The Sword Room

This week I am resuming a long-standing habit I left off a couple years ago: reading a chapter a day in the Greek New Testament. I started with Acts yesterday, so today the reading was Acts Chapter Two. Hopefully I will be able to write blog posts regularly from my readings, if not daily.

We are hit immediately in this chapter with the mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire; the Spirit-filled believers speaking in tongues and appearing drunk to the visiting Jews in Jerusalem. Over the years I have heard many say that this experience is to be replicated in the lives of Christians as the evidence of the Spirit’s fullness. Certainly we would not refuse any good gift from the Spirit, but there are other items in this chapter which amaze me more than the initial signs in the Upper Room.

Peter’s boldness is striking. Here is a man who a few weeks earlier had denied Christ three times. Now the uneducated Galileean takes a fearless stand and preaches a convicting sermon that results in the conversion of thousands of hard-hearted hearers. Then there is the sense of community and fellowship among the church in Jerusalem. God blesses the new flock and adds new converts daily, seemingly without any organized plan. It all seems very natural and spontaneous.

Again, I will take whatever God’s Spirit has for me. But the prayer of my heart is for true boldness to speak the message of the cross and resurrection with effectiveness. Nothing has changed. God is the same, and the needs and condition of man are the same. The water of culture has slowly been heated so that the frog in the kettle does not know he is boiling to death, just as the hearers of Peter’s sermon did not realize their spiritual peril. I pray God will fill us with His Spirit and give us boldness to proclaim the message without compromise and to live in fellowship like we see in the Acts passage.

Can I get a witness?

When I was saved Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth was the rave. Everyone was saying the Lord would return in the next few days. All these years later and we are still here. No shortage of books out there trying to pin the tail on the Antichrist. All these books written over the years have one thing in common–they are all wrong. Recently someone asked if thought current events at home and abroad were signs that the Lord’s return is near, and I answered with a categorical NO. First it was the Russians supposedly in Bible prophecy, then it was Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Now it is either the Chinese or Barak Obama. No doubt the Scripture teaches the visible bodily return of Christ, but beyond this the Bible does not refer specifically to any modern nation or person. We are not to mock and say the Second Coming will never happen, because it most certainly will. We are to be prepared at all times to meet the Lord any day–whether through death or His Coming. At the same time we need to live and plan responsibly as though we will be on this earth awhile.

In Acts 1:6 the disciples asked Jesus about the details of “Bible prophecy” and He basically told them they did not need to know about events that are in the Father’s sovereign control. The Lord had commanded them to wait for the promised Spirit–that directive was clear. But instead they wanted to know about unclear details concerning which God had not revealed information. How often we are guilty of wanting to delve into the secret sovereign will of God, and in so doing we ignore the clearly revealed moral will of God in His Word! I spoke recently with a woman who claims to be a believer but who refuses to fellowship with other Christians or darken the door of a church. She eagerly asked me if I thought the Lord would return in our lifetime. I quite frankly told her that I hope so but cannot know for sure since God has not specifically revealed this. It could be a day and it could be another thousand years, since both are the same to Him. I wanted to tell her to throw away her LaHaye novels and pick up the Bible. This response will not go over well in a day when you can draw more folks to hear a sermon on the antichrist than on Jesus Christ; nor will it sell books. But it is the truth.

Stop worrying about what you don’t know and obey what God has shown you. See what’s there! “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Dt. 29:29).

Sure was nice to sleep in my own bed. Woke up fresh and ready to roll at 4:48 am. When we were away we spent time with some friends one night up in Greeley who helped us in a church plant in Albuquerque NM in the early 1980s. Hadn’t seen them in twenty-three years, and it was one of the best times of fellowship we have had literally in years. In Albuquerque I spent about a year working with three men in a discipleship context. We got really close spiritually, and our four families became the foundation of a new church. One of the original three men has been lost to contact and I have reason to believe he has passed away, as he would be in his eighties today. The other two are doing well. One is now living and working in Greeley and is plugged into a great church there with his sweet wife. The other is a pastor in a small rural midwest town. And man, can that guy ever preach! I went on his church website and listened to a sermon, and I’ll tell you I was blown away. For me the time I spent with these three men in Albuquerque was a real high point in my years of ministry. This vacation/reunion experience has me rejuvinated and all the more fired up about working with small groups of men in the context of spiritual fight clubs. God is giving me a vision of ministry and I would like to share this sense of mission with those of you men who plan to come on board. So, again, please use the contact link to deal yourself in.

