When Religion Kills

Not long ago I happened to meet a young woman who used to attend the church where I pastor. I was having coffee with 2 friends of mine and one of them who is a member of my church introduced me to this young lady and told me that she had grown up in our church. I invited her to come during and our revival and she indicated that she might do that. I had not seen her since then, but I saw her again today and I invited her to come try our church. Her words were polite, yet sharp as she said to me, "I've not been to church since I was twelve. I'm not buying what you are selling. Thank you, but I am just not interested." Flames shot from her eyes as she said these words. I know that look. It is the look of one who has been suffocated and ripped to peices and I know short of a miracle from the Lord, I will never have the opportunity to share my heart with her. I have no idea what she has been through or where life has taken her, but I feel nothing but love for this young lady. The sad truth is she has rejected "what I am selling" without ever knowing what it is that I am offering. You see, I am not interested in "selling" her anything, but rather I want to introduce her to LIFE and life more abundantly. I frankly don't care if she ever set foot in my church, so long as she meets Jesus. Not the stern faced Jesus that so many have been taught, but the Jesus with eyes of mercy and a smile on his face that offers freedom, not bondage. Again, I don't know where she has been or what road she has been down, but the Holy Spirit impressed on me that she was in a very religious home and religion failed her and that family and it was broken. I have no idea if she happens to read my blog, but I am praying that somehow she does or someone tells her about this and she reads, because I want her to know that there is a crazy preacher who is praying for her and asking the Holy Spirit to break through and to let her know that Jesus has never failed her. Her family, the church and religion may have failed, but Jesus never fails! Listen girl (and anyone else who is reading) you don't need religion, there's nothing to it anyway. Religion is not of God, but a tool of Satan to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus came to give you LIFE... abundant life! A life filled with joy, peace and strength!


Those of you who read the Dawghowse who are enjoying the life in Christ, I am asking you to pray with me for this young woman. I will not share her name here, that would be inappropriate. But God knows who she is and I am asking you to join me in prayer that love will break through the shell of protection that she has built around her. I may not have her ear, but I know a God who can break through!

Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life

I just recently felt compelled to pull this book off of the shelf and re-read it. As I was reading today I was reminded of this blog entry from over 3 years ago and I decided to repost it with a couple of slight edits. If you've never read the book, I highly recommend it. Be warned, he is not a Christian and he quotes non-Christians and even bashes on us a bit, but in between there is some great material and advice!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life

I know that there will be people upset that a Pastor would promote this book and espouse these views, but Larry Winget has hit the ball out of the ball park with this book!
Of course, you can apply everything he says here to people in every walk of life, but man, would I love to tell some church folks to "Shut up, stop whining and get a life!"

Winget trademarks himself, not as a "motivational speaker" but rather as an "Irrational Speaker." He says, "We only make changes in our life when we no longer feel good about ourselves. We only make changes in our lives when we get uncomfortable with ourselves." He says that one of the biggest problems in America is that we, as a people, do not take responsibility for ourselves or our own actions anymore, but rather we are proficient at playing the blame game. He confronts those who are preaching for people to just feel good about themselves the way they are and to have a good attitude and says "that is a load of crap."
He says that what we need to be telling people is that they need to take a look in the mirror, look themselves dead in the eye and say, "This is my fault. I did it. I made these choices, I'm the one to blame and it is up to me to change and no one else."
Wow... what a novel idea! Taking responsibility for our own actions!
Who would have ever thought about that one?

Winget says that "we live in a society that condones a lack of personal responsibility."
He says that if we stood our ground and made people live up to what they say they are going to do, we would all be better off. But he adds that we just will not do that, and instead we make excuses that allow people to break their promises and blame someone or something else for it, and somehow hope that things get better. He speaks of how we build support groups to tell one another that it is not our fault that we don't live up to our word.

As I am hearing what Winget says, I find myself thinking, "This is EXACTLY the problem in our churches today as well!" In the church, when someone breaks their word, doesn't get their way, or in some other way shirks their responsibility, they will immediately find a circle of friends to rally around them, start accusing the pastor of letting them down, or of not caring enough (Whine, whine, feel my pain, join me as I sing this refrain) and as a group then they stir up and muddy the waters to cover their own lack of responsibility!

