Light-work

Agog Over Gog and Magog

Epicenter, the book and companion DVD by Joel C. Rosenberg, allows us a peek behind the curtain. The author explores and explains the connections to prophesy, history, and current events informing the plot lines of his best selling political thrillers. Here's a link to Joel Rosenberg's blog, if you want to learn more about his thinking. He was also a guest on Glenn Beck yesterday marketing his latest, Inside the Revolution.

In 2000, Mr. Rosenberg observed an alliance forming between Russia and Iran. This unprecedented development prompted him to retrieve a book he had read almost ten years earlier, The Coming Peace in the Middle East, by Tim LaHaye. According to Rosenberg, Coming Peace described "a coming period of security and prosperity in Israel, followed by the rise of a military alliance between Russia, Iran, and a group of other Islamic countries that would target Israel and drive the world to the brink of the apocalypse in what Ezekiel described as 'the last days'" (Epicenter, p. 24). Dr. LaHaye found the basis for this understanding in his interpretation of the "prophesy against Gog," found in Ezekiel 38-39. Mr. Rosenberg was intrigued; "If the rebirth and re-population of Israel described in Ezekiel 36 and 37 were coming true in my lifetime, was it not at least remotely possible that the peace and prosperity - and future war and divine rescue - described in chapters 38 and 39 could soon come true as well?" (p. 29).

This view that Ezekiel 38-39 is describing "the next big thing" on a prophetic time-table informs Mr. Rosenberg's writings. Is this the right spot in time to connect this prophesy? It's a great question that we will speak to in tomorrow's post. But first let's make a few preliminary observations.

The pinpoint accuracy of biblical prophecy does not become obvious until after the fact. Here is a great case in point from the Light-Work Resource Collection. From our vantage point in history, Daniel 9:1-21 is breath-taking as you line up each verse with a four century time-line of middle eastern history. But for those living in the 4^th or 5^th century BC, they could only speculate about how each new development might play out according to Daniel's predictions. This is the speculative challenge Mr. Rosenberg faces. He has written novels "about how the Ezekiel scenario could unfold" (p. 29). How Ezekiel 38 and 39 are actually fulfilled  might be much different. But IF they were fulfilled "next," his scenario's are plausible.

Prophesy rarely provides time markers that allow us to discern WHEN a particular event will occur. Prophesy tells us WHAT will happen, but generally leaves us in the dark about WHEN. This is a function of prophesy's purpose: It is not intended to equip us to become "junior prophets" who predict the dates of future events. Prophesy invites us to get ready for what will happen without knowing exactly when. And it encourages us that God is in control when events unfold just as predicted.

Before checking tomorrow's post, read Ezekiel 38-39. Make some summary observations about WHAT will happen and we'll compare notes tomorrow.

Prayer That Packs a Punch

This verse ought to take your breath away:  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The speaker is Jesus and He is making a stunning offer. He, the Lord of the Universe, will put "whatever you wish" on His personal to-do list. You don't get a better prayer guarantee than this.

So what's the catch? It's captured in two conditional clauses that precede the promise: (1) "If you abide in me," and (2) "[if] My words abide in you." The promise is only relevant to those who meet these two prerequisites: They must be living "in Jesus" and His words must be living in them. Jesus is describing someone whose entire approach to life is defined by a devotion to Jesus and His Word.

The reward ("Jesus will do whatever you wish") is too great for us to ignore the prerequisite. So how, exactly, can we meet it? Here is one practical step: Learn how to pray "Word driven prayers." These are prayers that are informed by what the Bible says. They are NOT a mere dressing up of personal desires in Bible lingo. They ARE prayers which use the Bible to identify Jesus' desires and then declare, "That's what I want. too." In John 15:7, Jesus is describing the power of prayer when a man's (or woman's) heart beats in unison with His.

