Pursuing...the story behind the passion

A symbiotic life form that is a representative of the reality of what is and what will be. As I type these words a group of Christian believers are gathering at the home of their mentor, leader, spiritual father, friend to discuss the launching of a new church. Not just a new church, but more of the final birthing of a vision that has laid inside the hearts and souls of those called to bear such a dream, such a vision, such a reality of revival. From the day their chosen leader saw the flames over the Market House in the first of many great glory smackdowns, to the sudden release of that same vision to those who were fortunate, no, blessed, no, honored, to be in that sacred place; to the slow and often times painstaking labor of nurturing, protecting, sharing, and planning for the birth of this holy vision, this sacred child of revival, all who were the elect were being prepared for this great day. Though many have fallen away, some to return, others to remain wandering amidst the fog of confused identity and fallen dreams, the desire to see this come to pass has burned deep within those that were open to receive, those open to be selected, those open to be branded by the steel rod of Revival, of Repentance, of True Discipleship, of True Worship. Many have come against this birth of a new breed of holy warriors, just like many in the past have fought to destroy the bearers of a new regime, from the days of Rome to the satanic days of Hitler; yet through the fires they come. They seem to be a sort of unique brand of character, of strength, of loyalty. They stand as one and fall as one, all while singing praise to the One who is the reason for their very existence. To speak of this is sending fear through my very heart, for to speak of such things is an honor, a holy duty, to be the voice of the silent ones.
Written by Mike Wing

Fathers Arms

For my children there is no place safer than my arms. No concrete bunker or underground layer can compare to a living breathing always loving father. My children may never fully realize the extent or the lengths to which I would go to protect them. A concrete bunker cannot compare to a living breathing loving father.
It’s funny isn’t it. We try to surround ourselves with all the things this world has to offer. We fill our lives with as many comforts as we can. We lock ourselves in the bunker of this world and pray this world will keep us protected. Only problem is, is that heaven and earth will pass away. All the big strong things we believe in and put our trust in will all pass away. The storms of life will blow and burst and flood. Situations will explode leaving only the remnants of a broken life behind. All the while our loving Father holds open His arms and beckons us come. Come and enjoy the absolute protection of your Fathers arms.

Love ya

PJ

WOW

Psalm 89:34
No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.

Covenant: an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified;a solemn agreement between the members of a church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel

Devotion: profound dedication; consecration. earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause

Commitment: the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself, a pledge or promise, to hold at high priority.

Promise: to afford ground for expecting,an express assurance on which expectation is to be based; Synonyms: word, pledge, covenant, agreement. warrant, assurance, or promise: I give you my word I'll be there.

Loyalty: the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations; constancy


Faithful: Consistent in the performance of duties or service. Reliable, trusted, or believed; true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.

Luke 16:10-12
Faithfulness inspires confidence and assurance. Confidence is something that over time inspires a sense of value. God and others will look at you as being valuable and reliable. Also, how much you value something is shown by how faithful you are to it.

A faithful person disciplines themselves to do what they should do. It involves saying "yes" to some thing's and "no" to other things.

A faithful person can be counted on; is on time for appointments; keeps his commitments and honors his word, EVEN IF IT HURTS

Psalm 15:1-4
1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and KEEP THEIR PROMISES EVEN WHEN IT HURTS.

When we practice unfaithfulness in little things we have the potential to exercise it in big things.

Priority: highest or higher in importance

Colossians 3:23
In all the work you are doing, work the best you can...

To pursue excellence means that as representatives of Christ we do all things well for His glory.

Excellence is not to be confused with perfection.
The latter puts one under the law. The former has to do with avoiding mediocrity.

All of this is so imperative to The Launch!
When we broke covenant together we made a promise to HONOR God, The Pursuit, Josh and Amber, and our fellow partners..
This means in ALL areas! If we are asked to FAST and PRAY we FAST and PRAY. If we are asked to be ON TIME were not just "on time" but we are EARLY. If we are asked to be at meetings then we are there "even to our hurt"... If there is a need to be met then it is to be met over and above! If there is junk going on in our lives, with our families we get a grip on things, THROW AWAY OUR THOUGHTS and SELFISH DESIRES and MOVE ON! If we are asked to tithe.. I mean really come on, we shouldn't even have to be asked by man because GOD commands it..

