notes from lisa...

 The Presidential Election is less than two weeks away--the campaign has been a long, hard road--vicious and nasty, too. It seemed to uncover some unhealed wounds, making them ooze and run even though many either thought or (falsely and knowingly) insisted they were completely healed. Race in America is a tough nut to crack. It looms largely over us--even Christians, and we just won't have an open dialogue about it; instead, we deny that it is a factor in our elective process and our relationships with one another. However, it clearly IS a real factor. The proof is most evident on Sunday morning when most of us gather (Christians, that is) for worship--blacks in predominately black churches with one style and flavor of worship; caucasians with another; latinos with yet another, and the list goes on. We could argue for language barriers with many, but not among African-Americans and Whites. It is a choice to be separate. In fact, around the turn of the century, at Azuza (the gr...

" And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."   [Deuteronomy 28:13,14] That does appear to be a promise to us that God will give us whatever we want, as long as we serve Him, doesn't it? Simple. Remember, though that " ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living;" [2 Timothy 3:16 CJB]. We can't isolate one or two verses, EVER. Deuteronomy 28, admittedly, puzzled me, when I considered the whole of Scripture which appeared to go against the seemingly "Name It, Claim It" wording of this chapter. I no ...

Of course, they shouldn't be in competition, but certainly one is more important than the other, at least in God's eye. The offertory should never outlast the altar call, or surpass it in importance or attention. But, it does . Too often, in churches across our nations, we will spend nearly an hour (and sometimes more) receiving (and I have to use that word loosely) an offering, but only minutes--a few, "travailing" for souls during the altar call. I wonder how often--and how many, souls were on the verge of making that all important decision, only for that opportunity to be taken away so that we could move on to more important matters--you know, like receiving a "love offering" for the speaker. Please understand me, there is nothing wrong with receiving an offering--it is necessary, but it shouldn't take precedence over eternal matters of the heart. In a lot of our churches, offering is the longest portion of the worship service. Something is w...

The 11th chapter of the Book of Hebrews lists what we commonly call the Faith Hall of Fame. It chronicles those in the Old Testament, before or under the Old Covenant (The Mosaic Law) who held onto their faith against the odds. They faced extreme challenges--and not everyone was named according to verse 32, but their faith was counted to them as righteousness (Romans 4:3). Often, in the midst of suffering and trials, we want to know, "Why?" We especially ask this question if we have served God to the best of our ability according to all that we know, given our substance, shared our gifts and talents within the Body of Christ only to find ourselves persecuted, mocked, struggling, sick or suffering loss. We have been told over and over that if we have faith, God will always deliver us from these things--in fact, many have said they will not happen to the child of God who has faith. I'm not sure where that leaves this "great cloud of witnesses" [Hebrews 12:1]...

There has to be a difference. Clearly, none of us is instantly perfect at the moment we receive the New Birth, but there must still be something radically different about us--I mean, people should know that something happened. We should be different . Consider that when we are reborn we (come not only in contact with, but) we actually receive a new and divine nature-- God comes in and takes residence in us. That has to create an amazing metamorphosis in otherwise mere mortals. Songs say, "I looked at my hands (feet) and they looked new"--well, no, not really; but if we could see our souls at that moment, imagine the darkest soul changed into the glory of purity--at once. I remember the movie, The Color Purple when Celie arrived at her new--and unkempt home, plastered with filth. As she began to clean, with hard work under the filth was revealed light walls with floral patterns--that just before were coated with thick, black muck--and no hint of that beauty. I guess that...

When those of us who are “born again” speak of “knowing Him” what is it that we mean? What does it really mean to know Him? I had a moment this morning, as I awakened with thoughts of Him; my spirit and my mind spoke those words (as Paul did), I want to know You, Lord, realizing that knowledge of Him entails more than just a cursory familiarity, but an in-depth embrace of the power of His resurrection—and, the fellowship of His suffering. My mind went to marriage—in the earthly sense. No marriage can be successful where either or both parties is satisfied with a surface relationship, that simply has an appearance of love and affection, but it has to be worked on, developed and matured—with patience and endurance. It won’t happen overnight, it takes time, and study of the other individual’s differences, needs and what makes them tick, and also what brings them joy . It is the same with our relationship with Jesus Christ—that is why the Church is so oft referred to as the B...

 " Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout , saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!"  Mark 10:46,47 AMP Jesus had been in Capernaum dealing with the super-religious and the rich. Maybe, He wanted a break from that type before He faced His "Jerusalem experience". He knew what awaited Him in Jerusalem (Mark 10:33,34), and maybe He wanted one more breath of fresh air that didn't contain ritual, a facade of religiosity, pomp and superiority. You see, Jericho is out of the way when going from Capernaum to Jerusalem. It made the trip longer--and more treacherous; that road from Jericho to Jerusalem (where he met Bartimaeus) was filled with bandits and violence. It wasn't the nice part of town--it's the place that Jesus spoke of...