I've been reading all the headlines about the terrorism in France and the protests and funerals and massive reactions to these hateful events. It is easy to hate the people who did these things. It is easy to thirst for revenge on them and all others like them. Yet, if we hate, if we seek revenge, we are turning away from our Lord Jesus. "Vengence is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19)." We cannot let ourselves hate these men. Instead we should show Christ's heart by making Micah 6:8 real in our lives:

A Prophet Prepared -- Young Joseph had prophetic dreams. He was a prophet in preparation. Find out more.

Their homes were burned to the ground, their belongings stolen and their families kidnapped. His men were ready to mutiny. What was David to do???

Rodney Lensch was a significant leader during the Charismatic Renewal.  Personally, I have been significantly influenced over the years by his clear and theologically accurate teachings.  His ministry is called Rod & Staff Ministies and he continues to speak prophetically to the church via a quarterly newsletter called Rod & Staff.  I just read this fall's issue and would like to share a PDF copy of it with you.

Our pastor was traveling so I got to preach!  You can download it here:  Living Water  

 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55843617/Sermon%20--%20Sept%2021%202014%20--%20Living%20Water.mp3

I wrote this post last winter on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday (February 2, 2014) but have been somewhat tardy about getting it published. Late or not, I believe it is still relevant – especially with fall football season getting started.

At first glance Understanding the Prophetic Nature appears to be a book targeted at Pentecostal/Charismatic pastors and prophets. If that were truly the case it would be accurate to call it a "niche book." I don’t consider it to be that limited in its scope, but it was recently pointed out to me that even the book's title forces it into a niche market. There is some truth to that assertion. However, when choosing the title I wasn't unaware that, while it is accurate to the focus and purpose of the book, it could very well cause people to categorize it narrowly.

Marriage Metaphors

On a Saturday morning, last spring…

This morning I woke up way too early. It was my regular time when I get up, have my quiet time, do a short work out and get ready for work, but it was still way too early. It's Saturday, for heaven’s sake! This is a sleep in day! But, there I was, wide-eyed awake, my wife snuggled under my arm sleeping and still, a breeze stirring the curtain – all at 5:00 AM!

I led out Chapter 2 of Understanding the Prophetic Nature with a short dramatization of the prophet Micaiah speaking to kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat. I used the phrase "the spirit of prophecy kindled in his soul…" to describe his experience of delivering God's word to these two foolish kings.

Fairfield is the only incorporated town in Camas County, Idaho where I grew up. Two miles north of Fairfield is a used-to-be-a-town location called Soldier. When I was still a boy there was an old man living in Soldier who went by the name of Charlie Bailey. At the time of this story Charlie was quite elderly and was reaching the point of not being able to take care of himself.