Lets show God we mean business about this launch guys! When we show God we can be faithful with the little things He will us bigger things! How dare us ask God to work on our behalf but we aren't holding up our end of the deal!



I heard a quote today "Fasting starves the flesh and enriches the Spirit! As we walk more by the Spirit and less with our flesh we will see greater breakthrough.."

As I am fasting I am finding myself way more into doing word studies...I guess this note is a result of it :)
Written By Jessica Goodman

Un-com-for-t-able

If you haven't already listened to the daily devo I posted today, check it out. It goes with what I'm gonna discuss. It's called Sheep vs. Goats.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays at our church we give out food boxes. Often times the front office will be crammed full of people. All in need, looking to be helped. This is simply part of what we do. Anyway, today as people came in it struck me the discomfort felt when approached by the needy. You know what I'm talking about, the feeling you get in you stomach when a guy with "will work for food" comes up to your car at a stop light. Or how about the one that always catches you at the gas station needing $5 cause his car ran out of gas a few miles back. The homeless guy downtown that asks for a few bucks. Most feel a little uncomfortable when faced with "the needy". Maybe we're uncomfortable with the poor. Maybe even irritated by the request. Set back by someone invading our zone of comfort. Breaking into our personal airspace with there need. A need we did not create, a need we didn't make happen...and why should we be responsible for it.
Well, well, well!!!
Is this you? Do you in someway feel these very same feelings? Don't worry you are not alone. Many of us feel this way to some degree. But what should we do about it?
I'm glad you asked!
I think we should take a look at what Jesus had to say about it. In the story of the sheep and the goats the sheep get to enter into rest and the goats get to enter into hell. Whats the difference? The difference is what they did and didn't do. Sheep feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, set free the captive. Now let's contrast that with Matt.7 when many will come in that day and say Lord, Lord, and Jesus will say,"Depart from me I never knew you". Then they answer him saying, "Didn't we cast out demons and heal the sick in your name". Basically it's like this, it doesn't matter what kinda healing or deliverance ministry you have, if you're not in love with HIM and showing that love to people. I mean low, down, and dirty showing the love. I mean you, you, you... Not sending someone or sending some money, but you getting down and feeding, clothing, setting free. If you're not then I hope you are paid up on your fire insurance cause baby, your gonna need it.
That's about all for now.

Love ya

PJ

Total Eclipse Of Your Heart

Each of us at one point in our life or another have heard the story of creation. You know the whole in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... We see the spirit hovering over the face of the deep. Hovering over the nothingness, some translations even say chaos. That's what the Spirit of God did for us; came and hovered over our deep places, over the chaos... Then God said let there be light and there was light. We opened our heart to Jesus and the light of God came and illuminated every dark place.
We see on the fourth day God creating the sun, moon and stars. In our day to day life there are three major players to life as we know it, the sun, the moon and our very own earth. The moon was made to reflect the light of the sun. There are some nights we see the moon, other nights we can't. Some nights there's a lunar eclipse. That's when the world cast a shadow on the moon. How many times in our own life does the world cast its shadow, when we are to be a reflection of the greater light. Our heart becomes totally eclipsed because we've sat too long in the shadow of this world.
Today step out of the worlds shadow, reflect the light that has been illuminated in your heart to others.

Love ya,

PJ

P.S. Hit the launch sermons tab, then daily devotions to hear the podcast.

