Lord's of the Philistines and how to defeat them.

1 Samuel 6:16-18

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶ And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
¹⁷ These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, ¹⁸ and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

Cutting through all of the yip-yap, the Lords of the Philistines (well, the cities they ruled anyway) represent 5 specifically different obstacles or hindrances in our lives that must be overcomes in order to walk in sustained spiritual strength and vigor.

Ashdod 
Gaza
Ashkelon
Gath
Ekron

King David defeated these Lords at the beginning of his reign (bringing the flesh into submission) and Jesus overcame them all on our behalf.  It is these 5 cities/sinful hangups that we will be examining in the next 5 posts.  I'm also producing an original piece of art to illustrate each lesson, so don't stay away.

Bang For Your Buck

Spinning wheels; I used to do this a lot and sometimes I find myself headed in that direction again.  Here is what happens when you spin your wheels:

- Lots of Smoke
- Draws a Crowd
- Everybody Starts Coughing
- Smell of Burnt Rubber
- Have to go Buy New Tires
- Rinse, Lather, Repeat

For some odd reason, when we apply this process to ministry, it seems to make sense to us.  It is the crowd part we get dazzled by and we forget that we are not really doing anything for them that they truly need and then we run out of gas and have to go get it all set up again just to draw a new crowd (because the previous crowd saw something shiny in the other corner of the parking lot).

When ministering to people, it is important to keep the main goal in mind at all times.  People need hope more than they need excitement.  People need to know Jesus and His salvation more than they need something that makes them go, "Wow!"  People need life more than they need a show.  There is truth to the double nickel speed being the most economic. 

Don't misread me, I like fast.  But at the expense of actually getting to the destination, I choose to get more distance for my buck than I do bang.  Ministry is meant to be more like a purpose filled road trip than it is whatever the dude in the picture is doing.  We may only have a hatchback that has no AC, but if it will get us where we are going, that is where the investment should be made.

I choose to invest in people who are interested in investing in people.  I despise drama and I care very little for the bells and whistles of high octane ministry.  It is really all about priorities; dress it up if you like, but make sure it is the cross.  I am for excellence in ministry, but please let us remember that the most excellent thing is love. 

Bible Names

Reading Scripture and Understanding Scripture are two different things.  The deeper we dig into the Word, we discover that it is a multifaceted message that looks more like a geometric fractal than a simple number sequence.  One of the tools we use to study scripture (first two tools are the Holy Spirit's leading and a basic understanding of the Gospel) is the meaning of names.  In an effort to assist you in your studies, I am placing a link here to a site that I refer to frequently.  I suggest you bookmark it. 

http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Adam.html#.UHMO_q7pVvo

I would be very interested to hear what some of you learn from the Story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38.

Also, take a look at Genesis Chapter 5 and see what Holy Spirit might teach you.

Choices

This year we are going to be asking our readers some tough questions.  They are not complicated so much as they are just hard questions to hear.  Hard to hear because we already know the answer and we don't want to speak it because it names the beast we are trying to hide.


First Question:

Is that TV show that you watch so religiously helping you discover Jesus in more intimate ways?

     What the above question did not ask that people usually give as an answer when they hear it:
             - Does that show make you a better person?
             - Does that show open your mind up to a wider culture?
             - Does that show make you feel good about yourself?
             - Does that show keep you in touch with reality?

The question was clear, but the answer we are used to getting is, "That show has changed my life and I see people differently than I used to."  or, "That show is so good and soooooo true to life.", or (and this is my least favorite), "God has a sense of humor too."

Just answer the question! 

When you watch that show, is it drawing you closer to the person of Jesus Christ or is it just drawing you into some other place altogether?


Next question:

Does that music glorify (exalt, magnify, lift up, and show how God alone is worthy to be praised and adored) your God?

     What the above question did not ask that people usually give as an answer when they hear it:
             - Is that artist (s) talented?
             - Do you want to be a singer when you grow up?
             - Do you think music can be evil in and of itself?
             - Is that music better that church music?

