Wheels of Glory! Blog

In Jesus’ Presence – VOTD.04.23.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 23rd, 2017 | by

You make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

It’s incompatible with the Christian faith to NOT want to be in God’s presence. After all, the practical result of being in God’s presence is joy. And who doesn’t want joy? And yet many Christians seem stressed out or bored and that suggests they lack this sense of God’s presence that today’s verse speaks of.

In fact, the whole of Psalm 16 makes being in the presence of God very compelling. It’s a natural desire for anyone who have been around those who have experienced being in God’s Presence to want the joy, comfort, and sense of well-being and love that comes with being in His Presence. It is available. So why don’t more Christians experience His Presence? (more…)

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Jesus Prevailing – VOTD.04.18.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 18th, 2017 | by

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive (the demon) out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Mark 9:28,29

Let’s start with some context. Jesus has just returned with John, James and Peter from the Transfiguration experience. While they were gone, the rest of the disciples were asked to heal and cast out a demon from a boy. They tried but were unsuccessful. So the boy’s father approached Jesus and explained the situation, asking for His help. Jesus healed the boy and cast out the demon.

What about the 9 disciples that awaited Jesus’ return? Why couldn’t they perform the job? Why couldn’t they do what they had been trained to do? What they had been given power to do? What they had already done successfully many times before? Before we try to answer that, let’s look at what they didn’t do:

First, they didn’t concoct some cheap theology to explain away the non-answer—to help God save face (or to help themselves save face). That would be to cheapen the love and power of God, Himself. Too often, we see that done today when we don’t get what we ask for in prayer. We strive to make unanswered prayers acceptable, even the norm. It makes us comfortable.

Second, they didn’t blame the boy or his family. They didn’t blame it on the parent’s sin. Nor did they blame one of their own. They didn’t commence a “witch hunt” to figure out which of them might have sin in their lives that somehow made the prayers of the rest of them powerless.

Third, they didn’t conclude that they must have “got the formula wrong” and work on refining the healing procedure. Often Christians run to James 4:2,3 where it says “You do not have because you do not ask God. And when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (more…)

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Satan Falling – VOTD.04.17.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 17th, 2017 | by

Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:17

Let’s start with some context. Jesus just received the report of the 70 disciples He had sent out on a mission to “gather in His harvest”. Along the way, they did some pretty amazing things by way of miracles. They came back pretty excited. This wasn’t church as usual, and they knew it.

Jesus knew it, too. Seeing the battle in the spirit realm, even as the 70 disciples saw it in the earthly realm, He knew a vital link had been broken in the chain the evil one used to enslave the people. He saw Satan fall like lighting. There is no place in the Bible that we are told that Satan ever recovered from this fall.

But worse things were in store for our enemy, much worse, as Jesus rose from the dead, which many of us recently celebrated. Satan and his power were defeated when Jesus rose. This is the new reality we live under.

This new reality—the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven—becomes our own as we receive it (Heb 12:28). Now we stand in the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21); and we have the love of God deposited inside of us (2 Cor 13:5). In fact, we have received more than enough to stand victorious over any enemy or attack that could ever come against us: (more…)

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Resurrection and Life – VOTD.04.11.17

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

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.  John 11:25,26

Last time, we talked about the Passover, and how through Jesus’ blood covering our guilt and shame, we each are made right with God. But what brings us into the fullness of what Jesus accomplished for us in His shed blood and His resurrection? Only one force—the resurrection power of life—zoe in the Greek. It’s the same word as Spirit.

God’s reveals His purpose for Jesus’ shedding His blood: “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He would destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8).

This is the purpose Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry. He overcame the works of the devil throughout His ministry. He did all that He did (teaching, miracles, conversations, …everything)—all by the power of the Spirit (zoe, life). However, it was His shedding His blood on the cross that actually destroyed those works.

Jesus covered the guilt and shame of humanity when by the power of the Spirit, zoe, life, He reached into the enemy’s realm and overcame death in death’s power. At that moment, our sin and shame were not only covered, like the blood of the Lamb covered the doorposts back in the time of Moses, but by the Spirit, zoe, life, the penalty of our sin (death) was taken on Himself and was and carried out on Him in our behalf.