I am sitting in a cool deli on 77th and Wadsworth called Panera Bread having a latte’. They have wi-fi, and the folks where we are staying don’t. We have had visitors to this site from Denver, and I am meeting one tomorrow morning at 7:30 at the Sunshine Cafe’ at 44th and Sheridan. If you are from Denver and can make it by there between 8:30-9:30 am it would be great meeting you. If you have seen the videos I should be easy to spot. If you see a guy who looks like Brad Pitt you will know it’s not me. If you can’t make it by but are from the great state of Colorado, by all means get in touch via the contact link. To all our friends in Whatcom County we will see you in a few days.

We are leaving for Denver in the morning. Our hosts do not have wi-fi, so my ability to stay in contact with you all via this site will be touch and go. Check out the new video series on life dominating habits (addictions). Also I added a fifth video to the series on sexual sins by popular demand. I will not elaborate except to encourage you to take a look if interested. Give me your feedback if you are so inclined.

Some new videos have been recently added: Quality Time With God is a tutorial on how to develop a consistent quiet time. When You Lose Your Temper You Lose discusses anger control from a Christian perspective. Sexual Sin covers fornication, adultery, and the use of pornography. One more series will go up in the next week entitled, Freedom From Life Dominating Habits, a biblical treatment of the subject of “addictions.” The target audience is men, but all are invited to check out these new video packages. We will have close to a hundred videos up by the end of the week.

Connie and I will leave town the last week of August for a much-needed vacation. After that I will take a break from video production and focus on blogging, bible studies, and fight-club development. We are hoping to start a general bible study in September. If you are interested in joining us please give me a heads up via the contact link. Or, if you are already a friend and have my personal phone number or email address you can reach me that way.

The existing fight club has room for several more Christian males 18 years or older who have viewed the Kick Butt! series. Please use the contact link to get in touch with me if you want to participate.

Thanks for stopping by the Swordroom! Many more happy returns.

Not in Iraq. Not in Afghanistan. The real battle front is right here in America–in your home and in your heart. It is a spiritual battle with eternal consequences at stake, a struggle that is winnable only if you are fighting on Team Jesus. Men, are you tired of the mediocrity that is your life? Sick of plodding through life week after week and playing church on Sundays? Has your sword become dull from non-use? Do you crave that sense of purpose and adventure which once seemed to flow through your veins? Are you tired of maintaining a pious outward veneer that conceals an inward sense of spiritual struggle and defeat?

Our newest video series, Kick Butt, Young Man, KICK BUTT!!! is just what you’ve been waiting for. I lay it right out there for you with no punches pulled and without apology. Take it or leave it, love it or hate it. But if you’re in, you’re in it to win it because God designed you for dominion, power, control, success, and achievement under his sovereign rule. Now get in there and watch those videos; then, get off the couch, pull your head out of the bowl of chili, and start kicking butt! Even though I am targeting the young bucks, men of all ages will be blessed by this series.

You can’t fight this fight alone. I therefore call upon all real men who read these words and watch the videos to get into a spiritual fight club in your area. If there is no such group then start one. A spiritual fight club is a small group of likeminded men meeting regularly to challenge, encourage, and support one another in the good fight. If you need help getting started, use the contact link to get in touch with me and I will coach you. Just do it!

Attention men living in Whatcom County Washington–Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden, Deming, Everson, etc: We have one small spiritual fight club already organized, and we plan to start others as the Lord opens doors. If you are interested in knowing more about possible involvement in a spiritual fight club, please use the contact link to reach me. The basic requirements are: (1) You must be a male at least 18 years old. (2) You must be a born again Christian. (3) You have watched the Kick Butt! video series and you are in substantial agreement. There are other criteria which I will discuss with you personally. The dates, times, and locations will not be made public. Admittance to a spiritual fight club will be by invitation only by myself or by another club member. So if you are not serious or have a hidden agenda, please do not waste my time and yours.

In future video packages we will roll up our sleeves and get into men’s issues. Guys, you know what they are, so I won’t say any more. (I talk a little about this in the final video of the Kick Butt! series.) Just be watching for them in coming days and weeks.

Finally, those who have been asking about general adult bible studies: Please contact me to indicate your interest, as I hope to begin a study in the fall after school starts up. Those who are already on board will be contacted by phone or email. The dates, times, and locations will not be available to the general public, so please use the contact link if you are interested.