“Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.”
PS 46:10

It’s amazing what a difference a week can make. Last weekend, my daughter woke up to tremors and snow-like ash falling outside her window in the Philippines from a nearby volcano. Meanwhile, the coronavirus has erupted too, spewing panic like poisonous ash on unsuspecting populations. Masks have dawned overnight like sandbags amassed to keep back swollen rivers. Sadly, these masks may be more effective in hiding their fears than keeping nanometer-sized bugs away. Once teeming cities of millions in China have become like ghost towns. Young and old, rich and poor now huddle behind feeble defenses hoping the flu won’t pompeii its way towards them.

The “be still and know” psalm begins with a fear-filled description of waters roaring, of mountains shaking and being carried into the seas. It reads like yesterday’s newspaper, and yet breathes hope into these chaotic events. I found myself yearning to enter a time machine, propelled back to the feet of David. I have a few questions I’d like to pepper at him:
     * How could you be confident when a whole army is encamped around you? (PS 27:2,3)
     * How could you sleep when 10,000 enemies were ready to attack you? (PS 3:5,6)
     * Did you really worship the Lord when “the pangs of death surrounded you? (PS 18:4)
     * What was it like when angels chased your persecutors? (PS 35:5,6)
     * Did you actually hear God laugh when evil plots were being made against you? (PS 2:4)
In times like these, we need to rediscover, if not encounter, the God of David!

PS 46 provides us with some rich insights into David’s mindset. Verses 1-2 says we need not fear because God is both our REFUGE and our STRENGTH, and a VERY present help in times of trouble. That He is our refuge addresses God’s commitment to harbor us, which means sheltering us from all harm as well as consoling us at the same time. As my refuge, I can run into him and escape from impending danger and close the doors to stalking terrors. That He becomes our strength speaks to the work that He does not only for and around us, but deep inside, a work of grace that fortifies and dignifies the inner sanctum of heart and soul. He is both Architect and Interior Designer, making sure outside and inside reflect his might and glory. Beloved, let us press in to discover He is both, our refuge and our strength.

Then he says something that defies language. We know God is omnipresent. That means He is always here; in fact, He’s always there too. He’s always present, but apparently He is more present at some times than He is at others! There are occasions when He is not just here, he is VERY here, and not just there, but VERY there. I’ve heard it described as the “manifest presence” of God. Words frankly don’t do justice to this reality. The important thing to grasp is that when times get really, really messy and impossible, God just shows up in some really, really powerful and personal ways. Knowing this, you might find yourself praying something like this: God, I know you’re present, but this is one of those times where I need you to be VERY present. HELP! He won’t disappoint.

Then David shares a secret to his success. Anyone who has been there knows that unlike many of the great cities of the world, Jerusalem has no Seine, or Thames, or Yangtze running through it. And yet it never lacks for water because there is a boundless supply bubbling up through springs from the ground. David’s declaration is that in the same way rivers run unseen in abundance to make the city of God joyful, rivers of the Holy Spirit are also surging through us as His people, enabling us to experience rapturous joy at all times. Beloved, every believer has access to this fountain, even as Jesus so beautifully illustrated when he stood and cried out in Jerusalem on the great day of one of her feasts:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7: 37-38
If only we could grasp the richness of the resource we have by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us! Fill us Lord! Fill my spouse! Fill my pastor, my friends, my neighbors! Spring up O well!

The final key to overcoming paralysis in the face of catastrophe is found in the well-known verse, “Be still and know that I am God”. In confusing times, it can be a real struggle to get “still” (this of the irony of the exhortation in Hebrews 4:11 “strive to enter that rest”) . Quieting the voices of doubt and anxiety is hard work. Tuning out the loudspeakers of tension and trepidation is a battle. Rising above the atmosphere that permeates the scene of a disaster is akin to walking through teargas riddled streets unaffected. And yet the Word calls us to stillness. It can be done! We have the stories of those who have done it as proof. Despite the raging forces of man, nature, or the Devil around us, we can be still, and in that quiet place we can see and know that God has us in His hands, and that He will not forsake us. It is in stillness we hear His voice above the clatter. In quietness and trust, we not only enter a fortress, we become one for those around us.