I have prepared a little booklet called "Only by the Hand of God," which gives you some examples of these kinds of prayers. Click here to download a copy. It uses Scripture to identify the things that matter to Jesus and express those desires in simple prayers tailored to different situations. This is NOT a prayer book - but an illustration of a kind of praying that occurs when the Word abides in us and leaks out in our prayers, the kinds of prayers of which Jesus says, "Now that's a prayer I want to answer."

Tell the Preacher What to Preach

Those brainy guys (and gals) on the CBC tech and web teams have done it again. Here's a screen shot of their latest creation, The CBC On-line Media Center! Click here to go to the actual site. The media center allows you to access audio files from series preached at Collierville Bible Church. You can listen to a sermon at your computer or download it to your ipod. You can also download and print associated outlines and slides. In short, you can duplicate the benefits of attending a Collierville Bible Church worship service at any time and from anywhere in the world!

There are some additional features of the Media Center that make it BETTER than Sunday morning. What if you could go to church and determine the topic for the morning sermon? Let's say you're struggling in your marriage and want the preacher to share some truth that ministers where you're hurting. Your heart longs to determine the topic for the message. Don't just wish for that power - now it's yours to use!

Here's how. The left panel is the Media Center main screen. At the top of this panel are a series of tabs labeled [Date], [Series], [Speaker], or [Topic]. Click on a tab and all series in the Media Center library are sorted accordingly. You can scroll through the list, highlight a series, and then pick the sermon (in the right panel) that you want to access. If you can't find something suitable by sorting and scrolling, there is also a search tab at the top of the main screen. Using your own keywords, you can locate exactly what you're looking for based on search terms you supply.

Currently, there are only a few sample sermons that have been loaded, so there's not a lot to search from. YET! Series in progress will be loaded on Sundays as they are preached. So, if you are following a current series, you can catch a sermon a few hours after it has been delivered. Previously preached series are also being prepped for inclusion in the Media Center. I have preached almost 900 sermons in my years at Collierville Bible church, so there are lots of possibilities to choose from. If you have a favorite, be sure to let us know and we'll fast-track it to the Media Center library. This will be fun.

Thanks Eric, Jeff, Castle, and especially Garry - this is fantastic. Your diligence is going to make a big difference!

50 Ways to Make a Difference

At first glance, Paul's description of our mission seems more than just daunting; it looks impossible. He declares,"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ" (Col. 1:28). How can we "present every man complete" when, in the final analysis, we do not have the power to determine another's choices? Answer: Just because we cannot control someone else doesn't mean we are incapable of influencing them, and it is at this level that Paul is fully engaged.

So how, exactly, does one positively influence another toward the goal of completeness in Christ? Two "means" are identified in this verse - admonition and teaching. But there are many more. I have compiled a list that cites over fifty of these means. The list is not comprehensive - but it gives you a good feel for the diversity of ways we can have impact on others. Click here to download this list. Print out a copy and spend some time studying it. We can compare notes tomorrow.

Feed Me!

I have noticed that most L-W subscribers are using email for notifications. This is fine, but maybe you didn't know about RSS Feeds, another VERY SLICK way to stay current with the  latest at Light-Work. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Look at the screen shot to the left and notice where the orange RSS chicklet is. (The REAL one is in the column to the far right near the bottom.)

When you click on this menu item, something amazing happens. If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your web browser, and you click on "subscribe in a reader," an orange chicklet will appear in a menu bar near the top of your web-browser. It will say "Lightwork" beside it. Whenever you click on this chicklet, the titles for all the latest posts at Light-work will line up like smart little soldiers. The minute a new article is posted, it will join the ranks of its comrades. So you don't need to come to light-work incessantly (much as I would be delighted for you to do so). Just review the troops, see who's new, and click on his name tag to look him in the face.

If you are using Internet Explorer, the process will involve one additional step. It's all automated for you, so don't get stressed.  When you come to Light-work and click on the "subscribe in a reader" chicklet to the right, you will be prompted to sign up for a FREE RSS reader. (Internet Explorer does not include this feature, at the moment.) Just pick a reader (like Newsgator), open a free account, and your Lightwork RSS chicklet will salute you in a menu bar, ready for your review of the troops!

