Just your average revolutionary

Fire On Your Head Episode 46: Who Goes To Heaven?

2009-07-03T20:22:00.001+02:00

We post this rather urgent evangelistic message about eternity. Today on the podcast, Joel Crumpton shares his experience and expertise in soul winning on the streets for over 25 years, and to inmates in jail. He shares powerful testimonies of God using him, and encourages you in sharing your faith with others.

We also take the time to explain the Gospel message and just why exactly someone goes to hell or to heaven. Do you know for certain where you'll go?

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Articles:

The Chains of Self-Righteousness - by Steve Bremner

The Backslider Test, Who Enters The Kingdom of God? Joel Crumpton

And check out this video "Have You Backslidden?"

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, listed as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

Fire On Your Head Episode 45: Your Vocation as Ministry?

2009-06-24T05:02:00.002+02:00

This week we conclude with the second part of our interview/discussion with Dima Kurovsky on being called to the workplace. Are some people fulfilling pastoral and clergy roles who aren’t called to by God? Is there a serious consequence when Christians ignore whatever their calling may be in lieu of something doing something else instead? What about laziness--is it a sin? We also have Matthias Glastra on the podcast to give an update about this year’s Fire For Life Summer School in the Netherlands.

Visit http://www.jezusrevolutie.nu for more information about FIRE Netherlands and this year's summer school.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, or at ZenCast listed as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

What Kind of Spiritual Seed Are You Reproducing?

2009-06-15T06:15:00.003+02:00

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Mark 13:28-31)

We've been looking a lot in my articles lately about the kingdom of God, the Word of God specifically in the context and imagery of seed, which is the Word of God (Luke 8:11).

In my studies and meditations on this concept of 'seed', I was compelled to think even further on how seed--including sowing and reaping--works in the natural realm. Even though fruit for example, is delicious, and different ones have different uses for our healthy diets, the primary purpose of the flesh on a fruit is not to add potassium or fiber to the human body, though that is obviously a good use for it. But at the core of an apple, you find more seeds. If the fruit were left on the branches of the tree, eventually the fruit falls to the ground, rots, and the seeds are sown into the ground. Those seeds don't give forth life or reproduce after their own kind until a death has taken place. Only when the seed dies, and a rupture happens, leaving the seed to give forth life and take on a form it wasn't previously, will a new plant emerge, and produce fruit again. And in the next generation of fruit, will be contained therein the same DNA of the seed that was sown. This cycle perpetuates itself indefinitely until or unless something stops it. When nature is left to its course, the seed is never lost or destroyed despite the death and decay around it when the fruit falls to the ground off the branches and even if the tree itself rots or is intentionally destroyed by an outside source, the seed will remain.

Likewise, the Word of the Lord never perishes even though heaven and earth will pass away (Mark 13:31). I was recently talking to a missionary friend of mine telling me how much he's upset other missionaries and other established Christian ministries in the area he's called to. When he leads people in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, casts demons out of the oppressed, or heals the sick with the power of the seed implanted in him , other Christians get nervous and tell his disciples and followers to 'be careful'. We've had no problem passing on doctrines and dead works down through the ages of the Church, but those things are usually that which rots and decays--the flesh. But he notes that whenever people need a miracle or a devil cast out of someone, they don't hesitate to call on him. The law kills but the Spirit gives life, therefore it's this life we should be imparting. Not the flesh that protects the seed, but the seed itself. People will notice and be able to tell the difference.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) It is this living word that is intended to be passed on. Genesis 1:11 mentions how the earth sprouts vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. If the church can exist in certain areas of the world and all that's being produced is dead works and dry religion, then it's because that's the seed that's being sowed. As a leader of mine in Holland says, we can't give what we don't have. If the living breathing Word of God is not resident in us, it won't come forth in others. If we're not seeing The Spirit move in others, it's because He's not moving in us either. Simple as that. Many theologians can write books, blogs, or just plain be armchair critics about what is the proper way to minister this or teach that. But the fruit they are producing tells what they really sow. We can all teach what we know and think, but we reproduce who we are. So who are you? And what seeds are you sowing in others? What fruit are you reproducing?

Don't hinder others' seeds from sprouting

A rut we believers tend to fall into when sowing the seed--the Word of God--into peoples' lives, is to not let it do its own work. I'm not against, nor am I contradicting the efforts made towards discipleship and helping other believers mature in Christ. I'm not even against confrontation and rebuking where specific sin is present that the Bible admonishes us to deal with in both our lives and those of each other. What I am talking about is digging up the seed to see if it's doing anything under the surface or to see why progress we may be expecting hasn't happened yet. Sometimes when we lead new believers to Christ, we tell them all the things they now can't do, but don't teach them what they can do. We start accountability structures and relationships that are fear-based and revolve around consequences if one messes up, because deep down we're afraid the Holy Spirit really isn't going to bring other people into maturity as well as we believe we could. Of course we don't admit it to ourselves or even believe that's what we think.

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55: 10-11) God knows what He's doing, and if we've been faithful in sowing the seed of His Word, we don't need to add extra fleshly rules to that soil, of what we can and can't do as believers. Another friend of mine was just chatting with me on MSN and reminded me that there are fewer basic non-negotiables to the Gospel and the message of Christ in the believer that most of us like to admit. However, we have made up lots of other stuff that boils down to personal convictions (personal preferences) that we're not willing to die for in order to 'be right' but that's another blog entry or podcast show altogether! The Spirit of grace inside us, along with the implanted Word of Christ will bring forth the fruit if that's what we've sown in them, and had sown and watered in us. If the seed has the basic elements it needs to grow, then it will.

One time as a child, a buddy of mine and I were at our other friend's house on a hot summer day to go swimming in his family's above-ground swimming pool. I can't remember if we were 8 or 9 years old, but we somehow got the brilliant idea that we'd do this friend's mom a favor and water her flowers in the backyard. We didn't realize that using the pool water was actually bad, as it contained chlorine and such chemicals designed to neutralize and kill certain bacteria to help keep the pool clean. What was good and healthy for that pool's usage, was NOT good and healthy for my friend's mom's garden plants and flowers. In our immaturity, we had good and well meaning intentions, but it was a deadly idea, and his mom saw us out the window and came outside and stopped us and explained that though she saw the intention of our hearts, our effort would actually kill, and hinder any fruit from being produced.

Sometimes we do likewise when we try to water other peoples' seeds using conditions and standards that aren't applicable to every plant in the garden. We actually spread death when we try spreading certain religious concepts onto each others' lives from the outside, instead of letting the Holy Spirit within water the implanted Word of Christ. We are only overcomers of the flesh (soul) when we are strong in our spirit. We are just picking rotting fruit off the tree when we try fixing problems using fleshly/soulish and external solutions, rather than going to the root:

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:18-23)

Usually the self-made regulations we add in order to try watering that seed are of no use in actually doing the work we're attempting to accomplish with it. If we understand that flesh in Scripture doesn't just specifically and only represent the more obvious and outrageous sin, but categorically those seemingly 'good' deeds, though noble, but not birthed of the Spirit, then we can chalk up good intentions and personal disciplines to that which leads to death like Paul talked about in Romans 8. "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (v. 7-8). The solution is found in the two verses preceding it: "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

A lot of works of ministry and a lot of personal disciplines are just works of flesh, and not of the Spirit. If you want to overcome the deeds of the flesh, then sow to your spirit and whatever you sow you will reap (Gal 6:7). If all flesh is like grass and will fade away, then why use that fleshly grass to enhance our personal disciplines and water the seed with substance other than the Word which abides forever (1 Peter 1:24-25)?

When we eat a fruit, say an apple for example, the fruit's flesh itself that we eat is useful for food, but itself is of no use toward reproducing more apples. It protects the seeds found in the core, which are then used for reproducing more apples. The human male body's flesh substance itself won't produce new life, but the seed inside him being protected by his body used in the reproduction process will. Therefore if it's so in the natural, why do we operate in the opposite fashion so often in the spiritual, and as Colossians 2 states, do things that in and of themselves are of no use in stopping the gratification of the flesh?

That being said, whether you're a leader in the church or someone who edifies others in the Body of Christ, you will reap what you sow, and can only give what you have. Let's fan into flame the Spirit in the lives of one another, and not the deeds and not self-made religion, and other such things we think are of living water, but are actually loaded with poisonous chlorine and hinders growth and life.

Fire On Your Head Episode 44: Called To The Workplace?

2009-06-11T18:57:00.002+02:00

This week we have the first part of a two-part interview/discussion with Dima Kurovsky, creation apologist, 'tongues googler' and friend of Fire On Your Head. First we share some updates of life and ministry in Peru. In our discussion, we destroy the clergy/laity wall many believers believe exists, and lay a foundation that God has placed you where He has called you and you may have more opportunities to glorify God in a 'secular' environment than you realize. Since statistically speaking, most believers are not called to 'clergy' ministry, this series is a must listen as we felt the Lord change our discussion topic and talk about this instead.

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Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, or at ZenCast listed as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

Growing Deeper Roots

2009-06-04T17:22:00.000+02:00

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away." (Psalm 1:1-4)

A tree--and pretty much all plants and vegetation in general--need several things in order to grow and produce their corresponding fruit: proper soil, water, and sunlight. If you water it too much and/or only give it water, then it will get waterlogged and die. If you don't give it any, and it only gets heat and sunlight, also, it will die. But the soil also needs to be in correct condition. For example of this, the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 ) details the different outcomes of having the seed fall on different types of ground. In Psalm 1 we're given a few contrasts between the righteous and the wicked which I'd like to focus on. The man who delights in the law of the Lord is contrasted with the man who doesn't, but walks in the counsel of the wicked and sits in the seat of the scornful. Here we're told not that the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night is not like a seed, but how he's like a tree planted by streams of living water. The man of wickedness, like a leaf that withers.

It stands to reason that if the righteous man is the one who grows, and prospers, it would be necessary to know how the he does so. Therefore we need to be delighting in the law of the Lord if we're to prosper and be blessed in all areas of righteousness--through both the rhema revelation and the logos written Word, studying it, getting into it deep and sinking our roots deep into it. Only from having these conditions in place in our own lives, will we be able to extract the image from the seed, the Word of God. The man who does this, yields fruit in season, and in all that he does he prospers. It's also necessary to realize is that one must to do this regularly, as indicated in the words 'day and night'. As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but not if you only eat one apple and nothing else in the course of a day!

