Spirit Led Living

I just recently went through a period of basking in the Lord’s presence and feeling His love in deep and personal ways.   From 5 days at the VineyardUSA national conference, to two wonderful weeks at the beach. First with dear friends and then just with my wife, I just swam in God’s love and yearned for His presence. It had been a long time since I felt that way. I felt so close to God. It was like I could hear His voice in my inner being and I wanted nothing more than to please Him and enjoy Him. Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. I was experiencing that love firsthand and it was the sweetest taste. I felt that refuge and experienced the peace that surpasses all human understanding. Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. I understood that love in

Psalm 68:6a “God sets the lonely in families...” God is a loving God. Some us don’t have the luxury of natural families. Sometimes death, distance or family squabbles cause us to feel alone. I have always been a bit of a loner.  I’ve had some friendships, but I also have had many betrayals and after a while it is just easier to keep people at a distance. I’ve lost both my parents and my only biological family lives in Puerto Rico. Not exactly close. At one time I dreamt of having children only to discover that because of many x-rays that were taken while I was in-utero parts of my reproductive system did not develop and as a result I couldn’t father children. Many people felt sorry for my wife at the time because this impacted her ability to bear children. Somehow, no one stopped to think how I felt about it. I felt emasculated, defeated and less than a man. No children would be flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. God provided and we were able to adopt Aaron and Ama

There is a thread that runs through the entire Bible and it is that of the Great Romance. From the opening pages of Genesis, through Song of Songs, the Gospels and on into Revelation, the Bible is one big love story. Solomon’s Song of Songs has been seen by many as just a near eastern erotic compilation of wedding poems that exalt the bride and groom. However, upon closer examination we can extrapolate that this is a love song between God and His creation; and more specifically between the groom, Christ, and His bride, the church. The Bible tells us that He delights in us, sings over us and calls us His treasure. I think in too many ways we tend to overthink and analyze our relationship with God. We make it overly cerebral and we disdain experiential emotionalism. I get it, we shouldn’t be ruled by our emotions, but faith is not just a matter intellect. Even Paul, the most cerebral of all the Apostles knew that every bit of knowledge and wisdom paled next to the power of love. I

Malachi 3:16-18 The last verses of the Old Testament find God making a promise to His people.Those who “feared the Lord and honored His name” hung on every word and wrote them down so that they might not be forgotten. God calls us “His treasured possession” and promises that a day is coming where it will become more and more obvious who does and does not follow Him. When he was giving his testimony, John Wimber recounts that if he knew any Christians before he was converted they never blew their cover in his presence. How can we be salt and light if people can’t see any difference in the way that we live our lives. He has given us the Holy Spirit precisely so that we can be, do and say what God wants to and thus make a difference in this lost world. The question is, are we willing to be obedient? #liveaquestionablelife

Mike Pilavachi, the leader of Soul Survivor in England and a vicar in the Anglican Church, led the next two sessions. His theme for the first one was “Do Whatever He Tells You.” He starts with Mary, the mother of Jesus telling the servants at the wedding at Cana to do whatever Jesus tells them to do.   He then tells them to fill the jugs with water. He follows that instruction by telling them to draw some out of those very same jugs and take it to the master of the banquet. They do so, but in the back of their mind they have to be thinking, “You want us to take plain water for the master to taste?” When he tastes it he marvels at the fact that they saved the best wine for last. The servants must be thinking that he is drunk or out of his minds because they know that they poured ordinary water into the jugs. The lesson is to do what we are told even when we don’t understand what or why He is asking us to do it. We want intimacy with Jesus, but are we willing to be obedient enough

Phil Strout, the leader of Vineyard USA taught us to Hear and Obey. He reminded us that if we are faithful in little, He will make us rulers of much. It’s the follow-through that counts; not just how we start. We are to have a trusting obedience.   In Luke 5 Simon says, “I will do as you say” without question.  Phil shared a story of a powerful man of God that he interned under a man who was teaching him a lot about leadership and serving. One day he asked him to tie up some peas in the garden they were tending. He explained exactly how he wanted them tied. Having grown up on a farm, Phil only half listened and then went on and tied the peas his way, thinking that his mentor would not notice or care. That afternoon his mentor called him into his office and asked if he had explained how he wanted the peas tied. Phil said yes. Then he asked if Phil had agreed to do it that way. Again Phil said yes. Then he asked if the first two things were true, why did he ignore the instruction a

Putty Putman spoke on Tuesday morning and led us through the passing of the baton between Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings Chapter 2. There is an inheritance that needs to be passed to the next generation. He pointed out that those of us that have been a part of the Vineyard for over twenty years nod in agreement whenever we hear of stories where God showed up miraculously in people’s lives because we have experienced those first-hand. However, many of the younger Vineyard people are hungry to see and experience those things for themselves. He catalogued us as Generation I and Generation II. He had all the Generation I people come to the front and he had all the Generation II people acknowledge us for our obedience and for the price we paid pioneering the here and not yet of the kingdom in a time when it was not accepted. (The Vineyard introduced contemporary worship to a church stuck on 100 year old hymns. It also introduced come as you are casual wear to Sunday services instead of Sund

**Note, this is rather lengthy as it is a recap of the entire conference. I will be splitting it up in four sections so as to try to include as much detail as I can. Once the videos are available online we will be hosting watch parties for anyone who is interested in watching the sessions ** I’ve been in some sort of ministry going back to my college days in the ‘70s. I’ve been a part of the Vineyard since the late 80’s. In that time I think I could conservatively say that I have attended over 50 leadership or church conferences. In the beginning I got more practical knowledge out of them than I ever did at college or seminary. However, after a while they all tend to be the same. You might pick up a nugget here or there, but for the most part you feel like, “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt”. I am thrilled to say that this trip to the Vineyard USA “Come Holy Spirit” conference ranks among the best ones since the early days of the Vineyard when John Wimber was still a

First, I want to thank those of you who have given me feedback and told me to keep going. It really has been encouraging. As Pastor Karl continues his series on “Beating the Devil With his Own Stick”, he challenged us to look at the lies the enemy has spoken to us. Some of us have bought into these lies, but if you are like me, they are just there below the surface. We don’t think about them consciously all that much, but they are like those nasty noseeums that buzz around your head when you’re mowing the lawn. I’ve got a couple of favorite ones that tend to hang on in the back of my mind. “Your father was a failure and so are you.” My father started a number of businesses all which folded within a couple of years. He also planted over 10 churches in his lifetime. Most never grew beyond 50-60 people. I have no idea if any of them still exist today. Counting JesusChurch, this is my 5 th church plant that I have been a part of and none of the previous 4 still exists today.

So, at her goodbye party, Michelle challenged us to be more transparent. Here goes my first attempt. I don’t usually write about my personal life on Facebook, both because I am a private person and second because I’m always concerned about what people will think. One of my shortcomings is that I have always been a people pleaser. As such, I tend to stay away from personal or controversial topics. No more. The time has come to take a bold personal stand for the sake of Christ. I am passionately in love with Jesus. However, I don’t always live that way. I have my struggles and if I want Him to stand up for me on Judgment Day; I need to stand for Him now. While I have a wonderful wife who is my best friend, I don’t have any close male friends and I struggle with loneliness. I have tried to reach out to guys but unless I initiate interactions, those relationships tend to go nowhere. I finally realized that if I want a friend, I am going to have to open up to someone and t