Keep Dreaming - Eugene May.mp4

We need to continue to write as the Lord leads and record that which is taking place. 

Love Me Where You're At

Love Me Where You're At
By Francis Frangipane

http://www.frangipane.org

I have discovered that as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God's love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization's regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

So here we were---we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children; we couldn't even afford basic housing. Desperate for anything, we finally found an old farmhouse in rural Washington, Iowa. The home was over a hundred years old, but it actually looked much older. After negotiating with the landlord, we were given a year of free rent provided I did basic repairs to the house, such as cleaning and painting.

Even so, the house needed more than I could provide. The furnace did not work well, so we installed a wood burner stove in the kitchen. That first winter, it turned out, was one of the coldest in Iowa's history. Frost formed on the inside walls, spreading a foot or two around each window; wind chills dropped to 60 below, and even colder on several occasions.

To keep warm each night, the whole family cuddled tightly on one large mattress on the dining room floor, about 18 feet from the wood burner in the kitchen. A fan behind the stove nudged warm air in our direction. My nightly project, of course, was to build enough heat in the stove to keep us warm until morning.

While I worked the fire, I also would pray and seek God. The wood burner became a kind of altar to me, for each night as I prayed, I offered to God my unfulfilled dreams and the pain of my spiritual isolation. Yes, I knew the Lord was aware of our situation. Though we had virtually nothing, He showed Himself to us in dozens of little ways. I just didn't know what He wanted of me.

As the seasons came and went, another child was born, and then we fostered a young girl from Vietnam, giving us six children. Still, as the family grew, the little area around the wood burner became a hallowed place to me. Even in the summer, I would sit on the chair next to the stove and pray and worship.

I would like to say I found the joy of the Lord during this time, but in truth, though I gradually adjusted to my situation, I felt an abiding misery in my soul. Our deep poverty was an issue (I barely made $6,000 a year), but more than that, I felt like I had missed the Lord. My continual prayer was, "Lord, what do You want of me?"

Three years of seeking God passed, and I still carried an emptiness inside. What was God's will for me? I had started a couple Bible studies and spoken a few times in churches, but I so identified with being a pastor that, until I was engaged again in full-time ministry, I feared I had lost touch with God's call on my life.

In spite of this inner emptiness concerning ministry, I actually was growing spiritually, especially in areas that were previously untilled. I went through the Gospels, hungry to study and obey the words of Christ. Previously, I had unconsciously defined a successful ministry as something born of my performance. During this time, however, the Lord reduced me to simply being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, a number of things I thought were biblical I discovered were really just religious traditions. The Lord desired that I take inventory of my heart and examine those few truths for which I would be willing to die. He said the truths for which I would die, for these I should live.

Frankly, things like the timing of the rapture or nuances about worship style or spiritual gifts dropped in their priority, though I still considered them important. Rising to the top of my focus was a passion to be a true follower of Jesus Christ---to obey His teachings and approach life not merely as a critic but more as an encourager. I also found myself increasingly free to enjoy and learn from Christians from other streams and perspectives.

Yet, these changes, though deep and lasting, occurred slowly, almost imperceptibly. They were happening quietly in my heart, and only in hindsight did I see what the Lord had done. Throughout this time, I was preoccupied with feelings of detachment from God's will. My prayer to know the Lord's plan for me continued daily.

The Breakthrough
One day, as I stood in the kitchen pantry, I repeated again my abiding prayer: "Lord, what do You want of me?" In a sudden flash of illumination, the Lord answered. Speaking directly to my heart, He said, "Love Me where you're at."

In this time and season, remember, I was not a pastor or minister. I was a television repairman doing odd jobs on the side to provide for my family. I hated what I was doing. In my previous church I taught against TV, and now I was "laying hands" on television sets and raising them from the dead! The Lord's answer cut straight to my heart. I was awed at its simplicity! I asked, "Love You where I am at? Lord, is that all You want of me?" To this He responded, "This is all I will ever require of you."

In that eternal moment, peace flooded my soul and I was released from the false expectation of ministry-driven service. God was not looking at what I did for Him, but who I became to Him in love. The issue in His heart was not whether I pastored but whether I loved Him. To love the Lord in whatever station I found myself---even as a television repairman---this I could do!

A deep and remarkable transformation occurred in me. My identity was no longer in being a pastor but rather in becoming a true lover of God. Having settled my priorities, amazingly, just a couple days later I was invited to pastor a church in Marion, Iowa. In spite of all my previous anxiety about returning to ministry, I did not jump at the opportunity. For I had found what the Lord truly desired of me. Though I eventually accepted this call, my focus was not merely on leading a church but on loving God.