A Tale of Two Lions #2

Pt.2
...First only warm brown eyes in the tall golden grass, eyes that almost glowed, and did not blink staring deep into the heart of the fearful child. If Na’fi had not been so gripped with fear he would have seen that the beast was majestic in size and color. He was really a very beautiful lion. Both lion and child eyes locked. Then in a moment the lion’s attention was diverted to something behind the young boy. In an instant his look went from warm and glowing to that of fight. Eyes keen and focused, locked on something beyond where young Na’fi stood. Full of questions, should he flee or fight, should he keep looking at the oncoming beast or turn to see whatever had captured the great lion’s attention. After what seemed like hours but in reality it was only a few moments, Na’fi began to turn. Slowly, slowly he turned. After turning the full ninety degrees but not moving his feet, Na’fi saw a much smaller lion, scrawnier. His mane and fur all much darker, his face and look much harder. Eyes as black as the darkest night, eyes that looked not at the larger lion but looked straight into the heart of fear of the young child. The lion seem to feed off of this fear, wielding a strength in destruction, stealing the very life from the boy. Frozen in fear, breath slow and heavy, pins and needles covered every inch of the young boy’s body. Suddenly there came the same deafening roar, shaking the very ground beneath, causing even the trees and the grass to take notice. It seemed for even a moment that the mountains bowed down. Shaken from the trance young Na’fi turned once again to face the great golden lion. As their eyes locked a feeling of overwhelming comfort came over the boy, a sense of strength began to fill his heart. Staring into one another’s eyes the lion seemed to say “focus on me, don’t turn away”. Just as this was happening the other lion began to come into Na’fi’s peripheral vision, circling him, snarling and growling, doing all he could do to take the attention of the boy off the greater lion. Circling over and over again, lunging as if to attack but only testing the young boy’s resolves and focus. Then finally as if unable to take anymore, consumed with hatred, rage and blood lust, the black beast crouched prepared to leap at the small and easy prey. Just before the kill the evil man-eating beast looked to the great lion with defiance and almost smirked then said I’m taking yet another. Then focusing on his prey he pounced. With a flash the great golden lion dove in between feast and foe. With his mighty right paw he lay waste to his enemy. Na’fi eyes wide still staring unmoved as the great lion stood over his prey. From the bushes came the village hunters with shouts and clicks with high-pitched screams. Hurling spears at the already defeated man-eater, spear after spear piercing the dead lion’s flesh. Na’fi’s father in one swoop tossed his son onto his back and safety. In the midst of all the commotion the great lion with his golden mane and beautiful brown eyes had disappeared into the tall savanna grass unseen by the villagers.
Later when telling the story around the fire the village men would exaggerate the part they played in the execution of the great man-eating beast. But Na’fi knew the truth, the truth that out there somewhere was a lion looking over him. Na’fi now grown still walks across the savanna and when he looks hard enough sees those wonderful brown eyes watching over him.
The End

Love ya

PJ
PS. You can also check this out at the daily devotion site with commentary.

A Tale of Two Lions Pt.1

A Tale Of Two Lions
Young Na’fi was only four when one day he ventured out of the village. His mother, father and older sister had all assumed purhaps that some one else was watching young Na’fi. Each busy about their daily tasks, young Ni’era, Na’fi’s older sister was twelve and it was her job to see the family had drinking water. So she was down in the center of town where there was an old lever pump that missionaries had put in long before she was born. She pumped and pumped that old lever pump filling up the five gallon bucket that she would carry on her head on the return walk home. Sa’bel, Na’fi’s mother was behind the house tending to the laundry. Hunched and squatted over a large metal bowl, she scrubbed the laundry by hand with her bar of lie soap. Galbo, Na’fi’s father had been in the jungle for two days. He and five other men from the village had gone out to the jungle when the roar of the lion had begun. Sa’bel had told both her children not to fear the night before, but both Na’fi and Ni’era could see the fear in their mother’s eyes.
The roar of the Lion the night before was a tell tale sign that a man-eater was somewhere lurking in the not so distant tree line. Their father was out there too. The danger was very, very real for both the villagers and especially to the men on the hunt.
Other than the men of the village being gone this day had begun like most others. There where chores that needed to be done, the work that was at hand. Amongst the busyness of the day Na’fi was not being watched. As the day progressed Na’fi adventured farther and farther from the village. Before long the adventures brought him to the tree line and Na’fi was a hunter as his father was. With a broken tree branch for a spear he cleared the other side of the tree line into an open savannah. It was so vast, so big, a whole new world on the other side of the tree line. There was a path cutting through the center of the savannah reaching to the distant mountains. The mountains where so large and looming gray in contrast to the warm brown of the savannah, their peaks reaching to the clouds.
There Na’fi stood between the jungle and savannah with the mountains as the backdrop. A thunderous roar came from the high grass just thirty or forty yards away. The roar was so loud it caused Na’fi to jump uncontrollably, then freeze, unable to move as the shadowy figure began moving toward him.