First, a little bit about my approach to reading/studying/interpreting the Bible: since all Scripture is God-inspired, then the meaning of one passage is tied into the one before it and breeds the meaning of the one following. All the parables, teachings and stories are like the strokes of a much larger painting. All of it ties together. Therefore, passages like Psalm 1 don't require a lot of scholarly study to understand, and if we just read the whole thing in context we can understand the individual verses contained therein. As good as it is to memorize individual Scripture verses, I think it's even better to meditate on entire chapters of Scripture and entire stories or parables than just individual verses. Doing so helps avoid accidentally (or intentionally) lifting sentences out of context.

So let's have at it: if a blessed man walks not in the counsel of the wicked, and all the things detailed in the first two verses, then that means the unrighteous man does the opposite. If a righteous man is like a tree firmly planted, then a wicked person is not (I know, deep revelation, but bear with me). And if an unrighteous person is not getting his counsel from the law of the Lord then by necessity he's getting his counsel somewhere else --as James 3:13-18 explains, from below. And by 'below', I don't mean the ground, but the pit of hell.

We read in passages like Luke 6:43-44 that no good tree bears bad fruit, and vice versa. There's only two options, good or bad, fruitful or unfruitful, righteous or wicked, good fruit or bad fruit. That which is below or that which is from above. A wicked person who is not firmly planted near the streams of living water is not going to yield fruit as though he were firmly planted in good soil. Verse 45 goes on to say that the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Therefore, it's no wonder the very next thing Jesus proceeds to teach here in Luke 6 is about building your house on a rock so that it withstands the storm. The idea of building and construction is linked to sowing, reaping, growing and harvesting in this context. The fact Luke writes them one immediately following the other in his Gospel allows us to assume they are a part of the same flow of thought Jesus was teaching here.

"Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:47-49)

For years I read that passage of Scripture as though it were talking about the believer and the unbeliever, the righteous versus the unrighteous. However, both individuals heard, but only one did what he heard, the other didn't, and the storms and cares of this life knocked the structure down.

So why am I saying all that, and how exactly do we extract the content of the incorruptible seed of Christ in us? Those passages then being a loose framework for us to work with provide some steps for obtaining revelation knowledge and extracting the image from the seed :

1) Put into practice what you learn from the Word of Christ

This is of the utmost importance in growing in Him and extracting revelation knowledge from the seed. In receiving the implanted word, James 1:21-25 talks of making sure to be doers of the Word of Christ, which would be building your house on the rock, versus being a listener only--building on sandy foundations. One person extracts the image from inside the seed BY obeying what Christ teaches and the other didn't and the ruin of his house was great.

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:25)

2) Submit to fiery trials in your life

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4) Under circumstances like heat, and fiery trials in life, we're capable of having squeezed out of us just what's really inside our hearts. It is these moments that reveal our true character. Sometimes the greatest opportunity for our faith to grow, is from under pressure, and remember, your faith has no perishing point (1 Peter 1:7). The light of the sun is vital and a crucial component to the growth of any vegetation--the same way muscle doesn't grow except under resistance. But your true, tried, and tested genuine faith will survive the heat, and you will be refined and made purer, and steadfastness is produced in your life the way fruit grows from the tree planted by that stream of living water.

3) Create the right conditions in your life for the growth

Like I've already mentioned, certain conditions need to be right for the seed to sprout and germinate properly. We see this exact same concept exemplified in the parable of the sower where the same seed is scattered in each instance, but the conditions are different, and the seed that sprouted up immediately is the one that withers and dies under the heat--the pressure and trials of life. The soil of our hearts has to be right, or else the seed doesn't go deep and develop any roots. You can't have too much sunlight, and yet can't have too little. You can't have too much water, yet you can't have too little.

Likewise, if you have too shallow of soil, the roots can't grow deep. Several years ago for my birthday when I was living as a missionary in Holland, some dear Dutch sisters gave me a vetplante. I'm by no means an expert on plants and flowers, but it had very thick leaves and had an interesting 'rubber' like texture. They gave it to me in a small pot, and told me it could go weeks without being watered, so that way I wouldn't have to worry about watering it every day or having it die if I left for a few days. Not only that, but if I put it in a larger bowl or pot, the plant would grow even larger. Such is the case with our lives--we can only dig our roots as deep as how much room we have to grow in, and without deep roots, we'll not have much fruit to blossom where we're planted.

I could write a whole post on just what is needed to break up the fallow ground of one's heart, but I think this article here that I stumbled across does an excellent job.

4) Don't fragment the seed

The seed itself also has to be left in tact. Nobody who knows a thing or two about farming would take a seed and split it into pieces smaller than it already is, and then sow each piece and expect a bigger harvest. Nor would they expect partial incomplete harvest, because none would be obtained. Why? The image in the seed would have been destroyed by splitting and dividing it. You can't sow just the part of the seed responsible for leaves, and then just the part of the seed responsible for fruit, and just the part of the seed that will be responsible for wood, and expect to grow any of those components independent of the other. They are all a part of the same package. Likewise it is with the heavenly seed, the Word of God. We can't add to it or take away from it. We can't split up any of its aspects and over-emphasize one component over the other. It all works and accomplishes something together. We sow it as it is. The Holy Spirit will work with the written text of the Bible He authored.

5) Confess and Speak the Word

To repeat, Luke 6:45 states that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. There's a correlation between what someone believes & thinks in their heart, and what they choose to speak out. Simply put, confession is a statement of your beliefs. Ephesians 5: 18b- 20 states "Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

So what are you saying with your mouth? I recommend this previous article for further Bible study on speaking and meditating on the Word of God. If you're storing the Word of God in your heart, you're off to a good start in terms of stuff that you'll be able to pull out of it and confess with your mouth based on both memory and from the Holy Spirit having something in you to draw upon.

6) Pray in tongues & Allow the Holy Spirit to work Through You

Jesus said Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' (John 7:38) He was talking about the Holy Spirit, who 'waters' this seed--Word of God in us, and supplies the power to bring it to fruition. All that you need to live holy and grow in Christ is contained in that seed. Again, the Holy Spirit will work with the written text of the Bible He authored.

In conclusion, this list is by no means exhaustive, nor are spiritual disciplines in the Word walk limited to just these things listed, but I thought those things would help you out with unpacking the content of the faith seed.

If you've stumbled across this article and have never visited this site before and would like to go deeper into some of the material covered in this post further--besides the many hyperlinks throughout this article--the following are some previous posts that go into more detail concerning some aspects of the faith walk merely touched upon in this post:

What are You Feeding Your Tree?, Treasures of the Heart, How's Your Connection?, The Spirit of Truth

And please forgive me if my posts lately have had more links than a Polish sausage factory. I just feel that these issues of personal discipline are of significant importance and I want to draw attention to other places where I covered this stuff so my individual articles aren't too long.

Fire On Your Head Episode 43: Are Apostles For Today?

2009-05-29T18:05:00.002+02:00

In this interview with Bryan Purtle we talk about the work he’s doing in Kansas with Tent of David Fellowship. We discuss the foundational role of apostles in the Church, compared to the title of 'apostle' used for other purposes. Are apostles the CEOs of church networks, ‘at the top of the church structure’ or is there something we’re missing when we look at this issue of apostolic fathering and fellowship in modern Christendom?

Download this episode (right click and save)

FOYH Recommended Articles: True & False Apostles - Bryan Purtle, Apostolic Essence - David Edwards

Voice of Revolution Articles: Apostolic Ministry in the Kingdom of God part 1, part 2 - Andrew Yeoman

Authority, Accountability and the Apostolic Movement - book by Stephen Crosby

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, or at ZenCast listed as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

Sheep Wearing a Skeleton Mask

2009-05-26T00:00:00.000+02:00

I couldn't help but notice how accidentally profound this humorous little youtube video is, for what is a skeleton except that which is dead and lifeless? The sad thing is I've seen Christians have this same effect on others in the Body of Christ.

Cultural Musings

2009-05-20T17:51:00.002+02:00

OK, this is just more like worth a chuckle and not necessarily that hilarious. This culture constantly perplexes me and stuff happens almost every day that I could come home from and write a brief 'missionary experience' blog entry about. Too many happen to document, but yesterday something nice happened to me while I was out buying groceries from the big 'Wong' supermarket I live about 4 blocks away from here in Miraflores, Peru.

Normally I am just buying a basket's worth of items, and the regularity with which I shop allows me to not need very many items per trip. So of course, that means I get into the shortest lines, or the express lanes. In Peru signs with instructions mean nothing--people will go into these lines with shopping carts oblivious to how annoyed everybody behind them is. In fact, that is one cultural observation I've had here--you know how when you're in a shopping isle or checkout counter and someone might be holding everybody and everything up, but when they realize it they kind of sheepishly say "oops, sorry didn't know you were behind me"? Not in this culture. They notice, and don't care. Whatever they're doing takes top priority. I'm not saying this about the culture in a judgmental way, because I'm sure Peruvians could find some stuff to knock North Americans about from their perspective. But I'm just saying, from seeing the 'every person for themselves" style of traffic and "lining up" that people could be taught a thing or two about order and flow, but that's just my perspective.

Normally I seem to keep winding up in lines where some woman, however young or old, will hold up the whole line to dispute with the cashier over something stupid like 1.30 soles (under 50 cents USD) It doesn't matter how restless the other people in the line are getting (I've watched people make gestures and resort to name calling to imply their impatience and frustration). But it doesn't matter, these people are thrifty and have thick skin. "I'm going to save 50 cents doggone it no matter the fact I'm shopping in a high end supermarket and could already have saved dollars upon dollars if I went somewhere else in the first place! No matter how many people are waiting on me!"

So anyway, you can imagine my surprise today when I was buying my items, I got behind this relatively elderly lady who kept paying attention to my items and looking at me. It doesn't take asking me to find out I'm not from around here, I'm constantly stared at in public and just have gotten used to it. The lady asks me, in Spanish of course, if I have a Wong's bonus card, to which I reply that I don't. The cashier always asks me this, so maybe I should go ahead and get one and save some money when I shop. The lady proceeds to tell me rather slowly enough so I can understand, that using such a card when I shop helps me get bonus points for which using them takes off the price of some of my purchases. At least that's what I think she said, because remember, my Spanish is only at an intermediate level with vocabulario limitado.

