Wheels of Glory! Blog

The Holy Spirit Reveals Jesus – VOTD.08.20.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 20th, 2018 | by

It is through him that we live and function and have our identity. Acts 17:8

I was saying last time that I’m excited that theologians who have dedicated their lives to opposing groups who are embracing the Holy Spirit are publicly saying, maybe we’ve been a little bit wrong. Unless you lose your life you won’t find it but if you lose your life for His sake you will you’ll find his life (Lk 9:24) …and that’s life and life more abundant. This life that we have in Jesus … “as He is so are we in this world”.

And I’m looking forward to the day when those precious believers coming out of their cessationist backgrounds—people who the power of God has broken the chains of unbelief—that those set-free believers actually overtake the zeal and passion of the ones who have for decades and decades enjoyed the reputation of walking in the Spirit but who have grown a little dull and have lost their fire even while they sit week after week in historically ‘Spirit-filled’ churches. 

But you know what? We who are already into the Holy Spirit don’t have to wait for this…we don’t have to wait for our historically cessationist brothers and sisters to lead the way or the historically ‘Spirit-filled’ churches to rediscover what they have allowed to wane. We can recover right now all that’s been lost and reignite the fire of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. (more…)

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Encouragement is Rest, Not Optimism – VOTD.05.01.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | May 1st, 2018 | by

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “We played happy music on the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a funeral dirge, and you did not cry.” Matthew 11:17

One of the things we need to understand if we are to be an encourager in God’s Kingdom is that being an encourager is not the same thing as being an optimist. An optimist denies the reality of problems in order to feel better. It turns out, however, that optimism doesn’t equip us very well for facing stresses. Studies show that when facing persistent stresses, optimists suffered a lower immune response than the rest of us (even pessimists). In other words, optimism takes a toll on our health because our bodies aren’t designed to live in unreality.

Being an encourager is very different. When we are in partnership with Jesus as an encourager we aren’t denying the reality of problems in order to feel better, we’re trusting in Jesus our overcomer and facing the problems with the confidence that He is at work and we are working with Him in His plan to do exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or think (Eph 3:2). He invites us to live without fear, frenzy, worry, and panic. Jesus is the one who invites us to, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).

This rest Jesus speaks of is our greatest weapon against all unconstructiveness, discouragement, and disapproval in our lives. In fact, without Jesus’ rest, we really can’t do the encouragement thing very well or for very long. When we rest in Jesus, instead of reacting to the people and events around us we are trusting Him.

Will we still want to be a pleasing aroma to the people around us and light in the dark events around us? Of course. But the sting isn’t there when those people can’t be pleased and when our light fails to adequately dispel the darkness. The sting is gone because our identity isn’t in living up to those people’s approval or success in ministry—it’s in Jesus, and He approves us. 

We can live a life where we never need to react to the fiery darts because we are always responding to Jesus. When we respond to Him and His rest, there is no room for the unconstructiveness, discouragement, and disapproval that the enemy uses to make us feel inadequate and a failure…it shields us from the flaming darts that the enemy’s minions use to control us.

That way, whenever we experience these undesirable attitudes and circumstances through the people and life events around us, it is an opportunity to be led by the Spirit and to intentionally occupy that rest—to literally seize the place that Jesus has set aside for us—to “make every effort to enter that rest” (Heb 4:11). And through these situations we learn to occupy our place in the Spirit through the daily situations we face.

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Recreated in His Image – VOTD.08.01.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 1st, 2017 | by

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.  Psalms 148:13

Last time we learned how Jesus is the dreaded Lion to those who run from Him, while He’s the tender Lamb to those who seek Him.

If we are seeking Jesus, we are already in the holy of holys, next to God’s heart (Eph 2:6). Veil after veil has been removed (2 Cor 3:16). This enables us to experience the intimacy with our Savior.

While the North American Church has led many into a salvation experience with Jesus, we’ve often not led them into the beauty of God or experiencing Him in our every-day lives.