Hey, news flash! If it takes Pastor calling you every time you miss church for you to come back to church again... that is not Pastor's problem.. that is yours, and the truth is you are not serving God at all, but rather you want some one to excuse your lack of responsibility and tell you that you are OK, when you know good and well you are not!

Another simple, yet profound thing Winget says is, "While what happens to you may not be your fault, how you react to it is your fault." I don't know a single person who has not had something bad happen to them, even who did not have something happen in the church that they did not like or agree with 100%. That is not a reason to go running and circling the wagons until you get your way. The fact is, seldom does everyone in the church agree 100% on everything. Sometimes we just have to realize "It's not about me, and I cannot always get my way" and move on! End of story!

He also says, if you see a problem, instead of whining and complaining about it, do something to change it. Talking about problems to other people without trying to change it accomplishes nothing but trouble and discord. He adds, "If you are not going to do anything construes to change the problem, then shut your mouth about it." The point is, if you don't care enough to try to effect change in a positive way, then you have lost the right to open your mouth about it. "Shut up, stop whining and get a life!"

Another he says that I just love is that when you see that you are not taking responsibility for your own actions and you know you need to change, then the way to do it... (are you ready for this?) Is to change.
He says, you don't need a list of steps of how to change... just change.
Stop acting selfishly.
Stop doing what you know is wrong.
Wow! Another novel idea!

People Never Cease to Amaze Me

It's happening again. Last Sunday there were a few people who approached me after the worship service to tell me, they "felt led" to leave our church and start attending another. If someone truly feels that way, then I have no problem with it, so long as they just go. But it never happens that way. They can stand and look you in the eye and tell you that they have no problem with you or your church, but that God is leading them... but then they start trying to lead the sheep of your fold astray, to take them with them to the church that THEY felt led to go to. That's when they start to do what I call "circling the wagons." What's that? That is where you find as many people as you can to join your side. It's kind of like in the old cowboy and Indian movies where they covered wagons would make a circle to make their defense. The only difference is that in this scenario they go on the offense, trying to take as many with them into their circle, because everyone knows that the more you have in your circle, it proves you are in the right.

Somehow, I just don't believe God is ever in that. If God leads you, then go, and keep your tongue in check. When you start running your mouth and trying to take others with you then you have just crossed into the realm of sowing seeds of discord, and that, according to the Word of God is an abomination before the Lord.
You'd think that after all the years I've been in the ministry I would be used to it, but I don't think you ever get used to people and their betrayal. Yeah, it is betrayal. You pour into the lives of people for years, only to have them try to destroy your ministry as they go. I know it won't work. I've been through it enough times over the years that I know we will not only survive, but we will grow through this. What bothers me deeply is that every time this happens, innocent people are hurt deeply. Usually it is the ones whom they persuade to follow after them to their new destination. The church they leave is poisoned in their mind by those who bad mouthed the church and the pastor, so they can never go back. Or, they feel guilty for leaving, so they can never go back. And the sad truth is, those that left this church will eventually leave the next, and the next, and the next... leaving behind badly wounded sheep as a telling tale of their legacy, and these wounded sheep are often destroyed spiritually because of all of this. It makes me sick, and I am sure it sickens the Lord as well.

I will say it again. If God leads you to do something, then do it, but don't drag others into what God is telling you to do just to prove what a great thing you are doing. When you drag others around from place to place, you leave wounds in both them, the church you left and even in the church you are dragging them into.

Oh my!

Are You F.A.T.?

Matthew 24: 45 - 51 speaks of two servants: one who is faithful and wise and one who is unfaithful and slothful. To the one who is faithful and wise; there are great rewards. To the other; there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Something tells me that if we would have been able to speak to the unfaithful one, he would have thought that there was nothing wrong and that there was plenty of time to set things right if it wasn’t right.

Proverbs 20:6 says: Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

The faithful and wise would just keep on doing what was required. You see that is the key to being used of God. To be a faithful servant God is looking for us to be Faithful, Available, and Teachable... F.A.T.

