PHOENIX RISING

Well, I have really been wanting to write a post on what ‘the gospel’ message really is and means (to me…), but right now I would just like to share this article with y’all concerning the mission of the church (according to Brother Tom Wright).

Just so you know, I have been reading him quite a bit lately and must say that I’m quite impressed.

(Don’t worry. I know better than to think, ‘He’s the man!!’. He just seems to be a gifted brother with some fresh insights.)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

~Johnny

P.S.

Yeah, yeah…

I know. He’s a ‘bishop’ in the ‘I.C.’.

He’s still a brother….okay?!

Greetings all!

It has been a little while since my last post, and so I thought that I would drop in and write a few lines to those who may be wondering about me.

Well, I suppose the things that I have to share right now are pretty simple.

The Lord has been working in my heart quite a bit lately.

Basically, He has taught me something about priorities and responsibility.

He has taught me that it is very possible to believe that we are doing the work of God while in actuality we are neglecting His Kingdom, His reign.

More specifically, He has shown me, once again the difference between operating from the head and operating out of the heart.

Without going into great detail, I will simply say that I have harvested from the labors of my flesh, and have tasted the bitter fruit of that harvest.

The Lord brought much light into my life concerning some things that, previously, I could not see.

The Lord has shown me, with great clarity, the divine pattern for the life of the family man.

God, family, church, world.

I know the theological arguments that could come from this:

“Well, the church is the New Family…”

“The great commission is more important that the family or the local church…” 

Nope.

I fully understand the reality and the significance of being adopted into the Family of God.

And I also understand the importance of reaching the lost with the message and substance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Even so, Husbands, love your own wives even as Christ loves the church.

There is much being said in that one little statement.

But how do we do that? No, it’s not that my wife isn’t lovable. It’s that I am still a very selfish person.

It takes a revelation of Jesus Christ.

We must first get a glimpse of the height, and depth, and width and breadth of this Great love that Jesus Christ has for mankind, and consequently, His church.

We must move beyond the conditional love that we have grown so accustomed to in our own natural love, and our own tainted and impure images and ideas of Gods love in Jesus the Messiah.

We must come into a true apprehension of the absolute selflessness that Jesus Christ embodied as He sought to never do His own will, but always to only do the will of The One who sent Him, His beloved Father.

Again, this never comes down to ‘law obedience’, but rather it comes down to the obedience of faith.

It is not, ‘Thou shalt Love thy wife…’ as a command, but rather, ‘Thou shalt love thy wife…’ as a promise which God makes good within you as you grow up in the revelation of the good news and faithfulness of Christ.

So, practically speaking, what has all of this meant to me in the last several weeks?

There is only so much time a day….

God is first, family is next, then church, then the world…

Right now, the Lord is helping me to iron out some things within the first two ‘categories’ and also re-introducing me into the third, while giving me a little insight into the forth.

But for now, for sure, I just do not have the time, energy, or specific calling to say much here in the blogisphere.

But I will say this; I am eternally grateful for the handful (or two) of relationships that I have made here.

Some of you have been here for me when I felt that I had no where else to turn.

Some of you have prayed for me and my family during incredibly dark seasons of my life when I had lost all hope.

You know who you are

…and I thank you with everything that is within me.

I truly give thanks to you all, and hopefully will ’see’ you sometime in the future, rather if it’s here on the web, or perhaps sometime in person.

For me, it’s time to stop talking so much, and to start living so much more.

That’s about it.

I love you all,

Keep me in your prayers,

I pray the Lords Spirit of wisdom and revelation to you all, most sincerely!!

Your Brother,

Johnny

Just a quick entry for anyone who might be interested:

The Lord has impressed upon my heart for sometime now the necessity of coming into who has has called me to be in Him.

This calling isn’t one which says, “You must be a good husband”, or “You must be a good Father”, or “You must be a good employee” or “You must become a good neighbor”, etc…

These are not the demands that God puts upon us.

No, this would be no different than living by the law of moses. “Thou shalt___________”

God summed up all of His righteous requirements in His only begotten Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Because of the life and work of Jesus the Messiah, we have the promise and reality of possessing a new life to live.

As the Lord works in us, by His Spirit, and as we learn to trust in His work, to abide in Him, and not in our our own attempts of accomplishing our holiness, we begin to see change in our lives.

Does this mean that we become ‘passive’ or lazy?

Not at all.

It is when we truly believe in the person and work of Jesus on our behalf that we find the power of His Spirit within which enables us to be conformed into the image of His Son.

“Navel gazing” happens most frequently when all of the above mentioned merely takes place on mental plane,…in a sort of ‘doctrinal’ understanding.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes“

If you lack the power of God for the outworking of your salvation, I plead with you to seek the Lord in prayer to give you a heart which believes  the gospel of Christ.

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It is tempting for me to say that I will not be posting anymore, or that I have stopped blogging.

All that I can say is that I am leaving myself open to the will of the Lord, and right now He has me enjoying Life with my family and immediate community.

Much love to you all in Jesus Christ,

~Johnny