I say this not to tear down those who come across as “super saints”, but to build up those who know they are simply ordinary saints, because in the end the super-saint is a mirage… there is nothing but ordinary saints out there. Some Christians are experiencing Him far more fully than others, but all believers have been recreated in His image and He loves us. (more…)

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Lion and Lamb – VOTD.07.31.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | July 31st, 2017 | by

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

We don’t have to be second-class Christians. God is able to make all grace overflow in you and me. Why? So we’ll have all we need to abound in Jesus and in His work. It’s all from God and He makes His grace overflow in us through Jesus.

Not all Christians are overflowing in grace. You and I can make the Lord our refuge, our dwelling (Ps 90:1), or we can try to run away from Him.  The first is blessed and the second is tragic.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the “Lion of Judah”, and the “Lamb of God” (Rev 5:5/Jn 1:29). There is a tension there.

When the Lion of Judah roars, those who are running from Him had better be afraid. When the Lamb of God draw those who are running toward Him to Himself, those who seek Him, will find Him in a deeper way than they ever thought possible.

Jesus alone is our ultimate protection and safety. Jesus has eyes only for us, and demonstrates His incredible love over and over. He’s relentless in His tenderness for those who seek Him… He’s relentless in his provision of security and passion for us (Ps 27:8). (more…)

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The Big Lie – VOTD.07.25.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | June 25th, 2017 | by

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Something one of my sons really got into several years ago is digitally restoring awful photographs. He took pictures that you’d never want to show anyone and made them look like postcard material. God is in that business, too… in dealing with our lives.

All of Satan’s lies are destructive. Keep that in mind. He never lies to us except to destroy us. It is foolish to embrace his lies…but they sneak into our thinking because they are usually subtle—so subtle that we can pick them up, even at church and Christian events … they are that pervasive.

There are two kinds of lies Satan tells us that are probably deadlier than any of the others: The first are the lies He tells us about God (WHO HE IS and what He’s like) and the second are the lies he tells us about WHO WE ARE.

You see Satan works to either diminish who God is or diminish who we are in Jesus. Diminish God’s Holiness or diminish His Grace and who we are because of His grace. And if we lose touch with either of those we will end up in a destructive situation.

To some of us, Satan diminishes the sinfulness of sin. He wants us to think that God is not as godly as He really is and that sin isn’t as contrary to His nature as it really is. This does 2 things: First, it smears God’s character. Second, it gets our focus off the consequences to sin. (Face it, if we came to grips with sin’s consequences, it would be obvious why we wouldn’t want to sin, and why God wouldn’t want us to sin.)

So Satan takes things that are hideous, and makes them appear harmless (even wonderful)—by doing that He makes God appear less holy and more of a killjoy. And he also clouds our ability to see that EVERY sin has negative consequences. (more…)

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The Judgmental and the Judge – VOTD.05.015.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | May 15th, 2017 | by

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Romans 14:4

Do you remember the prophet, Jonah? He was unwilling to spread God’s word of impending doom against the people of Ninivah, because he was afraid they might repent, and then God would have mercy on them and not bring the calamity He warned of.

Maybe that’s the problem. Like Jonah, we’re afraid God is going to be too lenient on those we scorn, so we have to judge them for ourselves. We can’t trust Jesus to judge them harshly enough. That may not be the motive in every case, but I’m pretty sure it is many times. We judge others because we don’t trust God to do it right.

And that makes some kind of sense, since in today’s verse Paul tells us that those of us who Jesus judges are going to stand. Not, by-the-way, because we are innocent. We’re not. Not one of us is. But because God is able to make us stand.

If we’re judging others, that’s bad news. But if we’re on the receiving end of judgment—in which case, today’ verse is really good news. Other’s are going to judge us. But rather than defend ourselves and judge back, we trust God to act and judge in our behalf.

The amazing thing that today’s verse tells us is that if we were to judge as Jesus judges, those we judge would stand. They would be acquitted…on the basis of Jesus shed blood atoning for them. That sort of changes the picture, doesn’t it? (more…)

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Life in the Vineyard – VOTD.04.03.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 14th, 2017 | by

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  1 Corinthians12:12,26

Last time we were talking about nurturing new believers and used Paul’s analogy of a mother nursing a child. Another metaphor that might help, is vineyards. Jesus used this in talking about vines and vine-dressers (Jn 15).

Sure, having a healthy vineyard includes weeding out the ugly, and often that’s all the help people will get from their more entrenched churchmates because it’s all we can see. But nurturing Christians can see a lot more and go much further.