So one of the greatest weapons we have in our arsenal to strike shock into the hearts of our enemies is peace. I call it the “calm bomb”. When the heathen rock and reel in disastrous times, we are securely planted on the Rock that’s real. It’s the ultimate magnet, a gold-star witness to the fact that not only our faith, but our God is trustworthy and true. The results are extraordinary. When the world is shaking, when sky-scratching mountains begin to crumble, and with them the mountains of government and entertainment, finance and commerce in which man have trusted, when the world stumbles, we who were once reproached find ourselves standing in the shadow of the Daniels and the Stephens, indeed of the Cross itself, with the Spirit of glory and of God resting on us (1 PT 4:14). When the darkness seems deepest, He manifests His glory and presence on and in us. And in ways we cannot imagine, our stillness causes our God and King to be “exalted among the nations”.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Heb 12:28 (NIV)

“His Name shall be called Immanuel, which is translated ‘God with us’.”    Matt 1:23

I have had the privilege to travel to nearly forty nations on five continents. I have seen the brilliance and courage of humanity; I have also seen depravity and wantonness. I have seen blind indifference giving rise to massive greed and indulgence; I have also seen radical obedience to the Unseen Kingdom overflowing in generosity and sacrifice for others. I have seen chasms of despair; I have witnessed quintessential expressions of hope. Negative forces are at work irrespective of stable and benevolent governments. Religious belief often acts as a ameliorating balm; though at times has brought more fear than our worst recurring nightmares.

Christmas time reminds us that history has been decorated by a Force for good, a Progenitor of peace. But it must not be merely wrapped in traditions or trimmed with pithy greetings and good cheer. Though these may be as strings of lights adorning our mundane musings and interactions, it isn’t long before they are unplugged and put deep into closets and attics in anticipation of another day.

When realities of loss and disappointment, attacks and disasters come, and come they will, we cannot summon gift-bearing Santas fast enough, nor will bows and ribbons hide the truth that not all gifts we are given in life are endearing. Happiness is elusive. Pleasures are fleeting. We are perpetually being stalked by something. My intent is not to convey pessimism; rather, I am painting with broad strokes of candor. While the stage we have entered may have a backdrop of contradictions and props laced with thorns and thistles, we are not mere spectators awaiting the thrill and suspense of a cornucopian climax. The simple, and only reason that signals this story’s tree-star has been hung and a light has burst forth to drown out all darkness is the entrance of the Star: the One we have all been waiting for, the One who will grace the stage and transform every tragedy into a sugar plum saga of Joy-to-the-world dance and song. He does not make a guest appearance. He is not a part of the climax, he incarnates it.

He is called Immanuel. More than a title, this name reveals mission and ultimate purpose. While the name Jesus addressed the need of man (“He will save us from our sins”), and Christ pointed to the fulfillment of the hopes of mankind to finally have a King to rule and bring peace, harmony, and justice, when the angel announced He would be called Immanuel, nothing could have described the deepest longings, passions, and desires of every man more accurately.

Haggai prophesied another name of Immanuel which captures this mystery so conclusively. As he illustrates the irresistible nature of His attraction, he writes:

“and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple (i.e. you and me) with glory.” Hag 2:7

Magis came afar from their palaces; shepherds came from among the lowly in nearby fields. Wherever I have gone among these many nations on multiple continents, I have discovered one thing which is common to all, which defines the quality of the existence of peoples from all tribes, tongues, and races. The cry in the heart of us all is not just for a God who solves my problems, or even who sits upon the throne over our worlds. More than a God “up there” who can deliver or preside, we long for the One who lives inside. We need more than help; we need companionship. We need more than a Savior; we need a Lover. At the most basic level, the very core of our being, we all need to know that God is with me, that He will not walk away when I am in trouble, that He will not leave me alone in my misery, my discouragements, or my defeats.

Whether we call him Immanuel, or the Desire of All Nations, may this message and reminder told year after year at Christmas be inked on your soul this New Year. My prayer? That “God with us” would truly and manifestly be “God with you”.

“The men of the city said to Elisha “…the water is bad, and the ground barren”…He went to the source of the water and cast salt there, and said…I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.”  2 KG 2:19-21

Healing the water of a city which had been making people sick, even causing some to die, was the first of sixteen miracles performed by the prophet Elisha. Many which followed were like it and have left me with a deep impression, rising in my spirit to become a cry: Lord, in our day, I want more than prophetic “words” or prophetic “acts”. What I long to see is a prophetic generation arise in the spirit of Elisha whose “prophesies” are more than words and were not merely symbolic. Lives will be saved. Hearts will be changed. Impossible and tragic situations will be solved. The kinds of challenges we face in this hour don’t need to be temporarily bandaged and mitigated. V. 22 says “the water remains healed to this day.” The Elisha affect is practical and permanent.