The cashier rings through all this lady's items and uses her bonus points card and gives her her receipt and so forth. The lady then tells the cashier she wants to let me use her bonus points card. At least that's what I think, so I keep paying attention to see what's going on before thanking her for it until I know for certain what she's doing. Yep, she seemed different than all the other 'thritfy' ladies I get stuck behind in the check out isle. I was impressed, and shocked because this is a bit unusual of an experience, when normally they're suspicious of gringos and want something from me, never doing a favor for me like giving me a discount.

When I'm done paying for my items, the older lady comes back from wherever she wandered from and asks the cashier a question which resulted in me being asked to procure my receipt again. I do so and the cashier scribbles something on it and then opens her drawer and pulls out a roll of stickers and then takes maybe 5 or 6 from it and gives them to the lady, and then it was obvious what was going on as she thanked me profusely as she was waving the stickers in the air and hurried off:

"How nice of that gringo to use my bonus card to help me get more stickers"
And here I thought she was doing me a favor of some kind for nothing in return, but most likely was thinking of the stickers she would obtain.

How Peruvian. How funny.

The Image Inside The Seed

2009-05-14T18:47:00.004+02:00

"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." (Matt 13:23)

Recently I had heard about a number of tombs being found in Egypt in recent years which contained mummified remains of people. In the tombs they also had jars which contained seeds that had been preserved in that state for thousands of years. Someone got the idea to sow them and harvest the cornand such contained in the seed to see if there was any significant difference between what they sowed in Egypt over 2700 years ago, compared to the seeds of those types of crops harvested today. There was no difference, it yielded the same exact thing. It didn't matter how old the seed was, because apparently the seeds we've passed on from generation to generation, still contained the same crop as those from thousands of years earlier. It didn't expire or reach its 'best before' date. All of the image of what that seed was intended to yield remained intact inside it for over 2700 years until it was harvested.

I thought this was simple yet amazing enough of an example of God's kingdom worth adding to my series on the 'imperishable seed' lately. I highly suggest going over those posts for the benefit of this entry if you've never read them before, as many of the Scriptures I'm referencing or taking for granted in this post I've been covering more in depth in previous posts for the foundation I'm building on in this one.

Another way I thought about this: I remember as a teenager the days when I used to make mix tapes - long before we had digital mp3 players and iPods (which I thank God for!). I would take songs on CDs of mine that I wanted to make a mix tape with, and listen to the tape on my Sony Walkman while delivering newspapers. The quality of the songs--because they were only a copy--would be degenerated compared to the original CD I obtained them from. If I wanted to make a copy of that mix tape for somebody, I'd have to go to the original CDs again, because if I copied the tape--which itself was just a copy of songs--then the quality of that next tape would be even worse than mine was. Such was the quality of copying using analog--it gets worse and worse the more you reproduce it from one copy to another.

Natural seed is not like such, and this is certainly not the case with the imperishable seed either(1 Peter 1:23)--it doesn't diminish, lose anything, or degenerate from one generation to the next as it's passed on.

The same seed of Christ planted in a believer who was changed by the blood of Christ having put their trust in Him 2000 years ago does the same work in a believer's heart today. The seed has not gotten worse the more it was spread. Kingdom seed is not analog. Its 'DNA' doesn't change when it's passed on from one person to another. If what's true of the natural seed is true of the spiritual imperishable seed of Christ in us, then it shines light on passages like when Jesus said in John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because Iam going to the Father."

We are capable of doing at the very least the works, signs and wonders Jesus did, because His imperishable seed--perfect image of His nature--has been implanted in us (1 John 3:9). But Jesus didn't stop there, He said we'd do greater works than these. Whenever I talk to people of certain evangelical persuasions or denominations who don't believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, tongues, healing, and what have you, as being for today, I no longer go to the book of Acts to point out that there's no reason to believe such activity was to stop in the Church, but I point to this aspect of Christ's character. If He did certain things, and said we would also and more, AND has planted His seed in us, then nothing of the image in that seed has depreciated over the centuries or degenerated in quality since. Nothing of His has been lost or diminished in us. He didn't even say we'd do at least the same He did, but greater works. I know that sounds blasphemous to some, and is an abused concept by some people, but it's still what the Word of God teaches and shows. So the idea it's arrogant to say believers can heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons or do things Jesus did is strengthened, and "only He can do it" is nullified, because the very nature of Christ is implanted into us as believers when we're born again.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24) Jesus, our ultimate example, left His abode in heaven, and entered our fleshly earth realm, and lived as a man. He 'fell into the earth' and died, that He may be raised from the dead and conquer sin, and in a sense, plant a new work in mankind that would blossom and flourish and that work itself would overcome the sinful, carnal death nature. Jesus died in order to be gloried, much like a seed. Seed gives forth after its own kind, and Jesus' likeness is reproduced into those of us where His seed is implanted. Who He is, is spread and reproduced in us as we mature and grow and spread the kingdom of God with evangelizing and manifesting the nature of Christ through healing the sick, and giving freedom to the oppressed.

Likewise, in order to obtain the Christ seed, we ourselves die. We have to give up our life and no longer be in control, or no longer own ourselves, in order to be a part of this realm, in order to manifest this heavenly Christ-ruled kingdom. We die to ourselves, and live thru Christ. There can't be any ounce of self left, because Christ's nature abides in the believer. He was not like 'us' in our sinful fallen state. Therefore such sin nature must die--that nature must no longer be nurtured--but the seed of Christ in us watered and nurtured, and cultivated. The seed of Christ on the inside of us is as holy as how sinful Adam's seed inside us is evil--the nature that must be killed in order to mature in the nature of Christ. Galatians 6:7-8 states “For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” All opportunities for this flesh nature to grow, or be nurtured, must be cut off. I encourage reading a previous post for more about the importance of that.

What Exactly is IN the Seed?

"The seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11) This being the case, I'm going to use the word 'seed' interchangeably with 'the Word' of God, and by no means is the following list exhaustive, but I just want to share a few ideas to drive the point home.

"And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish." (1 Cor 15:37-39)

It contains what it is to reproduce after, as we've already been establishing.

"The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear."(Mark 4:26-28)

It contains the kingdom of God. All that is necessary for revival and the kingdom of power spreading is found first in the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear...

"He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God." (2 Cor 9:10-11)

"Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21)

"I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:14b)

It contains your righteous nature and ability to live holy, and to overcome sin and the evil one, and salvation for our souls. See also 1 John 3:8-10.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

"For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God" (2 Peter 3:5)

It contains creative forces which create and give life. As you can see, faith is mixed in with this word of God in order to bring forth any creation. The same properties as mentioned in Hebrews 11:3 are true of seed. The wood and leaves and fruit and all such things itself are not present in the seed, but the DNA is and in the right conditions, those things come forth out of the ground when it's planted and nurtured.

I personally believe this 'seed' is where gifts, talents, skills, and our calling is located. I won't be too argumentative if someone disagrees with me, because I can't completely 'prove this', but hear me out: the same way each and every individual person has specific and unique DNA that makes them who they are, I believe the Lord does with this imperishable seed in all believers. The same way that the seed in the womb of a woman contains all the information as to who the baby is and will become, its hair color, its personality, and other traits not just physical, I believe the spiritual seed implanted inside the believer contains all the spiritual versions of such DNA and it's up to us to water and nurture that seed. It's up to us to edify, encourage and exhort each other as well (since we are all the collective Body of Christ) into maturity into such things as God has designed for us individuals to become in Him and in His Body. That's why some people are capable of not 'realizing their potential'. It's not that some people fail, or others succeed because God is hyper-sovereign and picks and chooses some to be outpacing others, but because He's deposited in us all we need, and allows us to be stewards of our own edification and growth.

The point of the seed is that it yields and gives forth after itself, and does not remain a seed. Therefore in an upcoming post, I'll share some more on how to extract that information from the seed and grow spiritually.

He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." (Luke 13:18-19)

God's intention is not that we remain in seed form, but grow in such a manner as to produce fruit some thirty fold, some sixty and some a hundredfold.

May it be so in our lives!

An Imperishable Kingdom

2009-05-06T00:58:00.001+02:00

And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." Mark 4:31-32.

God's kingdom is established and started with imperishable seed. We've already established that the enemy scatters seeds (weeds) in with the good seed, and wherever the river flows, everything grows, both good and bad. Only in the end time harvest, will the good be distinguished from the bad and the chaff burned up, but that doesn't mean we wait for that day in order to sow seeds of the Kingdom of God instead of to our flesh. Galatians 6:7-8 states "Forwhatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."

I want to draw your attention to the difference between building for the kingdom using imperishable seed, instead of perishable seed--chaff, weeds, wood, hay and stubble. I think I've covered this extensively elsewhere, but this will be a bit more of review and looking at the difference between the perishable kingdoms of this world versus the kingdom of God--the heavenly imperishable realm.

Everything the believer does must be founded on the Word of God, not the flesh. Usually we refer to the flesh when we think of sinning and not living a holy life, but Scripture uses it for other concepts as well.

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.“ (1 Peter 1: 25).

For our intents and purposes today, flesh is that which perishes, is not of God, is man's strength, and that which can be accomplished without God's help, or even accomplished in contradiction to His help. By default, this includes sin and living and functioning without Him. But I want to take it further than the obvious. There's many 'good' works being done in our lives (in man's eyes), but they are of the flesh, and like grass will wither and burn up.

Recall with me some of the things we know about seeds. If you take seed, both good and bad, and sow them into a field or plot of land, both will grow and use up the resources in the ground. The more you sow to the flesh, the more it will strengthen and develop, and the more you sow to the Spirit, then the more you reap in that realm.

All flesh is destroyed eventually with the test of eternity. If flesh is 'like grass', then thinking of things we know about grass is a good way of understanding what's going to happen to the works of the flesh on that day--such as the imagery and analogy of seeds the Lord has had me writing about lately. There will be much work that has been done by men, in the name of Christian religion, that will burn up on that fearful day and have NO significant eternal impact, because it was built with wood hay and stubble (1 Cor 3:12-15). Therefore, allow me to challenge you by asking what are you building with? What are you sowing with? Are you building with perishable substance or imperishable? It may look big and righteous now, but is it of eternal significance? Will it withstand the fire of God on that day?

