The government upon His shoulders

Isaiah 9 gives us a beautiful picture of the coming Savior. It is the prophecy of hope and redemption, the promise of the coming Man who will rectify the chasm between God and His people. Until Christ became the propitiation for sin God could not in His holiness come to us as He desired, and we had no ability to come to Him.

In verse 6 Isaiah prophecies that the government will be upon His shoulders. The Christ would bear the weight of ruling the nations and in return the nations would call Him "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The fullness of Jesus' name is released to the hearts of those under His leadership. In awestruck wonder we will declare His worth and might for all of eternity.

When examining this verse the correlation is drawn to the priestly temple duties. In Exodus 28:9-10 the shoulder pads of the priestly garments are described. On each shoulder there is to be a stone with the name of six tribes inscribed upon it. Once a year the priest would enter the holy of holies before God. This symbolizes the priest carrying the nation of Israel upon his shoulders into the presence of God. The whole nation was dependent on one man to intercede for them, and to meet with God on behalf of them. Because the holiness of God would kill any man who entered the holy place God instructed the priestly ministry to represent all of Israel. 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  and since we have a Great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10

Jesus became our High Priest, bearing the weight of our sin upon His body and carried us into the holy place. We can now come boldly before God through the veil of His flesh. To those that have been baptized into the body of Christ, we have literally been clothed in Christ. God no longer sees us as the sinful flesh that we are but as His Son! The beauty of the cross wasn't just in forgiveness of sin, but that we now become our own priest in Christ, representing ourselves before God through the veil of Jesus. Now at anytime we are able to access the throne of God. Thanks be to God who has given us the victory in Christ Jesus. Thanks be to the beautiful One who carries us upon His shoulders into the presence of God.

Ministry of the Temple Guards

  When God created man He put Adam in a garden and told him to "tend and keep" the place where God would encounter him. God created the garden perfectly but left the maintenance and care in the hands of a priest, Adam. Adam stood between God and creation, fully able to commune with God and yet fully identifying with creation. Adam was the intercessor between heaven and earth, the connecting point, the vessel through which  God's kingdom was established on earth. When Adam fell creation was thrown into disarray as the connecting point was destroyed. Humanity could no longer represent themselves before God, and the connecting point between God and man became one man, once a year.

  The same language used to instruct Adam to "tend and keep" the garden is the same used when God established the temple ministry. The Levites were set apart to minister before the Lord Numbers 3:12 Numbers 8:13-19. They were in charge of tending the Holy Place, ensuring the beauty and luster of the tabernacle or temple was maintained. The Levites tended to the only place where God and man would meet. The reward for the Levites was the Lord. Numbers 18:20.

  Through the blood of Jesus God has washed and restored humanity so that now we can return to our created purpose, being the very vessels of God Himself. The holy of holies has been placed inside of us, we now house the living God. The entire work we strive for should be centered around ministry unto the Lord, bringing our temple into agreement with the Being that dwells there. Through the act of tending the holy place we encounter the Holy. When our desire becomes a longing to make the temple pure and beautiful the Cloud settles in. And there is nothing better than living with the burning fire of His presence on the inside.

  The issues God has been raising inside my spirit has centered around the concept of protecting the place God dwells, making it as hospitable as possible, fighting with every breath the live in agreement with His holiness and beauty. When God established the temple ministry He assigned a portion of Levites to guarding the holy place. Their duties were to kill anything unclean that would approach the tent of meeting or temple. And in this season of my life I feel the Holy Spirit asking "Where are the temple guards?" "Where are the ones willing to do whatever it takes to encounter Me?"

 The primary gates we should be guarding are our eyes and ears.

  Jesus makes it clear in Luke 11:34, that what our eyes rest upon either fills us with light or darkness. In my own life God has made it obvious; I have allowed all manner of evil to come through the gates of my eyes and defile the holy place. We have dulled our spirits in such a manner that we don't notice the sexual innuendos in the TV shows we watch, we don't blink at adulterous acts, or homosexual hints. We have become washed out in the name of PG-13. The spirit of prophecy and revelation is being drown out by the spirit of Jezebel. If my four year old son cannot watch a movie, why should I? Is my defense "I can handle it?" Because that is the indictment to my dull spirit. We try so hard to protect the innocence of children yet let our own innocence become trampled. A tender spirit towards God is an undefiled spirit before Him. What we turn our gaze upon comes and takes root in our hearts. Images we willingly place before our eyes will rest in our minds long after it is removed. The joy and pleasure of meditating on the Word has been replaced with an empty defaming lie from entertainment. And what I feel God is calling a generation to is tearing down the idol of entertainment and finding what true pleasure is; gazing into the eternity of the compassionate and merciful God found in the face of Jesus.

  The gates of our ears is another issue we have compromised long enough. We have found enjoyment in entertainment that uses the beautiful, glorious, majestic Son of God as an expletive. The One we say is so precious and dear to us is being defamed in what we find pleasure in! We would not stand for anyone degrading and slandering our spouse, yet we feel nothing when the precious name of our Savior is used as a curse word to express violence and anger. We have idols in our living rooms above our fireplaces and in the corners that speak! They speak of immorality, blasphemy, self-promotion and murder. All of those themes are easily found in a PG movie. It is not about the degree of sin, rather the spirit of sin which is slowly lullabying us into a spiritual slumber then death.

