Category: The Mysteries of God

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Kickoff: #FONW15

FONW15-4

Wow!

FONW15-1What an amazing kickoff day to this year’s Fresh Oil New Wine Conference. The worship has been powerful, and the ministry has been wonderful. Last night, after Dr. Dwain Miller spoke, young people flocked to the altar, and strong anointing was released.

 

FONW15-3We live in perilous times, and it is easy to look at the news and become discouraged, frustrated, and fearful. But none of what is going on on the world stage is getting by God… none of it is catching Him by surprise. And here’s the catch…

YOU were put on this earth for such a time as this!

 

FONW15-5I hope you will join us for Fresh Oil New Wine 2015. If you cannot join us in person, be sure to tune in every session for our live streaming. Evening session are every night this week through Thursday at 6:30p.m. (EST), and morning sessions start Tuesday at 9:45a.m. You can watch live streaming at abbashouse.com/live

Join us for such a time as this!

FONW15

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For Such A Time As This.

For those of you who saw my last blog post (As The World Burns), I referenced a Scripture in Esther…

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ~ Esther 4:14

The children of Israel were in danger of being slaughtered by the evil Haman, and Mordecai was encouraging Esther to stand up for her people and expose Haman’s wicked plan to the king (which could potentially cost Esther her very life). Esther trusted God to take care of her, spoke to the king, and her people were miraculously spared.

We are at a critical time in world history. Evil and darkness are running rampant in our nation and in our world. However…

We are called to be a light in the darkness.

We are commanded to be salt in this world.

We are meant to make a difference.

We are destined to overcome.

We are here for such a time as this.

What does that mean for you? What does it mean for your family, your church, your community?

What does it mean to our nation and our world?

Watch this video clip, and join me March 1-5 for Fresh Oil New Wine.

Come find out what it means for you!

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In Search of Rusty Gold

Through the Looking Glass

The television show American Pickers follows Mike and Frank around the country as they pick through the barns, homes, and junk piles of people all over the country, looking for what they call “rusty gold”. What one person considers junk, these guys see as potential for profit. What one person sees as trash with little value, Mike and Frank see as treasure with great value.

Sounds a lot like how Jesus found all of us.

The Bible says that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

While we were unrepentant and vile, Christ went to the cross.

While we were filthy and falling apart, Jesus took our judgment upon Himself.

While we were buried in the trash heap of human refuse, Jesus dug through the mess, pulled us out, cleaned us up, and placed great value on us.

Regardless of what rust has collected on your soul, Jesus sees you as a treasure with great worth.

Maybe you should start seeing yourself the way He does.

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Lessons from an Eagle

How do you expect me to soar with eagles
when I’m surrounded by turkeys??? ~ Anon

Ever the symbol of nobility, eagles have, in our society, come to represent freedom, liberty, integrity, stature, loyalty, and strength. In Scripture, the eagle is alluded to many times, one of the most quoted being Isaiah 40:31…

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

So how do we “mount up with wings like eagles?” How do we rise up above the fray of “turkeydom”, and take our place in the heights as God intended? Here are three characteristics about eagles that may give you some insight into why this beautiful creature is held up as such a majestic symbol…

The Eagle Knows Commitment.

eagle_stare_down
Eagle Stare Down by Julie Gentry

A male eagle, when he sees a female, thrusts out his chest and struts. If she accepts his proposal, she soars thousands of feet in the air and he follows her. When they are way up high — thousands of feet — they interlock their talons and they begin to fall toward the treetops. He is stroking the back of her neck with his beak on the way down. Right before they hit the treetops they spread their wings and they go back up a second time. This time she strokes the back of his neck with her beak. They go way up farther the third time, and on the third drop they mate for life. Just before they hit the ground after mating, they spread those wings. They’ve set their course in that relationship. An eagle will stay with it’s mate until one or the other of them dies.

What a beautiful picture for the way God intended marriage to be. Jesus explained it this way…

 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” ~ Matthew 19:4-6

The Eagle Exhibits Wise Use of Energy.

Eagle at the Beach by Debbie Waumsley
Eagle at the Beach by Debbie Waumsley

Unlike other birds that we see fluttering about our yards on a day-to-day basis, when eagles fly, they actually flap their wings very little. Eagles rise above, fly to grand heights, and utilize the atmosphere to simply spread their wings and soar. From that vantage point, the eagle can identify potential danger, food, and conserve its energy for hunting and defense against enemies.

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus says…

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Learn to utilize your energy wisely. Don’t spend your time “flapping your wings” over things that don’t matter.

The Eagle Understands Humility and Dependence.

