Tag Archives: spiritual growth

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 25

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Deb and Rob had some great input in our last discussion concerning the angel sent to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. If you missed that discussion or any of the others you can find them at

http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Book of Acts!

Here is our discussion topic for today:

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

21 So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?” 

22 They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” 23 So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.” Acts 10:9-23

For today’s discussion tell me about five things that stand out to you in this dream sequence.

 

Pastor Wrinkles: Faith & Hope Pt. 1

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One of my readers recently used a quote in her blog that sparked a conversation  regarding the difference between faith and  hope. At a suggestion from her I thought I might create a few posts detailing the ideas of faith and hope as they are laid out in the Bible.

Let’s start with  faith. The word faith is translated 247 times in 231 verses of Scripture. It goes without saying, that amount of mentions makes faith a major topic in the Bible.The Greek word usually translated as “faith is  “Pistis”,  a noun defined as  “a conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the New Testament it refers to a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it.” (Strong’s g 4102)

My friend Dawn calls faith an intangible, and that it is! The Bible calls it a substance, and it is that as well (Heb. 11:1). Like love, faith cannot be touched or examined with the natural senses( sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste). It is perceived with the soul (the mind, the will and the emotions) and is acted upon by the spirit (the part of us that connects with the spirit world).

The apostle Peter tells us that faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7) but he also alludes to the fact that faith, in all of us, is mixed with many other unseemly things and so needs to be to be “tried by fire”. I think this truth answers the question many of us have about why God allows certain things to happen to us. If God values faith more highly than anything else in the world but we value anything else in the world more highly than faith, wouldn’t it make sense that God would work to take away that thing   so we can come to value what He sees as truly valuable?

Preachers have declared that faith is the currency of Heaven.  In the gospels Jesus states more than a dozen times that it is faith that buys the power of Heaven into the world for healing, miracles and the greatest supernatural work of God(forgiveness of sins).

I could go on much further concerning faith but in the interest of word count I will close with this. Paul the apostle taught that every human has faith inside of them when he wrote, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3 NKJV)  This is our segue into the next post on hope. If it is true that every man has faith living inside of him (like everyone has love living inside of him), then it is impossible to be truly faithless. Being unable to use our faith is not really a faith problem, then. It is a hope problem.

Don’t miss Faith & Hope Pt. 2!

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 24

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Once again I am thankful to so many of you who are following along with this class. A few of you have even gone back to the beginning and are catching up and recently I was asked to add House On fire from its beginning to our church Facebook page. So we may have a few more students joining us here in the blogosphere!

If you want to go back and review some of our previous classes go here:

http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh

Now on with today’s thoughts:

We find ourselves today reading the story of the conversion of the Centurion Cornelius in Acts 10:1-8

 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. 

3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! 5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa. Acts 10:1-8 NLT

In Acts chapter 9 Jesus himself appears to Paul and again to the man Ananias. Why do you suppose Jesus sent an angel to Cornelius rather than going himself?

Heaven Pt. 134: Who’s To Blame?

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While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Job 1:16

“If God is all-powerful why didn’t He…?” I am sure you can fill in the blank with any number of items God did not stop or start. The question of why God “does” certain things and “refuses to do” certain other things goes to the heart of many a man’s bitterness against the Almighty.

Job certainly asked (albeit without a sinful heart), “Why are you doing this God?”

The truth is God is all-powerful and He can do or not do anything He desires but not without consequences. God set the universe in motion but mankind designed its boundaries. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Rom. 8:20, 21

Mankind created the futility by choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Our race subjected the creation to its destructive course. We welcomed death into our lives. We who could have known only good sought to understand evil and the rest as they say is history. From the moment of Adam and Eve’s banquet of destruction to now God has been working …”in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Rom. 8:21   His every purpose was and is  part of a complex redemptive strategy with so many twists and turns that even angels failed to understand it.Yet we humans with our admittedly weak vision still lay blame at the feet of God whenever tragedy strikes.

We cry, “Where is God?”

To that cry the apostle Peter lays out the explanation, “

3Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Pet. 3:3-13

Who’s to blame? We are.

Who’s gonna fix it? God is.

When’s He gonna do that? When the last person who can be redeemed receives redemption.

What’re we to do until then? Wait and deal as best we can with the mess we made.

 

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 23

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

 

Many thanks to my readers and commenters for making these posts a success! Thank you Lee and Debby for your comments from the last class. Thank you to to those who have read and liked the last episode of “House On Fire”.

