Freedom to Walk out of Our Past

Freedom to Walk out of Our Past

Galatians 5:1 For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.

Freedom is autonomy, independence and the power and authority to make wise choices that will lead us into an abundant life in Jesus Christ.  Freedom comes from knowing who God is and  from knowing who we are in Christ. Freedom also comes when we choose to walk out of the bondage of the past. 

The way our past determines our present and our future is determined by our response to it. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the apostle Paul encourages, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

God has made all things new, but now we must walk into our newness without lugging the excess baggage of our past.  One of the first bits of baggage that we need to leave behind is blaming others for our mistakes.  When we own our failures, we can move past them.  When I understand that I am my worst enemy, I can begin my growth toward emotional and spiritual well being.  I learn from my failures and move past them.  When I acknowledge that I have missed the mark, I open the door to forgiveness.  When I accept the forgiveness of God, I can move on to forgiving myself. When I forgive myself, I can better forgive others.

Shame and unforgiveness are excess baggage that hinder our freedom in Christ. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." 

When we walk according to the Spirit, we walk out of condemnation of both ourselves and others and into the freedom of who we were created to be.

         In Micah 7:18-19, the prophet encourages, "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
  
         God is omniscient. Yet He chooses to forget what He has forgiven.  To grow in the grace of newness, we, too, must choose to forget what God has forgiven whether it is our own sin or the sin of others.  God has cast our sins into the depths of the sea.  We don't have a license to fish them out again. 

When we rid our lives of the anguish and regret of the past, we are set free to learn from our experiences. In Romans 8:28, Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

 God uses both the joys and the difficulties of our lives to teach us the peace of faithfulness, the power of His authority, the blessings of obedience, and His plans and purposes for our lives.

In that sense, it bodes well for us occasionally to revisit the past, but we must be careful not to pitch our tents there. God does not intend for us to dwell the in past.  He has called us to be present and future people.  When we have a healthy response to the past, we are more free to move into our destiny in Christ.

A Tribute to Aunt Wilma (Winnie) Allan (1917-2019)

A Tribute to Aunt Wilma (Winnie) Allan (1917-2019)

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Ecclesiastes 3:4: “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

We weep and mourn at the thought of our lives without Winnie, but we laugh and dance when we remember the joy she brought into our lives. 

The Psalmist reminds us that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” 

Winnie walked in that knowledge.  Her life was not without sorrow and struggle.  She endured the hardships and embraced the joy.  Nehemiah 8:10 teaches us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

How can we, too, embrace the joy in the midst of sorrow?

Two Latin phrases come to mind:  carpe vita and carpe diem.

Carpe vita means to seize life. In seizing the opportunities of life, of both our earthly life and our eternal life, we find the scope of God’s plan for us.  Jesus defined that scope when He said that He came that we might have life and have it ever more abundantly.

 

Carpe diem means seize the day.    While carpe vita is the scope; carpe diem is the sequence. As we embrace the scope, the sequence of life opens before us.  Each day presents opportunities to know and to glorify our Lord in our lives and to live abundantly in Him.

(Psalm 90:12) “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” That is carpe diem.

The psalmist asked the Holy Spirit to teach us to number (to value) our days. In valuing our days, in valuing our lifetime (which includes eternity to come), we find a source of wisdom. I define wisdom as the ability to make good decisions.  It is a good decision to be joyful: Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a merry heart does good like a medicine. 

Psalm 118: 24 is all about carpe diem.  “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Winnie rejoiced in each day.  As she has entered into eternity, I sense Jesus saying to her, “Well, done good and faithful servant.”

Dr. Seuss, one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century, is credited with saying, “Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened.”  I say, in the midst of our crying because Winnie has gone on to the next chapter in her journey, let us smile and be thankful because she happened. She happened to walk abundantly in this life for 102 years. 

Well done, Winnie, well done.

Becoming an Instrument of God’s Peace

Becoming an Instrument of God’s Peace

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The gospel of Matthew records Jesus speaking of the wars and rumors of wars that will come. We speak often of these wars on a global scale and just as often neglect the root of those wars. The root is a spirit of strife, hopelessness and anger that rests in the hearts at the community, regional and national levels.

The wars include more than military engagements. The wars are emotional, physical and spiritual as well. The entire planet is experiencing emotion, physical and spiritual warfare at this time.

Unfortunately, many have reacted with anger and bitterness which only breed more anger and bitterness. We accomplish nothing but the breeding of more strife by sitting over our coffee cups and grousing and blaming. The media breeds strife on a global scale, but still accomplishes nothing.

We may say, “What can I do? I am only one person.”

Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord said, "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30).

Are you willing to be one person to stand in the gap against the spirit of strife, hopelessness and anger?

How should we stand? “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).

Personally, we must “let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24.)

Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger, The Paradigm and the Oracle has said that we must do more than pray for revival. We must live in revival. If we live in revival, revival will start now.

