Posted in Uncategorized at 7:41 am by jeff@dlaog.com
The title is a list of things I’m just not good at. I just do not do these things very well at all. I always have to be doing something. I was the kid that never stood still. I still have a hard time sitting still. I fidget, wiggle, move. The best way to keep me quiet is to handcuff me…I can’t talk without my hands!
Rest is good for us physically. We need it. We don’t function well without it, and the longer we go without rest, the lower and lower our performance becomes.
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:58 am by jeff@dlaog.com
Hello,
Throughout scripture, God makes several statements that I believe show that He wants to demonstrate His greatness in such a way that everyone takes note. Look at the following scriptures as just a sampling:
I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.
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.I think that this sample of scriptures shows that God wants to put some “Wow” in our religious experience. Most of us are really happy with a predictable religious experience. Most of us actually prefer the mundane to the “wow” and would be rather put off with a service where God showed up.
I remember pastoring one church in Alaska, where a member of the Trustee Board came to me and told me never to preach on the glory of God, a subject which occurs over 350 times in the NKJV that I use. Why? Because the glory of God upset his religious preferences. But God likes to display how great He is. Grand hymns such as “How Great Thou Art” to modern hymns such as “How Great is our God” proclaim the bigness of God, the greatness of God. Shouldn’t we let Him display His greatness in our midst?
I summed up last Sunday’s sermon with this thought:
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:12 am by jeff@dlaog.com
I really don’t watch TV much at all, just sports. Outside of sports on TV, I see no reason for one. None at all. I just could care less about the latest show or miniseries or what have you. Not interested. If I’m going to watch a movie, it will be one that I own on DVD, that I am not embarassed to show to someone else. So, over the past few weeks, as I’ve been watching football, I have noticed that the shows the networks are advertising are increasingly supernatural in nature. So I went to the networks websites and did a little digging, and was greatly suprised at what I found. A sizeable amout of programming is devoted to supernatural gifts and issues. Prophecy, raising the dead, spiritual warfare, miraculous powers are all part of the menu this fall.
Now, I know that doesn’t qualify as very Biblical, but I think it says an important thing…Americans are hungry for something real and practical and supernatural…exactly what a Spirit-filled Christian is supposed to be! Each of these shows shows the supernatural as helpful, practical and positive. Now, when we Christians think of the prophetic, we think of it in terms of a special meeting with a prophetic person, such as we are having on Wed. night 10/15/2008, or a prophetic word given during a season of worship, a generally religious, churchy kind of thing. ABC has an interesting take on the prophetic with the series ELI STONE, in which a lawyer develops prophetic giftings after an aneurysm, and uses these giftings for the benefit of others in the context of his daily job. Now, people have been teaching from the pulpit for decades now the need for the gifts of the Spirit in operation in the market place of life, outside the sanctuary, into daily life. ABC has chronicled this call and transformed it into houshold entertainment.
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:04 am by jeff@dlaog.com
This Sunday, I’ll be ending my message with this thought, but I wanted to put it out here now. Dan. 11:32b tells us that those who know their God will be strong and do exploits. I think more than anything else, we need to get the horse in front of the cart and do things in order. “Those who know their God” comes before being strong and doing exploits. For to long, we have marketed the anointing as “transferable”, encouraging people to just “come and recieve.” It does great to fill auditoriums and sells a lot of ministry materials, but if you have followed this for a while, you will notice that there is not a lot of fruit to this concept. Just the same people going to the next conference, the next ministry and buying the next DVD or book.
I think it is time to get to know God for ourselves. To recommit ourselves to knowing our God. Here are my thoughts.
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:43 pm by jeff@dlaog.com
Hello,
Just a brief entry here. Music is an amazing thing, and to many churches, still a controversial one. Some people think that God doesn’t like a certain kind of music or different beats. I believe that God inhabits the praises of His people, no matter the style, rythmn or tune. Here is a classical/Spanish-style guitar melody that I wrote with my wife on the keyboard. We offer it up a simple tune of worship to our King, who told us in Ps. 33:3 (NIV) to “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:48 am by jeff@dlaog.com
Last Sunday, I preached a message entitled “God Provides in Times of Famine.” The disciple of Jesus Christ who is connected to the vine, understands that God is their source of provision, in good times or in lean times. The Vine, Jesus Christ, is the source of all nutrients to the branches, the believers. The branches stay connected to teh vine, and they are provided for. The disciple knows where their provision comes from. They understand the source of their sustenance, and it is found only in remaining connected to the vine.
I forgot to bring my camera into the office this morning, which has the video editing software on it, so I can’t edit down to the 45 second post that I would like to, but on the following link, just load to the 7 minute mark and listen until 7:45 minutes. It is so important that we understand that God is our provider, regardless of the economy.
God is our source in the midst of famine, in the midst of drought, in the midst of economic fears, in the midst of troubled times. He is still the God of the cattle on 1000 hills, He is still the God who “…shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” He is the one who we draw our resources from. He is our provider, our Jehovah Jirah.
In paying the tithe, we are not sowing for a new car or to get out of debt quickly or a miriad of other myths that are preached today. Rather, we are acknowledging that God is our source. This acknowledgement is the purpose of the tithe to my understanding, and it is the key to blessing in troubled times. If you are not tithing (which, according to the Bible is 10% of your gross income), you are not acknowledging that God is your source. I want to challenge you, no matter where you find yourself today financially, to begin to “bring in the whole tithe to the storehouse…” and acknowledge you have no other source but God Almighty for your provision.