This is my 1st post of this year… Shame on me… more will follow, in Jesus Name 

Quick word: We are all familiar with Judges 1 when, after Joshua died the children of Israel asked the Lord who should go up 1st against the Canaanites to fight against them… And the Lord replied Judah shall go up 1st.  The next verse says Judah asked his brother Simeon to go up with him.  When I read that, immediately it came to my heart to look up Simeon’s name and it’s meaning…

In studying, two things came up:
1.) Simeon was Leah’s 2nd born… Remember Leah was the wife Jacob received when he was trying to work for the hand of Rachel.  The Bible says that Jacob loved Rachel & hated Leah so God closed Rachel’s womb and opened Leah’s.  Leah’s 2nd born,Simeon, was named just that ” Because the LORD hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.“ (Gen 29:33b)
2.) Simeon also means I hear and I obey or like Simon… Si - Mon… Si in Spanish is yes… Yes Mon… Jamaican 

What’s my point… Not only did praise go up 1st, but Simeon… The expectation that as praise goes up that God will hear and respond!  Also, @ the same time as praise goes up and an expectation of a response from God, a heart open that says “Lord I will hear what you say and OBEY” should accompany as well!

So as we Praise & Worship the Lord, let us ALWAYS magnify Him with the expectation that He will hear and RESPOND; and have an EAR TO HEAR what he’s saying as we’re in His Presence, with a made up mind that WE WILL OBEY!  If you continue to read on in Judges, you’ll see that the children of Israel didn’t obey completely what God told them to do, and their destruction came from that which they didn’t kill!  (that will be a future post)

Be Blessed,

J2

In church I always hear many who talk about being free in Christ Jesus.  I used to use the phrase all the time, not really understanding all that it meant (I probably don’t understand all that it means now :).  In many circles that I was in, liberty was reduced to being free so that I could where what I wanted or eat what I wanted.  I wasn’t bound by religious “do’s and don’ts.”  I was now free in Him; so don’t judge me or try to condemn me.

While some of those things are true, to reduce liberty to just that was very shallow.  To think that God would send His Son so that I could wear what I wanted to wear…. there must be more to it than just that.  While I could spend a bunch or time getting into this, I believe there’s one starting point I want to make in this post.  It comes out of Gal 5:13-14.  It states that we are not to use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, BUT through love serve one another.  How many times have you heard someone say “Yes, I’ve been given liberty so that through love I can serve you/others”?

Vs 14 says that all the law is fulfilled in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  I thought about serving others and loving others as I love myself.  How can I do that?  What does that look like?  What came to my heart was Luke 6:31 which tells us to do to others what we would want them to do to us.

Where am I trying to go with this?  We’ve been given Freedom/Liberty to serve others, to truly love people as we love ourselves.  I thought about the people in the building where I live.  If I didn’t know the Lord, how would I want them to treat me?  I’d want them to do everything in their power to reach me with the Gospel.  I’d want them to not worry about being embarrassed, not worrying what I will say; not being so busy that they wouldn’t tell me the truth; not being afraid to bring to me LIFE; not sitting back and watching me go to HELL!  It really shook me…. If that’s what I’d want them to do, then why wasn’t I doing the same for them?  Because I wasn’t walking in the Liberty by which Christ had made me free.  I was entangled by the yoke of bondage (pride, selfishness, selfish ambition, fear, etc).

The world is looking for truth.  They are diving into magic, sorcery, all different types of religion, etc.  They are searching…. we have the remedy…. but will we sit back and watch them die…. or BRING THEM THE TRUTH, not hoping that they’ll “come to church” but bring the church (you) to them?  People are looking for people to really be the church; to love them and speak the truth in love, and really show His love by loving one another!

What are you gonna do with the Freedom you’ve been given?

J2

So what do we do when we find ourselves caught up in something that has become a stronghold, because we covered it up to look good in front of everyone else (white wash); or however the stronghold was given it’s place?

1st thing’s 1st.  The Bible says to cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for us…. So we have a direct invitation to bring the matter to Him.  The Bible also tells us to lay aside the weight and sin that so easy knocks us off course (read this passage… it goes into what to do if you feel yourself wavering in Faith).  In my life I’ve coupled this scripture with 1 John 1:9 that says if we confess our sins He’s faithful to forgive me and to also cleanse me.  So we are to confess to Him to be forgiven and cleansed, and to lay aside sin.  Laying it aside is putting it away and everything that would either draws you to it or causes you to be succeptable to it.  i.e. if God delivers me from lust, I shouldn’t be watching tv shows and movies that portray lustful situations, or I shouldn’t stay up to late when I’m tired and all the “wild” shows come on or I’m just “surfing” the internet @ 12am (I believe that we should really monitor these activities if you’ve struggled or not, but that’s another post :)….