It is time to humble ourselves and pray with St. Francis of Assisi:

“But Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Amen and again I say, Amen.

Sing Us One of the Songs of Zion

Sing Us One of the Songs of Zion

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

It seems that the Church in America has been in a Babylonian captivity for many years.  Our captivity came because we succumbed to the customs of the world system rather than the commandments of our King.  We have given both tacit and tangible approval of practices that the Bible has warned us are not God’s best for us, i.e. sinful practices.  We have allowed the chains of political correctness to bind us.  We have diluted the Word of God.

The world system, like the Babylonian conquerors of Israel, is crying for the awakening of God’s people. We have become like the ancient Israelites, unable to bring joy into the world.

Consider Psalms 137:1-4: “By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song, And those who plundered us required of us mirth, Saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!' How shall we sing the Lord's song In a foreign land?”

The Lord is calling us out of our captivity in the Babylon of worldliness that has surrounded us in the past years.  It is time for us to take our harps from the willow trees and return to Zion.

When Cyrus allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem, they did not return to a resplendent nation.  Judea was broken physically and spiritually.  The walls were in ruins; the Temple destroyed.  The returning remnant met opposition at every turn.  The return was difficult.  Yet God blessed them and brought them through to victory. 

That is where the Church in America stands today. 

Isaiah 35 is a messianic prophecy.  However, like all of prophecy, it holds a message for today.

Isaiah 35:1-2: “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.”

When we take our harps from the willow trees and again sing the praises of our Lord as we go about our daily lives, joy will fill not only our hearts, but also our land. 

Isaiah 35:3-7:  “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.'' Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”

It is time to stop feeding the jackal of fear that abounds in our land. 

We must take our harps from the willow tree and sing the songs of joy.

Purging the Leaven

Purging the Leaven

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Deuteronomy 16:1-4:   "Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Therefore, you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to put His name. You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.”

In scripture, leavening (yeast) is a picture of sin.  One bit of leavening spreads throughout all the dough just as one bit of sin affects each and every area of our lives.  One custom of Passover is to cleanse both our homes and our hearts from leaven.

  During the few days before Passover, observant Jews all over the world set to spring house cleaning in order to purge their homes of any sort of mold or yeast.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the day after Passover and lasts for seven days.  During that time, religious Jews eat only unleavened bread.

Seven in the number of divine completion.  From our Lord’s serving the Passover meal to His disciples, we learn that the unleavened bread pictures the completeness of our His anguish on the Cross.  The price for sin has been paid in full. It is finished.

On Palm Sunday we remember our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  What we don’t often realize is that He was coming to Jerusalem to fulfill the prophetic picture of the sacrificial Passover lamb.  After His entry into the city, Jesus prophesied that the city would be destroyed because the people did not know the time of their visitation from the Son of God. (Luke 19:41-44)

The incident must cause us to reflect upon our own lives.  How much sorrow and desolation have come into our lives because we either have not known or have ignored our need for the Lord and/or His desire to bless us and deliver us.

The next incident is the Lord’s cleansing of the Temple.  Luke 19:45-46: “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, `My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a `den of thieves.' ''

Jesus did some spring house cleaning.  He cleaned His own house, the Temple in Jerusalem.

Likewise, Passover is a time for all Christians to do some housecleaning.  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Not only are believers the temple of God, we are also the Bride of Christ. He is coming back for a Bride without spot or blemish (Ephesians 5:27).  John the Revelator said that the Bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).  Therefore, we all have some Temple cleaning to do.

It is important to note that just as Jesus cleaned His own house, it is the responsibility of each of us to clean our own temple.  I am not to take my mop next door to clean yours.  I am not even to peep through the window to see whether or not your house needs cleaning.

A miracle of the purging is that the Lord will show each of us what needs to be cleaned.  May the following be our Passover prayer:

Psalm 139: 23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Jesus is the Passover Lamb.  Because of the finished work of the Cross, we may walk in the peace of Passover.   We may walk in the the way of the Prince Peace.  Purging the leaven from our lives is a step forward in achieving that peace.

Pesach Sameach. (Happy Passover)

God's Plan vs. Satan’s Scheme

God's Plan vs. Satan’s Scheme

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Our Lord's plan is to deliver us from our past, to empower us for the present and to lead us victoriously into our future.  The enemy's plan is to mire us in our past, to enfeeble us for the present and to lead us fearfully into our future.  We must decide which plan to embrace.  God's plan is the Tree of Life.  The enemy's scheme is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

Let’s take a closer look at the two trees.  Genesis 2:7-9 NKJV):  “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

The Hebrew word translated as “garden” means an enclosed or protected place.  Eden represents the protection that comes from close fellowship with our Father.  The Father Who says to us in Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV):  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God did not create a couple of puppets.  He created living, intelligent creatures and blessed us with free will.  He also gave instructions to aid mankind in making decisions that would result in abundant living. That instruction book is the Holy Bible which is Holy Spirit inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV): “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God gave instructions to Adam that apply to all the children of Adam. Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV): “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

The Hebrew word translated as “Knowledge” comes from a root word that means to know by seeing; by using the senses:  touching, hearing, etc. The extended definition includes “the ability to determine what is good and what is evil.” This desire to determine for ourselves leads us to walk by limited experience rather than by faith in the word of God.