Although most do not live that long, eagles can live up to 120 years. After the 60th year, if it lives that long, the male eagle returns to the rock where it was born. The female, especially if she is younger, nourishes her husband because he strips all of his feathers off, he beats his beak off, and she tears every claw out of him. He is laying there helpless, a spectacle, humiliated, stripped of glory and helpless. The only thing you can see are the wounds of previous battles that now appear on his skin. He is taken by the mother eagle to the nearby rushing water and drinks the running water and allows it to bathe him. She brings him honey and he eats honey. He returns to the rock and is warmed by it. He remains there 30 days, protected by his mate. By the 30th day, all feathers, talons, and the beak grow back. The eagle never fully matures until he has been through this process. However, once it goes through it, the eagle is literally dead to what it had been before.

Now, let’s look at Isaiah 40:31 again…

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Eagle headCan you see the eagle laying there 30 days with no feathers, no claws, totally defenseless, with only the female to protect him? Let me tell you, sometimes you’ve got to get defenseless and let the bride (the church) take care of you. But on that 30th day, you’re looking young again — strong again. They that wait on the Lord shall be like the re-molted eagle, shall be like the renewed eagle that’s been through the process of death, that’s been wounded, and hurt and broken, but is renewed and ready to mount up and soar to new heights.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time. ~ 1 Peter 5:6

 

So how about you?

Do you struggle with commitment?

Do you spend too much energy on the wrong things?

Are you in a season of humility and dependence?

Take a lesson from the eagle.

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Burning Down the House

Oklahoma

On one of my travels, I stayed in a lovely home with a beautiful stacked-stone fireplace in the living room. The craftsmanship was wonderful, and the stones themselves were exquisite, with veins of black running through each stone, adding to the beauty of the design.

A year or so later, I was back in the same town, and we passed by the home, only to find that it had burned to the ground. It was explained to me that the beautiful stones that comprised the fireplace were actually the cause. The black veins that ran through each stone were actually veins of petroleum that would ignite when the temperature of the stone reached a certain temperature. On one cold winter’s day, the fire reached the ignition temperature, and BOOM… the fireplace exploded into flame, burning the house to the ground.

Christian, what does the house of your life look like?

Are you so intent on doing good things, you may not be doing the right things?

Are the things you are doing driven out of selfish motivation, or the motivation of the love of Christ?

Are you building a seemingly beautiful house of good works out of incendiary materials?

How has what you have done with your life impacted the world for Jesus?

In 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, Paul tells us…

… Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

When we enter eternity, we will ALL be judged. For the believer, when our works are put through the purifying fire of His holy judgement, only what was done for Christ will last.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:10

We will all have to give an answer for what we as individuals have done. We will all have to take responsibility for our own attitudes and actions. In light of that, we should all examine ourselves, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us those areas that we need to surrender to Him, and pray as David did when he said…

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ~ Psalm 139:23-24

I close with a thought from British missionary C. T. Studd…

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

— from the poem Only One Life, ‘Twill Soon Be Past
written by C. T. Studd

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Alone In His Presence

CoffeeWe have fast food, as well as drive-thrus for almost every type of service: Instant banking, drive-thru pharmacies, laundry drop-offs — everything is prepared in a hurry for our convenience. Unfortunately in our “have-it-now” society, we expect spirituality to happen quickly as well. We want instant miracles, sudden break-throughs, and smooth, problem-free lives.

The call of Jesus in Scripture is not centered on our need, but on His presence.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ~ Matthew 11:28

He underscores this again in an account told by John…

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ~ John 7:37

These calls invite us to come to Jesus. As we love and worship Him, our needs are met, and necessary resources are released. The call of Jesus still rings across the centuries, “Come to Me.” However, this requires a discipline of time. Destiny comes to those who are not afraid to be alone with God.

One of the most powerful alone times I ever had with God occurred on a personal retreat several years ago.

I had set aside four days and three nights with God, in a sparse and simply furnished cabin. As I drove up nearby Dayton Mountain, an expectancy filled my heart. I had brought a CD player with worship music, along with my computer with Bible programs on it, and an unfinished book manuscript. I also brought a deep hunger and a serious need to know if I was moving with the spirit. My spiritual awakening, including tongues, had become common knowledge in my circle of acquaintances, and there was unrest among many of our traditional church members.
Once settled in the cabin, I prayed, worshiped, wrote, and finally went to bed. In the wee hours of the morning, I was summoned to the stairs of His presence. My small room became a cathedral as God awakened me to join Him. He spoke and said, “It is time for you to act!” Looking at the clock by my bed, it was 3:19 AM. I picked up my Bible and read Acts 3:19-21:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

I had a clear answer from God—He was up to something special in our church. He was refreshing us and drawing us into His presence. It was all God’s doing and not mine. Then I reread that prophetic word, and it shook me. Jesus Christ would not return until a mighty restoration took place. God would restore to the church all that she had lost. A colossal revival was beginning in the body of Christ!