One of the keys to understanding Elisha is “he went to the source”. While it is noble and caring to go to the city and pray for all those who were sick and dying because of the accursed water, Elisha did something much better. He healed the water itself. If you were to ask all of those people who were writhing in pain or stricken with a high fever which they would prefer, to get deathly ill and be healed or to never have gotten sick in the first place, which do you think they would choose? Which do you prefer? God help us! I don’t want to only contend for people to be healed. I want to believe God for the wisdom, power, and authority to heal at the source.

In recent years I have seen glimpses of what God has in mind. Elisha did not just provide money for the widow when she and her son were in desperation. The oil that filled all the jars she had gathered met her financial need into the distant future. Beloved, we can do much better than just give people a handout. We are called to empower them to truly live, not just to stay alive. When my daughter shared with me her call to rescue women being trafficked and enslaved in the horrific sex trade, I told her that I believed the Lord would have her to pray about not just rescuing a few; but to expose and take down the systems which control this entire industry over regions. Church, in these last days, we simply have to do better. It could be compared to stopping a haul of a thousand tons of cocaine at a nation’s border to trying to arrest hundreds of distributers spread out across a sea of cities.

By contrast, I feel the Church is often engaged in tactics which are weak and largely ineffective. While we should certainly honor and celebrate effort, and sacrifice, the hour has come for us to ask God for keys to unlock mysteries, to unveil supernatural wisdom, to direct our steps and give us access to the root causes of pain and injustice. Why should we spend so much effort to catch a gecko by the tail only to have it grow back a short time later. The promise given to us as the sons of Adam is that we would be head crushers. We need a download of Heaven’s strategies and the kind of courage whereby all the false prophets of the enemy holding people captive and blind over regions are (Mount) “Carmelized” and denuded overnight.

Some of these agents of change will not just be “prophets”, but slingshot-yielding “kings”. I met two such men in a period of one week. One was a governor whom God had given practical ideas which were dramatically lifting the quality of life of the citizens of his “kingdom” so that the people of all faiths and backgrounds recognized and celebrated his historic accomplishments. Another was a member of a Prime Minister’s cabinet responsible for two government departments. His ideas were equally brilliant, based upon these words which I will never forget. He said “most Christian ministries only deal with the symptoms of problems, the fallout felt at the foot of mountains, but God has called us to take the mountains and rule from its summits.” Touché! Where are the Calebs in our day who will cry out: “give me this mountain”, upon which the Word says definitively, “then the land had rest from war” (Jos 14:12,15).

These are the kinds of prophetic acts which Joseph performed, feeding mighty Egypt, even the surrounding nations, during an otherwise hopeless drought that had affected the entire Middle East in his day. This is the kind of prophetic action so marvelously displayed through the ministry of Elisha who directed Israel’s army to “make this valley full of ditches” (2 KG 3:16) after traveling through the desert areas for seven days during which neither army nor animals had had any water to drink. This seemingly strange solution not only slaked the Israelite army’s and animals’ thirsts when water suddenly filled the valley, the enemy mistook the water for blood when the sunrise’s reflection in the valley was deep red. A great victory ensued over the panicked and confused Moabite army.

Join me, beloved, in crying out to God for a mighty revelation. As much as we need Spirit-directed prophecies and prophetic acts to be done in this hour, may the mantle which was on Elisha to bring true and lasting transformation also rest upon us who have been promised that “greater works than these” should yet be performed. May it result in enlightened prophetic acts which don’t just scratch the surface of the complex and overwhelming quandaries of our day. Father, put salt in our hands. Show us how to heal the waters of cruelty and destruction. Yes, Lord, take us to the source.

“The LORD will repay every man for his righteousness and his loyalty. I wasn’t willing to lift my hand against the LORD’s anointed, even though the LORD handed you over to me today.” 1 Sam 26:23

The high road is seldom traveled. The low road, however, has been made into a virtual highway with signs, lights, and guardrails. The alternative high trail can be easily overlooked, if not looked on with suspicion. Few trudge the slower, thorn-ridden way, now rumored to be bandit infested and crossed by wild beasts. It’s old-fashioned, and stands in stark contrast to the paved and popular low road, which in time winds lower, and lower.

