Knowing What To Do...

Wow Michael - awesome video. Gave me goosebumps. What an awesome way to start the day! Thanks for sharing!

Wow! If that video does not light your fire, your wood is definitely wet! Thank you for sharing Michael!

Michael, When I need to remind myself of his love I go to his Word. I ask God to increase my desire for him. To make Him my single purpose, to single pursue Him. To make Him my greatest treasure. Then if the world fall apart around me, I don't worry, fret, I keep my heart worshiping my treasure. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.� “A man finds a treasure buried in a field and in his joy he goes and sells everything he owns and he buys the field. His greatest treasure, his greatest pursuit, the thing he wants more than anything else, more than his comfort, more than the possessions he already has, is that treasure. And he sells it all to get it.� What this text means when it says that we “take it by force,� it’s talking about this single-minded pursuit of Jesus Christ. Christ becomes our treasure, our pursuit, He’s what we’re after, He becomes the goal, He becomes the means. It’s this single-minded devotion to the work and person of Jesus Christ. So now our pursuit is not “Let me obey the Law so that God will be pleased.� But rather it’s “I want to know Him, I want to worship Him, I want to follow Him, I want to serve Him. God’s not after that type of begrudging submission. No. He’s my treasure, He’s my joy, He’s my fulfillment, He’s my goal, He’s what I’m after, He’s what life is about, He is what happens after life. And so my pursuit is Him, and in my pursuit of Him, a greater ethic is created than one that could ever be created by the Law itself, because the heart’s been transformed. Most people white knuckle life. They just go, “This is right, this is wrong. And I need to do what’s right.� And so they just hold on and go, “I�m going to do right, I’m going to do right, I’m going to do right.� But eventually, no matter how strong you are, your grip gives out. And so this is what this text is about. The Law doesn’t go away, but “In your pursuit of Me, because My cross covers your failure to be obedient in your pride, the Law will be fulfilled. It doesn’t go away. Your pursuit of Me fulfills it. In Him, Kern

wow, This video is amazing, the words are powerful! I agree with Kern that the word is a great place to get in encouragement but when worship is combined with that it is a whole new experience in God's love for us! thanks for sharing it with us Michael.

I agree wholeheartedly with Kern' s response because I know it is God' s perfect will that we all passionately seek him, His son Jesus and his kingdom of righteousness with singlemindedness, with our whole heart. This truth has been revealed to us in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah where 70 years of Babylonian captivity are prophesied. But God assures his people that even though they will experience this unpleasant captivity, his thoughts toward them are of peace, not evil, to give them an expected end. And THEN the Lord says they will hearken unto him, they will pray unto him and He will hearken unto them, And they will seek him and find him when they seek him with ALL their heart. About 33 years after God spoke these words through Jeremiah, the prophet Daniel was a captive in Babylon experiencing Jeremiah' s prophesied captivity in Babylon. In Daniel 9:2, Daniel wrote that by books he understood the number of the 70 years that the Lord would accomplish in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then the angel Gabriel came to show Daniel what God' s plans were for the future next 490 years (70 weeks). During this 70 weeks of years, the transgression would be fininished, sin would end, iniquity would be reconciled, righteousness would be restored, and the most holy Messiah would come, would be annointed and then would be cut off (killed). We know from the New Testament scriptures that this \"sure word\" of Daniel' s 70 week prophecy has been partially fulfiiled with the coming, annointing and cutting off (crucifixion) of Messian Jesus. In the midst of the fulfillment of Daniel' s 70 week prophecy regarding the coming of Messiah Jesus, the spirit of Jesus came to his apostle John to reveal to him \"things that shall be hereafter\". In John' s revelation we are again told about Babylon. And again God' s people are told to \"come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not her plagues.\" Jeremiah 51:45, says, \"My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his souls from the fierce anger of the Lord.\" So if we believe God' s \"sure word\" of Prophecy, as St. Peter called it, then as Michael Pink has said, history does indeed repeat itself. But prophecy aslo reveals that there is an \"expected end\" to these repeats. I believe we are in the times of this \"expected end\" when the transgression will be finished, sin is ended and everlasting righteousness is restored on earth. To end sin, reconcile iniquity so as to restore righteousness, God will remove Satan and his influence from the mind of mankind. As the primary sin of selfishness is removed from man' s heart and mind, no one will consider anything their own. People will begin to hold all things in common knowing that all things belong to God and that we are to be good stewards of God' s wealth. As good stewards, those who have more than they need will graciously impart of their excess wealth to those who have need. This is what the early church did up until the time that the evil controlling selfish spirits of Nicolaitan, Jezebel and the doctrines of Baalam and other seducing spirits and doctrines of devils began to wreak havoc in the church and destroyed the kingdom economy that was fluorishing among the earliest followers of Jesus. As we seek the Lord and his kingdom of righteousness, I believe and know He will reveal and expose the the evil spirits of selfishness and greed that are at work today enslaving God' s people to insurmountable debt. I believe God would have us all pool our resources of both knowledge and financial capital to coalesce into a great movement that will change the way economic/financial markets are conducted. If the righteous passion that has been evident in the right to life movment was like wise part of a debt release and righteous wealth redistribution movement, then we would see a righteous chnage in the way our economic/financial markets operate. I think the beginnings of this righteous change is already taking place with the recent all time lowest lowering of the prime interest rate. Also, I am amazed to read that wealthy people are buying treaury bills at negative interest rates. The truth is that people with excess wealth don' t need their excess wealth and they don' t care if they get paid any interest on it. It seems they are only concerned that their excess wealth is safely stored. So they are willing to pay a fee in the form of negative interest just to have the U. S. government guard and protect their excess wealth. I think this shows that God is raising up a standard against the charging of interest and enslavement to debt. I think God is resoring his laws of debt release every seven and fifty years. Kingdom blessings, David Thompson