I immersed myself in the rest of the book of Acts, worshiping and feeding. Soon I came across Acts 15:16-17:

After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the Lord who does all these things.

The passage shook me. I recalled how David’s tabernacle was brought up with dancing and praise. It was a precursor to Solomon’s temple. Scripture was clear here—Jesus was coming, but not until the restoration of real praise and worship was established. As David walked, sang, danced, and ruled in God’s presence, so will God’s people do in the last days.

I walked out of that cabin far enough to get service to my cell phone, and called my answering machine back in my office to pour the revelation word out. All that week, revelation continued to pour into my soul. Alone with God, my ministry direction was affirmed, strengthened, and challenged.

So, my question is this… Is God calling you to an alone time with Him? Is God calling you into a deeper place of abiding in His presence?

If He is, then heed His call. Listen to His voice. Allow His presence to permeate your life.

— Adapted from my book
Secret of the Stairs
Copyright © 2006 Ron Phillips Ministries
Published by World Publishing, Inc.
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Finding Your Song

This is a wonderful sentiment by the late Maya Angelou…

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

imageOne has but to walk outdoors on a sunny day and listen to the sound of a chorus of birds to understand this thought. Even in the captivity of a small cage, a bird still has the ability to find its song. A friend once told me about taking a walk one day, and feeling the Spirit of God encouraging him to sing… to lift up a new song to Him as he strolled in God’s cathedral, the Great Outdoors. As he walked and began to sing, he noticed something interesting began to happen. He noticed the sound of creation getting louder and louder. As he found his song, creation itself joined in the chorus, and the birds in the numerous trees about him began to lift up their voices as well. After a time, he said he stopped singing, and something uncanny happened…

Many of the birds stopped singing as well, and the sound of creation slowly died away.

In Luke 19, we find this story…

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: 

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

We are all given a song. For some, that song is sung in the midst of gratitude and thanksgiving; a song of grateful worship to God for His goodness and favor.

But for others, that song may be sung from a place of hardship and pain.

How do you sing for joy when you are watching a loved one slowly slip away because of Alzheimer’s Disease or ALS?

How do you sing with gladness when the diagnosis is cancer?

How do you worship when you are a parent standing over the grave of a child gone too early?

We sing, not because we have the answer, but because we have a song. We worship, not because we are good, but because He is Holy. We seek out His presence, not as an escape from the world we are in, but as a place of safety and refuge for our souls while we are on the journey through this life.

 An interesting thing about dementia patients is, even as they are losing their ability to remember friends and family members — as well as their ability to even talk — many still have the ability to recognize songs and sing or hum a tune.

There is something about the language of music that speaks to all of us on a spiritual level. We are all made for worship. God has put His song into our DNA, and pursuing an intimate relationship with Him in worship is the first step to finding your song. The Psalmist wrote…

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ~ Psalm 104:33

He was determined to worship as long as he had breath in his lungs; no qualifier, no expectation.

Maybe when we get to the point of unconditional worship — when we are singing our song, not because we have an answer, but because we have a God-given song — we’ll find that, in that obedience, we will find the answers we are looking for in His presence.

It could also be that, by spending time in His presence, we’ll discover that knowing the answers will become less important than knowing Him.

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The Enemy at the Gate

Landscape#1Some years ago on a large Kansas farm, a parent left a gate open while in a hurry to do a chore. The child that was playing in the fenced yard wandered off and was lost in the great wheat field. They searched for days and finally found the child dead from exposure. The parent cried out, “I left the gate open, I left the gate open.”

So, dads and moms, are you leaving the gates open for your children? In an attempt to be the “cool parent”, are you putting your kids in harm’s way in a culture that is decidedly not “kid friendly”? Has your desire to be your child’s “buddy” left them without a parent?

In a society where anything (and everything) goes, parents have to be more diligent than ever with regard to the safety and well-being of their children. There is an enemy waiting for the gate of love and protection to be left unattended. At every turn, whether on the street, in the classroom, or on the Internet, 21st century children are faced with peril and temptation. One has just to watch the news for a few minutes to hear stories about children being abused, neglected, abducted, or killed. With online porn, online predators, and sex trafficking being just a few of the dangers out there, it is enough to make you want to build a wall around your home, station armed-guards on the perimeter, and not let them leave until they are safely into their 30’s.