Does this describe you? The Disciples were FAT, Paul was FAT, are you F A T?

Are you faithful? God is looking for, longing for those who are faithful.

God is faithful to us. In Deuteronomy 7:9 the Word of God says, "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations."

So the question is, Are we faithful? I mean, REALLY faithful. Can God count on us to always be there, dependable and trustworthy? His desire is for us to be what he describes in 1 Samuel 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

Are we faithful to His Word? Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. This is not just for the preacher, but for all of us who are under the blood.

Are we faithful in His service? Remember the parable of the talents? To the one who was faithful and used his talents the Master said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

Are You Available?
We need to ask ourselves, "Are we available to be used of God?"

How many of us have used something besides a hammer to drive a nail? We all have. Why? It was handy. So, the question is, "Are you handy to God?" We often think that God has to use the "professional" minister, but God has a calling and a use for all of us if we will only make ourselves available. In 1 Samuel 3:10 "And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant hears."
Are we available to be used of God?

Remember in Isaiah 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." We need to learn to make ourselves available.

The last point or question is "Are You Teachable?"

A funny thing has happened in the Body of Christ. There are always those who are rising up who feel it is there job to tell the preacher what he ought to be preaching. They feel like they have a better understanding of God than anyone else. Many in the church have become "spiritual know it alls." What is a spiritual know it all? It is someone who does not need to be taught. Or maybe it would be better to say someone who refuses to be taught. Someone who has such insight and knowledge that they are above everyone else and too mature to learn new things.


A question that we need to ask ourselves is are we grasping the teaching? Paul warned that in the last days there would be a people who are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." We are living in that day.


We must be teachable so that we can teach. Another characteristic of the last days church is that everyone wants to soak it in, but not give out. Try finding teachers, kids church workers, or those to teach in a nursing home. They are few and far in-between. No one wants to leave the sanctuary and go teach. The writer of Hebrews said, in 5:12 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat."


So, look in the spiritual mirror today and ask yourself this question: Am I FAT?
If we want to be used of God we must be.
Are you Faithful, Available and Teachable? It takes all three to be F.A.T.

Don't Let Satan Steal Your Fries!

John 10:10 "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

It's been a great week in Galesburg and at Harvest Church. We've seen several people saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, many people healed, and heard testimonies of how God is doing wonders in marriage and in the finances of God's people. And just the way it always goes, when people begin to obey God, satan rears up and tries to divert the attention from what God is doing. Rather than get upset, I choose to rejoice because it speaks to me that something we are doing is right because we have drawn the attention of the enemy. That just stirs something in me and tells me to go for it with all I've got!

I preached a message yesterday about not letting satan steal your dreams. In response to this, someone sent me an email this morning with the following story in it:

Our church has a catch phrase that we use to encourage one another, "Don't let Satan have your fries." We all know what it means, but let me explain it to those of you who do not. Some time back there was a guest speaker at a conference who told the story of when he was just a young boy. He said that when he was a small child one of his favorite things was McDonald's french fries. He spoke how he and his father would spend special times together by making a trip to McDonald's for some of those fries. One Saturday they made their usual trip to McDonald's and as they sat down he noticed that his bag of fries was not as full as it normally is. His father, saw the disappointment in his son's face and he wanted to get what he paid for, so he went took the bag back to the counter and asked them to please fill the bag with fries. The teenager working behind the counter thought the man was being rude crammed the bag with as many fries as he could possibly fit into it. His dad took the fries back to the son and said "Son, don't let them steal your fries."

There is a powerful lesson in that little story! Not about french fries, but we all have things in our life that we hold dear, things we value... and it is a fact, satan wants to steal them from us. For many of us, it is our relationship with Christ in general. For others it is our destiny. For some it is the healing they just received. For some it is the financial miracles we prayed for and and are believing God for. What ever it may be, satan desires to steal them or divert the promises of God. Don't let satan steal your fries! Don't settle for anything less that what God has promised! Don't let him have a single fry! God has healed, restored and promised blessing... lay claim to all of these and do not give any ground back to the enemy of our souls.

