“Dear child of God, all your concepts of what God is like really amount to nothing. Do not try to imagine what God is like. Instead, simply believe in His presence. Never try to imagine what God will do. There is no way God will ever fit into your concepts.” ~Madame Jeanne Guyon
The Revolution…
The revolution doesn’t care about Michael Jackson’s secret recordings, Kanye West’s performance, or the latest fashion trends.
The revolution will not be televised…
The revolution will not be on Extreme Home Makeover, Ghost hunter, or Dr. Phil.
The revolution will not be televised!
The revolution doesn’t need Billy Graham or Martin Luther King Jr. for it’s success. It is not a respecter of Men. The revolution is embodied in the One who turned all the tables. The hair in the biscuit. The Christ with the cross.
The revolution will not be televised.
Blue Jeans, t-shirts, and foul language are not cause for rejection. The revolution will not be televised. In this revolution the condition of the heart is most important. The revolution will not be televised.
It’s not concerned with Benny Hinn’s jet, is not after Creflo’s dollars, or seeking marital counsel from T.D. Jakes.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution is not waiting on an end zone stance pointing to the sky. For the revolution is at hand, in heart, and on the tip of the tongue.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be on Extreme Home Makeover, Ghost hunter, or Dr. Phil.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution doesn’t need Billy Graham or Martin Luther King Jr. for it’s success. It is not a respecter of Men. The revolution is embodied in the One who turned all the tables. The hair in the biscuit. The Christ with the cross.
The revolution will not be televised.
Blue Jeans, t-shirts, and foul language are not cause for rejection. The revolution will not be televised. In this revolution the condition of the heart is most important.
The revolution will not be televised.
It’s not concerned with Benny Hinn’s jet, is not after Creflo’s dollars, or seeking marital counsel from T.D. Jakes.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution is not waiting on an end zone stance pointing to the sky. For the revolution is at hand, in heart, and on the tip of the tongue.
The revolution will not be televised.
Life… Now.
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
We get rewarded in the after life for the persecution we endure here on earth… that’s just gotta be true.
But of the many times Christ speaks of rewards in heaven, like the passage just mentioned from Matthew 5, I believe Him to be speaking primarily of the present life, the now life.
Is it really all that likely that all of the apostles and millions of Christians since the earthy ministry of Christ died brutal deaths for a reward that had no use for the here and now? Of course not. Christ was revealing a truth about the present life, persecution forges faith and relationship to God like no other tool on earth.
As we experience suffering we are given gifts, spiritual gifts, in the heavens.
Like a stone beats another stone into an arrowhead, persecution is used to forge out of us a ripened God centered life. Yeah, its painful and troubling, but when this idea is embraced a life of freedom is the result.
Christ said that He had no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). And we say poor little homeless Jesus, Him had no place to sleep. Truth is that He knew that owning a piece of property was a stupid idea. His Father owns the cattle on a thousand hill, even He, Jesus, created all things. My point is that we think wrongly about what the scripture intended to say. As a result our application gets twisted and as a result of that all of our lives get built on a faulty foundation.
So who has the wrong perspective? Are we missing the point? Maybe Jesus had it right. Maybe the life that is most abundant is a life of complete surrender to God where rejection is the norm. Maybe communion with God in shear breakneck obedience is the way to ultimate freedom now. Maybe cross bearing has the hope of a present blessing of communion with God, not just the hope of resurrection.
Just think of how the hard times seem to always drive you to God.
This is an aspect of the cross. Take a hard look at it, try it out.
Yeah it’s heavy and it hurts, but by this cross you are given abundant life… now.
Chew on this one and enjoy.
God-Fumes
Luke 9:23 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
In our Christian-American culture divided down the middle by partisan political views, I find that I am best described as a Christian Extremist. Let me elaborate… In light of the culture we live in “carrying our cross” has largely been interpreted as some of our issues we face as we pursue the American dream. For example my Mercedes came with 18 inch rims not the 22s, I just gotta bear my cross. Okay so maybe that’s too much, but you get the picture.