David took the high road. His spear-flinging and giddy adversary was in his hands not once, but twice. His companions encouraged the son of Jesse to do him in. His commander stepped aside to give David the “honor” of slaying his crazed pursuer. Who among the crowds would have questioned him, or considered such an act unworthy? One. Yes, One. There is One who stands unseen among the crowds, Who watches, Who points the way upward. Who has bivouacked the high road before us. Who notices. Who repays.

David’s acts and words inspire me. In this hour of instant gratification, of anxiously groping for the approval of men (“likes”), the high road of integrity and honor has indeed become overgrown. Rumor mongers speak of treachery along its heights. Those who hold to ideals are smugly discarded as idealists. Those who promote standards of excellence, like Joseph of old, are sold as dreamers. Those who mimic “when they go low, we go high” slogans start so low that high is just a bit higher than low, which is, in fact, not really high at all. The smirking hyena seems high to the slithering, fork-tonged serpent. Neither knows anything of the currents propelling the soaring eagle miles above their sunken gazes.

As promised, David was repayed. Granted, he lived in caves and in exile year after year first. He was maligned, despised, betrayed. Security, comfort, even food and sleep became like words of a foreign language. Not days. Not weeks. Not months. Years. By grace, through trust, David did not abandon his hope that righteousness and loyalty was being recorded, and would be rewarded. When tempted, prodded, enticed and applauded to choose the low road, David flinched not and looked high.

Did Saul of Kish deserve retribution? Most definitely. Did Saul of Tarsus deserve restoration? Most definitely not. How does one unknot this paradox? It depends, with whose eyes do I judge or justify? When standing there stone in hand, Who is there to ask the most pertinent question of all: Which one is going to be the first to let theirs fly? When others threw low, David looked high, which meant actually that he did not throw at all. His eyes had become fixed on the bruised and bloody One whose Words advocate for all men, everywhere, at all times:

“let him who is without sin…”
“the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me…”
“forgive them, for they know not what they do…”

I have determined to stand by the way and search for the ancient paths. Though a thousand pass on my right and left and veer not from Broadway, sliding down to the lowlands, I have laden my pack with mountain gear, gritting my teeth to machete my way up to where the hinds are afoot upon the high road.

“God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places.” Hab 3:19

“What does the Lord require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him…to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statures which I command you today for your good.” Dt 10:12-13

Moses had been raised as royalty. He had received the best education the world in his day had to offer. He had had many face to face encounters with the Living God, some lasting for weeks on end. He had seen the power of God work through him in performing miracle after mind-boggling miracle. By his hand, a mighty deliverance was wrought to the children of Israel, culminating in the parting of the Red Sea and leaving a whole army of enemies dead in his wake. He had seen the miracle of manna, the provision of quails, the splitting of the rock to pour forth water to sustain more than two million people for nearly forty years in the Wilderness.

Now, standing on the very brink of the Promised Land, Moses performs one final act. He writes the book of Deuteronomy. The Hebrew meaning is 
“second law”, as the incident of the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai is repeated with details in its entirety. Nine times he uses the word “forget”, “remember” another fourteen. A full thirty-five times he exhorts them to “go in and possess the land” in accordance with the command of God. Moses was going to make sure God’s people knew exactly what He had planned for them, and what they needed to do.

This past week I returned to the land of my forefathers to hear the “words” of our “prophet” and “patriarch”, my own father who will soon go the way of Moses. Hour upon hour has been spent in reflection about the example, testimonies, character, and values that he is leaving behind. Our English word “legacy” derives from “lex”, the Latin word for law. As with Moses, a law, not just a written code, but a law representing a way to live, a pattern of how to conduct our affairs, how to be just, equitable must be passed down. Lest we forget. Lest we are tempted to lower standards. Lest we repeat the mistakes, or fail to access the accumulated wisdom of those who have gone before us. These are the days of my dad’s own deuteronomy. 

Joseph, the wisest of Jacob’s twelve sons, prioritized sitting at the feet of his dying father in those final hours. I’ve often wondered where the other boys were. He brought his two sons. Tell us the stories, grandpa. Did you really wrestle all night with the Angel of the Lord?! What was it like, gramp? And what did it feel like to hear God speak to you that night in Bethel, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father…the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants”? Does that really mean this land is ours?! Ephraim and Manasseh were being marked for life! We need to hear the promises repeated. We need to be reminded of battles won, sacrifices made. We need to know why. We need to be convinced, no…convicted, woke to our own place in this picture.