Check out their blogs at

http://jessicahof.wordpress.com/

http://ohthethingsweshallsee.com/

http://thesanctuaryofmyheart.com/

Now let’s be off to today’s collaboration, shall we? Acts 9:32-43 NIV

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

In these two instances we see Peter operating in great authority commanding healing and miracles rather than asking for them. How did Peter come to the place of operating in this authority? Is this same level of authority available to every believer? If so what stops us from moving in it?

 

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 22

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Many thanks to Daryl, Rob and Debby who took part in our last discussion on the Book of Acts. Daryl and Rob both have blogs of their own and let me suggest you check them out by going to

Daryl at   http://darylgstewart.net/

Rob at    http://www.robsreallife.com/

I look forward to hearing from you dear readers as we discuss together the book of Acts.  If you need to catch up on any of our discussions to this point you can find them at https://josephelonlillie.com/pastor-wrinkles/house-on-fire/

Now for today’s discussion starter: Acts 9:23-31

23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan.Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Saul of Tarsus (soon to change his name to Paul) never would have been accepted by the church if it were not for an elder who stood up for him among the brethren.  Barnabus  whose name means “Son of Encouragement”, took Paul under his wing and gave him the platform from which he could launch a world-changing ministry.

Tell me about a Barnabus in your life. Why was it important to have that person in your corner?

Does God want to use you as a Barnabus? What would it take for that to happen?

Heaven Pt. 133: How Many Times Around the Mountain?

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“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies. “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.” Neh. 9:26-28 NIV

Today’s “Heaven” verses speak to the mercy of God and the sinfulness of man. God brought the Israelites into the Promised Land, the place of blessing,  but the blessing didn’t change their willful hearts; So they entered into a cycle of sin that went something like this: The people sinned; God sent judgment; The people repented and cried for help; God heard from Heaven and sent a savior; As soon as they felt safe the people sinned again; The cycle repeated.

I think all of us can relate. If not current, this cycle has been common to all of us at some point in our lives. Some of us made excuses for the cycle blaming circumstances or other people for our cyclical sin;

“If only I had less stress I would…” 

“If only I made more money I could stop…”

“If only my spouse weren’t such a jerk I could…”

Our verses today teach us that the problem is not with the world. It really has nothing to do with externals. Neither external stressors, money issues, nor your spouse have the power to make you sin. Sin comes from an inner proclivity towards disobedience and rebellion which we all carry. Until we cop to that and stop making excuses we can never be free. Until we stop trying to fix the outer world and address the real problem, which is with our hearts, we will keep going around the same mountain of bondage.

But as soon as we admit we are the problem and that only Jesus is the solution…as soon as we ask Him to change us rather than the world, we can  leave the mountain and enter our own Promised Land!

What is your mountain today?

Hey!  check out the rest of the Heaven posts at     https://josephelonlillie.com/pastor-wrinkles/the-heaven-posts/

Knowledge Preferred

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Today technicolor blood drips from HD screens. Bullet holes, stab wounds, fangs mark made for TV movies. But what is left when the story can no longer be told between good and evil?

Light and dark fade.

Yin and Yang cease.

Misty morning comes.

What mortal fascination relies on the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil? What entertainment shall remain when the tension juxtaposed precariously on tenterhooks of fairy tales Is eaten by the Revelation?

Eve’s fruit, one

Silver screen

Nibble, replaced.

the Knowledge Preferred shall swallow the knowledge of Good and Evil. No drama will be  lost by the resolution of the final scene. Knowledge Preferred is the rising of the curtain on a new series made for bigger screens and better stories than mere good and evil can contain.

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 21

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Well here we are for another discussion in the Book of Acts. I am so thankful to Anne and Debby for their thoughtful comments here over the last few sessions and I am looking forward to even more of you sharing their thoughts and questions today. If you have missed any of our sessions and wish to catch up go here     https://josephelonlillie.com/pastor-wrinkles/house-on-fire/

Now on to today’s topic:

Acts 9:1-16 reads,

 

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way,whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

TELL ME:

How do you think God spoke to Ananias?

Do you think it was the same way he spoke to Saul?

How does God speak to you?

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 20

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

I am off to Hyannis for a pastor’s conference. Our keynote speaker for the next few days will be Sam Huddleston. Before I go, though, I wanted to start off our next discussion in the book of Acts. If you have missed any of our previous discussions and would like to join the loop it’s not too late. Just look on the “House On Fire” page under the “Pastor Wrinkles” drop down above.

Here is today’s discussion topic:

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 8:26-40 NIV

Question: If you were Philip how would you have felt being called away from the revival in Samaria? Would you have felt any different after speaking with the Ethiopian eunuch?