What's a man (or woman) to do?

This is so whacked!  Women are getting all kinds of mixed messages about their role, a cacophony of voices hawking the latest notion about how a woman finds her worth.  For men, the problem is not many opinions but a depressing concensus that manhood, by its very nature, is bad.  So women don't know what they are supposed to be.  And men only know what they shouldn't be, men!

Against such fog, the Bible is a fresh breeze.  It calmly affirms that when men act in accordance with their design as men, that's a good thing.  Paul wants the Corinthian church to face up to some problems, so he calls them to rise to the challenge and "act like men" (1 Cor. 16:13).  His command makes NO SENSE unless there is something profoundly valuable when godly men act in accordance with their nature.

For women, when their lives are focused on being women of truth and character, when they successfully impart that legacy to the next generation of women, they make the Word of God look good (Titus 2:5).  Here is a clear and noble path by which a woman devotes herself to virtues that have special relevance to women.  These displays of healthy doctrine frame how women become women who do what matters.

The doors of many a church have closed to this fresh breeze, the fog is thickening, and confusion among men and women about what they should do is on the rise.  So I am grateful for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  It is their mission to promote understanding and appreciation of what the Bible says about men and women.  Check out their recently updated website which is a real treasure trove of fog-dispelling goodies.

And it gets even better!  CBMW makes many audio and print resources available on-line.  You can still buy books if you want to give them as gifts.  But you can also download some great documents and books as PDF files.  Here's a link to a list of key resources to get you started.  I support CBMW in my giving.  I believe in the value of what they're doing.  You'll know why when you feel the fresh breeze at their site.

Women Whose Hands are Chains

A woman's heart and handiwork can be agents of bondage and death.  King Solomon understood this:  "And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains" (Eccl. 7:26).  There is a kind of woman who is not just a liability, she's dangerous!

In stark contrast, Titus 2:3-5 describes godly womanhood in terms of strength of character and noble purpose - women whose hands do good.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored (Tit 2:3-5 - NASB95).  The older women in this passage are remarkable.  Their handiwork is defined by four distinctive qualities and they have embraced a profound life mission.  The younger women stand out from their peers for the fact that seven facets of their lives converge to make the Word of God look irresistible - other women see what they have and say, "I want to live like that!"

To associate with these women is to behold truth in action, to feel the pulse of pure devotion to God, to hold hands that do good.  In an age where all the attention seems to go to women who run on emotion, whose lives have no bigger purpose than "living for me," whose effectiveness is measured by career, dollars, and possessions, Titus 2 is a breath of fresh air.  Instead of the toxicity of womanhood as defined by self-actualization and "I want it all," Titus offers a better way - a path to true significance.  It is a path that allows women to partner in a grace community and learn what it means to impart life and health to one another and to future generations.  This Titus path is one of LIFE and LEGACY.

For the woman who wants to replace hands that are chains with a heart that imparts life, see the study notes.  You can download the first set on "reverent behavior" by clicking here.  Over the next year, I will attach a new article describing a Titus 2 quality or insight each month.  You can access all of the Titus 2 materials (as they become available) by clicking on "Pretty Good Downloads" under "resources" (in the far right column).

Guest post by Rochelle Fleming - click on "Light-Work Partners" under "resources" (far right) for bio.

Pretty Good Downloads

Are you struggling to remember where you put things?  Me too!  I have been including links to some helpful light-work resources in various posts.  But, to get to them, you have to go rooting through the pile of posts.  I say "Bah!" to snuffling through the clutter.  Check out our new resource center.  (Yes, the list of offerings is pretty humble right now - but it will grow.)  Just below the disclaimer to the far right is a link to a new page of "Pretty Good Downloads."  Think of it as your personal portfolio of "one-click-away" biblical wisdom and kiss clutter goodbye.