One thing that the Bible says, and that we often skip over, is that we are to confess are faults ONE TO ANOTHER and PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER so that we may be healed.  I believe that many of us are forgiven and even cleansed but there is a scab on the wound/area of our heart where the issue resided.  When we don’t confess out faults one to another and pray for one another, the scab covering the wound is scratched of, causing bleeding again!  In our society we don’t want to tell anyone about our faults, settling for looking good instead of being good!  People usually learn more from our failures than our successes.  Be transparent.  Tell of your faults and be healed!  Completely healed!

This is just one of many angles to tackle this issue with.  This is the one I believe He wanted me to focus on for the readers today.  What are your thoughts?

Be Blessed,

J2

@ our July Refresh Service (we have a Worship Night every 1st Wednesday of the month… Christian Life Center, Tinley Park IL) I felt that there were people there who wanted to really be changed, who had baggage that they’d been carrying for years.  There were others there that carried baggage the same way, but were content on hanging on to their baggage because it’d been there for so long.  This post goes along with a previous post talking about malfunctioning Christians.

The question @ hand that night and to you now is are you white washed or have you been washed white?  There are a lot of us who are white washed… What is that Jon Jones? Imagine a dirty wall….. Now, to quickly get it’s appearance to look acceptable, you can take some paint and paint over the dirt.  It would look nice, but underneath the paint, the dirt would still there.  For many reasons this is what has happened to Christians.  We have covered up our issues, our baggage, instead of getting them dealt with; totally eradicated!  One of the many reasons is that this has occurred is that we’ve faced the pressure of putting up a front.  When we received Jesus as our Lord & Savior, there was a religious pressure saying that either we weren’t really saved if we had issues, or we didn’t know how to get it dealt with or who to tell because we saw other people faults gossiped and passed throughout the church.

So we covered it up, rejoicing on Sunday mornings, midweek services and the like, but defeated in our homes!  And the longer the issue is not dealt with, the stronger the hold it has on us…..

So how do we deal with these issues….?  How do we allow His Righteousness to exude through us and lay down the chains of bondage?

We will finish this tomorrow, so stay tunes…..

Be Blessed,

J2

What an exciting trip I and a few worship leaders from my church had!  Every time you go to teach or be a blessing, He always ends up teaching you and blessing you!  This time was no different…..

The Turkish society is about 99% Muslim.  To top that, Christians are viewed as anti-government, rebels, and even CIA agents, with these ideas proliferated by the media!  Recently (2007) friends of the church we visited were martyred there.  The church is healing and, at the same time, cautious in their proclamation of Jesus.  We talked to a young man from the church we visited (probably between 25 & 30 years old, who will remain nameless) who came from America to live there.  Even with all that’s going on there he is adamant about declaring the Gospel!  He literally goes into mosques and witnesses to people.  He says that He has to exercise discernment and “be led by the Spirit.”  Here’s a situation where he can be not only talked about but be physically harmed.

Of course Holy Spirit had me look in the mirror and look @ the American Church.  We are so laid back, talking to people about God “when it’s convenient,” and even then not giving the Gospel Message.  Here are some self examination ?’s…..

1.) How many people have you led to the Lord in the last year? 2 years? 5 years

2.) How many people are you discipling right now?  How many have you discipled in the last year? 2 years? 5 years?

3.) Have you told your neighbors about Him?  Do you have any type of relationship with your neighbor besides an occasional “hi?”

I know many people out there either trying to find out what their specific calling.  Many operate in their gifts and are comfortable with what is perceived to be their calling.  But please know that before any gift or calling, we are ALL CALLED to the ministry of Reconciliation, bringing men and women to Him.  The Bible also tells us to make disciples of all men.  We have an opportunity to preach the Gospel, to have a voice and proclaim the Truth, to change our country; but the majority of the American church is concerned about themselves, and a “me” centered atmosphere has prevailed… what can church do for me… my family… how can the church meet my needs?????

