You are currently browsing the Journey Chronicles weblog archives for September, 2007.
September 16, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
In the second section of Joy Dawson’s book Forever Ruined for the Ordinary: The Adventures of Hearing and Obeying God’s Voice, she begins to describe the conditions we must fulfill to hear from God. We must position ourselves to hear.
1. Humility – “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.” (Psalm 25:9 NIV)
We become proud and foolish when we try to live “independently” from God.
Even Jesus while living on the earth, did nothing without hearing from the Father. (John 5:19) pp. 17, 18
On page 20 Joy quotes one of my favorite scriptures. “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.’” (Isaiah 48:17). It is important to see that God says He will “teach” us to profit (not make us) and “lead” us the way. If God did it all it would not require much faith. We must have the faith to hear His word, and then the faith to act upon it.
4. A Yielded Will – I must be willing to be obedient to God’s word. (See #2 the Faith section). Joy puts it like this, “Simply put, our levels of abandonment to God determine God’s levels of directions to us” p. 21. The great thing is that God in his grace can redeem us from the times in our past when we were not yielded. “God’s plans for your future are bigger than our past failures…” (Joy Dawson p. 28)
6. Recognize the Source of the Voice – How do we know it is God that is speaking? There are three sources that we can hear from. The 1st is from God himself, and second is from our own desires and reasoning. Reasoning is what we think the answer should be. p. 35. We must come to the place where we can ask “Is this just something I want?” Or, does it just seem logically correct? Once again we need to remember we walk by faith. One can not use their logical mind to understand a God who created the universe.
The other area is that satan has the ability (if we allow him) to influence our thoughts. Impressions from the enemy will often try and get us distracted from what God has spoken previously. “Our Shepherd, Jesus, leads. Satanic voices goads and prod.” (Dawson p. 38).
Here are some steps that Joy suggests.
a. Command satanic voices to be silent in the name of Jesus. (p. 39)
b. Quote the word of God in faith towards satan. (p. 39) She suggests Luke 4:1-12, Revelation 12:11 and 1 John 3:8.
Finally, Joy reminds us to always thank God that He is faithful to answer in His timing and His way. p. 40.
Forever Ruined for the Ordinary: The Adventure of Hearing and Obeying God’s Voice, by Joy Dawson: Thomas Nelson Publishers 2001
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September 10, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
I hated reading when I was younger, but as I grow older I have grown to love it. It may take me several weeks finish a book, so I have to press myself to read each day. (My wife Janice can polish off most books in a day or two.)
I recently finished Forever Ruined for the Ordinary: The Adventure of Hearing and Obeying God’s Voice, by Joy Dawson (I was supposed to finish this one a couple of years ago while going through the discipleship ministry Cleansing Stream, but I only read about 3/4ths at that time. So when I finally picked it back up, I started over) I am currently reading, 360 Degree Preaching : Hearing, Speaking, and Living the Word, by Michael J Quicke
I thought I would add insights I have learned to my blog. For this entry I will start with Joy Dawson’s book, Section 1.
To sum up the book in a nutshell, God desires to have such a close and intimate relationship with us that He can freely speak to us and we can freely hear. God is willing to speak to me regarding any matter. Joy gives examples of praying to find lost keys and finding the right directions while driving. It is great to know that we can have such an intimate relationship with God that he desires to give us insight about all matters.
Joy explains it like this “…as soon as I started to get still enough and quiet enough to listen, He started to speak to me specifically, personally, and conversationally in a whole new dimension.” p. 3
“The more we fulfill the Biblical conditions of hearing God’s voice—take the lid off the limitations we impose on the ways He speaks—we will prove Him to be anything but a big cosmic power hovering over the universe, disinterestedly detached from the details of the lives He brought into existence.” p. 4
She later quotes John 10:3-4 and John 10:27 where Jesus said my sheep hear and know my voice. p. 5
On page 6 she details why most of us get in trouble. We go out and do something, and then we ask God to bless it after the fact. “All this adds up to the fact that it is totally impossible to effectively function as a Christian without hearing God’s voice as a way of life.” pp. 6,7
“’The Lord will guide you continually’ (Isaiah 58:11) and ‘He will be our guide even to death’(Psalm 48:14)”
God desires to intimately speak to us, and we do have the ability to hear His voice. We must seek His direction and position ourselves to hear. As Christians we must take more time to seek His direction over the actions of our daily lives.
Forever Ruined for the Ordinary: The Adventure of Hearing and Obeying God’s Voice, by Joy Dawson: Thomas Nelson Publishers 2001
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September 8, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
It has been a couple of weeks since Michael Vick pleaded guilty to raising and killing fighting dogs. Like many others, I wanted to see him cut from the Atlanta Falcons and sent off to jail. He deserves to be punished, right? But as often happens, God will not leave my “thinking” alone.
If you fast forward to a Redeemer’s Way service of the future, what would happen if Michael showed up one Sunday? Would the greeters meet him with a welcome hug? Would the ushers help him find a seat? Will other members reach out and make him feel welcome? Can Redeemer’s Way create the environment so that the Holy Spirit is free to work in all?