The New Testament quotes from Deuteronomy more than any other Old Testament book. It was Jesus’ most often quoted book as well. Moses tells us to transmit all the laws, tales, warnings, and prophesies to our children, and grandchildren. He instructs us to be diligent to talk about them inside our homes and out, when we lie down and rise up. We are to write them on the doorposts of our homes, and on the gates of our cities, to “beware, lest you forget…” (Dt 6:12).

When Moses commanded us to be DILIGENT about these things, he must have known that most of us would not naturally be fervent about such a task. I have just finished a book by Sen. Joe Lieberman called “The Gift of Rest” about the Sabbath. A practicing Jew who walked home from the Capitol and turned off his cell phone and computer on the Sabbath, he convincingly portrays the keeping the Sabbath holy as a great blessing. The entire day is giving over to reflection, of ceremonies and songs which remind the Jews of God’s faithfulness to them through the centuries. From his own account, his diligence has been richly rewarded.

And that, beloved, is how it should be. It is as it was designed to be. In our day, should we really be surprised that our children disobey the Ten Commandments when they don’t even know them? When we or they are bear the consequences of our ignorance, or forgetfulness about the things God has spoken to us, whom can we blame but our own lack of focused, intentional, and regular repeating and recalling of our own stories.

Maybe we have become casual about the benefits of the law. I’ve driven in many nations where the laws governing how we drive, how fast, which lane, when and where to pass, or reverse, or turn, are taken as mere suggestions. Contrary to common, modern belief, the absence of laws is NOT freedom. It leads to confusion, and chaos–to accidents, pain and loss. God has not given us His laws for His benefit, but for ours. Lest we forget. Lest our society forgets, or our children, we need to announce that the laws of God are given for our good. As David’s timeless revelation says:

“The law of the Lord is perfect,
     converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure,
     making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right,
     rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
     enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean,
     enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true
     and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
     Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Ps 19:7-10

“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16-17

In March, I wrote Part 1 of “As the World Turns”. My message focused on the first two “turnings” indicated in this prophesy spoken to Zecharias about his son, John the Baptist. The third turning is the least understood and yet will be the most exciting of all. While the first two turnings reference Israel, and then the Church, the third phase will impact the entirety of God’s creation. Literally, the “disobedient” are going to be made ready to meet their captivating and merciful Maker. The word disobedient (Gr. apeithes) used here is also translated rebellious, and means unable to be persuaded. The picture you get is that even those who are the most calcitrant, hardened, and stubborn will undergo a complete and radical transformation, compelled to turn their hearts completely over to God their Savior. These words prophesy of a mighty day of harvest which will gather in the multitudes of humanity just before the appearing of Jesus from heaven. Wow!

These verses reveal more than just the fact of a mighty revival. They give us a clue into the means by which this outpouring comes. How does God get the attention of these “disobedient” masses? Certainly His miraculous works on behalf of his covenant people Israel will play an important role. When the whole world seems set in array against them, and yet they survive, and thrive, and finally turn their hearts to their longed-for Messiah, many will be awestruck. The same God who led His people out of Egypt, whose story is still being told 3500 years later, has said to Israel “you will be my witnesses” yet again (Isaiah 43).

Then God is going to pour out His Spirit in an unprecedented way upon His sons and daughters. This time, the manifestation will not be local, or regional, but global. Rochester, NY in the days of Finney, and the nation of Wales in the days of Evan Roberts were but a foretaste of what God will do among all the nations (panta ta ethne, MT 28:19) in the last days. The beautiful Bride of Christ will come into her fulness. Her authority will be without equal. Signs and wonders will be done by old and young in the days prophesied by Zechariah when “the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David” (12:8).

Yes, God will have mercy upon His covenant people, the Jews. And yes, He will copiously pour out His precious Spirit upon all those who call upon His name. But there is yet another key which the angel gave to us to unlock the rebellious in the last days. Gabriel calls it “the wisdom of the just”. What exactly does this mean?

I don’t pretend to have the whole picture of what this verse is unleashing, but I believe the prime target for God’s wisdom is the marketplace. Beloved, think of it this way. The “rebellious” have been fed their versions of “reality”. The “wisdom” of this world, in its attempt to exclude God and discredit God’s Word, ultimately leaves people lost, confused, bereft, and angry. The more aggressively peoples across the earth pursue the agendas and promises of dark and narcissistic rulers, the more perplexed they become. Rattled rebels will come running to a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. Bound and broken peoples will yearn for an escape from a crooked and perverse generation. Suddenly, they’ll come streaming out of the shadows as the Morning Star rises in their hearts (2 Pet 1:19).

