John Fenn, God's Will, Mine, Does He Care? #5

Hi all,

I closed last week talking about the couple who were ready to break their engagement because of an argument on how to load the dishwasher. Today is about when the Lord might insert Himself into a decision that is ours to make, to reveal His will.

 

"Thus saith the Lord", about a dishwasher?

"Dishwasher couple" wanted me to give them a prophetic word from the Lord on who was right - how God wanted the dishwasher loaded. You could have knocked them over with a feather at my response that He didn't really care. They mistakenly thought He had a perfect will for everything in life.

 

I told them His only interest would be if loading it a particular way might result in someone's injury or violate love, then He might impress one of them not to load it that way or reveal something was wrong with the machine. As we talked about how doing something different isn't necessarily doing it wrong, it is just different than they would have done it, and the important thing was not to violate love, they forgave each other and compromised. They remain married to this day, over 15 years later.

 

Notice what I said - He won't tell them the natural order of how to most efficiently load the dishwasher, but He will enter the conflict IF love is violated. The Lord didn't care that the groom thought his fiance' loaded the dishwasher the wrong way, His concern was that love was being violated by their immaturity.

 

Very often the Lord doesn't have a perfect will for decisions in the natural, but He always has a perfect will for decisions of the Spirit - love.

 

When Barb and I were first married I remember a similar conflict. Barb was in the kitchen making dinner and said, 'The trash can is full'. I said something brilliant like 'So?' It escalated from there - "So empty it! Please." Without thinking I uttered another brilliant response which only escalated the conversation to just short of nuclear war: "You're the one who topped it off, so you empty it! Sweetie!", as if adding 'sweetie' hid the passive-aggressive stubbornness in my voice - and I said it as I continued reading my Bible - I was being spiritual after all and couldn't be bothered with such unimportant things like emptying the trash.

 

Somewhere just short of pushing the button to a nuclear conflagration Barb said with volume raised to 8 out of 10, 'Well, I grew up with my dad always emptying the trash, so I expect you to do that." I responded with volume raised to 9 out of 10, "Well, I grew up with the one who topped it off emptied it!!!"

 

(To avoid being the one who topped it off, no matter how full, you could always cram just a little bit more into it if you stood on top of the trash container and pushed it down below the rim thus claiming it wasn't yet full.) So I got up to stomp on it so I could claim it wasn't full any more.

 

The Lord really didn't care who emptied that trash can...

He didn't care about our trash can unless and until the qualities of love were about to be violated. And that is when scriptures started coming to mind like a pesky mosquito buzzing my face: "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it" and "So too should men love their wives as they do their own bodies; he who loves his wife also loves himself." and "Husbands assign honor to your wife...so that your prayers aren't hindered..." from Ephesians 5:25-28 and I Peter 3:7.

 

THAT is how the Father revealed His will about the trash can - He didn't care who or how or when the trash got emptied, His interest in our trash can only went as far as love was about to be violated. And I've got to tell you who won that fight: Love. Over 36 years of marriage later I am still Trash Man!

 

The Lord may not have a perfect will whether you choose to live in apartment A or apartment B. That is your decision and He will remain silent in terms of telling you A or B. His interest in helping you decide will be in terms of love - does apartment A or B make you feel more peaceful, safe, at home? He will give you a peace and settled feeling in your spirit as it pertains to love and all the attributes of love - peace, security, safety, and then to convenience - which if not convenient to work and shopping for instance, you might be stressed which violates love, so His interest is in revealing to you which apartment would produce the least stress in you - which choice least violates the attributes of love. And once He reveals those spiritual elements THEN He leaves you to make a decision on A or B.

 

A mate: He will reveal to you issues of your heart and qualities within potential mates while letting you decide what you do with those insights. He won't pick 'that person' or 'that person' but He will reveal each person's heart to you in your spirit, and then let you decide which one to get to know better. Once you know their spirit then you can get to know their soul and see if you both want to work that through to marriage.

 

Food: That is why Paul wrote about meat sacrificed to idols in I Corinthians 10:23-33 and Romans 14 - Paul didn't tell them it is God's will to eat this or not eat that, he said if you are having a meal with a brother or sister who think eating meat that had earlier been sacrificed to an idol is a sin, then for their sake don't eat it. God doesn't care what you eat, but enters the event only if love is about to be violated, THEN He becomes involved and THAT becomes His revealed will. So Paul said if you are going to offend by eating meat when with that brother or sister, eat the vegetable dish instead.