The difference Between Perishable and Imperishable

I mentioned how not all flesh is inherently spoken of as being sin, though it IS in that category by default. The only two kingdoms the Bible refers to are the kingdoms of darkness, and the kingdom of light. I'm not going to be harsh and specifically calling many of the works going on in this world as being sinful, but it IS true they are of no significant impact for eternity. Jesus said it, and he said anybody not working for Him is working against Him (Matt 12:30). Many 'good' social programs exist today that take care of the immediate needs of people, and this is a good thing, not bad. God's Word says that pure and undefiled religion is taking care of the widow and orphan (James 1:27). In no way am I knocking things that Scripture commends and commands.

However, unsaved people can also take care of their widows and orphans without the Holy Spirit's touch involved in it, and spend eternity in hell despite having started good social programs. A lot of 'good' people, who are doing 'good' things, are still going to hell. It's not our good works that make us right with God because Scripture says they're like filthy rags anyway (Isaiah 64:6). The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection is the only way into His eternal kingdom (John 14:6).

The kingdom of man can invent hearing aids, without the Cross--or even WITH God's help and motivation in the inventor's life. But Jesus, in His kingdom opens the ears of the deaf and they hear. People can train seeing eye dogs, and come up with a language that involves touching the surface with one's fingers in order to help the blind read and understand. But Jesus Christ opens blind eyes and gives sight itself to the blind. It's a noble thing for men to enter the medical profession, invent or discover cures for diseases that ail the flesh--the temporary earthsuit man inhabits--but Jesus Christ heals all those things in both the earthly flesh realm and operates out of the heavenly imperishable realm.

Simply put, the difference between that which will withstand the fire on that day and that which won't, is the stuff that can't be done without the power of God in it.

Even of miracles the demonic realm has a counterfeit that looks just like the genuine. The Word of God says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matt 7:21-23) For our context, that would be like ministers reminding Jesus that his name was on their ministry, or they accomplished many things as a charitable not-for-profit organization or even as 501c3 church status organization. But what will His response be? Will He know you? Does He recognize you from the secret place as you've had personal relationship with Him, and repented of man-made efforts? Remember in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30), that tares look exactly like wheat in seed form but eventually by the harvest time their real DNA is made obvious, and their end result is destruction by fire, even if for a long time they looked alright compared to the wheat. They are but grass...

The manner in which things are done in the flesh compared to how they are done in the kingdom of God is different in that the stuff that is birthed and originated in the flesh does not withstand the eternal fire, but that which is birthed in the heavenly realm can exist in the fleshly realm but not burn up when tested and salted with Holy Spirit fire. The perishable--that which is flesh and not born of above doesn't, and can't exist in the imperishable Spiritual realm. But the imperishable does and can exist in the perishable temporary realm, but it still exists and lasts in the eternal realm.

That being said, which realm do you want to be found living in? Which realm do you want to build ministry and things that *look* like they are of the kingdom of God? Which realm do you want your works to originate in? Which type of seed do you want to sow--that of the flesh or that of the Spirit? Unsaved people can take care of the blind. Muslims can care for their sick. Hindus can look after their orphans. What marks a difference with you and the kingdom you purport to be a part of, dear reader? When the seeds have grown and harvested, which category with they be of --flesh or Spirit? When the wheat and the chaff are separated at the end of the age, which side of the flame will your life and ministry be found on?

There is a lot of 'good' works being done, but that's just the thing--they are 'good' and 'noble' things. But if they can be done without the Spirit of God, their worth is NOTHING in eternity, and only matters in this 'grass' realm temporarily before being burned up.

Another difference between the two realms is the fear of the Lord versus the fear of man. Whose praise do YOU seek? Just recently I was listening to someone I respect and look up to weigh his options and use me as a sounding board about ministry he's considering severing ties with because of how much more money-focused said ministry is becoming and losing its focus on spreading and sharing the Gospel. It was this brother's impression that this other ministry is more concerned about having a large reputation in the media and man's eyes, but has left its first love that it was started on in the first place. The ministry being referred to has no mention whatsoever on its website about the Gospel or that it's supposed to be Christian in nature. The idea is that it will not receive government grants and money from organizations that won't sponsor them if they are overt in their Christianity, so they 'tone it down'. Friends, such a ministry is made of grass. It may seemingly accomplish much in this realm in the short few decades or centuries it's functioning today in this earthly & fleshly realm, but Jesus said "whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 10:33) Whoever one fears usually determines what realm the ministry or work is birthed in and functioning out of.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:12-15)

Father, let us be a people whose works last and remain when tested by fire! Let us be a people who are built on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus rather than be crushed by it and ground to powder from rejection of Him. Make us into the living stones joined together into a kingdom of lasting significance and may you destroy all works of grass from our midst that we may be a pure and lasting kingdom of royal priests. Let us not be ones who build with substance that doesn't withstand the fire of your presence in eternity.

Amen.

For further meditation, here are other articles worth reading on our Fire On Your Head site that significantly overlap with what I covered in this post:

Separating Seeds of Righteousness & Wickedness, What Are You Building With?, Mixing in The Counterfeit with The Genuine

True & False Apostles - Bryan Purtle

Peruvian - Canadian weddings, and updates

2009-05-03T18:10:00.005+02:00

Well I figured it's time for an update post. I swear I'm trying to be writing more frequently and shorter update posts while things are fresh on the mind. Honestly.

Yesterday was my Canadian friend Jason and his Peruvian bride Rocio's wedding, which would make it my first Peruvian wedding I've attended since being here. Heck it would be my first Peruvian-Canadian wedding I've been to ever. It coincided with the trip my pastoral leader Stephen Best, his brother in-law Ray and Bob, all from my our home church in Canada came down for. It may not be my place to go into details on a public blog, but I will say it's such an encouragement to witness this wedding as it speaks of a testimony of restoration and what God can do with peoples' lives and to see what God has done in Jason's life is truly awesome.

This week and next I'm also not taking any Spanish classes, in order to be flexible with helping out with the guys down visiting from Canada, and to just go on errands with Ron Smith that have come up. Earlier in the week I went with him to meet with the publisher about the costs of reproducing 7 Spanish titles of Derek Prince books. Since he's unknown down here, we don't know how hard or easy it will be to this, but it sounds like the publisher is willing to put 1000 copies out. The publisher's husband also is the director of a very large radio station in Lima, Radio Pacifico, and in order to promote the books is interested in helping us put the 15 minute Derek Prince teachings on the air. So he's producing 3 different versions of an episode, and we're sending them to DPM in the USA to see which one they're willing to pay for, and then the teachings will help sell the books and put the deliverance teaching ministry out there--a badly needed ministry over here in Lima. We also have big aspirations to duplicate this model into the other Spanish speaking countries in Latin America. Who knows where this could go from here.

So please keep that in prayer, as we believe that DPM will be willing to finance this and things will go forward. In case I didn't mention it on my blog or on the FYOH podcast, we are their official Peruvian representatives and own the rights to 7 of their titles. Other ones are owned by a ministry in Ecuador. Later today (Sunday) I'm meeting Stephen, Ray and Bob at their hotel to come over to Centro de Fuego--our church plant in Lima. The other night we took them with us outside of town for Stephen to share a word with the leaders and pastors going to the Bible school we're involved in. They're there taking some DVD classes put on in a pastor's church there because typically, 80% of pastors in Peru have never had any form of theological or ministry training, but are in ministry to fulfill some kind of need and this school of maybe over 50 pastors represents many different denominations.

We had a huge Holy Ghost blow out and they seemed to love it. During the prayer time afterward many pastors got baptized in the Holy Spirit for the first time and speaking in new tongues, and there was just such a desperation and a hunger for the presence of God that was really exciting to see God do in our midst. Much weeping and crying out for God. This kind of stuff stirs me up, and helps give me high expectations of what to expect to see God do in the months to come as we lead up to the conference in August.

Well, I need to be going and getting ready for this afternoon. Thanks for reading and praying.

Fire On Your Head Episode 42: Can a Christian Have a Demon?

2009-04-27T03:07:00.004+02:00

Christians and deliverance ministry: we wound up getting into it during my discussion with Ron Smith, director of Fire Peru while I interviewed him about the work down here in discussing our involvement with Derek Prince Ministries. We also talk about the need for living holy, sowing seeds of righteousness to the Spirit versus living in sin and growing seeds of the flesh, generational curses, and the consequences of not having sin dealt with in our lives as Christians. Click here to donate to the Smiths or learn more about the ministry of Fire Peru.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Relevant articles to this week's episode:

Separating Seeds of Righteousness & Wickedness- Steve Bremner

The Hypocrite Test - Joel Crumpton

Faith Has No Perishing Point

2009-04-26T03:17:00.001+02:00

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. the testing of your faith (James 1:2-4)

In the last few years of my life, I've swung the pendulum from one way of thinking to another in my understanding about faith and how it works. Some people get really offended at the implication that faith is something that grows and is developed--in other words, the idea of having more, implies you must not already have enough--and that gets used to condemn people for not being at certain stages of their life. Even when you're not, people think you are condemning them when trying to help them and edify them into greater experiences in God. However, I think it's wrong to push people and make them feel worse about situations they're in and believing God for help getting out of, of course.

I try to be careful how I communicate to people who are really discouraged or needing breakthrough in their life, of course, and I'd never beat other sheep of God's for not being healed immediately, and I'd never put guilt on them and blame them for not receiving their miracle yet. That is wrong, and oddly enough, by virtue of teaching HOW to grow in faith, it's an accusation I get launched at me often, but if you hear me out you'll know the truth behind my words.

That being said, I cannot for the life in me find what many people think about faith (having it or not enough of it), IN the Bible. Our faith IS "growable" and spell checker is not letting me write that word, but it IS the word I want to make up/use--growable--but that is not what I'm trying to write about today, and have written in more detail elsewhere on this site. One important thing I'm finding out about faith these, and this is what I want to write today--that it has no "perishing point".

