I’m up early this morning reflecting and burning over the events of this last week and particularly the rapture debacle that happened yesterday. I was gonna stay out of this and not go there but…. I can’t help but think about several things that may strike a chord with you as well.

What a disgrace! It amazes me how the enemy always precursors anything God does with his own counterfeit move. It is like the shockwaves of an earthquake that is coming. The shocks are not the quake but they signal that something may be coming that is far bigger than what was just felt. This is how I feel about this whole deal. The enemy would try to use this poor, old man (who I’m sure has good intentions) to bring ridicule and further hardness of hearts toward the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In his zeal to do something for the Lord, he opened yet another door of argument to the naysayers and brought the name of Jesus up to the masses in a light that seems foolish. A question comes to mind here, “How many other rich guys out there could drop 100 million on a crazy, non-scriptural idea?” (Just sayin’)

What a tragedy! There is a huge lesson to be learned in this sad situation by all who aspire to be leaders in Christ. You can’t dig so deep into God’s Word that you come up with something that contradicts the simplicity of Christ Himself’s words. Was it not clearly stated that NO MAN would know the day or the hour? What is not clear about that? You can dig deep into any code or calculation you want, but if it is spelled out that clear then it is clearly a waste of everyone’s time. How could you put your faith in the Bible so much to formulate this whole thing and yet not believe it enough to heed Jesus’ simple words? This makes no sense! This may be a clue of mental instability or, at least, a tremendous lack of Biblical understanding by those who initiated such an idea.

What a hope! In the end, when the negative dust settles, there should remain a glorious fascination with our future with Christ in Heaven. When I ponder the great idea of being with my Lord Jesus, it brings thrill to my heart. It should not take something silly like this to bring us back to our hope and joy of eternal life, but in the wake of this sad ordeal let’s make something good of it and rejoice afresh in the work of Calvary that releases us from eternal judgment and ensures life forevermore!

This morning my zeal is burning for the name of my precious Jesus that has been yet again mocked and ridiculed. My heart burns with passion for His return and the Kingdom for which He has promised those who believe. There resides in my heart a deep longing for His return and yet a passion for preparation that would ensure His return be a glorious one. Maybe this week of judgment talk and rapture readiness will spark something in your heart that has been lost. Maybe in the midst of this mayhem of Biblical confusion the Holy Spirit would tug at your heart as to whether or not you would be ready should such a moment come with no warning. I PRAY SO!

Having navigated through the sometime murky waters of guest ministry on both sides of the equation for over the last 10 years, the Lord has put it on my heart to bring a little wisdom and experience to the table for those who are just starting off (and those who maybe should start off again!). There are many topics like this that are not preached about or talked about but are areas of deep need in relation to the training of leaders in the Body of Christ. I am so grateful for the fathering that I have received from my dear dad in this arena and would like to somehow pass some of these instructions on to others who just don’t know or haven’t ever had the chance to learn from the perspective of such a seasoned man of God.

Why? Guest ministry is something that is badly needed in the Body of Christ. It is something that should bring excitement, balance, and fresh revelation to the local church. Many churches don’t have the luxury of having apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, or teaching gifts present at all times and thus can become deficient in certain key arenas if not exposed to these all-important gifts through traveling ministry.

Why not? Many have seen guest ministry as a way to “network” or get their name out in the mainstream. This type of ambition is never a reason for guest ministry! We see this exemplified by young, immature leaders who feel like “they are not getting enough recognition for all their hard work” and thus think if they could win the approval of a well-known minister then they would be affirmed and heralded to the masses. This leads to many of the “traveling tragedies” where great men & and women of God are called on to make great effort in going somewhere that really is not worthy or in need of their particular gift. Don’t get me wrong, what everyone is doing is important, but not everything demands the gift\anointing of certain generals and ambassadors of the faith. (Ex. you don’t call a doctor for a skinned knee) Before a leader invites a guest minister, they should ask several questions like, “Am I doing this by the Spirit of God to build a specific area of our ministry that I can’t bring myself?” or “Am I putting my faith in this persons gift to build the ministry or trusting in the Lord to build this ministry?”

Benefits: The right person can deposit things in a ministry that will last for up to 5 years and provide a reservoir of anointing to draw on for seasons to come. The right gift can come into a situation and lift things to a whole new place in Kingdom pursuit. A prophetic gift can release a fresh passion for Jesus in prayer and holiness. An evangelistic gift can come in and stir up contagious passion for souls. An apostolic gift can come in and bring divine order to situations and enhance the foundation of Christ. These type things are super important!

Dangers: A wrong gift with a spirit that is not in step with the local house can bring tremendous confusion and breed rebellion faster that just about any other weapon of the enemy. An arrogant, unsubmissive gift can come in and resonate with every rebellious person in the house and leave behind a wake of subversion for months to come. One question my father always taught me to ask before having someone is, “Who are you submitted\accountable to that we could call and reference on your character and track record in the local church?” A final danger comes in the form of finances as guest ministers who are not submitted to the direction of the local pastor can bring much harm in way of recruiting partners that stop giving tithe to the local church or take offerings that are offensive to the sheep. Beware!

As you can see, there are so many areas of protocol and wisdom that are needed in dealing with this important arena. We have by no means exhausted the subject but have touched on some very necessary areas. It is on my heart to continue this discussion on twitter, with later blogs, and times of impartation with leaders (my real passion). Your comments and questions will give me more clarity on what type of instruction is needed in the future.