I'm fairly new to blogging, but have been receiving Michael's short nuggets of wisdom each day,with joy, for about three months now. Just reading today's, talking about God's love for us, the last paragraph you invited us to watch a video, which you confessed is a helpful reminder to you of His love for you. I watched the video and it left me cold. Nothing in it that even remotely brought me closer to God's love. A couple of people commented that they,too liked the video. I love music, but, like I said, we're all different. The reason I'm blogging is this. You asked is \"Anyone else like that?\" Your confession of not being able to always 'feel' God's love for you, yet you're certain of His love for others is what I've struggled with for years. Interesting, your humbleness to admit this. I just told my husband yesterday that it's strange how God has given me the abililty to edify, exhort and comfort others, even the ability to move them, by my words, into the presence of the Lord, yet so often, I struggle in the very areas I'm able to deliver to others so freely. I felt, by your confession, Michael, such a closeness to you in the spirit. I've known from the beginning of being on your mailing list, that you were the 'real deal', but the more I listen to you, the more I am drawn to the truth,in you, which is so needed, now, more than at any other time. Thank you for your blessed words. And for obeying the Holy Spirit to share this. It was your words, not the music that brought me closer to God's love this morning. As for the music,I can be drawn close to God, and quickly, with certain kinds of music, so I know music is definately used by the Holy Spirit to bring us into His presence. Just a few months ago we had our pastor and his wife over for dinner. I asked them just how quickly they wanted to be in the presence of the Lord. They looked at me so strangely, yet when I put on a particular piece of music the tears began to fill their eyes and they were worshiping Him from their heart along with us. Music is so important to usher in the presence of the Lord. Kern, your words really moved my heart. I, too am in love with God's word. It's my whole food and it nourishes me completely. God's word is really my very favorite place to be. I Love you, Jesus, Susan David

To David Thompson, I have read many of your posts to this blog and you tend to make jumps of logic that aren't supported in the scripture. Such as \"People will begin to hold all things in common knowing that all things belong to God and that we are to be good stewards of God’ s wealth.\" Yes all things belong to God but there is no scriptural imperative that we \"hold all things in common\". Nor is this a test of being a good steward of God's wealth. \"As good stewards, those who have more than they need will graciously impart of their excess wealth to those who have need.\" The measure of being a good steward is whether you steward the resources according to your master's desires as specifically outlined. Though we are to openly meet the needs of people around us, the \"excess wealth\" you continually talk about may be more properly \"stewarded\" by buying assets that will build the Kingdom of God. Maybe using your excess wealth to buy an art studio or a music recording studio is being a good steward. Or how about endowing a fund for a Christian Busniness College. Or creating a family crisis center. Or buying a major radio or television station. Your unscriptural rants on having all things in common is just wrong. Your comments on debt release and righteous wealth redistribution smell of envy. Nobody forced a 30 year mortgage on anybody. Where is the individual responsibility? If more Christians would get off their assets and get to work there would be righteous wealth redistribution.