The other issue we face regarding our ears is; the entertainment of slander. We have embraced a culture of media, talk shows, sports programs and all other manner of entertainment (and friendships) that degrades human beings. The message we hear is one that looks for any fault and blows it up astronomically. And this spirit has not remained on the outside, it has entered and wrecked havoc on the body of Christ. It has made us so critical and negative towards the Bride of Christ that we can't function as edifying members. We have begun to live in such a state of fear of opinion and slander that it has crippled our progress into Christ. Because of this spirit we live in the easy lane of not being noticed, or we want to be noticed but only in socially accepted arenas. The difficult things of Jesus are pushed aside for fear of man. We have developed lifestyles and a doctrine that couldn't possibly offend anyone. In our attempts to be unoffensive we no longer receive the necessary rebuke and disciplines of Jesus! Revelation 3:19 I need to be rebuked! I need discipline! I need to be sharpened! Iron cannot sharpen iron that flees from the pain of grinding out the imperfections. And iron cannot sharpen itself, I need others to chastise me into who God wants me to be. A slanderous critical spirit has disabled our ability to sharpen each other as we are all constantly guarded against one another. Everyone is entirely suspicious of each ones motives, because we submerse ourselves in a spirit of condemnation and slander through our entertainment. We don't know what it means to rebuke with the intent of bringing forth perfection.

God restore the ministry of temple guards! The ones who will fight off anything that approaches the gates and seeks to defile the holy place. Raise up a generation after Your heart, those who love what You love and hate what You hate. Make us quick to eradicate darkness we have tolerated in our midst, shine Your light into our hearts and make known Your Son.

Learning How To Be Pruned

  This year has been a year of trials, a year of feeling the fire of the Potter working in me a deeper level of commitment and love. A year of pruning, as we know in John 15 those whom the Father loves He prunes. And the only way to bear more fruit is through the pain of the pruning process, through the suffering or loss of many things we hold dear.

I feel as though I have suffered on so many levels: 

  -The first week of January I began to experience low back pain, being the optimist that I am I naturally figured it would sort itself out. It did not, it progressively worsened and by the 3rd week of January my left leg became useless as my sciatic nerve morphed into a spasmatic nuisance. I continued working under the presumption that it would work itself out. I could no longer put my socks on, I would wake up my wife to help me get dressed before work every morning. Some mornings the pain would be so bad I would lay on the floor and cry. Sleep was minimal, sitting was impossible and every shift of position sent a screaming pain down my leg with 30 seconds of spasms. I went to work every day under the thought that this would pass shortly, all the while receiving chiropractic care. Finally one morning (February 26th) I went into emergency after a sleepless night and waking up unsure if I could even get to the car and to emergency. This was a saturday (also my last day of work), monday I went to my Doctor who arraigned an MRI and gave me an IBUPROFEN prescription. The MRI showed a herniated disc lodged against my nerve. I saw a neurosurgeon two weeks later who prescribed me Vicodin. I am strongly opposed to narcotic medicine but the pain was so severe I crumbled into a desire for anything that would relieve my misery.  Long story short I eventually had back surgery on April 20th. By the time I had the surgery I was taking three vicodin every 4-6 hours to get some relief. In this time I felt like a miserable dad (we have 4 kids under 4 at this time) and husband as I was virtually a mass to be cared for within my home. After the surgery my pain was gone but replace with the pain from the surgery. I immediately stopped taking the vicodins and suffered withdraw for about a week. During this time I could not sleep longer than three hours and my mood's were awful. I also could not hardly move, (I didn't realize how crucial the low back is when it comes to movement) due to pain. Slow recovery but by the third week I started feeling ok. As of June 25th I am still not pain-free but I am much more mobile and live with more of an discomfort than a searing pain.

  -I stopped working February 26th, at this time I went onto disability insurance and trusted God to be the provision for my family. I recognize that I am not the provider, God chooses to use my employment as the vessel for our provision. Disability pay quickly dropped to 70% of my normal pay, and is now at 60%. Tight would be a good descriptive word for the budgeting. 

  -About the second week of January I contracted bronchitis. I coughed continuously for four weeks. Night and day, and every time I coughed my back would shoot pain. Not a great add on to the already persistent problem.

  -Year to date our van has had two fairly major problems requiring time, effort and money to fix. Currently a rubber band ensures the ability to shift out of park. 

  -Also God arraigned many difficult people into my path during this time requiring an extra exertion of love to be displayed in the middle of my darkest hour. Funny how He does that.

  In all of this my prayer was, "God keep my heart in you" I was longing for Him to bring me through this time of trials but more than that desperately asking Him not to waste what I was enduring. He seemed to be testing my resolve to love Him in whatever season I was facing. He has been testing me with fire to see what really stands. A verse that has really struck me recently is:

When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory.

Colossians 3:4

  When the fire comes to separate the chaff from the wheat all that will remain in my life is that which I have buried in Christ. I can only learn to bury myself in Christ in difficult times, in the times when I have nothing else going for me. Wealth, notoriety and all manner of worldly recognition of success only promotes the carnal nature in me to become independent instead of leaning on my Beloved. For this reason, I keep asking that Christ would display His greatness through my praise in physical torment. The eternal joy is from the encounter of Light on the inside, not from the gain of physical splendor around me. My prayer has been and will continue to be "God grind me into the ground that I might become like you." Worldly success can only divert this goal, I know that pain produces Christ in ways nothing else can. Considering trials as joy means we recognize the eternal value of afflictions. I want to live with constant affliction, that I would always have a Jacob limp, or some other means of discomfort that forces me to press in daily. I know the weakness of my own flesh and apart from my flesh living in some form of torment I would surely not need God at the level I desire. I need God to keep my physical foundation shaken so I must lean into Him.

  We are well financially and I am returning to work shortly. Please don't interpret this as a request for help, I only wish to share my suffering so that others may take heart when they suffer loss. God's greatest plan for us is that we would become molded into the bride His Son deserves. I want to send that desire right back to Him. Whatever it takes Lord, make me a man after your own heart.

