. When you're afraid of a parent, you're not going to be close to Him.

We're not going to spend eternity with God afraid He might wake up one day in a bad mood. There won't be some day in the year 5 million, where we hear a loud grouchy thunderous voice, and have fear instilled in us as we ask someone nearby 'what was that?"

"Oh, that was God--He's in a bad mood today! Don't look at Him wrong!"

Of course not! He is the most pleasant person to be around, and our worship of Him should reflect that.

The fear of the Lord is more rightly translated as the awe of Him. We are to be in as much awe and fascination of Him as possible. The idea that He dwells in unapproachable light is not to be taken to mean HE is unapproachable, but that that is our reaction in holy fascination of His beauty.

Putting the Cart Before the Horse

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23)

This is a very important and sobering concept and you might not have heard it put this way before, but hear me out: I've heard fear-based messages on this taught more times than not, using this passage to point out that just because people do things in the name of the Lord doesn't mean they'll be in heaven. I don't disagree with that, but I think it's over-emphasized by most. Notice the things mentioned--these people were proclaiming to Jesus that they were prophesying, casting out demons in His name, and performing mighty works which one cannot do in His name without being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. They were boasting of all the great ministry they were doing in His name. His response isn't that he merely didn't know them, but the text says never. Not just because they didn't know him, but because they didn't know Him and then after the comma, in the same sentence He states, "you [are] workers of lawlessness"--or as other translations put this phrase--'workers of iniquity.'

I'd like to submit for consideration a different angle to view this from: it's not just that these people were workers of lawlessness or iniquity who this will be said to on that day when the sheep are separated from the goats, but that doing anything--even of the spiritual gifts--WITHOUT agape love and coming from a place OTHER than out of agape love and intimacy with Christ--is itself iniquity. Even when our motives are good, our righteous deeds are still as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Hosea 6:6 mentions how God desires mercy--or as some translations say loyalty--more than sacrifice, which could signify the 'right' religious rituals and activity. God wants us, and stands at the door knocking so that He may fellowship with us, first and foremost. Anything ministry-wise that we will ever do effectively for God must come from a place of intimacy with Him. It is such a reason as this that He will take one look at many, and say "I don't know you. In fact, I never knew you." It's not that spending time in intimacy with Christ is important so that He won't cast you aside on that day, but because NONE of the works you could ever do for Him to present to Him on that day will have any significance if they aren't birthed from an intimate relationship with Him.

I speak from experience as well as just posing the question: how many of us rely on our works, our ministry, our deeds for God to replace our relationship with God? How many of us are so preoccupied and busy doing ministry, that we have no relationship with God? Friends, never allow yourself to get to a place where you're too busy to spend time with the lover of your soul, because you've put the cart before the horse and are finding yourself too busy to spend time with him.




For further discussion on these matters, be sure to check out our most recent episode of the Fire On Your Head Podcast where we discuss love-empowered holiness and asked the question "Do Happiness and Holiness Mix?" with speaker and author S.J. Hill and missionary & world traveler Gregg Montella.

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Has it really been ten years since Y2K?

First post of 2010.  Not sure that really matters or not.  But I thought I'd take a moment to write a change of seasons type of reflective post.  I seem to do this a lot, and I had to go back to the one I wrote this time last year to see where I was at because I could hardly remember. I see the Lord has done a lot and I'm in awe. 

However, if I do decide to write a post like that this year, it will yet be forthcoming.  And unlike previous years, I will write one looking forward instead of looking backward.  I've come to realize nostalgia never advances any moves of God, and I certainly get depressed when I look back at things in my life and realize what goals I haven't realized since making them.  I get more inspired and motivated looking forward thought.

I trust and hope that those of you reading this had a good Christmas holiday and exceptional new year's.  This was the first time in about 7 years that I've been away from Canada for Christmas, the last time being when I lived in Pensacola, FL for Bible school.  The years since, even though I'd lived overseas (in Holland) I usually seemed to not be in Holland for December, so this was the first time being in another culture for their version of Christmas.

Peruvians like their fireworks and all night parties!  In this culture, what they do is start their fiesta at midnight on Christmas Eve, open their presents and eat their big meal, and then go to bed at maybe 4 or 5 am. The next day they sleep in and eat a breakfast type of meal when they wake up.  So, many people near my house in either the high rise next door or in some kind of other place out back party with loud music and light off fireworks at night so I've had a hard time having a normal sleeping schedule.  I'm a light sleeper, and the type who can't sleep until all noise is gone or unless I'm so wiped I will sleep through any noise.  So I've been going to bed late this week and sleeping in.  I'm looking forward to changing that back to a decent hour in the next few days.  No, really I am.  I'm normally a night owl, but my life is taking on more of a pattern in this culture of being early to rise and many things I need to do involve being up and out of the house early some mornings of the week. 

Last night, I spent New Year's at Catedral De Fe (translation Cathedral/Church of Faith) for their new year's service.  It started at 10pm, and went until 6am.  Of course, I didn't make it that long.  When I arrived, they put on Fireproof dubbed in Spanish.  I knew I could understand it but it would still be a challenge.  In fact, I had a real problem understanding why the character of Kirk Cameron's wife was such a mean witch to him through out the movie as he's trying to save their marriage.  Then when I went home and looked up more on it on the internet, and I realized I that a scene in the beginning in the kitchen where he screams in her face and says all sorts of nasty stuff was lost on me and I didn't get the jist of it like I thought.  But other than stuff like that, I understood a dubbed Spanish movie.   Yay for me!

They cut the movie off part way through around 11:40 and had the worship band come on and lead us in some music to lead us right up to the new year, stopped for some sandwiches and drinks, then they put the movie on again, and before I left around past 2am, they were worshipping God some more.  I didn't feel I'd be able to stay up all night.  Maybe if I knew how loud the party near my house would be when I got home I might have stayed, because it was so loud I didn't go to bed until 5am anyway, and slept in until around noon.  I may have been perfectly justified in staying up late and sleeping in lately, but it doesn't make me feel any less lazy today.

Well, I'll catch up and write some more later.  If you haven't ever checked out www.fireonyourhead.org, I gave the site a complete design overhaul in the last few days, and I must say I REALLY like the new look.  That's another thing I've done with my time during the holidays, and I'm happy with it.

Have a happy new year!