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I declare and decree today that satan cannot have a single one of my fries! I receive and live in the fulless of life that Jesus came to give to me. I walk in wholeness of life, health and prosperity. I am blessed coming in and going out. My heavenly Father has good things in store for me. These are mine, in Jesus' Name!

Let this be our rallying cry: "Don't let satan steal your fries!"

OK... now I have to post it

I made reference to the river vision that I had in April of 2006 earlier this week in a previous blog entry. After the events of this past week and today, I feel compelled to repost this, especially for those in my church to see. Pay close attention to the parts I will put in red. Don't get alarmed at folks leaving the church, it is OK and we were warned of this. Just stay in the river!

In this vision I saw a river flowing rather gently, and there were people in the river and standing around the river. It is difficult to describe exactly what I saw. There were people swiming in the river, some swimming against the current. There were others floating on their backs, just relaxing and let the river carry them along. Others were in the river, yet they were not. They were on flotation devices like inner-tubes, and the type where you lay down on them and float. Others were in canoes and rubber life rafts, just drifting along. Along the shore here and there, there were people camped out near the river with their tents pitched and cooking out over a fire or grill.

All of a sudden the river made a very quick shift to the left, turning back at about a 315 degree angle; not quite a U-turn, but close to it. At that bend in the river, some of the people simply let the flow of the river carry them around the bend, but many of the people stopped and stood up in the water and looked at the change of direction and began to talk about it. Some pointed at it and said, I don't like that direction and got out of the river and carried their rafts straight on ahead in the direction the river had previously been flowing. Others got out of the river and began to complain about the change of direction and they pitched their tents at that bend in the river and stood at the bank laughing those going on down the river, and I heard one man say, "They are fools! Who knows where that will take them?"
Some stayed in the river but refused to go around that bend. There were a few who went around the bend, and went a little ways in the direction that the river was taking them, then decided to get out and they began walking back up the bank of the river in the direction of the bend, and they went back to those who had pitched their tents there.

In the vision, I watched those that stayed in the river as they floated along. All the boats and rafts and tubes were gone, leaving them floating freely in the river. The river began to pick up speed, and those in the river were simply swept away in it and were they were carried completely by the water. As the river picked up speed, I began to see people walking toward the river. I saw a man coming with a head wound, and he had bloody bandages wrapped around his head. He stepped into the river, and as he did, the bandages fell off and he was healed. I saw what I can only describe as broken people. There were people coming that were carrying body peices that were broken off. There were some dragging skids behind them full of broken and severed body parts. As they stepped into the river, their limbs and body parts were re-united with their bodies. I saw families come together from the body parts on the skids. I saw people carrying huge syringes and pipes and other drug paraphernalia and they were jumping into the river, and as they did, their drugs and paraphenalia shot back out of the river and onto the banks. As we went down the river, more and more people came and jumped into the river. But there were also hundreds of people who came to the river, but stood at the bank watching and never getting in. Some were excited as they watched. Some laughed. Some cursed and mocked, and some just walked away.

I understood a lot of this vision, but some I did not, and I asked the Lord to tell me what he was saying. He spoke to me and said that the river obviously was the flow of the Holy Spirit and what He was doing in the world. He reminded me that many people were around the river, but few were actually in the river. He told me how many people wanted to be NEAR what he was doing, close where they could see it, but they refused to get in. They were the people camped out along the river. He then showed me again the picture from the beginning of the vision, and how many were on rafts and floatation devices. He said that these are people who want to be a part of what God is doing, but only to a degree. They depended on man-made devices and plans. These people want God on their terms. They want it "safe" and within their control.

The Lord told me that the bend represents where the Body of Christ is right now. God said there is a shifting, a transitioning of how he will operate and move in the church. He said only those who will be led and carried by the Spirit will be a part of this. He said he is ready to accelerate things and that He is sending a healing move or revival to the church. People will come to see what is going on and be healed as they "jump in"... but there will be great ridicule and mocking during this time. God spoke to me clearly and said, "Keep your eyes on the river, not on the crowd." The Lord spoke to me about my church and said, "I will move in this church to the degree that you will allow me to move."