Again, the question is clear, but here are some of the answers I'm used to getting: "Oh,  I only listen to the music part cuz it's soooo good and I don't sing the cuss words or the parts about sex." or, "I really like hip-hop though." or, "Music is just music.  You can use a gun to hunt with or you can kill somebody.  A gun is not evil all by itself." or, "But Christian music is so boring and old-sounding."

Again, JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!   
 

Does that music paint a picture of a big, good, lovely, powerful, strong, holy, just, merciful, forgiving, majestic, vengeful, benevolent God or does it glorify something else?


The Beautiful Truth:

When we are actually able to come to a level of spiritual maturity that enables us to honestly speak the obvious answers to these questions and others like them, we will find freedom from the tyranny of the god's of this earth. 

The status quot will whither and die as our hearts become fashioned into the image of the Holy One. 

Pop culture will lose its luster as our eyes become fixed on the author and finisher of our faith, the One who bled and laid down His life for us all. 

Hollywood, Nashville, New York, L.A. Miami, Detroit and all the movers and shakers that orchestrate the MTV lifestyle will bend their knees as they proclaim the glory of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 

When we wake up to reality, Heaven will invade earth and all creation will sing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." 

When the sons of God appear, spiritual poles will shift and love will be our standard.

When we rise to take up arms against the darkness rather than encouraging the darkness to proceed by our continued financial and vocal support of industries that seeks only to consume us, the merchants of death will die and be reborn as shining stars in love with the Son.

When we, we who slumber, self medicated with poison, turn our own hearts to the Father, the gates of Heaven will be thrust open and life will rain down on us.

...or we could just turn up the radio and pretend we heard a different question.

Oaks of Righteousness

Photo taken at Beall Woods State Park - Mt. Carmel, Illinois

I don't really know too much about Oaks apart from the fact that they are big (eventually) and they make good furniture.  I have often wondered why the Bible uses this species to represent righteousness.  There is a lot here, but to sum up the status-quot, we Christians should be strong and able to withstand temptation.  That's good, but I felt there must be more.  Lots of trees could fit that bill.  The Sycamore is a pretty big and strong tree.  The Redwood?  Why the Oak?

Here is what I have come up with.  Some of it is actually pretty cool.

Not only do oaks grow from pretty tough little nuts, these acorns can stay in a dormant state for a REALLY LONG TIME (that is the official way of saying that I don't really know the exact link but it is years).  When you least expect it, an acorn can germinate and produce an Oak.  I find that this image applies to most people too.  They meet Jesus, do the whole normal Christian struggle with trying to do Jesus' work for Him, fall away for a while, struggle back (sort of like a giant salmon run up the water falls of life; only the strongest fish survive).  Then, all of a sudden, the imperishable seed of Jesus Christ pokes through the surface and something real shows up in their life.  It does not smack of religion, but smells and tastes just like Jesus.

Another image that works for me is that Oaks produce this natural herbicide that kills off all the grass within about a 15' radius.  You just can't grow a good weed patch underneath an Oak tree .  Does this not also accurately describe the cross (another famous oak)?  "You will have no other gods before me."  "Take up your cross and follow Me."

When we take things that are hindering our walk with Him and lay them down at the foot of the cross (or even bury them there like the Old Testament Patriarchs did), they don't just stay there and collect dust that we might come back and pick them up some day.  They are killed (utterly defeated and cut off from life so that they whither and flake away) there at the foot of the cross.  My life is meant to be a reflection of the cross of Christ.  I should not walk hand in hand with that which is unrighteous.  I should kill those things off and not let them grow anywhere near me.  Obviously this is totally impracticable and not what God really desires for any of us, right?