What God Seeks
More than one's ministry, God seeks our love. His great commandment is that we love Him, ultimately, with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul and strength. If we love Him, we will fulfill all He requires of us (John 14:15). And it is as we love Him that He orchestrates all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Beloved, loving God is not hard. We can fulfill any assignment---auto mechanic or housewife, doctor or college student---and still give great pleasure to our heavenly Father. We do not need ministry titles to love the Lord. Indeed, God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of all true God-seekers: to love Him where we are at.

Lord Jesus, the revelation of Your love has swept me off my feet. Lord, You have drawn me and I run after You. Master, even in the mundane things of life, I shall express my love for You. Consume me in Your love.

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Prophetic Word October 9, 2012

Prophetic Word October 9, 2012

The Anointing: Do you have this one?

The Anointing: Do you have this one?

Update on Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Sources in Iran have said that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been acquitted of apostasy, but found guilty of evangelizing Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison which he has already served. He has been released from prison and reunited with his precious family. We need to keep praying however as another Pastor was released and then murdered not too long after his release.

Please pray for the Lord's protection over this Pastor and his family and let us continue to pray for the persecuted church in Iran.

Marriage, One Man, One Woman

Marriage, One Man, One Woman

The church has struggled much on standing up for biblical truth and defending it. The scriptures tells us you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in the contest against sin. Heb. 12:4 (CJB) Jesus was hated and hung on the cross because men could not bear the truth that He spoke and because God had a plan to redeem mankind.  Many times they tried to kill Him and yet until the appointed time He was able to walk through the crowd and out of harm's way. At the appointed time He laid down His life with sacrificial love for all mankind.

Standing as a believer is something that we cannot do in our own strength.  A line is being drawn in the sand where we are having to decide whose side we are on.  Will we stand wholeheartedly for the Word of God amid the storms that are raising their ugly head?  Issues are coming up where we are being challenged to come to a new level of faith and commitment.  Will we keep silent or will we speak the truth in love, calling sin as the Word of God calls it?

In the United States we have heard of the battle over righteousness in believing that marriage is between one man and one woman.  Canada's laws  have already been changed and many have chosen the path that they will follow. How did this very basic fundamental truth about marriage that is basic to our survival as a people come under such erosion by the enemy?  How is it that man cannot see and know that a man and woman made in the image of God were created to marry and procreate and that no other two species except male and female can bring the fruit of the womb.  

²⁷ So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him:
male and female he created them. ²⁸ God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” Genesis 1:27 (CJB)

Men are calling good evil and evil good.  As it was in the days of Noah so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.  The Lord spoke about the condition of men's hearts then and they are the same today.   He is not willing that any should perish but all should come to the truth.  His love for mankind took Him to the cross where He suffered, died and rose again that we might be set free from our sin and that we might come to know Him.

One day all will give an account of how they lived there lives here on this earth.  Were we holy as He is Holy?  Did we walk in truth and righteousness?  Did we speak the truth in love and stand as that watchman on the wall who was called to speak so that the blood of another would not be on his hands? 

Have you spoken when it is uncomfortable, unpopular and would cost you something dear.  Have you dared to speak the whole counsel when led of the Holy Spirit to do so?  We are living in times like the days of Noah, eating, drinking, getting married and going about business as usual.

We need to take a stand now for what we believe.  Daily the rights of those of precious faith are under attack.  Let Christ in you arise and be fortified in His Word.  We are told that the day will come when all will hate you and we do not like to think about this.  One can feel the spiritual climate changing daily and we need to guard our relationship with Jesus. We are to love the sinner, pray for them, but come out from among them and be separate.  It is only as you live a separated life that you will  have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the church. 

Recently in sharing that someone was getting married, a person asked the question, "to a man or woman", in jesting.  This shows how the truth of God's word has been rejected to suit the sin of man rather than man allowing God to move on His heart that He might follow Jesus. Taking up our cross daily and following Him is becoming increasingly difficult and unpopular. Yet there is no option for the true follower of Christ.  Let us be willing to daily take up our cross and follow Jesus. 

The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, speak to your people; say to them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword on a country, and the people of that country take one of their men and appoint him their watchman. ³ Now if, upon seeing the sword coming against that country, he blows the shofar and warns the people; ⁴ then, if the sword comes and takes away someone who heard the sound of the shofar but paid no attention to it, the responsibility for that person’s death will be his own — ⁵ he heard the shofar but paid no attention, so the responsibility for his death is his own; whereas if he had paid attention, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar, so that the people are not warned; and then the sword comes and takes any one of them, that one is indeed taken away in his guilt, but I will hold the watchman responsible for his death.’

⁷ “Likewise you, human being — I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Isra’el. Therefore, when you hear the word from my mouth, warn them for me. ⁸ When I tell the wicked person, ‘Wicked person, you will certainly die’; and you fail to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his way; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. ⁹ On the other hand, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he doesn’t turn from his way; then he will still die guilty, but you will have saved your own life. Ezekiel 33:1-7 (CJB)