 

Decisions, decisions

So much of modern church culture spiritualizes everything. They won't tell you whether they will make it to your event but they'll "pray about it." (Translation, no, they won't be there) Does God have a perfect will whether they accept your invitation or not? If they are violating love by not going because say, they are upset with you over something you said 6 months ago, then He will often actually lead them to go so they can grow in Him. (But often they go against Him and don't show up) But otherwise, He doesn't really care.

 

We have all been frustrated with the Lord when we have important decisions to make, yet He is completely silent in that arena while at the same time dealing with us about forgiving a family member who made us angry, or some other such thing completely unrelated to the prayer we need answer over THERE! Why is He silent on important natural decisions we must make while being so adamant about us dealing with our heart in other areas?!

 

II Peter 1:3-4 reveals "ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness HAVE BEEN PROVIDED to us through the knowledge of Him who called us to glory and virtue...that by this is given to us exceeding great and precious promises that we might be partakers of the divine nature..."

 

Notice what he says - the promises are given to us so that we might partake of the divine nature. WE see promises as answered prayer. HE sees the promises as opportunities for us to partake of His nature - everything is about growing up in Him. Every promise given has an expectation of growth attached. Every decision you make is expected to be one which will grow you in Him. That is why so often His will is the most difficult decision of the two before us.

 

When Barb and I were members in a church some 35 years ago, someone took things we said out of context, twisted them to their own use, and told the pastor. We heard the pastor was angry with us and our fate at that church hung in the balance. Was it now God's will we leave the church? That would have been easy, just start going elsewhere - surely that was the Lord's will. But no, we knew His decision would be always towards growth, so we humbled ourselves, sat down with the pastor and his wife, admitted to what we'd said, and asked forgiveness, and the relationship was restored. Too many just up and move to another church claiming it is God, but they are lying. They just don't want to grow up in Him. But that is their choice.

 

Colossians 3:15 says "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts..." The word 'rule' is brabeuo, which means 'to act as an umpire'. An umpire is neutral. The Spirit of Truth will bear witness to the truth, but He won't pick sides. He is an umpire, watching us and with us and in us walking through life - but most decisions are ours and the Umpire only enters into the decision making process if we start to do something that violates the attributes of love.  But like any umpire, He will let the 'team' make stupid mistakes if they insist.

 

How the dishwasher is loaded or who empties the trash isn't God's concern, He enters the picture as an Umpire, the Spirit of Truth, to intervene only when love is about to be violated.  

 

Next week I close out this series talking about money decisions. Until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

 

 

 

New CD/MP3 Series

 

 

Understanding Angels #1: Messengers of the Lord

In 'Angels 1' John shares from scripture and personal experience the kinds of angels there are, what they do, and what they look like. You will find answers to questions like; Can we command angels? Does everyone have a guardian angel? Do they talk to us and if so what do they sound like? What kind of messages do they bring? And many more. The theme running throughout this series is how we can cooperate with angels sent by the Father for our benefit, and how people often hinder and frustrate their work. You'll have a deeper understanding of how angels function and be able to recognize times in your life when angels were involved or spoke to you, but you didn't understand, and be ready for future encounters with the Father's messengers. (2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)

 

The Key to Ultimate Victory

“Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him,
‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’
So he went out and wept bitterly.”
MATTHEW 26:75

Jesus was not surprised or disappointed when Peter failed. In like manner, He is not surprised or disappointed when you fail. Rather, He is waiting for you to fail so you will be reduced to Him. He has no illusions about you and He knows you through and through. He knows however much your spirit may be willing, your flesh is weak. Our weakness is not the trouble – the trouble is our unwillingness to acknowledge the weakness.
But I bring you good tidings of great joy, dear Christian friend! This failure of Self is the very key to living the Christian life. As painful as it is, the bitter tears of failure provide the water for nurturing the Precious Seed that is planted in your heart of hearts and making it grow. To despair of ourselves is the very key that opens the door to all the power, the victory, and fruitfulness in Christ that we seek.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

God's Ultimate Intention

“Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house,
and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God
and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ
with all confidence, no one forbidding him.”