Bless you Tri-state

One Call

Check this audio offering out here or just click the player to the right.  FIXED THE LINK

http://therefugecity.podbean.com/

Bless you, Tri-State

Prayer For Colorado

God of gods, Lord of lords, King of kings

We do not understand why. We cannot fathom such darkness. We have no words to offer comfort or reason to those now suffering loss and despair. All we have is You, Oh God. Please come. These families now broken and full of sorrow, in the midst of confusion, need You. Oh, Shepherd of Israel, come. Be not distant in their hour of trial. Search and find a way to ease their pain and usher in hope and comfort for the mourning. We mourn with them. In your mercy, Lord, hear our prayer.

-amen

Construction Zone (the rest of the post)

At any rate...

I wanted to share this shot because it so relates to my life with God. I so easily get hyped up to move forward with Him and I take off like a bullet as soon as I get even a whisper. But I always end up in a heap of broken bones with a sign over my head that reads "construction zone". "David", He says, "You are still a work in progress. Don't try to get it all done perfect and at once on your first try.". I really don't think God minds that we rocket off too much, but He prefers we rocket off on His cue.

"BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"


Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

Construction Zone

This is a screen shot from a mindless game I have on my phone. The motorcycle rider zips through traffic at 180mph and inevitably crashes into something. Mindless but fun. At any rate,

There is no one else coming for you.

There is no one else coming for you. "I am the way, the truth and the life" -John 14:6. Jesus is the only way out of these chains.

We are called to something very costly.

Rom. 8:11
There is only one kind of response to the dramatic rescue Jesus made, reckless abandon to loving Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength

Luke 14:26
Love Him more than anything.

Matt 16:24
Take up your cross.

Relinquishing your will to Jesus. This is what the we've forgotten to do. Are you a radical Christian because you lost your voice at a conference or because you lost your will to His?

When a Mustang finally surrenders its will, the cowboy can put that raw power to use. Invite the Holy Spirit to put a bit in your mouth and to tame you.

We follow Jesus' teachings AND His heart. We become like Him.

Our only response is "Glorious Surrender".


Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

Turning Hearts (some more)

I just can't seem to shake this theme.  Every once in a while, a divine thought gets dropped in your head and it is not meant to fade way with time.  We are supposed to meditate upon it and chew until we are able to rightly apply it to our lives.  I think all of us are adapt at understanding the concept behind Malachi 4 (Fathers must take on the task of raising the children and children must embrace the leading of the fathers or life will fall apart).  I also think that it is pretty easy to see that the world around us is not falling apart, it is already in pieces on the ground for so many people. 

I even see the Ad Council putting up billboards encouraging dad's to just show up every once in a while.  The phrase "take time top be a dad today" shows how simple it is for even the government to clue into the need. If sociologists are finally noting the harm caused by fatherlessness, we are way past the point of warning; we have been swimming in the curse.

When I look at youth in my church's youth group, I find a grand total of 5 families that have full time dads in the home.  And just because those dad's are in the home, does not mean that they are fulfilling their role as a father.  in either case, that leaves me with about 75% of the youth either not having a solid relationship with their fathers or not even knowing who they are at all.  This is a huge vacuum that the enemy has so precisely created in order to fill with second hand hope and empty promises.  If any of these young people were lucky enough to have mothers who stepped in with effort to try and father their kids, they have been kept alive on a sort of emotional life support.  Even youth ministry itself is providing this function.  We are giving what direction we can and supporting as much as possible, but the youth in our spheres of influence will not thrive in this environment, but simply survive.  Try as their mothers and our youth ministry may, we cannot fill the void left by their absent fathers.  We were never meant to.

So what do we do?