  

  

Issue of Consumption; Loving God on Purpose

  A causal approach to my relationship with God leaves me comfortable, once I have settled into comfort a self righteousness arises, and all manner of spiritual apathy. The first warning to know I have wandered from a correct position is a loss of spiritual appetite. As God is inexhaustibly pleasurable, encountering Him ravishes the heart and leaves us longing for more. To encounter Him is to live in want, a constant hunger for more. We crave food naturally, the longing to consume isn't bad, we were made to consume, but the object of consumption determines the outcome of our fruit, eternity, calling and families.

  One of the first things God addressed in my life once I decided to live for Him was the object (or objects) of my consumption. He made me keenly aware of what my heart was attached to due to my intentionally indulgence. I had a habit of calling things I was consumed with my ministry, or saying I could love God in everything. (Which is absolutely true) But in my case the Holy Spirit highlighted that my motives for all of my activities and entertainment was based in a desire to find enjoyment apart from Him. I had made my life so busy doing things in the name of Him that I didn't commune with Him in an ever growing depth. I found that I could no longer justify hours of fun filled events saying "I am ministering to the people here" when I truly just wanted to have a good time. And in the end I never actually spoke about Jesus, making character just another form of works. There is one gospel, the gospel of Jesus, my good character isn't even close to the gospel. My character cannot change hearts, the heart maker needs introduction to truly impact people. We live the gospel so that our testimony is valid. What God was calling me into was a season of radical re-orientation of the heart. To truly live for "one thing," and abolish every other lover that was hindering true love. The pain of withdrawing from worldly relationships and events and focusing in on Jesus is hard, but the reward is so good. I long to live Kingdom minded and not culturally or even Christian minded.

 What we consume becomes evident by our likes and dislikes. Consumption of Jesus always leads to love for God and others. When we fill up on Him continually He consumes us, we can't stop talking about Him, daydreaming about Him and finding joy in the relationship with Him. It's the endless fountain of eating and drinking pleasure forever. We will converse and pursue that which we love. What I have come to realize is that my desires will eventually lead me into continual consumption of something, but what will it be? And what I desire will overrun my life, so the issue of becoming filled with the Spirit is critical because I will be filled with something.

"It is not a matter of time but desire, you will make time for what you want to do."
 - David Wilkerson

 The spiritual disciplines are not necessarily reading the Bible and praying, however it is extremely important to do this daily, it is working every day to keep our first love in first place. It is fighting to consume Him in everything so to love Him more. A spiritual discipline to me means there is a bedrock in my heart that keeps me coming back to loving Jesus, and I will fight to keep it that way.

  I have found this fight to keep loving and keeping my heart tender towards Him requires that I intentionally encounter Him on a daily basis. A determination that no matter what I will take even a few moments out of my day to sit before Him and ask for Him to light the fire again. To ask Him to burn in me, consuming me. I am finding that more and more it is less of a casual relationship and more of a diligent searching continually. As in any relationship, to keep the fire of loving burning and the communication lines open requires constant work. Coming back to Him may seem awkward to have that first conversation again, but He so longs for it.

Constantly Returning to our First Love

  As I continue this journey of fighting to abide, contending to live in communion with God, I am finding that love for God must be evaluated and prioritized daily. I find that I must live in constant tension with the things around me to maintain the burning heart that continually says yes to God. True love is a condition of the heart, not actions, not poetic language. It is the desire inside that motivates our thoughts, actions, emotions and the priorities of life. What we love can be found in our daydreams, our spending, where our time goes and what we do points others to.

  The way we operate and organize our lifestyle is just the tell of what dwells inside. Billy Graham made this statement "Give me five minutes with a persons checkbook and I will tell you where their heart is." Jesus says "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." So, even as simple as the topic of our conversation reveals what enthralls us. The consistent action or manner of speech points to the condition of the heart. I in no way feel that individual events reveal hearts, as we all fall, but time reveals as the heart continually makes its way through the flesh.

  When God first woke my heart to love I longed to fill my time talking to Him and of Him. What I found is that I no longer felt like I fit in with people as I longed to converse on the things of God. Not that other people are anything less than me, I just knew what God was calling me to in the context of relationship. His love for me didn't increase because I was filling up on Him, but His presence and my awareness of His Spirit increased. We cannot do anything that increases or decreases His love for us. Contending for Him to have preeminence in our lives positions us to receive Him in greater measure.

  We motivate the people we contact whether we think so or not. Our interactions with others impacts what they like and how they feel. What we inspire others into is a good test of what we are inspired into. We are either a friend of the bridegroom, leading people to love Christ, or we are a friend of the world, pointing people to love the things of this world. Everyone lives with a degree of influence and we need to recognize that we are directing our circles into something, what will it be?

  Loving God for me has put my flesh on edge, and I continually have to fight my flesh to increase the love relationship. (Not that I do it in perfection but I have decided to go hard after it.) The first things God called me to was chastising my heart to align my loves rightly. I had to withdraw from things that God was revealing as other lovers (idols) in my life. (For me it was sports, television, and entertainment based events) It was painful but I learned obedience through what I suffered. And I am now finding that this is a journey that will not be completed this side of glory. Daily I choose what will receive the primary affections of my heart. Here are some evaluations I use on myself.

Will I live to dwell in Him?
Will He be the supplement to my fun filled lifestyle?
Do I want to love Him in all things, or just what I choose?
Will my love for Jesus be drown out by a lazy approach?
Can I destroy idols as God reveals them?