Jesus conquered death and hell for each of us. God’s purpose in sending Jesus had been accomplished. “…he shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who were held in slavery by death.” (Heb 2:14,15). This resurrection power comes directly out of the heart of God—His love for each of us (Jn 3:16). (more…)

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Passed Over and Why it Matters to Us – VOTD.04.10.17

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

On that same night I will pass through Egypt… and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destruction will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Exodus 12:12-13

This evening Passover begins. It’s the commemoration of God delivering His people from the plague where the first-born all died except for His people who marked their doors with blood.

From Genesis through Revelation, blood is a major part of the picture of redemption. In Genesis 3, God, Himself shed the first redeeming blood when Adam and Eve sinned. He sacrificed an animal to provide skins to cover them.

Throughout the Old Testament with the constant sacrifices of bulls and goats and sheep, God taught His people that something had to die in our place for our sins. Passover was one special time each year that memorialized the first time God passed over and did not judge those whose door was covered with blood. Jesus died on the Passover, because God intended to use the imagery of that historical event to teach us what Jesus had come to do.

About 3400 years ago, Israel was in slavery in the land of Egypt. God sent Moses to Pharaoh and demanded that he let God’s people go. But Pharaoh laughed and mocked even the idea of a God of Israel. “Who is this god, that he should tell me what to do?” (Ex 5:2)

So God introduced Himself over the next few weeks. He brought 9 plagues upon Egypt to prove His existence and His superior power over Pharaoh and all things Egyptian. The suffering in Egypt was so profound that even Pharaoh’ priests literally begged him to listen to Moses (Ex 10:7). But Pharaoh still refused. (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 Church – VOTD.03.28.17

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

Come to Me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy loads of grief and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you … and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28,29

Returning to the subject of victims of loneliness in a local church setting, we saw last time that ‘blaming the victim’ is a common ‘solution’ for loneliness. “Well, if they feel lonely they should just minister to others.” “They should volunteer for something” “They should just get over it.” Problem is, the lonely ones are often already doing those things—and it’s not working for them.

Blaming the victim is a familiar ‘solution’ to problems that are embarrassing to admit we have; after all, aren’t churches the place we tell people to come to get connected? A place where they can belong? A friendly place? As I studied the subject, it soon became apparent that if the lonely church-goer was going to be helped, it would be themselves, not others, doing the heavy lifting.

A couple of reasons for that: 1st, it’s the nature of any organization to appeal to the mainstream rather than beating the bushes to solve problems that don’t seem obvious or that are awkward to admit we have. But 2nd, study after study shows that Pastors and other church leaders are usually the loneliest people in the church. If our leaders knew how to help someone who was lonely in the congregation, they wouldn’t be lonely themselves.

So how do victims of loneliness help themselves? As usual, Jesus is the answer. Today’s verse tells us that it is Jesus who does the heavy-lifting, when we cast our cares upon Him (1 Pet 4:7). So how does a lonely person ‘cast’ their loneliness on Jesus? (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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Vision, Farsighted and Perceptive – VOTD.03.21.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 21st, 2017 | by

Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, so that anyone can see it as they pass by. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it seems slow in coming, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.  Habakkuk 2:2,3

Some reading this series so far might think I’m leading up to setting goals and vision statements and so forth. Not at all. That ground has been well trodden over the past many years. When I speak of visions and purpose, I’m talking about something God gives us. A destination and a goal. Something ‘God lays on our hearts’ and gives us a passion for.

God gave King David a passion when he wrote his famous lines: “One thing I ask from the Lord” (Ps 27) and it’s often in the spiritual realm but not always. Nehemiah’s vision was to build a wall. What makes our visions Godly is that they come from God, Himself.

Godly vision consists of a farsightedness and perceptiveness that come from Him. Farsightedness vision allows us to know what is ahead like a telescope. It connects us to the future God has prepared for us. Foresight is the part of a God-given vision that can ‘taste’ the future and gives us the motivation to press on toward the goal God has placed before us (Phil 3:14). (more…)

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