However, that’s not the way life works.
It’s also not the way God intended for the family to function.

God makes it clear in His word that He has better plans for us than that. In 1 Timothy 1:7, Paul writes…

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Living in fear and anxiety is living life in the absence of faith. We have been given a Spirit of “power, of love, and of a sound mind”… it is already at our disposal if we are children of the Most High. Operating as a Spirit-controlled family is how God wants you to live.

Do you want to know how to have a Spirit-controlled home? Do you want to know what steps you can take to put the enemy to flight in the life of your family? Do you want your home to be a habitation of the Holy Spirit… a habitation of peace, safety, and tranquility?

Last night, I shared my thoughts about how you and your family can function as a Spirit-controlled family. Click this link and join me now in the worship center of Abba’s House for this crucial word.

 

 

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3 Steps to Un-breaking Your New Year’s Resolutions

Ok… we’re now 8 days into the New Year. For most of us, the decorations of the season are packed up for another year, our regular work and school schedules have resumed, and life has returned to some semblance of “normal.”

So how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you?

Sunlight thru trees-editedSome studies show that almost 90% of people that make resolutions fail to keep them, with over 20% of resolutions being broken within the first week. So what do you do when you made a resolution in the spirit of the season, and now it seems impossible to keep? How do you deal with the broken promises of a year so new that you are still having to white-out all of the times you habitually write “2014” on correspondence and checks?

Here are three simple things to remember when it comes to dealing with those well-intended — yet possibly already-broken — resolutions…

Realize what is at stake.

While some resolutions are made for our personal betterment (lose weight, stop smoking, etc.), and some resolutions affect those around us and our relationships (spend more time with your kids, be a better friend), still others have an impact on our relationship with our Heavenly Father (read the Bible more, spend more time in prayer, give up “hidden sins”). Regardless of where your resolutions fall, it is important to realize what the consequences are of not keeping them. I say this not as a way of encouraging you to beat yourself up for broken promises, but simply to get honest about your own situation.

A friend of mine had a heart-attack a couple of years ago. He has spent the last couple of years working out regularly and getting healthy. He says, “People think I love working out. I hate it! However, I hate being dead more.” The decision to live healthier (lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more) will only contribute to your well-being in a positive way. Giving up unhealthy habits can help you live longer, and operate in a better frame of mind. Decisions such as better money or time management can go a long way to giving you more peace of mind…

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Spending more time with family and friends, being a better co-worker, helping others more, or volunteering more of our time to charitable endeavors can strengthen those relationships, as well as personally give us more of a positive outlook on life, and contribute to our own well-being…

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

NO time spent drawing closer to the Father is wasted time. Spending time in His Word, in prayer and meditation, and in worship only serve to create a lifestyle of abiding in His presence. Giving up secret sins such as lust, greed, and dishonesty, etc. should not be just “insignificant resolutions” — they are imperative for living the Spirit-filled life. Remember, the concept of sowing and reaping has both positive and negative connotations…

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ~ Galatians 6:7-8

Stop making excuses.

Anything worth doing requires some degree of sacrifice. Stop looking for a way to avoid the unpleasantness of the process, suck it up, and get about the business of walking the narrow path that is going to move you forward as a person to a better place. The path of least-resistance is probably the path that got you where you are now — looking for (and needing) change.

Maybe you made your resolution in the midst of the euphoria of New Years?

So what???

If it is a resolution worth keeping, it doesn’t really matter why you made it. YOU DID! Now it’s time to show what you’re made of, Who you trust, and stick to it.

Remember: Failure isn’t final.

Most resolutions — like life itself — are a process. If you made a resolution to lose weight, gaining a pound or two on the Fourth of July weekend is not the end of the world. The year isn’t over, and you still have 5 months to lose what you gained and more. If you were going to spend more time with your family, but work is already demanding more of your time than you anticipated, start now managing your time and resources to stop the cycle, and keep your promise. Too many people stumble in their goal for the perfect “resolution record”, and throw up their hands in defeat the first time they trip along the way. Stop looking at the stumbling blocks, and start looking at the finish line. Set a goal, and keep your eyes on it, not the moments of weakness along the journey.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Trust in your Heavenly Father, and start NOW in making this year’s resolutions a success. Have faith in the One who “began the good work in you.”

Pastor Ron

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A Story for Christmas

I thought for this Christmas Day blog that I would simply share a story…

THE story.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

  “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.     ~ from Luke 2 (NIV)

Nativity

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Ron