As I mentioned earlier, I think we all get this on some level, but we are not really desperate enough to do anything about it.  In some weird way, it is like we are staring at the ball headed toward our face from a great distance and we make no attempt to move our of the way.  The enemy has done such a fine job of convincing us that this is just the way it is and we just need to make the best of it.  These subtle lies of his have lulled us into a slumber of sorts that keeps us from fighting for what is right.  The great lies of the enemy that have hindered us so much are lies like, "Amicable Divorce", "I'm just not that kind of dad", or "Dad needs some 'Me Time'".  Any lame excuse a father has for not being around when their kids need them seems to be in full rotation on the excuse turn table.  There are no excuses.  The primary definition of  a husband is to lay down your life for your bride.  This same definition applies to fatherhood.  One has no business having children if they don't also have the guts to father them. 

I'm not advocating the spoiling of children (we are light years from that possibility when it comes to fathers).  I'm talking about just showing up in our kid's lives.  The simple words of encouragement from a dad to a son will set them on a fiery course of greatness.  A gentle whisper of how beautiful his daughter looks will rescue her from an emotional pit of enslavement.  These are not just starting blocks for good fathering, they are indispensable skills.  In fact, one might say this is the very purpose of fatherhood.  Fathers, encourage your sons rather than intimidate and dishearten them.  Fathers, affirm your daughters rather than sadden and dispirit them.

So what do we fathers do?  We father all children that we can.  Sadly, this may be the only hope for many children who are in many respects, orphans.  As for we who are not fathers, we can do two things of value.  First, we pray.  This one thing will fuel the fire of fatherhood in greater capacity than most understand.  Second, allow father's to father.  Provide opportunity for father's to operate.  Give way and let them learn how to do it without correcting their mistakes at every turn.  Affirm their victories and you will inspire greatness.  Constant attention to failure will only breed more of the same.

A message to the children: Don't be afraid to cry out to your fathers.  If you happen to find yourself orphaned, search for a father and don't simply wait around for one to find you.  Initiate the relationship and don't give up.  There is something within every father, a divine spark, that will cause them to have compassion and turn their hearts toward you.  For those who have tried and tried and tried, know that you have a Heavenly father who cares for you and longs to heal your hurts.

Important to note that this notion of being a father or a child has very little to do with age.  There are many children that I strive to father along with my own children and there are still many seasons in my life in which I need to be fathered. 

RCRVlog: Turning The Hearts (Discussion with Pastor Chris Neikirk)

In this post, I've placed two parts of a video containing an insightful conversation with Pastor Chris Neikirk of the Methodist Temple U.M.C. in Evansville.  Lots of encouraging truth in this video.  You may need to watch it several times over.  If you have any thoughts on the subject, please share.  Our comments have been running low (and I have one friend who insists on simply emailing me his comments...post them, Jimmy).

Malachi 4, A Discussion with Pastor Chris Neikirk on Turning the Hearts of the Fathers - Part 1

Malachi 4, A Discussion with Pastor Chris Neikirk on Turning the Hearts of the Fathers - Part 2

Bless You, Tri-state

Did you know?

Did you know that the four living creatures from Revelation 4 and the Seraphim's faces from Ezekiel 1 also correspond with the four brigades or camps of Israel as they encamped around the Tabernacle?

True.  There were 3 tribes in each direction and in each direction is states that they camped under one standard.  To the East, Judah; North, Dan; West, Ephraim; South, Reuben.

The four living creatures were the Lion, Ox, Eagle, and Man.  Each of these also represented a different nature of Christ and should also be cultivated in our own lives.  Incidentally, we learn that each creature corresponds to a different gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Without using a cheat sheet, and just looking up the scriptures below, can you match them all up?

Revelation 4
Ezekiel 1
Numbers 2
Matthew 1:1
Mark 1:1-3
Luke 1:5
John 1:1-5

Reply via the blog page (not emailing me) so everybody can see how you did and I will post all the answers with some brief explanations in a few days.  If you can explain the gospel connections, you get extra points.

TRCradioVlog:Turning Hearts

JOB 1 - The Most Important Mission of the Church

JOB 1 - The Most Important Mission of the Church

Turning the hearts of the fathers toward the children and the hearts of the children toward the fathers in our own families and churches is paramount.