Look at this:
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, though it is tested so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

Gold and silver are perishable things (1 Pet 1:18). Those type of things are something I've spent considerable time mediating on and thinking about. Gold and silver are things you find in the ground, in caves or hidden in safe places. They require finding. They aren't just on the surface of the ground for any passer by to have access to who couldn't care much less about finding it. At intense temperatures with a lot of heat, these valuable stones are purified and all the dirt and dross burns away after a certain point.

Gold has a certain perishing point. If you kept the temperature rising, the gold would eventually turn to liquid, and if you kept increasing the temperature higher still, then eventually the gold would evaporate or dissolve. If you took a pile of gold and projected it into our sun, at some point before it got right near the sun it would have completely dissolved. However, your faith has NO point at which it dissolves or perishes--according to Scripture. Peter refers to it as being more precious than gold, that perishes though it is tested by fire. Gold, not faith is the object here being referred to as perishable. Can you imagine that or think about that for a moment?

Later in the same chapter it says "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:22-25)

If our souls need purification, and we're born of imperishable seed, and not perishable--then why do so many of us spend so much time dwelling on and feeding ourselves with perishable stuff and dwelling more on the 'perishable' realm of our lives? I know a lot of Christians that read the Bible for 5 minutes a day -if at all-- but gosh--don't ever ask them to quit the TV for a week or suggest withdrawing from the internet for 2 days to dig into the hidden manna, and, dwell on that imperishable stuff that doesn't fade or have a perishing point. Many ministries and preachers build their ministries using substance of this earthly realm, using materials that are combustible, flammable, and unable to withstand the fire on that upcoming day (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and for more along that line, read What Are You Building With?, and keep posted for an article the Lord is developing in me about the kingdoms of men and of heaven).

"Fiery" trials...

For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?^(D) Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (Mark 9:49-50)

The thing we must remember are some simple key words. EVERYBODY will be salted with fire. Salt universally is a key ingredient to many foods and dishes. I remember one time making my famous Bremner spaghetti omelet for my translator and mutual friend during my first visit to Peru and scrambled to find enough of the ingredients at the nearest supermarket to properly prepare it for my guests. I've made this numerous times, but this time it didn't have anywhere near as potent of a taste as normal. That's when one of my guests said "it's because you didn't put salt in it." Salt naturally helps retain some of the flavor. Living in a hot climate, I'm also in the habit of sprinkling a little bit of salt on some of my food in order to help me retain water in my system and not dehydrate. Well in God's scheme of things, he's going to 'salt' us using *fire*. Do you want your flavor to be retained with God's fire, or are you of a different flavor that's not worth being enhanced, because instead it will bring other stuff to the surface to be burned?

"Behold, I sendmy messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will bea swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1-6)

What causes the wicked to be melted in the presence of it, causes the pure in heart to be made purer and more refined in its presence, like precious gold and silver--but yet not perish like the wicked. What for the righteous is a baptism, is destructive for those not on the right side of the flame. Fire serves as a method of distinguishing:

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, buthe who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn,but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke 3:15-17)

I have gone off a bit to talk about the fire of God, just to get to this point I'm about to make:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for ourGod is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29). The "un-shaking" nature of this kingdom somehow mysteriously lies in the nature of its King--likened to a consuming fire, Who in the presence of, only the purified things can withstand the presence and not be destroyed or shaken by it.

We have other passages of Scripture using different analogies like water or wind, not just fire, but I felt for this article focusing on the imagery of fire would serve the purpose, but consider what the word of God is like according to Isaiah 55:10-11: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Being from Canada and seeing the long term effects of snow, I can appreciate the concept of this passage. In the last two years, we had record amounts of snow. One thing about rain and snow, being both water, is that it doesn't disappear, but the change of temperature merely makes it change. When you have record amounts of snow, you have tall snowbanks in the winter. But when you reach spring, the record amount of snow becomes record amount of flooding. The snow doesn't just vaporize and go back to the sky, but it becomes something else and accomplishes a new purpose. Water too, doesn't have a perishing point, but just a point of vaporization. And it doesn't disappear, but accomplishes that which it was sent for. I think there's a LOT in that concept of the Word of God being like rain and snow watering the earth that we could write a series of meditative articles on, but that's for another time.

With all that we've just looked at in the Word, allow me to say this: God is faithful to fulfill the purpose for which He has sent word into your life. It may feel like you're burning up from fiery trials He's putting you through, but there is no perishing point, and God is not and never will put you through more than He feels you can bear. You are just being purified. He will finish what He started in your life, and what He has sent your way will accomplish its purpose. Your faith has no perishing point.

Abide in Him.

Fire On Your Head Episode 41: Do Politics & Christianity Mix?

2009-04-20T03:14:00.001+02:00

This week, Steve finally brings you brief updates about life and ministry in Peru and what to expect on the podcast in the near future.

The discussion this week: politics. What role is Christianity to play in our culture in terms of government? Does the Bible actually say anything about voting or not voting? What about Christians who vote favorably for candidates who hold to unbiblical values and campaign platforms? What is ‘separation of church and state’? Are believers to enter politics as a way of legislating morality, and the Gospel? How exactly are we called to make change in this world? Is the Church supposed to be changing society, or is the government?

Today we just hash out some thoughts with Shawn Landis on the subject, which is one he burns with. Visit his blog at http://shawnman.blogspot.com/

Download this episode (right click and save)

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, listed as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences. Don't forget to visit our new blog site at www.fireonyourhead.org

I Got My Peruvian Religious Worker's Visa

2009-04-17T21:08:00.004+02:00

Greetings fellow revivalists

Well, I’ve not written an update despite having some time on my hands through out some days this week to let one and all know what’s new with me.

On Wednesday I finally got my Peruvian religious worker’s visa, enabling me to legally stay in the country for the next five years and only pay about $40 per year to renew it. It’s such a relief for me because in spending the lion’s share of the last 8 years of my life living in other countries besides my native one, I’ve never had such an easy time obtaining a visa. Some people might find $400 up front expensive, but compared to other countries where it’s closer to $1000 and more complicated rules you have to follow (I’m comparing this experience to my one in Holland, where I needed to guaranteed I had over 650 euros a month –which is like $1100 CAD/month, and pay a flat 430 euros/ $700 CAD) Once I obtained the card, I just kept looking at it because it signified so much with some of the difficulties I’ve had entering other countries before. I’m thankful to God for this.

Spanish Classes – Almost at Intermediate

Last week I ate some funky street food or something, and my bowel had to release its hostages through out the next day, so I wound up missing my Spanish classes for two days. Because last week was Holy Week, and Thursday and Friday were holidays, I talked to them about just not doing any classes that week but starting up again this week, which I did. That caused me to fall behind my class, so they bumped me into 3 hours a day in the afternoon with one-on-one classes. You’d think less time would be easier, but I can’t describe how tiring this is mentally. But next week I’m allegedly going to start Intermediate 1. To think about 6 weeks ago I could just point at menus at fast food places and hope they didn’t ask me any questions I couldn’t answer.

Yesterday, my teacher and I went off topic and I was able to converse relatively fluently in Spanish about how you don’t pay to go to high school in Canada;how expensive it is to go to University and how I didn’t; the difference between the euro and the sol; and how our lame Canadian money has hockey players on the $5 bill. Then it dawned on me: I spoke practically all of it in Spanish to her with little help for just vocabulary I didn’t know. Same with going with Fire Peru’s lawyer on Wednesday to get the visa. Since he could not speak English, it forced me out of my nest to spread my wings and speak what I could. Those of you who think I’m not currently doing that much with my weekdays, please understand how taxing it is on your brain learning another language, especially at this fast of a pace. When I learned French it was a part of my schooling growing up in Canada, and gradually over the years. I have the utmost sympathy and respect for people moving to North America and learning the language just by picking it up. It’s not so easy.

I’m also speaking on Sunday at El Central de Fuego (The Fire Center), which so far has been averaging about 20 adults since we began to hold meetings in Miraflores a few weeks ago. In the weeks to come it’s on Ron’s heart to share with them what we’re doing and start getting active with evangelizing in the community. I’m not sure specifically at the time of writing this what the message will be, but I think if there’s a nick name or a term He’s been speaking to me, I’d call it ‘building godly strongholds’. It kind of flows with the previous entry I posted on seeds of righteousness and wickedness, only emphasizing some things about getting stronger spiritually. Obviously that’s subject to change at the Lord’s discretion.

I finally recorded a podcast yesterday morning after about a 3 month hiatus. It’s a little more on the ‘issues’ conversation than the normal theological type we normally make. This time it was on the Church & politics. I think it went over pretty well. If all goes well maybe Shawn Landis would love to come back on and discuss other things he’s similarly passionate about. But I won’t have it edited for a good week or so. I’m still trying to find time to do one with Ron Smith, fearless leader of Fire Peru and would like to put that one online first. So this one might remain one in the bag for a while before editing it and posting online.

Well, thanks for reading and praying for me.

Blessings and fire on your head

Separating Seeds of Righteousness & Wickedness

2009-04-15T10:29:00.002+02:00

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:6-9)

This post is very similar to one I wrote over a year ago called Mixing the Counterfeit in with the Genuine. We'll be dealing with the same passage of Scripture I used as the starting point in that article, only today I'll be taking a different approach and making a different emphasis, writing from more of a personal level and not so much a corporate level for the whole Body of Christ as that post.

Recently in one of our meetings at El Central De Fuego (The Fire Center) here in Lima, Peru, Ron Smith shared a message on this subject that I felt unlocked some pieces of the puzzle of what the Lord has been showing me in the past 15 months, so I decided to pen this article, which is very similar to a series I did on parables out of Matthew 13. Clicking on that tag below to read the rest of them is highly encouraged for understanding the framework I'm working with. I'll try not to be repetitive, but some assumptions I'm making today are hashed out in more detail in those posts.

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said,'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" Matthew 13: 24-30

The devil always comes that he may steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). It's harder to steal a tree than it is to steal the seed of that tree in its early form. One of satan's most effective strategies, is to scatter lies and deception in seed form early on in the harvesting stage. When you take two different seeds in the palm of your hand, you typically will not know what they will bear until you've planted them and seen what fruit is produced. Obviously skilled and experienced gardeners and farmers would have a keener eye than the average person on what specific seeds are and what they will yield. But for all intents and purposes, the end result or outcome is not obvious just by looking at the seed in the early stages.