We must step up and proclaim the Good News.  People are dying next door to you.  Will you watch them die, when you have the Antidote?  Will you be overwhelmed by trying to take on the world, or will you start with 1?  Witnessing to 1…. Discipling 1….. Teaching that 1 how to Disciple others… and MULTIPLY!?!?!?!?!?!?

J2

PS There are many resources if you are not sure how to either witness or disciple… Use them…. Comment me and I’ll post an email address…. But don’t just sit there….

PSS Please understand that the rights we now enjoy are being taken away one by one.  The voice of the church is under attach and efforts are being made to silence us.  We need to fight these efforts… I believe that just as the early church of Acts didn’t do what the Lord Commisioned them to do (Go into all the world and preach the Gospel) but were content to ‘have church,’ they we persecuted and made to do the work of the Lord.  I pray that it doesn’t take that for us to do it!

Forgive me for not posting in such a long time, especially considering we just had a Worship Night in South Holland, IL.  For all my area readers, again, forgive me for not posting to tell you guys about it.  The Night itself (last night, 3/20/09) was such a God Appointment.  We fasted and prayed, being led by Him as to what He was trying to do with us (Atmosphere of Heaven, my Worship Group) as well as all those who were to attend.  He met us there and did far above that.

God has called me to the Ministry of Reconciliation (I’m sure I’ve mentioned it a bit in a previous post).  I know that this ministry is to all of us, but what He’s placed on my heart specifically is Reconciling the Body to be in harmony with His Will; and that being that we break down the walls of division that have separated us and join together to establish His Kingdom on earth!  It seems like a daunting task, considering the walls that separate us; race, denomination, gender, age, culture, and the like….. But God!  He is Sovereign.  He has an agenda and His Will will be done.

We experienced a glimpse of that Friday Night (@ River Oaks Community Church of South Holland), as not only were the participants impacted that came out to the Worship Night, but we truly believe that the area that we were in (South Holland & Chicagoland area) was impacted.  This blog would be too long to explain all that happened and all that God did, but I just thank Him for showing Himself strong, and working through His Children with the Gifts of the Spirit, causing repentance, healing, deliverance and restoration!

If you’re not from this area, pray for us, we will have Worship Nights every 3rd Friday of the month (I will definitely post the one for April).  Pray for our Region that the body of Christ would come together and be the true Family of God, repenting of allowing the divisions to rest in our hearts.  While you’re at it, pray for your Region, your state! (If you know someone in this area, tell them about the worship Nights!)

If you are from this area, come out and be changed in His Presence.  Prepare yourself to meet a Holy God.  Tell your friends who love God, especially Pastors, Worship Leaders/Team Members, Choir Directors/Members and Musicians (These nights are designed to be a night of refreshing for those in Ministry as well.. Those who week after week are “responsible” for the duties in the church).  Be changed, so that everywhere you go, you are a change agent, carrying the Atmosphere of Heaven into every situation, allowing the Presence of God to transform people, situations, and atmospheres!!!!

Be Blessed,

J2

www.myspace.com/aohlive

I had to post this one from my mother.  WOW!  And yes, I will be posting more frequently, in Jesus Name 

http://heartlifeministries.org/2009/02/sowing-into-another-mans-dream/

A couple days ago I was in a meeting (Actually on speaker phone because I was sick @ home) and we talked about many things, including being an effective leader.  One thing that God reminded me about was a lesson He gave me years ago and continues to unfold it at each level of leadership in my life.  Initially, the lesson was simply the definition of Minister.  There were times in my life that people in my circle were clamoring for titles and wanted people to refer to them as minister, elder, missionary, etc, etc.  The Lord reminder me then that we are all ministers, for the base definition of minister is servant!

Being an effective leaders requires that we are effective servants.  If our mindsets are bent on being served, we are missing the boat.  I look @ Jesus’ ministry, and all he did was serve.  He served the people and served the disciples, even washing their feet.  If there is anything we want people under our influence to do, we have to do it 1st.  We have to be the ones leading the way, showing how it’s done, not to try to manipulate someone into serving you, but servanthood being a part of who you are, because that’s who He is! ( men, if you want your wife to submit, you submit 1st.  Be the leader…. and not out of manipulation…. but out of love and respect for Him and your wife, and out of a heart of servanthood. If Jesus is our example of the bridegroom, we are to humble ourselves and serve our bride as He did his… Just a side note 

If there is anything we want to multiply, it’s a heart to love & serve others.  What are you multiplying, in your home, on your job, in everyone you have influence over?