Not only was this the last message of the Old Testament, it was a warning. Unless this happened, a curse would come. But we are way past the days of believing in curses, right? Well at least curses over a whole land, right? First, no, we are not way past that at all, but really all it takes to be cursed is to have God stop blessing you for a bit. When God curses, it is not so much that He sends bad things as it is the cessation of His blessings.

In this instance, the blessing is tied to His presence. Ancient Israel constantly sought the Lord's presence as the highest blessing. But be careful to realize that this is not God giving us the cosmic silent treatment. We are the ones who push Him out of our presence.

I imagine it like this, I'm doing a project with my son and his friend comes and knocks on the door. He quickly bows out of the project to go play. I continue working on it, but it just isn't the same without him. Later though, he returns because his friend was being a bully and wants to reengage the project with me.

The reason our land (modern society) is cursed for the most part is the lack of real true father/child relationships. Not only have we found fathers to be wanting and absent, many who are present are abusive, manipulative, and selfish. They provoke and use their children rather than raise and teach them. Society also teaches our children to make their own decisions by using their own wisdom, their own morals, and their own agenda apart from any parental oversight; much less any patriarchal authority.

I recently learned of a teacher telling a little boy that they "should not listen to their dad at home...". Now, I get that this teacher was probably frustrated with something that the parent was teaching differently regarding what they were supposed to be payed to teach. However, my issue is with the fact that this child probably only heard, "don't listen to your dad".

The undermining of the authority of the parents, and the father in particular, is of no help to our society. In fact, it has taken us away from the presence of God and without Him, we are getting bullied around by the enemy.

So we must find a way to remedy this disease. Unless we can mend this critical relationship in our society, we will continue to unravel until there is little to no resemblance to what we were created to be as a people.

HOW?

I'll just list a few thoughts on remedy here and leave the rest to those of you who might comment, to come up with some more ideas on how we might facilitate the restoration of the paternal influence and the blessing of God's presence.

1. Prayer - Prayer, while severely misunderstood, is a most powerful weapon. Not only does prayer keep the issue at the forefront of our minds, it also establishes a thing in heaven in order to see it fulfilled here on the earth. Pray for this to become a reality for our world; that fathers everywhere would fall in love with being dad.

2. Kindness - This one approach, more than any other, will lead the generation of youth to repentance. It is the opposite provocation.

3. Respect - The young must learn to respect the authority and position of fatherhood and respond accordingly with honor and obedience. Learning this lesson actually relieves a lot of stress and pressure from a child.

Just these three things would revolutionize the nation. But what else might you suggest?

Please take a moment and post your own thoughts on how we might foster this removal of the curse.

Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

Duck!

No, I'm not talking about this amazing water bird that I just saw fly by.  This is what you say to someone you care about when something is coming toward their head that promises to knock them for a loop.  Now either I don't have anybody on my side or I did not hear the warning, because my head is spinning and I have no idea which way is up right now.

Lucky for you, I am on your side and I care about what might knock you for a loop.  So,...DUCK!

Or maybe brace yourself might be a better term.  The problem is, if someone had told me to duck, I would have, and then I would not be able to partake in this divine moment.  So, I take that "duck" back (let's roast it) and give you a, "get ready and brace yourself" instead.

WHY, David?

Let me spare you the prophetic dance that led up to this and just jump right to the point.

The Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi. That book (along with the rest of the minor prophets) is all about "repentance" and "restoration".  I learned that from one of my Pastors.  The last verse in Malachi is Chapter 4:6; it reads -

     "And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to 
      their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."

The "he" in that verse is John the Baptist who came in the spirit of Elijah the prophet who was a forerunner of Elisha's ministry.  Let me catch you up on what I just implied.  Elijah prefigured, or typed, John the Baptist and Elisha prefigured Jesus Christ.  This same scenario gets played out numerous times in the Old testament with different characters.  Here is the second layer though; John the Baptist prefigures the End-time Church and Jesus prefigures, well...Himself (His second coming or return).  We are called to walk in the spirit of Elijah just as John the Baptist did. 