The Lord then gave me a word for the church that said:

Lay aside the old, says the Lord, for the new is coming.
Take off your old shoes (representing the old way), throw them away and put on the new shoes (representing what I am about to do).
The old shoes are too small for what I am about to do, says the Lord.
You must think bigger in terms of what I am wanting to do for you, in you and through you.
You have limited Me because you are thinking too small.
I am a big God and I am getting ready to do some big things for My people, in My people and through My people, says the Lord.
I have spoken to many of My people and I have told them to "strap themselves in," because I am getting ready to move in ways they have never seen Me move.
I am accelerating my purposes and plans, picking up the pace.
Those who remain complacent will miss what I am about to do, says the Lord.
I have given the wake up call.
Many have heard the call and have chosen to move with Me, while others have heard the call but refuse to wake up.
Judgment will come to My house, says the Lord.
I shall do a deep work in My people, in those who will allow Me to do it and they shall be filled with My power and My glory.
Greater things are coming, says the Lord.
Get ready.

A Reminder...

This morning I was sitting and reflecting on what God has been doing at Harvest Church and those that would stand in opposition of it and ridicule the move of God. I was reminded of the river vision I had about 3 years ago, and in that vision there were people who stood and mocked and even cursed those flowing in the river. There were those who got out of the river and said, "I don't like that direction" and they turned and walked the way the river had gone before it shifted directions. There were those who got out of the river and and set up camp on the bank at the place where the river turned. God was saying that not everyone will go where the river will take them. It is a complete shifting, a change of direction and it is a place where those who go must abandon ALL attempts to control but rather must go with the flow. This move is for those who will yeild themselves completely to the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit and trust God rather than man's traditions and religion.

Again, let me remind the church of what the Lord spoke to me back in 2006. " I will move in this church to the degree that you will allow me to move."

I say, "Have your way Lord!"

Well, Alrighty Then

No need for me to comment, this guy says enough! Wow!

No, the Media is not biased at all

The following video was shot by an intern reporter for the Galesburg Register Mail and is on the front page of the Register Mail online version (at www.galesburg.com). This is supposed to show the opinions of the people of the Galesburg area. However, their is an interactive poll to grade Obama's second 100 days included in the article in which this video appears and the funny thing is that the poll results show something far different. At the time I am posting this blog, the results are as follows:
A - 23%
B - 19%
C - 11%
D - 18%
F - 28%

Let's see, that 46% who give Obama a D or F, yet the video shows NO ONE voicing a negative opinion. No, it's not biased reporting at all.

Christians Burned to Death by Radical Muslims

For the last several years we have heard over and over that "Islam means peace." Does it? Hardly. Take a look at this latest story out of Pakistan from the London Times Online dated August 3, 2009 about how a group of Muslim radicals burned a family of Christians to death because there was a rumor that a member of the family had defiled the Koran. The media report states that the "official" count shows 8 were burned to death and at least others died from gun shot wounds as hundreds of this radical group caused terror as they ran through the streets shouting anti-Christian slogans. The police were on the scene but stood by and did nothing. Contrary to "official" report, others on the scene claim that the death toll could be as high as dozens, as more than 40 homes of Christians were torched. And remember, this was brought on by a RUMOR that a book of the Koran had been defiled, which the survivors insist did not happen.

So, this is peace? I know, some Muslim people will decry this and claim that this is a radical group and all Islamic people should not be judged by the actions of a few. One question I will ask any Muslim is simply this: Why do we never see any Islamic people trying to put a stop to such behavior? I'll tell you why. Let's look to the Koran itself, the book of Surah 9:5 says: "Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them, confine them, and lie in wait for them in every place of ambush." Who or what is defined as a pagan? Anyone who does not submit themselves to the Islamic faith. The Koran basically says to kill anyone who is not a Muslim.

Does Islam means peace? Not on your life. Take a look at the words of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Shiite mullah; "Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males to prepare themselves for the conquest of countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world." This religion is not about peace, it is about forcing all to submit to their belief or die.

I know that some people are saying this is blown out of proportion, but I say it is time we wake up. Most Americans are not concerned because it is happening half way around the world, therefore not affecting them personally. But the day is coming, much faster than you think, that you will see this same scenerio played out here on our shores. It is coming.