Holy Spirit Aha's

Connecting the Dots: Birth, Name & Childhood

3 Comments / Holy Spirit Aha's, Overcoming, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

The older I get, the more I realize that the secret to living both an overcoming and a purposeful life is in maintaining a Godly perspective. In that regard it might be said that seeing things from God’s perspective is everything. Having God’s perspective enables us to connect the dots of life in a way that give our lives meaning and purpose.

I’ve found that when I lose sight of God’s hand upon my life and am unable to connect the dots, I begin to founder in unbelief and sink into the depths of doubting God’s faithfulness.

Contrary to what they say – hindsight is not always 20/20. Truth be told, without God’s help, it is sometimes impossible to connect the dots of life. The busyness of life blurs it. Adversity and failures in life obscure it. And even our successes can distort it. And being a victor or a victim and living above our circumstances or under them teeter-totters in the balance.

But when a person can look back and see God’s hand at work, even in the midst of adversity, they can often begin to connect the dots of their life. And that ability to connect the dots gives confidence for both coping with the present and facing the future. Such confidence is based in the fact and reliance upon God’s faithfulness. He is who He says He is, and will do what He said He will do.

In Genesis chapter 26 we are given a glimpse into a tumultuous period of time in the life of Isaac. It chronicles his sojourn immediately after his father Abraham’s death, through famine and exile, blessing and prosperity, rejection and loss, dispute and opposition, into a final breakthrough that opens new horizons for him. It concludes with God’s healing of his past and establishing him as a patriarch in his own right, beyond the shadow and influence of his father.

Observations from this slice of Isaac’s life give us insight into how God connects the seemingly unrelated dots in our lives. God’s intent and purpose for Isaac is the same for each of us. He wants us to know that we are children of promise, chosen and named before our birth for His eternal purposes. (Genesis17:19 & Ephesians 1:5 & 11)

He wants us to know that our lives have meaning and significance in His grand plan. (Ephesians 2:10)

Here are several questions to consider that will help give perspective to your life and enable you to connect the dots.

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My Ideal Church Service

2 Comments / Church History, Holy Spirit Aha's, Stats & Trends / Tom Stuart

When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you. 1 Corinthians14:26 (NLT)

Seasoned church attenders can hold their own with any other Monday morning quarterback when it comes to critiquing how the worship, preaching and other special teams did. People who have attended church for any length of time know what they like and don’t like about church services. The problem is most pastors, like coaches, don’t listen to church talk radio where their loyal fans vent their frustrations and dispense their advice – so things seldom change.

The church services in the traditional, the liturgical and even the evangelical church worlds are basically all the same and have not changed for centuries. They follow a predictable order and format. Corporate participation is limited to the recitation of prescribed song lyrics, scripture texts and/or prayers. Individual expressions are assigned to trained and rehearsed worship leaders, service leaders and pastors, who typically are clergy professionals. Fellowship, before or after the service, and the 7th inning greeting are the only really unscripted parts of the gathering.

The game plan for most church services goes like this. They open with worship, have announcements, take an offering accompanied by special music, preach a message and close with prayer and/or a benediction. Communion and other special elements are inserted typically between worship and the message, as the particular week or season of the year require. Some churches alter that order and the time allotted for each, but basically that is the typical weekend service across America and the world.

As a pastor, veteran of thousands of church services and secret listener to church talk radio I have given much thought to this predicament.

At the crux of the problem are two challenges. First, how do we make room in our services for the unscripted, unpredictable leading of the Holy Spirit? And secondly, how do we make our services more participatory and give greater expression to the priesthood of every believer.

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Never underestimate your impact for God!

2 Comments / Holy Spirit Aha's, News & Reflections / Tom Stuart

But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8 NLT)

Never underestimate the difference your life can make if it is available to be used by God. Even the act of opening your home to His work could change multitudes of lives and have an eternal impact far exceeding your imagination.

This past Saturday I went to the funeral of a dear saint named Lenore Hagen who passed away at age 85. I had known her and her husband Walt for many years when they were active members in the 1970s and 1980s of the Way of the Cross Church, where I spent my early Christian years and served as a pastor.

In our start-up phase of Bridgewood Community Church in 1994, to my surprise, the Hagens joined us and served as a great encouragement. I can still remember what a great sport Walt was in volunteering to be part of a drama team skit at one of our first services. Although they were with us for a brief time we kept in touch over the years and when Walt died seven years ago, Lenore asked me to officiate at his funeral.

They were both very simple, unassuming people; the kind of people who could have posed for Grant Wood’s American Gothic. But both of them had a deep abiding faith in God’s Word and a zeal to make themselves available to serve God.

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Insight into the devil’s schemes

Holy Spirit Aha's, Overcoming / Tom Stuart

In my last blog post I raised the question “Where have all the demons gone?” It was generated by the noticeable contrast between the pervasive demands for deliverance in Jesus’ ministry versus the diminishment of such ministry in the church today, particularly in the West. Albeit it is a perception, but demons are not as in-your-face today as they were two thousand years ago.

First let me say, I don’t believe demons have not gone anywhere. The devil and his horde of demons are alive on planet earth and as wicked as ever. Since Jesus’ plan of redemption for human kind has not changed, neither has the devil’s plan for our captivity and utter destruction. Jesus told us that the devil comes “only to steal and kill and destroy,” but to counter that He came so that we “might have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV)

While on earth, Jesus gave us critical insight into the devil’s strategy: “He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44 NLT)

The devil’s modus operendi therefore is deception. Again and again in the Bible we are warned that we must not be ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11) We are told plainly in the book of Revelation that when “that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan” was cast down to earth his goal was to “lead the whole world astray.” (Revelation 12:9) If that is not the epitome of deceptive intent what is?

Based on these facts about the devil’s strategies provides understanding as to why his tactics are different today than they were in Jesus’ day. Warfare has changed significantly over the centuries to where now it is often difficult, if not impossible, to identify the enemy. Spiritual warfare today is the same way. Battling demonic powers is not unlike trying to defend against suicide bombers and double agents. It is guerrilla warfare at best and subterfuge is the order of the day.

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Where have all the demons gone?

4 Comments / Holy Spirit Aha's, Overcoming / Tom Stuart

“Go tell that fox, I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” Luke 13:32 NIV

This week as I have been reading through the gospel of Luke I have been struck by how much of the focus of Jesus’ ministry was in casting out demons. His message for Herod quoted above, who was seeking to kill him, put driving out demons right at the top of His priority list. Depending on how you read the Gospels, Jesus spent up to 30% of his time in deliverance ministry dealing with demons. In fact Jesus touted it as the imprimatur of the authenticity of His ministry. “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28 NIV)

It has caused me to wonder why there is such a stark contrast between the ministry of the church today, particularly in the west, and the ministry of Jesus and His followers two thousand years ago. Where have all the demons gone? Why aren’t we casting out demons with the frequency and ferocity of the early church?

Dealing with the devil and his minions was at the heart of what Christ came to do. The Apostle John who accompanied Jesus throughout his earthly ministry writes “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8 ESV)
Now the “works of the devil” include first and foremost sin and death which Jesus overcame at the cross. But in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles we also find the devil and his demons causing diseases and infirmities, deafness and dumbness, depression and oppression and all manner of obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Jesus not only dealt with these works of the devil but also commissioned His followers to do the same. When He sent out the twelve on their short term training missions He specifically directed them and gave them authority to drive out demons in addition to curing diseases. It was an integral part of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to set the captives free. (Luke 9:1-2) Jesus basically did the same thing when He sent out the seventy-two and they came back rejoicing saying “Lord even the demons submit to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17)

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