HOW do we do this, David?

Well, let's take a peek at how John did his job.

     "Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying
     'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'  For this is the one referred to by Isaiah 
      the prophet..."
                                         - Matthew 3:1-3a

     "...he said to them, 'You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee the wrath to come?  Therefore,      
      bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say yourselves, 
     'We have Abraham for our father', for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise 
      up children to Abraham.  And the axe is already laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore 
      that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  As for me, I baptize you with 
      water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier that I, and i am not fit to remove 
      His sandals; He will baptize you with His Holy Spirit and fire.  and His winnowing fork is in 
      His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into 
      the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
                                          - Matthew 3:7b-12

First, his message is one of "repentance".  I pose the question, "Has the Church neglected her call to preach repentance?  I propose the answer that the Western Church has surely done this and replaced the message of repentance with a more palatable message of "feel bad" about your mistakes but don't forget how much God loves you anyway.  Don't get me wrong, God does love us all and grace is highly abusable, but "feel bad"?  No, "repent" means that we stop going in the direction we are headed and turn around.  Otherwise, the land is cursed.

Second, he sang the message that God was going to raise up children who would love Him and receive His love in return.  That, I believe, is us, but it is true also of Israel at some point in the future.  Another huge responsibility that we have thrown under the bus is that we are supposed to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem; that we are the ones who are supposed to be making Israel desire God more, not feel right about their decision to reject Him as Messiah. 

Third, He was also calling the religious leaders of the day to remember their duty to train those under their covering in righteousness and instruct them in the ways of God.  They had failed to do this correctly and were more interested in serving themselves than they were those who would be considered their spiritual children.

So, I make this one final drive here.  The Church has been called, on several fronts, to do one thing and one thing only.  The Church is to turn the hearts of the fathers back toward the children and the hearts of the children back toward the fathers. 

The three fronts:

1. All lost humanity back toward God (Globally)

2. Our own hearts back toward Israel and their hearts toward us (The Family of God)

3. The hearts of flesh and blood dads back toward their own children and the hearts of children back toward their own dads. (our own families)

I am convinced that this one mission in itself will remove the curse spoken of by Malachi and set us on a course of righteousness and unprecedented blessing.

Next posting, I hope to talk more about how we go about doing this in our own families first; then in later editions, the family of God and the rest of the world.

Bless You Tri-state,

David Warren

Changed

Changed.
That is pretty much what I was promised this lenten season as I entered in with what proved to be a pretty miserable 40 days (well, relative to a hangnail anyway). I gave up meat which was harder on my wife than it was me, but still fairly life altering as I had to be diligent about what I consumed. I wanted change to happen, but really just wanted to be a little stronger in my faith. More or less, I wanted something different to happen. I was showing up and I expected God to do the same.
As our pastor taught on lent and we prepared our hearts, I was asked to do a series of paintings for the church bulletins. I set about accomplishing those and immersed my heart and mind into the series and all that Passover and First-fruits were all about.
I learned again what my mother had taught me in Sunday School already, but my understanding was deeper. I learned that the ashes from ash Wednesday represented our mourning over our sins, that giving something up for lent had less to do with self-denial and more to do with self-death and allowing Jesus to be our life instead. The connection with Israel's 40 years of Manna started to make more sense to me.
I learned that Maundy Thursday's Passover Meal had less to do with what was on the doorposts of our homes and more to do with what was taking place deep within us.
I learned that Good Friday's darkness had less to do with shadows and shame but more to do with putting our swords away; forgiving those who would harm us.
I learned that the Saturday before Easter had less to do with hunting for eggs and more to do with hunting for what occurred during the last 40 days.
I learned that Easter Sunday had less to do with just an empty tomb with a woman crying in the garden and more to do with the resurrection of an entire people; that as the First-fruits, Jesus led the way out of death with a great laugh and asked, "Why are you weeping?"
As I steeped my life in the life of the Master these past 40 days, I was hoping for greater intimacy with Him, for a deep sense of His love for me and to express my love for Him. Being permeated by perfect love, I got more than I bargained for.
More or less,...
I have been changed.
Jesus Loves Evansville,
David Warren