The root of sin is fear. Living out of our experiences and determining for ourselves what is good or evil leads to fear.  Remember Adam and the woman hid themselves because they were afraid. Fear is the result of not knowing or not walking in the promises and provisions of God.  Fear is the opposite of faith. The tree of life is the tree of faith in God.

Circumstances in our past may have caused us to fear.  The world suffers from issues of rejection, abandonment and abuse.  When we bring those things into our present, we are weakened by the resulting fear.  Some of the most common phrases in Scripture call us out of fear and into a faith relationship with our Lord. 

Consider these scriptures out of the hundreds that speak against fear:

▪Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV):  ”Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

▪Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV): “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

When we lay our fear at the foot of the Cross and walk in the covenant promises that God has given His people, we become empowered.  We know that we can rely on the guidance, protection and hope of the Holy Spirit Who indwells us

When we walk in faith, even though we do not know what the future holds, we do know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever more and that He is good and desires the best for us. 

 “Many things about tomorrow

I don't seem to understand,

But I know who holds tomorrow

And I know who holds my hand.”

(Ira Stanphill)

Moving Upward toward Civility Updated Again

Moving Upward toward Civility Updated Again

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

           

            (I first published this piece in November 2013.  I published it again in February 2017. I am updating it once more.)

We are today a culture of the uncontrolled tongue. News reporting too often becomes a shouting match.  Children have been bullied into suicide by the words of others.  Politics has degenerated into blame shifting and name calling. Comedy seethes with insults and character assassination. Many people go for days and weeks without hearing a kind word.  Incivility is devouring us and serves only to exacerbate the trials of our lives.

            We live in a world that is famished for an uplifting word.  It is time for the family of God to arise, speak up and speak forth words of kindness, life, and solution.   Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32--NKJV)

            While we must exercise our freedom of speech, we must also endeavor to speak the truth in love and to choose our words in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Although the following suggestions would be useful on the national and international level, they are beneficial on the grassroots level as well.  It is at the grassroots that the reformation back to civility must begin. 

        Let's agree together in prayer: “Lord, please send civility to our world, and let it begin with me.  I desire to speak out of Your love rather than out of my fear, low self esteem, anger and disappointment.”

Suggestions for more civility in dialogue:

1.     “Before we get any further into this discussion, let me point out where I agree with you.”

2.    “I appreciate the thought and effort you have put into this.”

3.    “We can disagree and still be friends.”

4.    “I am sure that if we put our heads together, we can come up with a solution that we can agree on.”

5.    “Please go ahead and share your concerns.  Then give me an opportunity to share mine.”

6.    “I have a problem with some of your ideas.  Can you help me to understand your thoughts?”

7.    “Let’s have this discussion over  lunch.”                                                                                                                                                                                   

8.    “Please” and “thank you” are still politically correct phrases.  So is, “It’s good to see you.” 

9.    Nearly everyone responds positively to a sincere smile.

Scripture admonishes us to pray for those in authority over us even if we don’t like their policies:  

     ^“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions,and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1Timothy 2:1-3--NKJV).

What a thought:  I am more likely to lead a quiet and peaceable life if I pray for people, including those in authority, than if I complain about them. 

One of my favorite prayer-hymns is “Turn My Heart” by Lynn Deshazo based on Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” 

Remembering that in His kingdom, we are all called to be kings and priests, we must first sing this song over ourselves.  Cultural transformation must begin with me.

Turn My Heart

By Lynn Deshazo

Turn my heart O Lord
Like rivers of water
Turn my heart O Lord
By Your hand
Till my whole life flows
In the river of Your Spirit
And my name brings honor
To the Lamb.

When we have allowed the Lord to turn our hearts, we can ask Him to turn the hearts of our leaders.  We can pray again with on a few word changes:

Turn Trump’s heart O Lord
Like rivers of water
Turn his heart O Lord
By Your hand
Till his whole life flows
In the river of Your Spirit
And his name brings honor
To the Lamb.

Let us then pray for our land:

Turn the land’s heart O Lord
Like rivers of water
Turn our hearts O Lord
By Your hand
Till our whole life flows
In the river of Your Spirit
And our name brings honor
To the Lamb.

We will then be praying for the Lord’s agenda and not our own.

     Our Lord Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:35-37--NKJV)

Insults, insinuations and invective are idle words. Idle words do nothing to change anyone's opinion.  Remember  "Insults are the last resort of insecure people with a crumbling position trying to appear confident." (Wisdom Quotes)

     Father God, today I pray Your word over my life and the lives of others around me.  ”Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14--NKJV)