  The primary way to increase love for Jesus is through prayer. Asking Him to fill us with love. (Romans 5:5) Absent of prayer we are legalistic and grow in religious pride. I am not trying to obtain a code of conduct, but trying with all my might to choose things that speak love to God. We know what He loves, when we push into those things it speaks love to Him.

Be encouraged, His desire is to have you all to Himself. It is a desire that is stronger than death, stronger than your weakness and sin. It's a war of inches, fight for the inches in your life, and never stop fighting.

Pushing Through When We Fall Short

  So often in my life I have to refocus my heart on truth. It is so easy for me to become discouraged by my inability to live free of sin and falling short. The accuser who accuses me day and night would have me believe that I have somehow fallen into a category of failures that God has given up on. He is so quick to rub my sin in my face, as if to say it is more powerful than the love of God. Sin does separate us from God but dwelling on failure can do more long term damage than the sin itself. God's desire to have us as a bride is stronger than our weakness.

Faithfulness isn't achieving perfection but longing to become perfected, and striving for this daily.

  Now, the important thing is not to minimize sin, as if it were not important to war against it, but to understand that we are not disqualified because of sin. "While we were still sinners Christ died for us" With the full knowledge of my wicked heart Jesus said yes to loving me, He considered me worth whatever it took to secure my future with Him. It wasn't my ability to become holy that made Him love me, He loved me because He made me, and He will see me through to holiness.

  I have had many seasons where I feel my failures drowning out my heart intentions. But the key to keeping my heart alive and vibrant before God has been to continually look to Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) I have been birthed into a carnal nature that opposes God, and I will not be entirely rid of it until Perfection comes. This does not mean I can settle in, but constantly war against it and keep overcoming sin inch by inch. God is not looking for me to be perfect, He made me perfect in Jesus, He is looking for my heart to scream "I am so in love with you I want to be just like you." The righteousness we received in Christ cannot be improved upon. We have been clothed with the very righteousness of God.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence.

  It is God's grace that allows me to continually repent and come back into His presence. The beauty of grace isn't something that allows me to sit comfortably apart from God, it is the empowerment to pursue God. His grace is sufficient to cover all my weaknesses and failures. Where I can't do it right He makes me right. His love invites me into pursuit and His grace covers me when I fall. It is important to remember that we don't strive to fail, but strive for perfection then His love washes over us when we fall. We don't love to sin knowing His grace covers, but love holiness and His grace covers our sin.

Thanks Be To God Who Has Given Us The Victory In Christ Jesus!

Abiding; Every Second is Jesus

  Upon salvation we didn't accept a moral code, an activity or a religious study, we said yes to a relationship that takes us from glory to glory, in love. The essence of becoming saved is a commitment to relationship with The Holy. Salvation isn't a bridge one can cross with a simple recital of a prayer, but constant prayer, constant communion and transformation. It is a turning from sin and a turning to righteousness and love. A life of continually looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

  This season I find myself longing to dwell in Him and with Him every moment. I want to find myself talking to Him subconsciously, naturally, as if my best friend was next to me every moment of every day. I want to live so distracted by His love and desire for me that it looks like I live on another planet. I want to be embarrassedly interrupted as if writing a love note in grade school. I want to live with a constant smirk as my mind is continually encountering the most intense pleasure possible, Jesus. I want my definition of sin to go from what I act out to what I think about, to me sin is becoming easier to define; anytime my mind wanders from Him. I was made for one thing: "The two shall become one flesh"

  Contemplating what it means to abide in Christ I have found I am incapable apart from Him filling me and hitting my pleasure button, capturing my emotions and devouring every thought. The verse "We love Him because He first loved us" is so beautifully true. We have nothing other than what He has given us. It takes God to even love God. (Romans 5:5) Everything we desire to become in Him must come through asking Him in prayer. Day after day, moment after moment seeking to love Him and asking to be filled by Him. We don't have the ability to walk out love, or to be Godly just as much as we don't have the ability to wash sin.

Set Me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm;
 For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
 Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. 
Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. 

Song Of Songs 8:6-7

  Jesus, the poetic bridegroom instructs us to set Him on our hearts. His love is desperate for us but longs for voluntary lovers to arise. He longs for our very heartbeat to beat His name. Jesus prays to the Father to unite us into the very Godhead. Hours later He would make it possible by becoming the eternal sacrifice for sin.

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.

And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-26

Abiding is another call to death, seeking out the destruction of my natural tendencies. Learning not to take a break apart from Him, but find my rest in Him. Fighting to never voluntarily grieve the Spirit I am asking to fill me. Guarding the doorways through the senses, eyes and ears. Grieving the Spirit becomes easier each time we give way to it. Sin is crouching at the door, it attacks inch by inch, this is a war of inches. The moment we have stepped out of abiding there must be a quick repentance, a recommitment to whole heartedness and a refocus on Jesus. The beauty of grace is, our sin doesn't disqualify us, but it can paralyze us if we are not quick to war against it.

  The heart of God is to become perfectly united, and I want to send that desire right back to Him. I want the love of the Father to rest upon my heart, I want the Spirit in me, transforming me, pouring out love for Jesus every moment, I want to see Jesus exploding from the fire within, releasing His fragrance to a dark world. I want to be so overcome and conquered by love that it truly is no longer I who lives but Christ in me. God, let it be so.

The Encouragement of Knowing Pastor Tim & Heather Pike

  I have known Pastor Tim and Heather for quite a few years now, but only within the last two years at an intimate level. Tonight I had the joy of watching Tim receive his ordination, it was amazingly sweet knowing his journey and the journey of his family. God has truly blessed my family and my heart with their friendship. The Pike's are a family of gentleness, very tender hearted and caring. It is difficult to spend time with either of them and not feel Christ beaming my heart.

