The Courageous New Era

'What is the sign of the new era? Gods giving of His Spirit to His people - not the outward, physical sign of water baptism but the inward sign of Spirit baptism.' - D. Bock

You know this. But what if you read it as a call to live with courage and confidence and power. To be content with a spiritual wisdom that far exceeds the knowledge of Plato, Einstein or Hitchens.

John's proclamation of the Savior is divinely courageous. It's charismatic. It's founded in a divine guidance that flowed from the Spirit. John wasn't scared to ignite among his people an unruly awareness of  the shifting of the heavenly realms.

Anyone can make spiritual noise and make it loudly without much consequence (or fruit), but John brought this noise to his culture, his people in real time and with eternal success.

He took on his spiritual leaders - 'you snakes, you scoundrels'

He took on the pagan ruler - 'you murderer, you adulterer'

This wild prophet steadfastly cried out to the heavens that every man would be ready for a new era.

A new era designed to painfully and yet soothingly re-shape us deep within: heart, soul, mind and body. It's the same Spirit at work in John and his enormous proclamation of life that is at work in us today.

It's mysterious. It's entirely supernatural. It's dangerously simple. It's culturally courageous. How amazing is it that something spiritually invisible has so holistically impacted the physical world eternally.

The New Era has come. Is it an inward or outward source of courage shaping your life?

Read Darrell L. Bock's Recovering the Real Lost Gospel (pg12) - Read Luke 3 more on Johns ministry.

The Little Warrior Within...

Larry Osborne, at the Sticky Church 2.0 conference, spent some time challenging the notion that a person or a church or an organization needs replicate or reproduce a program, style, culture or quality that a more fruitful person/organization is doing.

He brought up David. Not King David but the young, confident, sheep herding David.

'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine...', sound familiar? Dude was awesome, 'your servant will go and fight him.' Young and ready to do what he had been training to do - leading sheep, wrestling bears and lions, training. In speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity...set and example even in your youth. Those words from Paul to Timothy totally connect to David and his ability to move in the Lord at such a young age.

We know the Spirit was on David, that God had a plan for him to move into a role of leadership in Israel. We also know that the same Spirit that was in sheep-herding-King David is in us.

At this point David wasn't seeking out what other mighty warriors he could mimic in order to take on Goliath. He knew his strengths and weakness' so when Saul called for him he was ready to respond in a healthy way. When opportunity came he was comfortable with his capacity.

Ultimately Saul puts his own armor on David to send him in to battle. Seriously? Compared to Saul, David's a curly headed pygmy with a sling and some sheep. He was restricted, confined, unable to move about the way he had trained and knew he was capable of. He was being set up for success according to someone elses plan and purpose.

I absolutely admire what he did next. So simple and yet so bold. David stripped off the armor and left to fight using the skill set, vision and confidence that came from the Lord, not the mighty warrior and king Saul.

As a follower of Christ, empowered and designed by Him, who are you trying to be like that totally doesn't fit who you actually are. Yes, to grow we need to learn from all camps, from many sources beyond our own understanding and worldview...but our character doesn't change, our foundational qualities that are divinely handed down don't need to be thrown out right? Maybe revamped and reformatted but ignoring who you are or what your organization is designed to do in order to copy another 'more successful' can only lead to heart-ache and possibly sin either now or later.

Are you fighting in your strengths or someone elses? What Philistines are you trying to overcome with unnatural tools and style? Every warriors has his own skill set, what's yours?

Taken from 1 Samuel 17 and 1 Timothy 4:12

Turning Courageous

What brought the Apostle Paul to a point in his life where being imprisoned, with the possibility of execution, simply meant another opportunity to glorify God and speak courageously about the resurrection and salvation of Jesus?

'To live is Christ and to die is gain.' (Philippians 1) - what a mantra!

Was it his miraculous conversion: a blinding bright light, the voice of the recently deceased, resurrected and ascended Messiah?

Or was it an opening of his spiritual eyes to the reality of Gods new work. An experiential knowledge of the new dispensation of Spirit and Grace upon the earth.

Many of us have witnessed pretty miraculous things: preserved life after a natural disaster, brutal car-crash survivors, mysterious healing of a terminally ill family member, random rent check in the mail...

How many hold onto that miracle as life-changing from that point onward? I would like to believe that if Jesus opened up the sky and told me to serve Him 100% that I would do so without fail...I've experienced that power in different ways and I still flounder at times.

Paul responded with zeal. He passionately took up his new calling, his new faith and never turned back.

Have you turned back? Have you doubted relentlessly, turned back and found yourself frozen in your tracks? Then PRAY. Pray for a renewed vision for your life, a tenderized heart for His Holiness and your neighbors lostness, a breath of fresh spiritual air found in the Word and written on your soul. You and I can be like Paul.