In our parable out of Matthew 13, we're told that the farmer sowed good seed, but it was an enemy who came in and ALSO sowed bad seed. The strategy behind this is that the same water, the same nutrients from the soil, would feed both the good and the bad, and attempting to rid the soil of the bad weeds would be detrimental to the health of the good crop, and the two in this parable are allowed to grow until the same specified period, upon which time one is harvested and the other is destroyed. When you have the two different seeds absorbing the same nutrients, and dividing where the soil's resources will be used, the good crop suffers in terms of how much of it could have produced. If you had a whole field with only good seed, you'd yield more usable crop. But when you take that whole field, half of it (the weeds) will be destroyed at harvest time, you're going to suffer loss in terms of what good harvest you could have produced with the whole field.

Too many Christians live their lives that way: letting both seeds take root in their lives and then later having destruction come to destroy works of the flesh, whether it be from sowing and reaping, judgment, or just plain suffering consequences of actions resulting in those seeds going unchecked and coming to fruition in other forms.

You can't feed both natures without suffering loss to one or the other. Scripture says you can't serve two masters, for you will wind up hating one.

Romans 8:5-11 says

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

When it comes to struggling with the flesh, and trying to live holy, I've heard it likened to having two dogs at war. One representing your sinful nature, and the other your new born again nature. If you throw a piece of meat on the ground and let both dogs go after it, one would get it, eat it, and become stronger. If you did the same thing the next day, the one who got it the day before has an advantage in that he's got more strength and vitality after having eaten the meat it had previously obtained, and most likely will win the piece of meat this time as well. Eventually the stronger dog will always overpower the weaker one and keep on getting the meat and feeding itself, continuing to get significantly stronger, while the weaker dog keeps on getting weaker and eventually dies. Such, although not a perfect analogy by any means, is similar to the struggle we each are waging with our sinful nature, crucified and washed by the blood, but many of us have mindsets that haven't changed and need constant renewal (Romans 12:1-2).

When a person becomes born again, they are not changed over night. The old nature has been crucified, and God has transformed the believer. But something interesting is stated here in 1 John 3:9--that God's SEED abides in us. The interesting thing about a seed, is that it in and of itself is clearly not the finished work of whatever that seed is going to produce and grow into. There is a lot that we could discuss and meditate on in just thinking about this concept of the kingdom of God, and the articles I've already written and posted probably just barely scratch the surface of some other thoughts about this. But one thing worth repeating or bearing in mind is that a seed basically contains the image, or the DNA of what its yield will contain. But many of the passages I'm referencing--and other Scripture references we could look at--all have a common thread in that we are in charge of how much we 'water our seed', or cultivate our new nature in the Spirit.

Forgive my assumption that all readers of this are mature, but when a man gives his seed to his wife in the marriage act and a child is conceived, all that has transpired is a seed has been shared. An actual full size adult human being is not implanted into the woman, but the image of what that human being will become is all contained in that seed. Hair color, eye color, physical traits, but those things will be nourished and developed in the womb and eventually outside of the mother's body when the child has been born. Everything the child will become is not obvious just by looking at a pregnant woman who is expecting, or even from looking at the baby in its crib as an infant. The same way that the groom gives his seed physically in the natural example of the marriage act, Christ, the Bridegroom has given us the seed of righteousness to the Church, His Bride. For lack of a better way of describing it, He has implanted His nature into the born again believer upon salvation and regeneration. But it's not obvious right away. It takes cultivation.

This moment is then the devil's greatest opportunity to corrupt that seed--early on in the development stage. That's why, for example, tobacco advertizers aim their ads at youth and young adolescents. This is why many corruping images are sent our way through television and media. It's a spiritual and even natural fact that we are most impressionable when we are young, therefore it's the habits we develop early in life that lay a foundation and form us for the rest of our lives. The same is true spiritually. The young formative seasons of a believer's walk with Christ are important for growth as this is the most easy time for the devil to scatter other seeds in the soil.

Consider other things Scripture tells us about sowing and seeds:

First Corinthians 15: 36-37 states that "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain." This is consistent with the death to self that we are to be constantly engaged in in order that our spiritual nature matures and strengthens.

Sowing, whatever the seed may be, always results in reaping. We usually hear this used in order to coax people into giving money in offerings when we hear passages like 2 Cor 9:6 which say whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Whatever seed you're sowing bountifully, you'll reap bountifully (the context of this passage is giving financially).

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:6-8) Make no mistake about it, the negative sinful stuff we sow to the flesh will grow, build, and culminate, and if we're not careful, dominate our lives. It's a spiritual principle that all too often I only hear about money (sow money and you'll reap money), but if left unchecked, bad habits in our lives will grow to severe levels. It's better to deal with these issues in seed form early than to let them fester and germinate.

Even when the hoardes of darkness sow seeds of deception into the church or into your mind, it's usually always mixed in with the truth. We see this in the Garden of Eden when the serpent asked Eve questions about what God said, and helped confuse her as to what the truth of the matter regarding eating of it really was. He even appealed to her desire to be good, to deceive her into disobeying what she was told.

Deception is usually always rooted in some form of truth, corrupting it.

In conclusion, the best way to deal with these issues of sowing to the flesh, is to sow the opposite--to the Spirit. If anybody reading this has gone so far done a path that you are trying to overcome a sin that has snared you, even though you love God and want to overcome but can't seem to, my best advice is to follow the same pattern that led you in that direction, but with spiritual seeds. It's true the power of the blood of Christ is enough to set you free instantly from any sin that entangles us, but for the most part the problem lies in our unrenewed mind.

Begin the same process with the Word of God and seeds of righteousness in your thinking that you led in an unregenerate way to get where you may find yourself now. I remember Neil T. Anderson, author of The Bondage Breaker and other books about spiritual freedom, used an analogy that fits: if your mind is dark and polluted from all sorts of sin and unregenerated thinking, imagine it like a coffee pot. The pot is full of dark liquid, and you are taking the word of God and placing the equivalent of one pure ice cube into that pot every day. A little bit of dark coffee will spill out, and the ice cube will melt and dilute into the coffee. Change won't be obvious right away, but doing this daily, eventually the coffee pot will get purer and clearer, until eventually no more traces of coffee are left, and eventually the whole pot is pure. This is my opinion of what kind of things happen as we renew our mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2), and it's also necessary to get rid of and cut out of you life the things that caused that coffee pot to get so dark in the first place or else you'll have these two different natures remaining at war with one another, rather than your spiritual nature dominating and ruling over your flesh. If you need to avoid certain people who influence you, do so. If you need to get rid of objects you have access to--such as internet or television, do so. Cut the weeds out, they are not harmless. In order to let in more light, you have get rid of the darkness.

Remember dear reader, you are an overcomer in Christ. It is positional truth. It's just the battle is in your mind and takes some sowing to the Spirit.

_______________________________________________________________

For other stuff to chew on, meditate on, and teachings to listen to:

F.Y.O.H. Podcast Episode 37: Is it Possible to Live a Holy Life?
Download mp3 (right click and save)

Dave Roberson Teachings - these have helped me a lot and made a tremendous impact on my mind renewing and holy living:

The Prison Is the Mind (4 part series)

Sin Shall Not Have Dominion (3 part series)

Peru is definitely no Holland

2009-04-01T05:40:00.006+02:00

It's finally time for an update. I have a few moments to just chill and not go on Facebook, so I figured I'd finally post some news. If I don't do it tonight, then more stuff will happen, and it will be even harder to write the next update because there will have been so much to update on that it just won't happen. And we all don't want that.

Well, where to start? I'm having a hard time believing it's been six weeks here already. We held our first service this past Sunday, using a board room in the school the Smith kids' go to. We had about 20 people fellowship together, and I thought it was great. We were given permission to use this one room for 50 sols/week, and when we exceed 20 people we could have a bigger room. Well, it' looks like we're going to need that room. Not too bad.

I am mid way through my fourth week of Spanish school, which is currently my main focus right now. It has been every weekday from 9am to 1pm, and then I don't do much else with my time because it seems by the time I get home (I walk just shy of 30 minutes each direction), I'm wiped out from just this heat, for the physical aspect of it, then just mentally from how tiring language learning is on my brain. Certain days of the week I might have people over or accompany Ron to ministry related errands if he invites me on any in the evenings. I'm getting into a groove as far as my schedule for this season goes.

We began pre-intermediate level today in language school, and thankfully I finally got my tax refund from the government in time to pay for two--probably three--more weeks of lessons. I'm on a bit of a pay-as-I-go system at the school since raising and saving enough money to take $9/hour Spanish school and enough support to live here was daunting, but God has been providing every step of the way so far, so I know I'll finish what I started, just more likely at two weeks of each month instead of a whole stretch of 19 weeks in a row. I figure this is OK because I'll have ample opportunity to practice what I learn with native speakers anyway. Peru is definitely no Holland in terms of people speaking my language.

Each week we also have the opportunity, included in the cost of the school, to attend different cultural excursions, such as a museum they took us to, and last week I had the opportunity to visit this country's government palace - the Canadian equivalent would be parliament, or the White House in Washington. The two pictures below are from that trip.

For how little time I've spent learning the language, I am pleased about how much headway I'm making. I think the Hispana school I'm going to is really good and affordable compared to other ones I checked out before choosing this one. As a relevant side note, I also switched rooms to the one in this house that doesn't face the busy road and the noisy construction of the high rise they're beginning to construct across the street. In this slightly more expensive, but larger 'feels like a hotel room', I have a cable TV and I've watched Star Trek Nemesis in Spanish subtitles. No matter what language you watch it in, that movie still sucks. But my theory was that I might understand it if I watch a movie I've already seen, but dubbed.

I also watch Spanish CNN. I personally am finding that news is very easy to understand, because they speak clearly and proper. But Los Simpson makes no sense to me yet. But all in all I love being here, even if I'm not doing "ministry" just yet, but learning the language. Speaking however, is still hard. When I try expressing myself in my limited vocabulary, I'm sure the Peruvians think I'm the Spanish equivalent to Yoda when they try understanding me. But we're moving into past tense and reflexive verbs now, so I can say more than just "I go to eat" and "I don't like cebiche."