  Tim is a Michigan State graduate and was working at The Flint Journal prior to becoming the youth Pastor at New Life Christian Fellowship. His journey has been remarkable. He began by attending every spiritual event our church had to offer, pausing work to participate in the Bible studies Pastor hosts at the church during the day, engaging in the young adult sunday school classes, and soaking in every avenue of information about God. Little did I know that this man ravenous for the Word of God and to know Jesus in a powerful way was just the beginning, Tim would continue to aspire and search for God's will over his life daily, living obedient to what God has called him to in each season. Eventually God opened the door for Tim to become the youth pastor at New Life, Tim accepted, taking a pay cut to enter into the church ministry atmosphere. As far as I know at this time he began taking classes to advance his credentials in the pastoral world. Each level of certification requires a specific amount of classes followed by testing and interviews. Of course Tim flourished as God honored his humble obedience. He has been working as the youth pastor for almost five years, this to me is unfathomable! Youth ministry could possibly be the hardest area to press into. Youth are constantly distracted by thousands of things and to be quite frank, they can be a bit obtuse. But week after week Tim faithfully teaches and loves these kids. He has not drawn back in the face of difficulty or from not seeing the type of results one would hope. He has over and over again invested at a costly, and sometimes painful level. Tim has demonstrated to me as a youth pastor a faithfulness I haven't yet grasped. His commitment to keep fighting for these youth in prayer and all manner of events has truly shown me what "steady on" means. 

The amazing thing for me to watch has been, a man determined to live in obedience to God.

Words that come to mind to describe Pastor Tim;

Patient, long suffering, kind, gentle spirit, fun, wise and faithful.

  Heather was working at General Motors as a Financial Analyst and was making more money each year than Tim ever has. She also is a graduate from Michigan State, and immediately found success as a working businesswoman. Soon after the birth of their first child Heather decided she would rather trade in her career for the joy of raising children. In my opinion, any woman who quits working to be at home instructing and loving her children has chosen the better portion. It is the difficult road of hardship and mundane, it means not having the money for elaborate vacations or financial ease through life's storms. It is the trading in of worldly gain for the eternal gain of raising Godly children that know their mothers love in a deep way, and will come to know the love of Christ through her demonstration of it. Heather has sacrificed greatly to be first and fore-mostly, a mom. This trading in of personal gain for a life of hard work and suffering has inspired me to love deeper and to serve more. She works harder now than ever previously. Heather is a great model for any mom looking for answers. Her support of Pastor Tim and care for her family is so refreshing and good for the soul to see. 

Heather innately will cause a smile on anyones face she contacts.

Words to describe Heather;

Servant, loving, tender-hearted, strong, joyful and humble.

Be blessed Pike's as you have blessed me. You both make God smile with your beautiful hearts.

Come Up Here

After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here" -Rev 4:1

  It's the open door reality, the divine invitation to enter in, taste, come be where I am. It is the difference of arriving at a friends house and having the door closed or open, one signifies an invitation, the other can be slightly daunting. It's the workplace with an "open door policy." The reality where at any time whoosh and your in, no resistance. It's the divine setting of all kingdom principles; the great invitation. God in His wisdom has left the choice of love as an open door, not by coercive power, not to convert us by violence, but to display the greatest love ever and win our hearts into voluntary desire.

  To step through the doorway of invitation means we leave a reality behind and step into something new. Through the avenue of an uncomfortable journey we encounter the greatest thing ever, Him. The call to enter in is the call of becoming a new creation. Leaving the old man in the dust as we strive to become perfected into the image of Jesus. Deciding we no longer want milk but the food that satisfies. Living with God as an add on or an extra-curricular activity will never satisfy. 

There are two types of Christians;

-The ones who live waiting for the floodgates to open that will sweep them into a fantasy type faith.

-And the ones who advance forcefully through the door of invitation.

  Entering in and laying hold of the promise land requires that we overcome the enemies standing between us and the land God promised. And it is through a violent resolve that we overcome, through the empowerment of Christ in us, working through us, consuming all of our being. There is a fight reality to our faith. 

From the days of John the baptist until now the kingdom has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

  It is the heart that says, "I'm not giving up, I haven't been disqualified and I refuse to be anything less than what God has offered to me to become." This isn't a settle in journey, find my place in the church, it is a war, and every day choosing to step forward towards God. It is constantly living just outside of where I am comfortable in pursuit of God's invitation. 


  Primarily, God is working to open our eyes to understand where He has already seated us. Paul prays that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened. Eph. 1:18-23 Eph. 1:17 Psalm 119:18 So it isn't God working something new in our lives other than opening our eyes to see what He has already done. He can't give us anything more than He already has freely given us. It simply us understanding the doorway and choosing to walk through it and abide where He is. And another thing we need to recognize is that we are pursuing a man, He is our great reward. Stepping into the doorway of divine entertainment means we are engaged with a person at the heart level, not that our fleshly desires are stimulated.


  God is so patient and kind, the invitation is never removed, even if He has turned us over to our sin and worldly desires He still reaches out His hand over and over beckoning come be with Me. He desires our love and affections so much He wouldn't spare His own Son for us! 


Lord give me the strength to pursue you faithfully for 80 years, I want to find myself uncomfortable in the pursuit of your love every day. Strike my heart with greater revelation of who you are. Wash me again with the blood of your Son. Help me love you, give me a new heart for I am poor and needy.