Michael, I was especially moved and excited by the video because I noticed it was part of the spiritual aftermath of \"The Call\" that was held in Nashville last year. Believing \"The Call\" to be a genuine move of God, I closely followed what occurred with the lead up to and the actual event of \"The Call\" held in Nashville on 7/7/2007. But I had not heard anything about the aftermath of this event. As I understood it, \"The Call\" was an event of praise that marked the end of the previous 40 years of trial and judgment of the hippie/Jesus people movement that began in the midst of the tumultous sixties during which the so-called sexual revolution was launched. I have many vivid memories of many of the strange and unusual events that transpired in the hallucinogenic sixties. In 1961, I graduated from Miami Senoir High School. In 1967, while on active duty as a Naval Flight Officer, I visited the Haight Asbury district in San Franciso where the Hippie movement reportedly began. I witnessed hungry unbathed scraggily dressed long-haired young people on the streets sharing morsels of food and begging for food and money. One long-haired Hippie Dude asked me if I could spare a penny. I laughed as I ignored him. I spoke with a few of these young people and learned that they had come to San Francisco from all over the America to wear a flower in their hair. For many the flower signified that they came to San Franciso to drop out of a society they believed had become selfishly corrupt and unloving. Judging by the words of the music of that hippie generation such as, \"We have have to get back to the Garden.\" I now understand that many Hippies were looking for the kingdom of God. Like the early church, they practiced the kingdom principles of unselfishness and sharing and they held all things in common. But just like the early church, their passion to live in God' s loving kingdom society began to wane when evil spirits entered in and wreaked helter skelter among them. Now, forty years later, when many people hear any talk about \"holding all things in common\" they remember what happened to the Hippies and to the people who have been enslaved by Maxist Communism and they want no part of anything remotely connected with the concept of holding all things in common which is communism. My closest friends think I am nuts when I talk about unselfish loving communalism as being the way of God' s kingdom. But nevertheless that is what I believe and know to be true. I know that selfish mankind will never agree with me but I know that God' s Holy Spirit can and will change selfish hearts just as He did with the early church. But as I read the Bible, I have come to understand that God' s work to change the hearts of mankind will be an ongoing process of time during which many wars, economic upheavals, natural disasters and other judgments of God will take place. Knowing this, I can sing with passion, \"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lighting of his terrible swift sword but his truth is marching on.\" Kingdom blessings, David Thompson

I was reading Habakkuk this morning and thought this was great for our times today. He began by informing God how to run his world and ended by trusting that God knows best and will bring about justice. Habakkuk marvels at the plans of God and consents that he has been duly silenced: “I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us� (3:16). Only he pleads that God will “in wrath remember mercy� for his people (3:2). Habakkuk now joyfully submits to the sovereign hand and plan of God. O. Palmer Robertson calls these last 3 verses (3:17-19) “the most beautiful spirit of submission found anywhere in scripture� (The Christ of the Prophets, 260). Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will take joy in the God of my salvation. The book’s final line reads, “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.� What is that? Habakkuk has ended in song! He has gotten a glimpse of the glory of God, and despite the certain suffering that looms on the horizon, he knows that this God will be enough for him. What a progression—from protest to praise. . . . yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

To John, Thank you for your personalized response to what you called my \"rants on having all things in common\". Your response is only a mild rebuke compared to other responses I have gotten when I just mention the concept of \"holding all things in common\" in a positive light. People think I am a Marxist Socialist Communist. The same is true when I mention redistribution of wealth. Of course I understand why people feel as they as do about Communisim and redistribution of wealth. I have been an anti-communist conservative Republican all my adult life and therefore I have many times heard and mostly agreed with the anti-communist rants and rationale of the anti-communist movement of the fifities and sixties. I know that the Communism of the former soviet Union, China, Cuba and other Communist countires is a very bad thing that oppresses God' s people. Even so, as Bible believing Christians, I don' t think we should ignore the fact that Karl Marx got his ideas for Communism from the book of Acts in the Bible. In Acts 2:44 and again in 4:32 it clearly says of the early Christians that, \"they had all things in common.\" So, John, in my comments (my rantings as you call them) I am asking, \"Where is the disconnect between what the eartly Christians did and what is done in the modern communist nations?\" Is the kingdom of God communistic, capitalistic or a mixture of both or what? And does the Bible offer any insight regarding these questions? My answer to the last question is most definitely Yes! My comments/rants try to answer these questions are are appropriate fro this particular blog post Of Michael Pink, who has entitled this pblog post, Understanding the time,; knowing what to do. I have much more to sya and many more scriptures to cite that, I feel adress the economic issues we face today. We all agree that God owns everything including all money, all the silver and gold as it says in Haggai 2:8. We should also all agree that God has established righteous laws that govern lending and debt release every 7 and fifty years. Should we not as the Sons of God be able to use the Bible and under the direction of the Holy Spirit to formulate more equitable guidelines for credit and mortgage lending? This goal is what motivates my commnents/rants. St. Paul wrote to Timothy about what should be expected in the latter days with men being lovers of selves and greedy for gain. I believe it is God' s plan to change to stop selfishness and greed and I believe He wants us to work with him as he changes men' s hearts so that men will no longer consider anything their own but will want to hold all things in common. One of the greatest principles of the kingdom that was taught by both Jesus and John the Baptist is the principle of sharing, \"If you have an extra cloak give it to a man whose does not have a cloak.\" The early church no doubt followed this teaching of Jesus which was most likley also part of the Apostle' s doctrine that Acts 2:42 says the people continuously and steadfastly followed. Kingdom blessings, David Thompson