A nurturing vinedresser can take the newly-growing shoots and attach them to a trellis so they can get the support sunshine and watering they need to grow higher, stronger, and more fruitful. Otherwise, the newbie might just wallow in the dirt and never go anywhere.

And while the nurturing person might do some weeding, too, they are also backfilling. Like Jesus’ warning about chasing out a demon and leaving the host clean but EMPTY, we often find that Christian discipleship programs are good at ‘weeding’ out the ugly in the lives of people we minister to, but leave craters in their place—like an open invitation for seven-times worse problems in the future (Lk 11:26) if we aren’t backfilling the hole that left with Jesus.

Hurt people are often the ones who are drawn to Jesus. He offers solutions they know they need. But hurt people have a real knack at getting themselves into situations where they will be hurt again and again. Nurturing disciple-makers know that removing the weeds from hurting people’s lives is not enough. (more…)

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Got Milk? – VOTD.04.03.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 14th, 2017 | by

I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink and I did not give you solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. 1 Corinthians 3:1,2

I have a Facebook friend who has been defining ‘Christian words’ and phrases you might be used to if you grew up in church, but are meaningless, or apt to be crazily misunderstood, by a non-believer or a new believers who come into our midst.

Done in a humorous way, it underscores just how comfortable we can be with an entire lexicon of church terminology that are lost in the translation for those who haven’t been filled in along the way. One of those terms is ‘disciple’ as in what we are (or should be) as Christians.

So what’s a disciple? A disciple is someone who finds their entire identity, purpose and meaning in Jesus. Jesus is the center of their lives. They are all in, fully committed to Jesus.

Now obviously, most newly-churched people don’t fit that definition… they don’t even know the definition. Sadly, many who have been in the Christian faith a long time don’t know it either. So to counteract that, we have something we call discipling.

‘Discipling’ can be traced to ‘succor’ which is an old fashion term for nursing (as in nursing a baby). This is what Paul was talking about in today’s verse. He’s been discipling these new believers with milk-like truths, easy to deal with. Early on they were babies in the faith and needed to be cared for like spiritual babies if they are going to become mature followers of Jesus. That’s the ministry of discipling in a nutshell. (more…)

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Lonely in a Crowd – VOTD.03.27.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 14th, 2017 | by

Do not be afraid. I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine… For I am the Lord, your God… Do not be afraid, for you are precious to me and I love you and give you honor—I am with you!” Isaiah 43:2,3,4

A Facebook friend posted a secular article on loneliness on Facebook. The illustration at the top of the story showed a man sitting in a crowd with empty seats all around him. At first glance I thought it was a church service—a view from the platform which I have seen scads of times. A closer look told me this wasn’t a church service, but it could have been. The pain of not being connected relationally doesn’t stop at the church door.

Loneliness is a crowd is a very real condition. It’s a state of mind that comes from feelings of separation from other people. The sense of isolation is very deeply felt by those who are lonely. The Old Testament word “desolate” pretty much sums it up: “someone who is solitary, forsaken, wretched.”

There is no deeper sadness that ever comes over the mind than the idea that we are alone in the world, that we do not have a friend, that no one cares about us, that no one is concerned about anything that might happen to us. Mother Teresa described loneliness as the leprosy of the modern world. No one wants to chum up with someone who is lonely. (more…)

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Let’s Get Real in 2017 – VOTD.01.16.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | January 16th, 2017 | by

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

I’m always intrigued by how people introduce another person. Often it’s just along the lines of what defines their relationship to the person doing the introducing (e.g. “This is Pam, my coworker…”). Other times it gets more descriptive (e.g. “This is Bill, a man of the Word…”). Often times, the way we are introduced has more to do with what the introducer values about us than who we actually are. (e.g. “This is Suzy, she prayed for my mother who got healed.”).

So a lot of the time, we don’t have much control over how we are introduced; and that introduction maybe be different than what we would prefer to be known as.

So I ask the question: who do you want to be, when people introduce you? What would you rather be that first impression? What would you like to be known for? If you could rewrite your profile on Facebook or some other social media, what would you want it to say about yourself that would set the people you meet on the right track to knowing who you really are? (more…)

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