All the things I went through in Holland, and even the past year in Canada before coming here, were definitely in preparation for the starting line I'm now reaching. It's like I heard someone say that God uses people and experiences to shape us and put edges and grooves in us like a locksmith does when you get a new key made. Then only when it's complete and has the proper slots grinded into it and edges made, will the key fit the lock it was intended for. Such is how I'm feeling. I'm starting to see ways that God was leeding me to this 'unlocked door' for lack of a better way of putting it.

And in closing, for those of you who are wondering, no the podcast is not over. However I am going to be having more guests on it. I'm not sure how often my usual co-host Dan Slavin wants to keep doing them nowadays, but I've got about 3 different people with a passion for different subjects that burn on their hearts. Fire On Your Head isn't going to start having random guests for fill in the blank episodes just to keep doing them for the sake of doing them but Dan has expressed in the last phone call I had with him before coming to Peru that twice a month is way too often for him at this season, and has 'released' me to make as many as I want with other guests. I talked to Dima Kurovsky (our resident creation apologist and tongues googler) and he's burning with some new things he learned while in the United States he wants me to let him on to talk about, as well as a follow up to the one we did together on google searching your glossolalia (one of three most listened to of all time). As well, a friend of mine from Bible school is really interested in talking politics--at least, if Christianity and politics mix, and what the church is supposed to do if anything. I still have topics I want to do but am waiting for the right timing, and a suitable co-host that's interested in getting their preach on with me--such as another follow up on living holy like we started months ago but never got back around to doing.

And of course, Ron Smith, director of Fire Peru is more than happy to be turned loose and get his preach on about what we're doing here. So forgive me if my blogs only cover so much, but despite the interviews lined up, I'm trying to hold off and make sure the very next one is the interview with Ron, which I think is only appropriate to do as the first one since I've been back to Peru. Look for that in a week or two.

That being said, if you've never checked out the Fire On Your Head written blog, you should. We're averaging over 100 unique visitors per day, and I'm really enjoying the articles the other authors we have are posting on that site. We've had an interesting three part series on the Jezebel spirit that I thought was very insightful.

Well, that's all for now. Happy April Fool's day tomorrow (which is probably today when you're reading this).

Blessings and fire on your head.

ShamWow!

2009-03-29T20:00:00.001+02:00

Check out the blog I got this from for more details

TV, radio, flat tires, and hit & run accidents

2009-03-08T21:54:00.001+01:00

It’s time for another weekly blog update, since plenty has happened to update on while it’s fresh on the mind, and while I have a moment to do so. Actually it will be a good mental exercise since I need to write my latest newsletter update today anyway, so I’ll already be in “writing about life in Peru” mode.

I’m liking my place here just fine. There’s at least 3 other people who rent rooms here, but I never see any of them. I know they’re here because additional stuff besides what I’ve bought shows up in the fridge. But their absence, for all intents and purposes, makes me feel I have a lot of space here. I’m not sure how this internet connection will hold up for podcasting by recording on Skype, since it was not so good the two times I’ve used it since being here, but hopefully I’ll continue the Fire On Your Head podcast, albeit in a bit of a different direction than we’ve been going in previously, but that’s for another update.

I’ve registered for Spanish school. I start tomorrow, 9am-1pm. I’m paid up for at least a week. I tried paying for the whole month, but TD Bank back home won’t let me withdraw more than $200/day for some reason, even though my American account works fine. It’s really infuriating me to be honest, since I had no problem with them the whole time I lived in Holland, and last April and May when I was here I could take out more at a time no problem. Oh, and not to mention I called them 3 weeks before I left to tell them I’d be in Peru and needing to withdraw large sums of cash at a time to which they told me they’d see to it that I was able. I’ve had my mom go in person to tell them I’m not able to but they insist I am and that I’m just not using the correct ATM machines and that there's nothing wrong on their end. Right, what would I know being the one over here and trying it myself? The whole point of paying for the whole month of Spanish school was to get a discount for paying in bulk, but so much for that.

Yesterday I went with Ron and his son Chad to Chincha again yesterday, about 2 and a half hours away from Lima, which was where the epicenter of the earthquake was a few years ago. We were delivering boxes of food to Pastor Manuel, who leads the Pentecostal church there that feeds some children in that town. We were supposed to meet with the director of a radio station there about putting 15 minute teachings of Derek Prince ministries in Spanish. When we got there, Ron was told they wanted to talk to him/us on the air – not just radio, but some kind of local access television station -- for 10 minutes. When the host got there, he told us 30 minutes. When we went live, it was at least 60 minutes we were on. But I’m told that’s the culture’s way of doing things—different than what you’re told.

Ron told me later he felt like we were Beavis and Butthead not knowing we were supposed to speak on air. Ron translated the brief portion I shared, but the time was spent mostly with him getting his preach on in Spanish. The guy we went there to meet left apparently while we were on the air, but I’m assuming the teachings are going to be on the air no problem.

What we witnessed next as we were taking pastor Manuel back to his home in Chincha left an impression on me. I didn’t witness the actual collision, but I saw the dust everywhere and a woman flying around in the dirt after apparently what Ron said was a taxi driver hitting a couple on a motorcycle. We had to have only been one or two cars behind the taxi, and when we got close to the spot, pulled over to see if they were alright. The man, who presumably was operating the bike, yelled at us to go get the license plate number from the car, so we did and I wrote it down as soon as we caught up to it. What amazed me was to see a family inside the car. If they weren’t a family then it was a driver, and another adult and at least one child in the backseat! This messes with my head. How could you hit a person or a motorcyclist and drive them off the road and then just take off like nothing happened? In broad daylight when plenty of other people would see it?!

So we went back and gave the man the tag number, who I could now see a had huge bloody gash up his arm and his clothes were relatively torn and dirty from the incident. We approached the small crowd that was gathered around the woman who was visibly distraught and in pain, sitting in a plastic lawn chair. She was a mess. Her face was bloody over most of her left side, and her left leg was noticeably swollen. She declined prayer from us, but we waited long enough to see them get a taxi that would presumably take them to a hospital. My prayer is that the driver is caught and followed up on, instead of let off the hook with some kind of bribe to the police officers, because in this culture the justice system is pretty messed up and the police officers don’t enforce much unless there’s something in it for them. But the whole experience left me shaken for the next hour or so, and even now writing it out, as I’d never seen something like that in person.

So I'd say we had an eventful and long day, including the flat tire we got on the way home as we were 20 minutes outside of Lima. Fun times.

That’s all for now, maybe in the weeks to come I could adequately write a blog entry in Spanish, but don’t hold your breath.

Blessings, and fire on your head.

"You will have to share a chicken"

2009-02-28T02:15:00.006+01:00

I’m finally settling into my own place here in Lima.

On Tuesday I went with fellow Canadians Sherry, Denise Elliott and her fiance Martin to have coffee, and wound up having them help me look at two rooms in Lima. The first one was whatever the anointed Christian word for ‘crap’ is. It was advertised in the Lima classifieds as being ’small but beautiful’. Yeah, if you are three feet tall. I wish I took a picture, because it wasn’t worth the $220/month they were asking for. I’m sure there’s other more desperate areas of Peru I could have rented something comparable for only $50/month, but what was amusing to me in that “this culture is sooooo different” kind of way was how salesman-like the guy was about it. Did he really believe this room was a steal of a deal?

Then we went on over to an area of town that was the right location–walking distance from everything and in a real tourist area of town with security guards and/or police officers on every corner. Only thing was when we got there he told us he already rented it out to some girl but would give it to me if she didn’t pay by 7pm that night. Nevermind the fact doing that to that girl rubbed me the wrong way, but it was a glorified bedroom and hardly the ’spacious two bedroom apartment’ the man listed it as in the classifieds. It was not that bad, but certainly not worth the $300/month he was asking.

Not ten minutes after we left he called Denise (she was my interpreter with the landlord of this building) and she repeats to me that he kicked this girl out, because he didn’t trust her and believe that she’d be able to pay the $300/month rent. Did I mention that Peruvians trust Gringos (foreigners) more than other Peruvians to rent from?

After telling Ron and Michelle that night over dinner about the place, we decided to go for it but to ask if I could pay $250/month for six months since the place didn’t really have a kitchen to cook in. The man agreed, and to the best of our knowledge Ron made sure to tell this man that I was the same Canadian who had been there earlier with 3 other people. Ron understood that I was to be there at 9 am to get the keys and give the man first and last months rent.

The following morning, I met up with my Peruvian friend and translator from last time I was here, Sara, theoretically to get the key, and give the man $500 up front for the apartment. Apparently someone else had offered to pay the full price the man was asking for, so he dropped me like a hot potato with no notice. So, Sara made phone calls for me all morning practically and we looked at a few places which were not that bad and above my means if I were to live in places like them in Canada.

We got a hold of a lady renting out large rooms in her home in Miraflores who spoke English, and arranged to head on over there later that afternoon. It turned out to be the one was I looking for, and much cheaper than the one I thought I was going to move into that morning. It’s a spacious room, fully furnished with a double sized bed–which trust me, is worth paying extra if you’re as tall as I am–a modest table& chair which will substitute as the desk I write most of my blog entries and do a lot of studying from, and a couch for reading. Plus, I have access to the kitchen (or chicken as Sara would repeatedly accidentally call it), living room with cable TV–not that I understand enough Spanish to really watch it yet–and a nice dining table. All for $250/month. Praise God for his provision.

I moved in completely yesterday, and today I basically had my first ‘chill day’ since getting here. I bought myself a coffee maker (very needed) and have been just reading and relaxing, but thought tonight I’d take the time to write a blog update. I think I will try writing a mimimum of one update per week on here, and when inspired I might post theological “fire on your head” type of entries both here and on the other site.

Thank you for all of you who are and have been praying. I have felt a lot of the Lord’s favor and grace on my life as I get settled in here, and on Monday I hope to finally see about starting Spanish learning from one of the many schools or tutors available here. I go to Interpol on Monday with Ron and his lawyer who are looking into my visa for me, since as I mentioned previously I need to have worked out before 30 days instead of 3 months. Please keep in prayer that all these details will be worked out and no snags.

And like my last time down here, I’ve not gotten sick at all yet from the water or anything. Other than a cold I had when I left Canada, I’ve had no health issues. Oh, of course, despite lathering my arms and head up with sunscreen, I still got burned to a crisp on Wednesday when looking for apartments. I’m sorry to disappoint any of you who wanted to see a picture of me looking like a human tomato, but I didn’t take a self portrait

Bendiciones!