Loving Jesus, The Beautiful Life Of Suffering

 The doorway to encounter the joy of God is becoming increasingly presented as Him wanting our circumstances to be great or to give us lots of stuff and things. Christianity is largely becoming narcissistic in the primary expression of what it means to love God. Taking up our cross is mentioned in a conversation with a new believer but lost amidst the "veteran's" of the faith. We have traded the true joy of sharing in the sufferings of Christ for a cheapened version of grace that empowers us to pursue this world and not Jesus. The primary way we can measure true doctrines is by what it inspires love for. The prosperity message and all other forms of Jesus wanting our circumstances to be perfect and give us lots of stuff can never produce a life of suffering and sacrifice for His sake.

  Jesus' very first teaching takes place in the Sermon On The Mount where Jesus instructs His followers what it means to come after Him, what kingdom living looks like. And not that it is a ticket in, but a willing submission to take up this teaching day after day. The placement of the Sermon On The Mount at the very start of His ministry tells us He was just longing to come and tell us what loving Him looks like. The most beautiful thing to God is when people willingly suffer because they choose to live as He commanded. God fully intends this life of suffering to lead us into our life of glory. See we want to enter into glory through glory, and that is not how God designed it. Do we believe in a God that smashed his own Son to glorify Him?

  The primary way Jesus meant for us to suffer is in the manner we conduct ourselves. Suffering isn't a reality in that you only suffer if your flesh is imprisoned or chastised. The first and most important suffering occurs at the expense of our pride. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."Jesus starts off the doorway into kingdom living by saying"the ones who enter in with a poor, broken spirit are the ones who will encounter the blessed life" (When we see "blessed are" in scripture we can put it like this; the ones who will be internally successful, the joyful ones, those who are encountering God.) The suffering of our desire to be exalted and lifted above others positions our hearts to love God at deeper levels. This manner of willingly laying down our lives in love also releases the joy of God into our hearts. As Jesus' messianic purpose was to lay His life down in love for others, (Hebrews 12 says it was for the joy set before Him he endured the cross) we share in this when we seek not to glorify ourselves but to die every day for the sake of others, all for loves sake. And this manner of living is painful, it stings, mainly because it is only evident when it is not easy to do, when the person we have a hard time with offends us yet again, when serving others turns into abusive use, when we have invested into people that betray us, when our enemies pretend to be something they are not and slander us again and again. This is where we encounter the true suffering of responding with love and gentleness.

 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; 

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. 
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. -Isaiah 53:7

  The Man who suffered the greatest amount of injustice and had the most reason for offense did not lift a finger or utter a word against His oppressors. He willingly laid down His life that He could lift up even those who were wrongly assaulting Him. The true heart of love suffers for the sake of lifting others up. And Jesus' desire for our life is that we would suffer and through the destruction of our pride, desires, self ambition and all other manner of self-exaltation and we would lead people into the Suffering Servant. The outward demonstration of love is sacrifice.

  Carrying our cross has a broad stroke to it, it has become so vague that we don't have to address it. But the fundamental pursuit of Christ is carrying a cross of suffering. There is but one version of Christianity and it is what Jesus did when He walked the earth. Conformity is salvation, a constant renewal into His heart. 

Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

  Through a life of prayer we encounter the need to be transformed which in turn creates a humility as we recognize the inability to change the dark areas of our life. The entrance to living as Jesus commands is the dependency learned through prayer. God has really changed the way I view prayer in that I no longer focus my prayer on the physical but on the heart. "Change my heart O God." Far more important than what we do in this life is where we go with God on the inside.

Important keys

- Suffering is daily as we seek to exemplify love to everyone around us.
- Suffering is not dreadful, it is painful but it produces Christ in us which is joyful.
- It is more important that we encounter an inward suffering than an outward one.
- We must learn to see Jesus correctly as the Suffering Servant and know it was all for loves sake.
- Prayer is the fuel to live a life of love through suffering.

The Longing Heart, Pathway To Intimacy

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." 


  This morning I awoke and spent some time dialoging with the Lord while making breakfast for my kids. To spend time with Him first thing is so powerful as it impacts the entire day. Immediately I felt His presence and my heart came alive with love and desire for this Man. Longing for Him opens the heart to hear from Him, be transformed into Him and know Him at deeper levels.

  I find when I go through life with a longing and hunger to encounter Him I fall into sin far less often. Walking around with a burning heart enables me to respond with love when people offend me, speak ill of me, or any other manner of slander. With the very love of God boiling within me I think differently, interpret differently and am empowered to walk in obedience. Not that I do it in perfection, but with His heart burning in me I can achieve much more and reach far higher. Faithfulness isn't measured by the percent of success but the percent of desire. I would say I am incapable of even striving for His heart without Him in me, consuming my thoughts and lighting a fire in my soul. Ahh the glory of God in us.

  "For they will be filled" 

  The ravished heart that understands the greatest way to stand before Him in love is to walk in obedience gains ground at the heart level. The constant pursuit of righteousness fills us with a greater hunger. So hunger begets hunger. As we receive His love it satisfies yet ravages simultaneously. We are filled with love and left wanting love. It is so beautiful to know that I will be engaged in this state forever, billions of years from now I will still feel desire for wholehearted love and will still be encountering the intoxicating fountain of His pleasure overwhelming me. This is our blessed hope, an eternal consuming fire ravaging us again and again. The eternity of God's love is beyond my comprehension. We can never exhaust His love, day after day forever we will drink and be satisfied.

Take a moment and ask for the love of Jesus to press into your heart, it is so beautiful!