The ways of the just are good! Consider the words of David:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.”
Psalm 19:7-8

Get ahold of this! God is going to make a distinction in the last days. Men and women with David-like courage will do great exploits. People who carry Joseph-like anointings will again find solutions to complex problems “in order to preserve the lives of many people” (Gen 50:20). Daniel-like visionaries will interpret mysteries which will attract the visionless, opening the eyes of modern-day Nebuchadnezzars to “praise and extol and honor the King of heaven” (Dan 4:37). When God says the disobedient will turn to the wisdom of the just, then we have to believe that in that hour God is going to grant us a wisdom which so exceeds what we can know by learning or experience. This wisdom is not like some Green New Deal, lofty notions like castles in the sky to which there is no elevator. The answers God downloads are compassionate and pragmatic, solutions which achieve the elusive aspirations of equality and justice for neighborhoods, communities, and nations.

Just when we don’t think it could become any darker, glory will shine upon the children of God. The whole of creation is beginning to groan in earnest expectation for the revealing of the sons of God (IS 60:1-2; Rom 8:19). God is raising up a just people who will exhibit extraordinary wisdom in our day. I wanna be right in the center or it all, as the world turns.

The Double Portion

“Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 2 Kings 2:9

Being the father of seven kids, I have put a certain question to the test more times than I can count, and I can confidently say the answer has always been swiftly, resolutely, consistently, and enthusiastically the same. Maybe you have had a similar experience in your household when you break out a tub of ice cream. “Hey kids, do you want one scoop or two?” I never recall even once when any one of my children answered, saying he or she only wanted one scoop. I mean let’s be practical, why would you want less of a good thing?!

Elisha was smart. When Elijah called him to follow, he sprung into action. He quickly sacrificed the pair of oxen he was pushing, converting the plow into firewood, then announced at the ensuing community BBQ his decision to leave everything behind to serve the man of God. As he witnessed first hand the miracles, the accuracy of the prophesies, the impact Elijah had left on cities and towns, when finally Elijah brought the ice cream out, this was not time to be shy or feign false humility. Elisha was up for it: “give me two scoops, O man of God!!!”

Some of us may have been influenced by our own fathers, or by some wrong teaching along the way, but the first thing we have to embrace is that God is not stingy. He is not only well supplied, He is extremely generous with all that is His. Jesus was not just telling a one-off story: God always has a robe, sandals, a ring, a feast, and a big kiss waiting any of us who turn back to him. Even when we are filthy and smell to high heaven. Even when we’ve been an embarrassment. Even when we’ve totally squandered good things already given to us.

While God is never stingy, it is just as important to note that He is also not random. God is never indiscriminate. He is ever purposeful, ever alert, ever the Gentleman. He doesn’t lower His standards to suit us. He doesn’t respond to pettiness or performance. He can never be accused of sloppy agape. His grace is not like a smorgasbord, although there has been an aggressive attempt by attention grabbing preachers to give flashy portrayals otherwise. There were a lot of prophets trained by Elijah, but scripture does not record him asking any except for Elisha the question “what can I do for you?”

It turns out Elijah, and God, had been watching Elisha for a while. His response to Elijah even touching him with the mantle that carried the precious anointing was impressive. He was all in. But more than willingness, 1 Kg 19 ends with the words “then he arose…and became his servant.” To be sure, our attitudes too are constantly surveilled by the seven eyes of the seven Spirits of God. Would Elisha use the anointing for God’s purpose alone? Did he have a hidden agenda? Was he looking for glory, to be recognized, or legitimacy? Would he persevere, or was he only caught up in the thrill of the moment? It was only after a rigorous testing of Elisha’s resolve to stick with Elijah at all times, at all costs, that the mantle would be passed to him.

So as we realize God is not stingy, we will spontaneously come to him boldly to ask blessings from His hand. When we recognize God is not random, but responded to Elisha because of things Elisha was doing to prove and pique his interest, or qualify him as one who would persevere and faithfully steward God’s good gifts, we are sobered. This in turn causes us to press in to God, making our hearts pregnant with expectancy. Our eyes become fixed on Him, watching to see if He will rise and move towards the kitchen, open the freezer door, and pull out a tub of the goods.