We have misconstrued persecution to being largely related to our issues we put on ourselves related to our loose living. When the kind of persecution folks like Paul talks about in 2 Cor. 4 is the kind of persecution that comes as a result of the exuberant radiating God-fumes that comes from a person living the resurrected life. Jesus was rejected most of the time because He freaked people out. Not because of His political views. When He cast out the thousands of demons from the guy by the graveyard the people from the neighborhood told Him to leave. Paul was stoned because he was radically changing folks lives not because he was using Christian language and judging others.
So where have we gone wrong? How do we redirect our passions to rightly live in the God life we are suppose to be living?
Get hung up on the cross.
The cross is where we lay down our flesh and blood lives, that have opposing desires from God. Jesus says that this is a daily task. We know this well, because we usually end up realizing that we let our flesh and blood selves live out most of our lives while experiencing little to no life from the peace-making plateau of the resurrected life.
But can we be real here? We must realize that this cross bearing is tricky and it ain’t easy.
In the strange film Momento, Leonard the main character suffers from short term memory loss. The entire movie is about how Leonard is trying to figure out the murder of his wife and pursue revenge, but with no short term memory. 
To compensate for his lack of memory he tattoos on his body important pieces of information so that each day when he wakes up he will be able to continue on his journey. Strange film, maybe or maybe not worth your time, but…
Like Leonard we wake up each day forgeting who we are, what our lot in life is, who we are called to be, and to a large extent which way is up.
So like Leonard there are practical ways that we can make ourselves remember to pick up our crosses each day. The thing is that our morning discipline doesn’t start in the morning, it starts the night before. We must plan to put ourselves at the feet of Jesus… even if it’s more like a bear trap.
So may the cross be before you and the world behind you. May you find ways to remain on the alter so that your life would be a pleasing aroma of sacrifice to the Christ.
Matt 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Unwelcome Guests
While recently being more intimatly aware of the unspoken side of Christian faith, deliverance. I have become more and more aware of how it all works. Luke 11:24 speaks about how unclean spirits seek to find a place to rest. This simple concept speaks volumes. For you to find rest in a hotel with your spouse over the weekend there are probably some standards that you guys
have. For example, my standards are different than my wives. I could stand to stay in a roach motel and save about 75 dollars comparitivly speaking. But, because of my wife’s desires and comfort levels I will spend a little more so we will both be comfortable. My comfort will come from her being satisfied.
So, for an evil spirit to dwell in the life of a person there must be a level of welcome to that spirit. Unforgivness and unrepentant sin are two major areas also any association with false religions or the occult. But what Luke 11:14-28 points to is what I would describe as closing off all areas of welcome.
Imagine a mountian with many roads that have been cut out of the mountain for cars to travel. That is the access we can leave for unwanted guests. We can invite Jesus into our lives to dwell on our “mountain”, but He will not remove the access points we created. With His help they can be removed, but we must acknowledge our areas of sin and repent. Ultimatly, in light of deliverance ministry, the mountian that represents our lives must be swept clean of any unwelcome guests and the access roads must be removed from the sides of our mountains so that no other unwanted guests would make it home.
If this stirs you and you would like to hear more you can e-mail me at jason.goodnight.24-7prayer@live.com
The God of Justice
“You’ve been seeking my face, but you consistently overlook me.
I’m the oppressed, I’m the ravaged, I’m the burdened.
You desired me to give you fine gifts, but you neglect me when I ask of you.
I’m homeless and you give me no home.
I’m sick and you give me no comfort.
I’m troubled and you leave me by myself.
Meet me where I am and you will find what you seek.
I am the God of Justice I will not be mocked.”
Getting to Know Him
A dear friend of mine who happens to be a Catholic Monk (apposed to an Urban Punk Monk which I don’t really embrace at this point) shared with me his understanding of getting to know God and it has stuck with me. It should be mentioned that this guy is the real deal who has been a monk for 18 years and for about 10 years prior to that was a priest. 
He says that discovering and learning about God is like looking at a small portion of a diamond through a window where you can only study a few facets. You study the facets as the diamond turns, but the diamond never stops turning and it’s so big you never see it all.
For me this explains why those who are closest to God are the most humble because they have realized that God is much more than they could ever grasp.
“Check me out”-God
Vigilance
Isaiah 62:6-7
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
Immovable
What He builds won’t move
What’s surrendered to Him is protected by Him
What’s His is cared for by Him
What He started He will finish
Put it fully in His hands.