Now is the time to open your eyes. Seek the Lord about what you are seeing. He is showing His Body marvelous things all of the time. Unfortunately, we often lack the eyes to see. This is also true of what we have been listening to. Just as God is always present, we are the ones who choose to enter into that presence or not. He has made the way for us and called us to Him, yet here we stay on this side of the veil.

Now is the time to open your eyes. Seek the Lord about what you are seeing. He is showing His Body marvelous things all of the time. Unfortunately, we often lack the eyes to see. This is also true of what we have been listening to. Just as God is always present, we are the ones who choose to enter into that presence or not. He has made the way for us and called us to Him, yet here we stay on this side of the veil.

However, in this season, let us focus on what He is showing us. Ask him to reveal to you what it means that you are seeing. It is time to move forward and to do that, we need vision.

Chuck Pierce shared at a recent MorningStar conference that God wants to reveal things to us much more than we want to receive them. The odds are in our favor, God desires to reveal, to speak, and to move among us. We are the only ones standing in the way.

A prayer for the entire Tri-state: "Lord, we see, but clear up out vision. We hear, but fine tune our ears. We know You are here, but help us embrace your presence."

Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

TRCradioVLOG: Seek Your Face

Here is a piece of original music.  We find ourselves in times of adversity and it times of increase, times of light and times of darkness, times in the valley and times in the mountain, times of weakness and times of strength; no matter the season, our only hope is found in Jesus Christ.  Seek Him first, His kingdom and His righteousness, and all of your needs will be met.

 Bless you Tri-state, Jesus is in you!

How Much?

There is a huge gulf between us and God.  While meditating on this truth this morning, it struck me that not only did Jesus Christ bridge this gap on our behalf, He did so with just one drop of His magnificent blood.  Such power!  Think on that.


To your right will be a solo player (just above the normal one) for the song that transpired after this morning's meditation on the greatness of Jesus Christ.

Bless you all,


David Warren
   

TRCradio))) V-log - Episode 3: Brought Near - Ephesians 2:13

TRCradio-Vlog-Epiosode 2: You Are a Work of Art

Winter Retreat Youth Poetry Worship

Lord of Heaven and earth
Rise me up beneath the dirt
Your live will save the way
For anyone who has a little faith
Jesus is the only one who can give you life
Not sex, not drugs, not even your wife
Yeah, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit
These three needed so let'em here it
Jesus saves, Don't be afraid
Don't run away, 'Cause Jesus saves
-anon

You came to this broken world to save me
Save me from this world
My name is written on Your wonderful hands
You came to purify my heart
To give me eternity with You
Now is my chance to go with your "forever"
To purify my heart
Make me whole
Only you can
Beautiful
Forever
You'll hold me together wherever I am
If I just believe in You, God
You're amazing and you love me
Bigger that the sun
Love, your daughter, (anon)

My love for Jesus is bigger than anything
He's my God, my father, my best friend
Mentor, Healer and Savior
He's a healer of pain and emotion
No other love could ever beat my love for Jesus
That's how special it is
He died for me, that's an amazing thing
His love for me and my love for Him are equally indescribable
-anon

Jesus Loves Evansville,

David Warren

Declaration Numero Quatro

We are destined to abandon our facades. Maintaining what is false in order to appear righteous before men is pointless.

Declaration #3

We must be like Jesus; not just in the likeness of His glory, but also in the likeness of His suffering.

Declaration No. 2

Passion alone will not set this world ablaze. There must also be application.

Declaration no. 1

The army is coming alive.