3 John 5-8 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

These days we’re seeing an alarming trend in something that could be the pinnacle of “wrong” in my Book (the Bible). The issue of gay adoption is something that has moved from the sideline to front and center recently with the bold announcement from Elton John and his “mife” that they had adopted an infant boy named Zachary. This move, applauded by the world, was pasted on magazine covers and web sites the world round and became something that should have been a wake up call for the Christian world. Lately, I have seen story after story of this wicked madness taking place over and over again with everyone from Hollywood celebrities (such as the former Doogie Howser) to average people living a homosexual lifestyle. For years it has been repulsive to me how Rosie O’Donnell has taunted her open gay relationship and adopted family (which by the way ended in divorce recently). This type of thing, that once was unthinkable in our great nation, has sadly moved toward the mainstream more and more. The worst part of it all is that people are so uneducated to the Word of God and deaf to the truth that they are actually accepting and approving of such wickedness. So you ask, “What is sooo wrong with it?” Glad you asked!

1. Homosexuality is an abomination to God- I’m sure some will read this blog and write in some ridiculous comments based completely on their opinion that being gay is “ok” and “the way they were born” but according to the Word of God it is both a sin and a disgusting abomination to our Lord (and I’m not here to debate that but warn those who believe in the Bible and need a wake up call to this outrage).

2. Adoption by homosexuals denies God’s plan and authority at its very core- “In the beginning, God made them MALE AND FEMALE.” Their are 2 institutions in the earth that reflect God’s authority and plan in the earth… the family and the Church. This abandonment and rebellion against God’s first and most important institution rebels against everything godly and establishes the arrogance of man above the authority of Christ. God’s command to “be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion over the earth” has been replaced with an unholy scheme to take wicked dominion against the Creator and produce (not reproduce) ungodly seed from its very conception that will be raised in an environment of outright perversion. These precious children, of course, have the ability to be saved by Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary but will be so deluded in their perception of the Father’s love that it will be much more difficult for them to ever understand the pure and holy love that God has for them.

3. Major cultural decline and widespread confusion about morality- What will be the fruit of this trend in gay adoption? What will be the product of a new generation raised by and around homosexual parents? Can you imagine the horror stories of those who will be saved from this type upbringing that will come out in the future? We know that there are many abuses in the traditional sense of the family but what will be the fallout of young children raised from infancy by 2 women or 2 men (or surgically altered transgenders)? As the Body of Christ we must wake up and sound the alarm of this ungodly injustice that is taking place now in our very nation. Abortion has been an issue that my family has stood against for decades and now that fight is moving to an even more wicked arena. We MUST stand up for righteousness! We must declare the justice of a loving Christ!

As I finish this short piece there needs to be a final word of “counting the cost” in this battle. Slander, rage, persecution, and even imprisonment lies ahead for those who stand up against this unimaginable wickedness. The homosexual spirit is a militant spirit that will not stop until complete acceptance and even approval is attained (God forbid!). We must be ready to reach out in love to the casualties of this trend with the love of Jesus. We must be ready to take in to our own home, if need be, these precious children who are being used by selfish people who have abandoned God’s plan for their life and demanded a life void of His original intent for them. Finally, we must pray for the Holy Spirit to show us how to stand up and act in this dark hour with zeal and love. Pray, pray, pray my friends for revival in our land and restoration of the family back to God’s original intent.

Gen. 1:27 So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; MALE AND FEMALE He created them.

These days it seems more and more like the Gospel is in need of serious help by human creativity and reasoning. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for anything that will help this generation pay closer attention to the Good News, but we are seeing a trend that would operate under the assumption that the Gospel is no longer strong enough to stand on its own. There is now a feeling that if we don’t “spice things up” then people will no longer be interested in Jesus and His saving power. This is where we see promises being made that were never given in the Word like “come to Jesus and He will make your life better\great” along with the preaching of many positioning Jesus as a self-help guru who can make your life more successful and prosperous.

Then there is the whole line of thinking that says we need to get out in the mainstream where the masses are by using the traditional tools of the world to entice people into the things of God. There is nothing wrong with getting out into the mainstream where the masses are but when you pollute the message or compromise the standards of Christ in order to get the message out there then what have you really accomplished but to mix the things of the spirit with the things of the flesh?

What am i saying in all this? I’m saying that we must be careful not to pour the gravy of the flesh over the meat of the Word. In an attempt to get the world to accept the Lord jesus, we have drowned out conviction and the message of turning from sin and turning to God in humility and holiness. The answer to reaching this generation is not lowering the standard so everyone can fit over it! The answer is to make the message known in all its power so that those who are hungry may eat of this life-giving bread. Jesus said if you don’t eat of His flesh and drink of His blood then you will not have any part with Him. Many were offended by this and left Him at this point (Jn. 6:53,66).

Let us be careful that we do not get so “relevant” with our message that we no longer are being true to the real message of Christ. It is very easy to justify the ambitious pursuits of the flesh with the banner of “reaching people” but is this really the pursuit of souls by heralding the narrow way or just a cover up for our own desire to be known and accepted by the world?

When It all comes down to it, we are still the propagators of a Narrow Way. There will never be widespread acceptance and applause of the true Gospel. If so, then we have abandoned the real message of repentance and holiness for a new gospel that is more appealing to the masses and lacks any power to save them from sin and self. Let us stop pouring the gravy of flesh and compromise over the purity of Christ’s message. Let us stop thinking in our own vain imaginations that we are “reaching people” when in reality we are just watering down the convicting power of the Gospel.

Acts 2:36-37 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words PIERCED THEIR HEARTS, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”