Beauty of Creation in Woman

  We face a mountainous assault against the designed purpose of human relationships. The culture we live in is constantly building man's pride and degrading woman's purity and reverence. Men are becoming disqualified through a murderous, prideful spirit, and many women are trapped in shame and oppression. More and more women are presented as another object for men to play with. You can't hardly watch a movie without the trampling of women's innocence at the expense of gratifying a man's raging desire. The way women are referenced and talked about in a degrading way has infiltrated our media, schools, workplaces and homes. So many families I know where the house revolves around the man's schedule, feelings and desires. Everything there happens on his whim. If the man wants to hunt, he goes, if he wants  to go out with the guys he does, if he wants to have multiple nights of the week dedicated to his pleasures he's gone. And this has become completely acceptable within the church, man acting on every desire and forcing his own way.  The message that is rooting in the hearts of this generation is; women exist for the purpose of serving and pleasuring man, instead of man existing to lay down his life for the sake of love for woman. We are at risk of becoming completely blinded to the beauty of creation in woman. And worse, we are raising the next generation with a low standard on male roles in our homes.


  Looking at the creation account, every creature made was created with a perfect companion, man being the companion to God. At no time in Genesis 1 and 2 do we see anything less than perfect. God begins the creation of woman with the foreknowledge of what man would choose in the upcoming chapter and the separation of God and man. Therefore He says "It is not good that man should be alone" Adam did not know he had longing and desire for a companion until God awakened desire in him. Looking at Genesis 2:18-22 we see that God starts with "It is not good for man to be alone." But then He parades the animals in front of Adam. Why would God do that? This is not about Adam having authority over the animals, that is a given due to Adam's communion with God. This is God showing Adam every creature with it's companion and Adam coming into knowledge that he does not have one. As Adam is naming the animals he is finding he has no helper like all the other creatures and desire begins to take root in his heart. When his desire is full grown God puts him to sleep and takes a rib and out of man's side comes woman. Do we see this picture? That out of the side of Adam came his companion. Later in scripture we find that through the outpouring of blood from the side of Jesus a companion is brought forth. In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son to redeem us. Galatians 4:4 God is saying "It is not good that my Son should have desire for a companion and that desire go unanswered" We know Jesus had desire for us in John 17:24

  "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. That He might present  her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." 
Ephesians 6:25-29

 Woman was not created as an afterthought, a simple helper or as an inferior being. When God made woman He gave us the clear representation of the bride. Woman is the depiction of God’s crowning jewel, enthrallment with woman would drive man to the depths in pursuit of love. Woman was made to be treated delicately, pursued passionately and served as royalty. Woman was made to be served into greatness, just as Christ did the church. That the elevation of woman would come through laying down of a life in love. The fundamental picture of the bride is one where the bride is helpless and without hope apart from the Bridegroom's desire to see her come into perfection through His sacrificing everything for her.

  The assault against this design whether it be the wickedness of man or the rage of Satan is more potent than ever in history. Pornography so easily accessible (The purchase of pornography is a $96 Billion industry annually, or $3,000.00 per second) The purchase of people to enslave them in sex trafficking is a $32 Billion industry annually. One in three women suffer sexual abuse as a child. The sexual desensitization is coming through every available path. We hardly notice a small adulterous act or a reference to sexual immorality in our entertainment we so love. The grocery store check out attack the eyes of men countless times each minute, degrading the image of women all around the world. Homosexuality is increasingly gaining ground like never before. The attack has many focused intentions: Keep men enslaved in sin, destroy God's image of what He designed to begin with and where everything will end up, make the bride appear as an object and not a passionately desired person, and infiltrate the thoughts of humanity to drag them towards wickedness.

Women - If you have suffered abuse at the hands of man, do not judge this encounter as what God desires over you. You have incredible worth to Him. His desire is that you would come into wholeness and beauty, free from shame and accusation. Women are of vital importance and many have carried the spiritual banner in our homes through generations. Why does God allow suffering?

Men - The call is to pick up our cross in our own home. That a true expression of Christ's love would explode out of our sacrificial living. We must learn to cast down our desires, ambitions, lusts and pick up humility, meekness and the Word. Never stop waring against sin and self ambition. Men our shortcomings have not disqualified us, we forget what is behind and strive towards perfection. Philippians 3:13-14

If you have need to hear truth and sift through confusion and lies from the enemy, or are dealing with unbearable pain from abuse contact: Pastor Jan at New Life Christian Fellowship 810-694-4605

May the love of Christ be overwhelming in your life.

The Pleasure Of Living Holy

  A touchy subject across the body is instruction for living. Possibly the easiest way to offend a fellow believer is to tell them their life does not match what Jesus calls Christianity. Holy living has been warped into an enslavement of pleasure, but I want to tell you it's through holy living we achieve true pleasure. You see, we were created to experience pleasure, but it is what we choose to pleasure us that is the issue. God is the Author of all good things. He intricately created our emotions and feelings. He created us to feel, to enjoy, and to be captivated by the drug of pleasure. I want to be blown away by the God of pleasure forever in the purity of perfect love.

In Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures evermore. -Psalm 16:11

They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house. And you give them drink from the river of Your Pleasures. -Psalm 36:8

  First I would like to state that eternity is not an abstract place where our imagination blanks after the streets of gold. The entire quality of heaven rests in it being the place where God dwells. The only reason heaven is good is because God is there.

This is eternal life; The knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. -John 17:3

  So the very basis of eternity is in the knowledge of God. Which is absolutely thrilling because He has given us His Spirit as the internal guide into Him forever. This has significant meaning now because we  can feel like we will in eternity. Not in fullness but we can attest to it. We just have a little bit till Perfection comes and makes all things new. Our ability to fully feel the presence of God is veiled by our carnal nature. We can't have the full revelation yet. So when we think about eternity we need to shift our thinking into, perfect abidance in God. Standing before Him, in Him, unveiled and becoming overwhelmed by His awesome splendor as we join the heavenly host in pure adoration. He will captivate us forever on the greatest subject in existence, Himself.