ACTS 28:30,31

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers must point people to Christ. Otherwise they are not fulfilling the purpose for which God placed them in the Body to begin with. Apostolic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Prophetic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Evangelistic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Pastoral and teaching ministries are not ends unto themselves, but are a means to an end.
What is the end? What is the purpose? What does it all lead to? It leads to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). The fullness of Christ, the full-knowledge of Him – this is God’s Goal and His Ultimate Intention.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

Fear's Failure

Hi Dave,
Your prayers are appreciated as Roger travels with a colleague to Amsterdam to work with a mission organization's leadership team there during the first week of March. Please pray for God's wisdom and guidance for all concerned.
You can celebrate with us the power of love to overcome fear in people's lives. The primary characteristic of virtually all religious systems around the world is fear: fear of judgment, fear of curses, fear of hell, fear of punishment, etc. In contrast, you and I have the power to see lives changed from the inside out when we walk in our heritage: "For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love…"

You change lives… by supporting those who love others

Here are two stories of lives changed shared by our team leader in DR Congo:

Eliza, aged 20 now, was raised as a Muslim in East Africa. She began to study the Book of John with one of our mission team members. She was surprised to learn of a God who was committed to love her and whom she did not need to fear. After two months she decided that she embraced the freedom of a new life in Christ and decided to be baptized.
Although she still lives in a Muslim community, they have not been antagonistic toward her which has surprised us. We sense God is working there. Please pray for Eliza and her neighborhood.

Madina Muhamed is a Tanzanian Muslim who came to DR Congo for business. She met our team member who began to share the Word of God, but it was evident that she was tormented with demonic oppression and fear. While attending a prayer meeting in one of our house churches, she fell under the power of God and experienced a transformation and freedom from all of her oppression.
She has become a joyful follower of Jesus Christ and is ready to help others who struggled like she did.

Thank you for all you do to partner with us!
With Love,
Roger & Brooks
P.S. If you are NOT on one of our prayer teams and would like to be, please 'Reply' to this email and let us know.

How to Create a New Habit & THE DAY I MET JESUS is Here!

Hi Friends,

Frank Viola here.

I'm so excited to share with you today!

As promised in my January update, I've discovered how to create a new habit. Experts say it takes 66 days to form a habit. However, getting started is the hardest part of the process.

I love books, and I own thousands of them. But I'm a very slow reader, so it takes me a long time to get through a book. This has always troubled me because I have so many books I want to read.

Well, I've increased my reading pace by creating a new habit. Here's how I did it.

I put 2 books on my night stand. Immediately after I awake each morning, I turn to the Lord and read a small portion of Scripture.

I then read 5 pages from each of the two books on my nightstand. I do this even before I drag my carcass out of bed.

Through this technique, I've been able to read books much faster. Sometimes I miss a day due to unexpected circumstances. But I follow this routine consistently. And the results have been awesome.

If you are a slow reader like me, give this a shot and let me know how it works.

The key-take away here is that if you want to create a new habit, you need to make a workable plan and begin.

Speaking of books, today my new book THE DAY I MET JESUS: THE REVEALING DIARIES OF FIVE WOMEN FROM THE GOSPELS releases.

Mary DeMuth, who I consider to be the top female Christian fiction writer of our time, was my co-author on the project.

So far, early readers have said that the book has touched them deeply, bringing many to tears. (I cried through some of the chapters myself.)

If you buy the book from Parable.com this week, you will get the book at only $6.97! (The retail is $13.99 - so this is a 50% discount.) Plus, you will receive a bunch of bonuses from Mary and me.

(If you live outside the USA, keep reading.)

Here's a description of the book followed by testimonials by other authors.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ met face-to-face with people just like you. Broken, imperfect, sometimes fearful and without hope. The Day I Met Jesus is a beautifully crafted narrative that chronicles the remarkable encounters of five women in the Gospels who were desperate to find wholeness, security, and purpose. Like all of us, these women struggled with the regrets of their pasts, the stresses of their presents, and the worries of their tomorrows.

Join Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth on a fascinating journey back in time as they retell the dramatic accounts of five women who met Jesus. Each narrative is told from each woman’s unique perspective, yet tightly grounded in the Gospel accounts and faithful to first-century history. Elegantly written and profoundly stirring, this book blends creative narrative with uncommon insight, spiritual depth, and practical application.

If you are someone who seeks a renewal of hope, faith, and love, The Day I Met Jesus will make your Bible come to life and usher you into a fresh encounter with your Lord.

--

Craig Keener, who I regard as being the best New Testament scholar of our time when it comes to the first century, was our historical adviser. Craig ensured that the fictionalized sections as well as the non-fiction sections were faithful to Scripture and first-century history.