Fire On Your Head Episode 40: Has God Given Up On America?

2009-02-22T03:31:00.000+01:00

We continue with part three in our series on God's judgment. This part of the conversation, author and speaker SJ Hill, Dan Slavin and Steve Bremner talk about if modern day prophets are really right in assessing that God has or hasn't decreed judgment on America. Has the Barack Obama presidency signaled the beginning of the end for America, and the world? Or are the ones 'prophesying' these kinds of things speaking out of frustration and disappointment, but void of God's prophetic word? Can we have any hope, or just expect things to get worse and worse for the Church? Don't forget to visit our guest's site, at www.sjhill.com where you can purchase more material from him.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

Seriously, someone needs to help that dying bird

2009-02-21T21:42:00.004+01:00

I’ve made it safely to Peru.

When I left Toronto, they had to de-ice the plane, but when I arrived I felt like I’d die from wearing pants and shoes. It has been hot and humid, but I’d take that any day over the Canadian winter.

When I arrived I went through customs and had an officer who didn’t speak any English, and you may already know I speak poco espanol. He somehow didn’t understand my form so he wrote on the stamp in my passport the number 30, and presumably would have typed in the same number on his computer record. After talking with the Smiths’ laywer the next day, I found out that now I have to apply and have everything in order for my visa application before 30 days instead of 90. At least I’ll have that out of the way soon.

Other than my luggage arriving partially unzipped, and the Air Canada’s less than stellar services, the flight here wasn’t that bad. Only, for the first time in my life I was on a flight with many latinos and fewer gringos, and I got to observe many things about the Peruvian culture just by the flight and the arrival at the airport. The main thing that could summarize my observatiosn– Peruvians don’t believe in line ups, waiting their turn, or listening to instructions. I don’t know if this is true of the whole, but I admit I’m making a generalization. Instead of giving way to another person and we all get our turn eventually, you just mob your way through and make yourself oblivious to everybody else. I think the stewardesses did a good job of keeping their cool on the flight when they had to repeat themselves over and over to everybody around me. I was not frustrated, but definitely amused about it.

I also bought a cell phone yesterday, and will post my new number on Facebook (yes, I’m one of those people who do that), put my credit on it, and found out that since it costs your minutes to make calls, but is free to receive them, that what people will do is call you and hang up when you answer. This way you know it was them who called, and you call back and it’s a free call for them to have reached you. Sneaky.

And finally, I’m sure you were wondering what my title was about. There’s people who ride these ice cream bikes down here selling treats. Kinda like the dicky dees we used to have as a child in Canada. They blow this weird annoying and unique whistle, almost like a kazoo. It’s an annoying sound, and sounds like some kind of bird being killed. It’s taking me some getting used to because it is being blown all afternoon in the heat of the day. Everybody else here has tuned it out, but I’m still noticing it and worried because it sounds like an animal. The picture used for this entry, is my current room at the Smiths until I’ve found something of my own. For all intents and purposes, it’s outside. But with the fan on full blast I’m able to survive.

Thanks for checking up on me and praying,

Blessings and fire on your head.

Fire On Your Head Episode 39: The Mystery of Evil & Wickedness

2009-02-05T05:36:00.000+01:00

This week Dan Slavin & Steve Bremner continue with part two of our series with S.J. Hill on judgment. How come God saw fit to destroy the earth with a flood? Or scatter mankind and give them new languages at the tower of Babel? How can we reconcile a deity in the Old Testament who wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah, and had His people destroy all the women and children in some cities, with the loving Christ of the New Testament? We continue asking tough questions, and bring up the subject of the Nephilim in Genesis 6. Don't forget to add your thoughts to the discussion on our forum.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Visit S.J.’s site at www.sjhill.com

For recent teachings of his at the FIRE Church, in Concord, N.C. visit www.fire-church.org/sermons.aspx

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, as “Fire On Your Head”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

Lima, Here I Come

2009-02-02T05:43:00.004+01:00

I’m happy to say I’ve finally booked the ticket to Lima, and I’m scheduled to fly there on Wednesday, February 18th.

I wanted to book a ticket sooner, but found out after just completing my G class driver's test on Monday, that it doesn't start new 5 year cycle before I need to renew it, but that the date in August my of me previous G2 driver's license was the date it expires on. That means, apparently, I couldn't renew it any earlier than 6 months before the expiration date, which took me to February 13th as the earliest possible date. I'm glad I found that out before booking a ticket out of the country, or life would be really difficult down the road when back in Canada!

I wanted to make sure that neither I nor the lady from the Ministry of Transportation I talked to on the phone (after being on a wild goose chase with 1-800 numbers out the wazoo before finally reaching someone who didn't tell me they were surprised I was given their number) got the date wrong. So, Wednesday the 18th it is when I booked the ticket, to have some grace period if the 13th was not the correct date for renewing the license. I'm counting the days....

Currently it is basically the middle of summer in Peru right now, and many schools start their new semester in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to escaping the cold and snowy Canadian winter. Lack of air conditioning, and heating is going to be something that will take me some getting used to. Learning a new language and living in a culture further different from my home than Holland ever was in comparison, will take me some getting used to. Specific prayer requests include asking God to help me adjust and adapt to such a new culture and atmosphere.

As for another more practical request: I’m currently sitting around $800/month in pledged support, just short of my goal of $1000/month. This budget is also trusting and having confidence that the pledged support will come in (you'd be surprised, even when the economy is doing good...). At the time of writing this, I’m currently awaiting response from some leads which would help me reach my total goal altogether. I have money saved in the bank that is intended to fully finance my language school almost immediately after I arrive, and my visa which I will be applying for after being in the country for 3 months.

I know right now is a pretty unique moment in history and that there is a lot of instability in the economy. I was laid off from my job just before Christmas (who has since gone bankrupt), but saw God come through with over a thousand dollars for this trip--outside of Christmas money family members gave to me – in the next 5 days. He has been faithful and has paved the way for my trip despite the circumstances in the natural realm around me. I don’t say that to encourage you to support me, but just to encourage you that the total opposite of what I was expecting to happen happened—giving me encouragement that I was stepping out in God’s will in His time and that He is faithful to provide.

In other news, I'd also like to point out that the Fire On Your Head Blog is working nicely now. Few to no minor glitches and bugs, and we have a forum working. Feel free to check that out if you'd like to start any debates about anything written there, podcast episodes we've done or just start any open-ended discussions on related matters. Friday morning I also recorded a couple podcast episodes with Dan and S.J."Father Love" Hill concerning judgment, the Nephilim in Genesis 6, Sodom and Gomorrah, false prophets and doomsday prophecies concerning the new president of the United States. I can't wait to post the first one online, because even though I was pretty quiet for that discussion (angels having sex with women in the Bible or in modern real life was never really an issue I did much study on :P), these discussions were the reason I love making this podcast--just talking about stuff you don't hear a lot of preaching on. S.J. rocks. And the podbean site is regularly 'featuring us' as a highly listened to podcast on their site. Rock on.

That is all the updating I feel like sharing for now. Thanks for reading, thanks for praying, and thanks for being there.

Hope, Change for the Unborn

2009-01-24T01:00:00.007+01:00

Two days ago our nation’s first African American president, Barak Obama, was escorted onto a regal platform before the masses of America. He put his hand on the Bible (the actual Bible Abraham Lincoln used for his oath) and then briefly made his inaugural oath to protect the Constitution.

Borrowing from the theme of President Obama’s inauguration, it seems that today we have a new Abraham Lincoln and are on the brink of witnessing, in all its glory, “A New Birth of Freedom” for America. It is amazing how we can honor the heroes of justice in our past and stand in the very shadows of their memorials but not learn the lessons that history taught.

Engraved on the walls of Lincoln’s monument are the words of his second inaugural address, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’”

Abraham Lincoln most certainly drew his inspiration from Numbers 35:33 (”So you shall not pollute the land where you are, for blood defiles the land and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it”) as well as Genesis 9:5-6 (”Surely for your life blood I will demand a reckoning… Whoever sheds mans blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man.”)

Lincoln came to understand that the Civil War was God’s divine discipline upon a people and a nation who refused to live according to God’s laws. Lincoln was aware that the Civil War was a day of reckoning for the horrific injustice of slavery and the shedding of innocent blood done in the name of economic gain and racial oppression. If what Lincoln came to conclude was true, and if 600,000 men died on the battlefields of the Civil War for the blood of slavery, what will it mean if God brings a day of reckoning for the shed blood of conservatively 48 million aborted babies since Roe v. Wade 1973?

If Abraham Lincoln was right in his assessment of the Civil War, then the shedding of innocent blood is a most serious offense against the One who creates, sustains, and loves life. Anyone who has seen the graphic pictures of abortion know that this is a shedding of blood and blood does not make a distinction between an unborn person and a born person. This issue of blood takes abortion way out of the realm of choice.

So now, while proclaiming a new day of freedom, President Obama has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, and in so doing would be ruling exactly for that which President Lincoln stood against, the lifeblood of the slave. This is a harrowing moment in American history. While Obama has promised to make abortion rare, the FOCA will remove every restriction of abortion from conception to possibly born alive infants. To remove law is to remove restraint. Law restrains evildoing. It can’t change hearts but it can prevent many from shedding innocent blood.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that he couldn’t keep a person from hating him but through legislation could keep him from beating him. The laws of God are good for society and for the well being of its people. The passing of FOCA would be an act of lawlessness in the highest degree and will only increase and magnify the tragedy of abortion to children, to mothers and society.

The Constitution that governs this nation was founded on the belief that no man’s freedom can come at the cost of another and all men deserve to live free of repressive edicts, fear of death, and tyrannical oppression.

And so we go on refusing to learn from history demanding our own choice and our own freedoms at the cost of the most innocent of all, the unborn child. We call on President Obama to listen to the voice of thousands of Christians who voted for him under the impression that he would make abortion rare. Live up to your word for the sake of America.

Lou Engle is co-founder of The Call, an evangelical effort to gather young adults to pray and fast for revival. In 2004, Engle planted the first Justice House of Prayer in Washington, D.C. JHOPs have emerged in San Francisco, Boston, New York and San Diego.