The other Friday as I drove to and from work in Atlanta, I learned there was a sci-fi and fantasy convention called Dragon-Con in town. A lot of the convention goers were dressed for the occasion. They were dressed as characters from their favorite show. As I was driving home, I saw a young lady struggling to walk up Harris Street. She was wearing a pair of boots that laced up to her knees, a pair of bat wings, and mini skirt. The boots had a four + inch sole and she had heavy black eye shadow and lipstick on. So what happens if she and her friends show up at Redeemer’s Way? Would people stare and whisper? Or would someone reach out introduce them to some of the regulars? Would they feel welcome?
Either we are serious about reaching and loving ALL for Christ, or we are not.
I pray that Redeemer’s Way will become that church where all are welcome. If they do not come, we can not lead them to Christ. We will not compromise our values, but we will be proactive and intentional as we reach out with the loving hands of Christ to ALL. Some may think we are strange or a little weird, but as long as we are about the Fathers business that will be OK.
Oh yeah, you are welcome here!!!
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September 6, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
Naomi is a 14 year old young lady who is called to missions. She has completed mission trips with Teen Mania to
Below is a poem that she wrote. Her mom asked her to send it to me. See my blog “House of Broken Chains” to understand its relevance for Redeemer’s Way
As a side note, I believe that the “Arts” will play a big role in the ministry at Redeemer’s Way. Perhaps this is the first seed for that future ministry.
This is published with Naomi’s permission.
The Great Escape by Naomi Gomez
The great escape is what I’m doing.
I’m breaking free from these chains
I’m running full force into something of the unknown.
you want me to trust you so i will.
these chains I’ve thrown off and left behind will follow me even still.
i know that your light can cast them aside and let them die among the thorns.
i left behind all the people who tried to throw the chains back on.
i pray everyday that they will too, someday find you.
let their chains be broken and cast aside to die, just as mine.
now i live with gratitude and a love for you. nothing can tear that from me
Posted in The Arts, Reflections | Print | 1 Comment »
September 4, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
This is a response to my wife’s question (See Church Log dated 9/3/2007) How does someone get out of poverty? There is no easy answers but Redeemer’s Way must first minister to the spirit, the soul (mind, will and emotions) then the body.
Redeemer’s Way must share the gospel to all. We must be proactive and intentional to reach out to those who are not currently involved in a church. We will not just lead others to Christ but help them to become His disciples. We must war against the spirit of poverty. Christ can and will redeem them from sin, and break off the chains of the struggles of life, but if we stop here we will fall short of our call.
James 2: 14- 17, What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Next we must address their soul needs. This is defined as their mind, will and emotions. As RWC grows we will be able to offer “Life” classes. These could include literacy, GED, English as a second language, parenting classes, budgeting and personal financial management. We will also offer recovery ministries such as Celebrate Recovery. I am sure this will only be a partial list of what we can offer.
Finally we must be able to minister to the body. This will include food and/or clothes closet. If we can not start one of our own, we will find an existing one we can partner with. We will build a strong deacon ministry to support the widows, and single parents within RWC and our community. We will not just walk the walk, but we will “do” the walk. We will build ministries that will minister to the complete person.
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September 3, 2007 by Pastor Jon.
Last Saturday Victoria and I made a trip to Locust Grove and Jackson. We were going to check out the new bowling alley in Jackson (exciting stuff). As I mentioned before if has been as struggle for me to feel called to a community where I do not have any connection too. However, each time I visit the call grows stronger. We found a church that is for sale in Jackson. We pulled into the gravel parking lot and got out. We looked in the windows and we could see the nursery, some classrooms and the main sanctuary. My mind began to race of how Redeemer’s Way could use this building. Now we just need $850K. I had a hard time sleeping that night. My mind was still thinking about the building. It needs a lot of work, but it has a lot of potential.
But I also began to think of what is happening to the church that was here? Are they closing, are they moving? How many people have been touched by their ministry? What will happen if this church closes?
Victoria and I found another building. It too was an older building. It was once an old theater and most recently a flea market. It is fun to dream of the possibilities. The time will get here sooner than I think when I will need t make as serious look for a building. All in all it was a good day to spend time with my daughter.
Two days ago. Janice went with Victoria and I on another trip to “spy” out the land. I showed Janice the church for sale, and then we drove around Jackson and Jenkinsburg. Janice noticed it first, but we began to notice that Locust Grove and Jackson have a large number of liquor stores. The c-stores seem to advertise their beer sales more than others. What is the link to alcohol and poverty? Will this be something Redeemer’s Way will need to address? What will be the impact and influence of Redeemer’s Way? As we drove through some of the poorer sections of Jackson, Janice asked, “How do you get someone out of poverty? What will make a lasting impact on their lives?” As Pastor Scott has been teaching us lately, we must remember that we are all made up as body, soul (mind will and emotion), and spirit. But we must change the order to spirit, soul, and body. Check back for my next blog to see more answers to this question.
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