Here are some early recommendations

“Elegant, stimulating, rewarding, this probe into Jesus’ relationship with women packages the best of biblical scholarship and theology in the spellbinding wraps of storytelling.”
Leonard Sweet

“In The Day I Met Jesus, Frank and Mary demonstrate lucid insight into the balanced, candid, focused, tender, and penetrating manner of our Master–Jesus the Christ. See again the Savior who was God and Man embodied to show and transform us by His unpretentious holiness, empowering authenticity–without scorn or condemnation, transmitting love’s purity, life’s vitality, and hope’s eternity. I commend the authors and this book to you: both will enrich and enlarge your thoughts and your life.”
Pastor Jack Hayford

“Jesus, from the very beginning, has been ‘good news for women.’ Perhaps that news has rarely been needed more clearly than in our day. One reads of His encounters with the women described in this book with a sense of wonder that these interactions took place two thousand years ago. He is good news for women still.”
John Ortberg

“What a treasure this diary-style book is! This impactful message focuses on five broken women in the Bible and their life-changing encounters with Jesus. The way Mary and Frank portray their stories will help any woman who has experienced heartbreak, loneliness, ​and rejection step right into the extravagant grace and love of Jesus.”
Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author

 “The Day I Met Jesus is a refreshing look at five women in the Gospels, telling their stories in a way that brings them to life but at the same time based on careful research into the real world in which they lived. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. Through the eyes of women whose lives Jesus touched, this book invites us to see Jesus more deeply. It ministered to broken places in my own heart.”
Craig Keener, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary

“Step into the first century, as your senses and imagination are engaged in Mary DeMuth’s masterful biblical narrative, deftly exploring the hearts and minds of five women who met the Savior. Then Frank Viola brings his own gifts to the page, opening the Scriptures to help us understand each account more fully. Together, their voices sing of the beauty of Christ and the redemption He offers. The Day I Met Jesus is truly a wonderful book.”
Liz Curtis Higgs, bestselling author of Bad Girls of the Bible

“We all long to lift the veil of history and catch a glimpse of the real story–the one that makes our hearts pound, our faith grow, and our lives change. That’s exactly what Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth offer in this compelling book. You will never look at Scripture or God’s work in your own heart the same way again after you close the final page.”
Holley Gerth

“Many Christians fail to experience the full power of the Bible’s stories because they never learned how to imaginatively ‘get inside’ the lives of biblical characters to make them come alive. I don’t know of any book that better helps readers do this than The Day I Met Jesus. Combining imaginative creativity, historical scholarship, and great story-telling, Viola and DeMuth help readers enter into the lives of five women in the Gospels to experience Jesus from their perspective. And by this means, they help readers deepen their own understanding of, and love for, Jesus. After reading this poignant and gripping book, you won’t view these five women, Jesus, or yourself the same way!”
Greg Boyd

“Through the stories of five unique women from the Gospels, Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth masterfully reveal the truth of Jesus in a riveting, breathtaking way. Each story captivatingly invites you on a journey through pain, rejection, and brokenness and leads you right into the heart of Jesus as He meets each woman in an intimately restorative and loving way, as only Jesus can. This book will minister to the broken places in your heart and leave you longing to know Jesus more deeply.”
Derwin L. Gray

“Mary and Frank provide a fresh look at biblical women that breathes life, color, and hue into these familiar stories. If you want to better understand the richness of biblical accounts in the context of first-century history, this is a book you won’t want to miss.”
Margaret Feinberg

“I thought I knew the women in these stories well, but in this beautiful book I met each one in a fresh, personal, and profound way. The life-changing grace and mercy Christ extended to these our sisters so long ago is here right now for you and for me.”
Sheila Walsh

Order your copy from Parable.com and get your exclusive bonuses.

Your bonuses will be sent from Alicia or Tiffany at parable.com via email 24-48 hours after you make your purchase. Keep an eye on your spam/junk folder or “Promotions” tab (if you use Gmail) if you don’t see it within 48 hours.

(If you live outside the USA and you can't afford Parable's shipping to your country, send an email to PTMIN@aol.com and put in the subject line "New Book & Your Country." So if you live in France, write to that email address -- DON'T reply here -- and put "New Book France" in the subject line. You'll receive instructions, so check your spam/junk folder.)

Thanks so much for supporting the book. I believe you'll love it!

     Gratefully,

     Frank

     Psalm 115:1

P.S. The special discount on The Day I Met Jesus and the complimentary bonuses ends soon. Get the book here so you don't miss the opportunity.

P.S.S. I'll be sending a follow-up update next week with a word that will inspire and encourage you.