But before our mouths water, there is one final and important lesson for us here. It seems the designation of “double portion” is tied to more than just eagerness, or faithfulness, or even tenacity. The term applies to an inheritance passed on to the first born son. It is not just more, it is better. It does not signify just quantity, but quality as well. Whereas those who were from the schools of the prophets undoubtedly learned from one of the best teachers in the history of Israel, the fact that a dramatic change was taking place in Elisha, that a promotion was being offered, that a distinction was being made, is unveiled in those breath-taking moments as Elijah was being swept up to heaven in a whirlwind by chariots of fire. Just before ripping his clothes open in emotional anguish, scripture testifies that:

“Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ‘My father, my father!’” 2 Kings 2:12

I missed this truth until recently, but Elisha had become a son; and being a son, he had qualified to inherit a double portion. And this, I am realizing, is at the heart of something God is saying to us at this hour, even as we approach the sunset of history. God is restoring a depth of relationship, a bond of fellowship, that existed in the earliest days of the church, but which has been dormant, and door-matted, for much of the past two millennia. This work of restoration is meant to reconnect spiritual fathers and mothers with spiritual sons and daughters. It reflects a deepening and desperate cry in the hearts of many for authenticity, accountability, and a true transfer of authority and power. It recognizes there was a time in the early church when giants like the Apostle Paul talked not of staff and co-workers, but of sons.

That God intended to highlight the story of Elijah and Elisha to become a call to the church in the last days is clear when we look at Malachi 4:5,6. An identifying characteristic of the last days is that hearts of fathers will be turned to their children, and children to their fathers. A healing will take place, an embrace, which will recover the highest possible standards of love and respect between generations. In this context, visions are carried on, legacies are made, and mantles are laid down, only to be picked up again with “double portion” potential.

So what is the sign of these things? Malachi says “I will send you Elijah”. In other words, God is going to raise up people who, like Elijah, will take the call to become spiritual fathers seriously. Elijah was in a cave, hungry for a word from God, when he heard a still small voice say three things to him he would do as the crowning events in the days he still had left on earth. He would anoint two kings, Hazael of Syria, and Jehu of Israel, and he would anoint Elisha as prophet in his place. The very next thing Elijah did when God finished speaking was go find Elisha. God had turned his heart towards a son. Raising up a successor, no, more than a successor, an heir, became his highest priority. That Elisha cried, “My father, my father” as Elijah was taken showed his heart had turned too.

Beloved, I can say with complete confidence that the transfer of a double portion anointing was not meant to be a one time thing. God did it then, and He is doing it again. God raised up Elijah to bring forth a powerful son who would perform twice the number of miracles he had done then, and now He is doing it again. As God restores this truth to His Church in these last days, are you hearing the still small voice? When you read this message, will the first thing you do be to go find your Elisha? Or maybe you are plowing in your field, yet readying your heart to lay it down at a moment’s notice upon hearing the voice of a father calling out to you to follow. Whether to become a spiritual father, mother, son, or daughter, God is restoring His design, and disbursing great grace and power to those who will yearn for a return to this blessed order. Join me and the many others who are awakening to this mightiest of all plans to raise up a generation which will truly possess God’s double portion.

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
We mourned to you, and you did not lament.” MT 11:17

Jesus spoke these words about a generation that had become numb. Imagine a hungry lion yawning before a freshly killed chunk of meat; or a panda becoming disinterested in bamboo. These portraits are unnatural, aberrant. Only a tamed, pathetic people could become so plasticized, soulless. I watched a clip in horror one day of a scene from a park in Connecticut where scores of people, men and women, old and young, rich and ragged, lay motionless on the ground and on benches. Police and medics responding to this apocalyptic event shook and rolled the lifeless in an attempt to revive these who had been drugged into oblivion by laced opioids. These are just a few pictures of what we are shockingly becoming. Jesus had warned us it would happen:

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold…” Matt 24:12

So how do we vaccinate our hearts against this petrifying pandemic? In a day when social media clutters our minds with exhaustive images and posts of painful and horrendous tales, how do we keep and insulate our spirits from contamination and Novocaine jabs? How do we stay tender, and cultivate compassion? How do we turn tragedy and travesty into trajectory and triumph?