  Building on the fact that we were created to experience God at the deepest level of any created being we know God wants to be intimately involved in our lives. His desire is to so captivate us with the intoxication of His presence that it consumes every area of our lives. This intoxication from His Spirit drives us in lovesickness to strive for His standard. So it is the very act of God on the inside that invokes our bodies to move toward Him and away from the false pleasures of this age. It is the very revelation of eternity boiling in us that make us love Him and His laws.

  Looking back I always wondered why at times I would feel God in such a powerful awesome way for a brief period during a conference or a particular service. I would always regret the feeling leaving, not knowing it was the divine invitation into greater consecration. You see He releases the intoxication as the trailer to the show. When we experience His presence in a wonderful way on Sunday and its gone by Monday, more than likely we have done nothing to engage our spirit again and just went back to business as usual. I don't want to miss the invitation into Him any more. We cannot love His presence and a sinful life at the same time. We must take radical steps toward Him and His presence will then rest on us, and we can feel the burning love day after day as we walk according to His ways. We don't get the candy unless we eat dinner. We can't have the pleasure of God boiling inside us and the pleasure of our flesh being gratified in every false pleasure at the same time. It doesn't work like that.

1. Important understanding of the pursuit of a holy life: We are not trying to adhere to a set of moral standards that move us out of our culture and into a dry, boring, empty life. We are fighting to align our lives with God's heart in such a way that releases the presence of God into our being. He is a holy God, and the invitation to holiness is the invitation to join Him where He is. And I want to tell you, where He  is is the greatest place in existence. 

2. Prayer is critical. Since it is the very nature of His love pulsating in us that drives us to live Holy we must recognize that we need Him starting a fire inside us. Petitioning for the love that passes knowledge to boil up inside of us propelling us to Him.

And God has poured out love for Jesus into our hearts by the Holy Spirt. -Romans 5:5

  So its by His Spirit that we can even love Him, thus making petitions for Him to come fill us with His love is life or death. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus makes this clear by starting the Sermon on The Mount with "Blessed are the poor in Spirit" meaning - only those who realize they have nothing in and of themselves. That apart from God they are nothing. An absolute poverty inside. So the very doorway into kingdom living is a poor spirit fully dependent on God to provide the increase. 

 In the end it's our desire to live a holy life knowing it brings us into greater communion with Him, it is His Spirit empowering us with lovesickness causing us to seek after a holy life, and it is the promises of God that give us hope into what we receive when we choose to live in a manner that pleases Him in every area.

  Pleasing God in every area includes, but is not limited to the following: What we put before our eyes. Do we listen to things that use His name as an expletive? Our emotions, our time, our energy, our finances, the way we treat those who offend us, the way we treat our spouse, our kids, And what we allow to dwell in our minds. It is an all out war against everything that opposes the Heart of Love.

Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

 -Matthew 7:14

  When we encounter Him in love the way we view His laws change on the inside. We go from reluctant half-hearted obedience into desiring fervently to live by all His standards.

"If to be radical means to dis-engage from the lusts of this world to feel more alive in Christ, I aspire to be the most radical man ever."

Our Created Purpose

The human soul was created with one primary function and purpose; The counterpart to the Godhead Himself. The glory of just being human is we share something in God that no other creature in all of creation can experience. We were specifically created to commune with God and the government of all creation would be maintained through the glory of God resting on us, in us and exploding through us. The question remains: Do you know who you are? As humanity abides in perfection the government of God has free reign on the earth. Humanity is the connecting point between heaven and earth, the intercessors between the Creator and creation. God has chosen you and I to rule His creation, when done according to His heart, abiding in Him and communing with Him, creation stands in perfection. Everyone was created to be an intercessor, or to stand in the priestly role, feeling the heart of God and reflecting it onto creation. As we gaze on the beauty of God we reflect His glory to everything else.

In the creation account we see that every created being was made with a primary creature and a counterpart. And in the creation of both beings we see perfection. So God creates the mold and then the matching companion "according to it's kind." When God gets to humanity He says "Let us make man in our image." Meaning-"We are the Mold, we are the first beings let Us make a companion according to Our kind."The God who speaks worlds into existence, who desires and receives whatever He wants, has longing and desire for a companion to come forth full of love and desire back for Him. He has longing for the companion created to be so intimate as to house His very fullness. "The two shall become one flesh" -Amazing, human marriages can only emulate the intimacy God reserves for us and Him. God has designated a relationship so personal, so powerful and all to His glory. The image-bearers, the creatures made for God, would be the ones to have God with them, in them, loving them and loving through them. The awe of perfection has captivated my heart.

When Adam fell all of creation was thrown into disarray and chaos. The perfection of God was thrown off as the bride chose another lover, self, and gave rulership to the evil one. The core root of all sin is every form of self; self-exultation, self-preservation, self-indulgence, and all other manner of self-centeredness. The first offense against God came as Satan desired what God had for himself. Humanity chose this creature as Lord over the earth thus implanting his desires in our very core. Communion with God implants love in our hearts, love for Him and His creation. 

With the realization of what perfection looks like, and that God is working to restore perfection, I long to be found as a man after God's own heart. That His desires would become my desires, that His love would become my love as He pulsates through me. In this fallen age I find myself striving for perfection but not allowing my weakness and shortcomings to disqualify me from what God desires for me. Clinging to our blessed hope Jesus and that He will once again come and make all things new. Perfection restored, humanity restored. Lord let me be found with a heart after you.