Acts 8:1-8 gives us a model response. Stephen had been stoned to death, and violent persecution was unleashed against the fledgeling church in Jerusalem. Saul was making havoc of the church, dragging men and women out of their homes and committing them to prison. When this flute began to play, the believers danced. Identifying with unflappable Stephen, throwing caution to the wind, devout men dove into the fray. Removing each guilty rock, lifting his bloody and broken body upon their strained and stained shoulders, they carried this firebrand to his tomb. We need this personal touch in an increasingly impersonal generation. Feeling begins with touching, and I don’t mean the keys of your computer. We must not be hoodwinked by Satan’s DEVICES. Interacting with people—godly, burning people, is like water on my clay-heart spinning on the wheel of our fast and furious generation. Water, like the Word splashing over me, keeps me able to be shaped and formed in His hand, in which I am kept forever warm.

Burial is digging, and dirging. And so these disciples “made great lamentation over him.” Jesus said if you want to be blessed, you must learn how to mourn. It’s probably been a while since you heard a sermon about this, but His mercies are fresh not just at the start every day but every mourning too. Mourning is a part of healing. Mourning is reflection, which inspires and invokes the perspective of Eternity. President Trump rightly walked the beaches once soaked with the blood of our nation’s young soldiers in commemorating D-Day’s 75th anniversary earlier this month. As Queen Elizabeth so aptly spoke, “the heroism, courage, and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten.” If we are to be a people who will not relent, we must take the time to greatly lament. The stories of those who have gone before are written on the recesses of our hearts with the pens of remembrance and honor.

Undeterred, the believers who had been bloodied and burdened, now badgered, scattered like pregnant seedlings into the soil of unreached towns and villages, sprouting flowers of healing and joy wherever they went. As the limb-littered shorelines of Normandy and Omaha brought liberty songs in their wake, so too these soldiers of the cross brought freedom’s praise to Judea and Samaria. May we resolutely commemorate and emulate all those who have paid a price to make Him known. In the spirit of D-Day celebrations, may we never, ever, forget.

“So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and LOT went with him.” Gen 12:4

When Abram left to find the Promised Land, he was old (75 yrs), and without an heir. He decided to take Lot with him, son of Abram’s brother who had passed away. God used Lot in Abram’s life to test him, to see whether or not he would have what it would take to raise his own son to become true heir of the covenant. It’s a fascinating study on having a father’s heart.

First of all, Abram clearly was a man of vision. One of the tactics of the enemy in our day is to keep us from thinking generationally. Families are no longer a place to raise sons and daughters to carry on our names, traditions, businesses, and wealth. We don’t need sons to share the burden of bringing in the harvest or do the chores. Dishwashers, laundry machines, dryers, and modern conveniences mean less hands are needed to manage a household. We don’t spend months chopping and splitting wood to heat our houses; we just adjust the thermostat! We could easily conclude we really don’t need family anymore. Many in the media, and academia concur. So it’s common for couples to marry today and not plan to have any children. Dogs are easier, and less expensive.

But let’s face it, it’s pretty hard to build a legacy with a German Shepherd. It’s also futile to leave your inheritance to a Siamese. It would be nice to never grow old, but since there’s never been anyone in history who has gotten younger, I think it’s likely that each one of us may become frail and need more than a lap poodle to give us a hand now and then as we age. Modernization and urbanization may have duped us into thinking families are redundant. But that is unequivocally and practically not true. Grasping that requires us to move beyond a culture which screams instant gratification to us through all its various megaphones. As it was for Abram, it begins for each of us with a vision.

God was with Abram, and it wasn’t long before his ten camels were a hundred; his hundred sheep soon became a thousand. As his wealth grew, as his possessions multiplied, he needed hundreds of servants to raise the crops and care for the animals. He had to build homes and shelters, and things needed to be repaired. All of this was supported by a busy kitchen and laundry department. Lot became wealthy too, and it was only a matter of time before prosperity would lead to change, which in their case meant putting some distance between them to allow room for each to continue to grow. As tensions built, Abram wisely sat Lot down for “one of those talks”. Then he motioned to Lot to follow him, ascending to the highest vista he could find. Directing Lot to “lift his eyes”, Abram then said something astonishing to his nephew: look as far as your eye can see, and take whatever place your heart desires. I want you to have the best. It’s yours. Be blessed!

Test passed. A true father is one who invests in his sons and daughters. When he builds, he builds with them in mind. When he moves, or plants, he does so with an eye to the future. By right, Abram was the older man. Lot prospered because Abram had prospered. Abram had every right to choose the best for himself. That is what most of us would do; indeed it is what most of us are doing. But the man through whom God would plan to entrust the promise that through his seed, his family, all the families of the earth would be blessed, this man needed to have a true father’s heart.

Abram invested in, put his hope and trust in, empowered, the next generation. Will you?