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The Mystery of Tears
by Lewis McNeely on Wednesday, Jun 16th, 2010 at 11:19 am
A few nights ago I had a cool dream. In it I visited a pond situated near my childhood home in Augusta Ga. In the dream I was in a home beside the pond with friends discussing with the elderly owner about how much the pond had meant to me as a child. She asked why it had such meaning and I began to cry. The tears were a unique form of grieving and I could not explain my tears to her. She just sat calmly as I cried low soft groanings. As I woke up I realized two things. One, in the waking world, the pond in my childhood actually meant nothing much to me. It was simply a landmark we passed by frequently in our family vehicle. Second, I realized I was weeping in my dream because the pond reminded me of the time in my life when my parents had just divorced. At 4 years old, I did not know how to grieve. So now 40 years later I finally grieved the pain. Not the pain of an adult as I have grieved the divorce of my parents several times throughout my adult life. No, this was the 4 year old in me receiving a measure of emotional healing by dreaming of a connection to a previously lost icon of my adolescence. According to the Revelation of John, tears and crying are part of the "Old Order". Rev. 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." The first record of tears in the Bible is when Abraham weeps over the death of Sarah. After that we see much weeping. Hannah weeps, Esau weeps, David weeps a lot and even Jesus weeps. Tears are a mystery. Physically they cleanse our body of toxins and proteins and even clear away debris. Perhaps this was the primary purpose of tears before the fall of humanity. Tears of sorrow now serve as a form of release and healing from the events in our life that cause us inner pain. I believe the answer to why we actually shed tears of sorrow is because deep in our spirits we know we are created for something much better than this, something complete, something grand and without injury or loss. This is why He will wipe away our tears when the new order of things is set in place. For those who know Jesus, in that day we will no longer mourn our loss, our brokenness and incompletion. But for now, I say when you need to cry, let it out. Without pride, fear or condemnation, cut loose and let the healing flow of tears bring cleansing to your soul while we all still suffer in this old order of things.

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Will the Real God Please Stand Up? Part 2
by Lewis McNeely on Monday, Feb 22nd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
In part one I shared we often have been taught wrong concerning the nature of God. Someone stated I was in error about the Law not existing before Moses. He said the Law existed in Cain's day. I'll reply to his email in a more detailed way later. It's clear the Old Covenant Law did NOT exist until the time of Moses. Galatians 3:17, "What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise."

Moses Law was introduced 430 years after Abraham. Abraham was born at least 400 years after Cain. So, the Law DID NOT exist in Cain's Day. Now am I saying sin did not exist? Of course not. I'm saying the Old Covenant was not in effect in Cain's day. Nor was an accounting of sin. Romans 5:13 "for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law."

Next key thought is it is important to know if you are under the new covenant, you do not rest under the anger of God. In fact He is NEVER angry with you. This is remarkable and sounds too good to be true. Yet the Prophet Isaiah prophesied this about the New Covenant in Chapter 54: "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn NOT to be angry with you, NEVER to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you."

Some may argue this was a promise to Israel at that time or is for when we get to heaven. It's clear the entire chapter is a prophetic promise of the New Covenant. It states this promise happens under the "Covenant of Peace." Look at Ephesian 2 starting at 14 "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near."

We know it is not just for heaven because later in the chapter He states. in verse 15 "If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing". No one will attack us in heaven so it is a promise for here and now. By the way, did you catch that? He is NOT the one who attacks us. Praise the Lord!

Indeed our old nature was destined for God's wrath. Ephesian 2:3 "Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath". Now, because we have a new nature, we are objects of His mercy. Romans 5:9 "Since we've now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

Keep in mind everyone has to be punished by God's wrath. We either get it on the Day of Wrath by rejecting Jesus. Or we can accept the price Jesus paid by taking the wrath for us on the cross. Then we are given a new nature that will never suffer the anger of our Creator.

The bottom line is if you are born again GOD IS NO LONGER ANGRY WITH YOU. He swore He will never be angry with you again. Doesn't that make you want to get to know Him even more? It is His kindness that leads us to repent (Romans 2:4), not His wrath. That's all for now. I'll finish this up in part three. Remember it sounds too good to be true but it is true. Your heavenly Father is deeply in love with you. He wants relationship with you. Run to Him today.

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Will the Real God Please Stand Up?
by Lewis McNeely on Wednesday, Feb 17th, 2010 at 10:26 am
This morning I am inspired by a teaching I'd heard last year about the nature of God. I've been living for Jesus for 25 years. The first 15 years I thought I understood the nature God.  Now I realize much of what I'd learned about Him was an erroneous mix of tradition and bad theology. Let me illustrate: The first major sin recorded in scripture after the fall was Cain murdering Able. God's response was He tells Cain he is now under a curse. That the ground would not produce and he would be a wanderer. Cain then laments that He will be away from God. His words in Genesis, "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”  Notice the fact he equates being out of God's presence with danger. He feels if he's with God, he will stay alive and if not he may be killed. God furthers the point that He desires to protect him by saying, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.  So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

This is remarkable. By this we can determine that even after the garden, Adam and his family were still in the presence of God. God was living among them as He did in the Garden. I believe they were not in the same place with God spiritually since they had died spiritually. But God had not changed. Many people allude to the fact that God chased them from the garden because of sin they could no longer be with Him. The fact is He removed them from the garden so they would not eat from the tree of life and live forever in a sinful state. AND he went with them. Why else would He need to leave an angel with a flaming sword to block access to the garden if He were staying behind? No, the Father loved His family so much, He packed up with them and headed out.
 
Fast forward.  Man is now under the Law and a man in Numbers 15:32-36 is stoned for picking up sticks. "And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses." Wow! Which seems to be a greater sin? Killing your brother or picking up sticks on the Sabbath. Yet Cain is protected from death and the sabbath stick man is killed. Now fast forward to the woman caught in adultery. By Moses' Law she is to be stoned. Yet Jesus forgives her and admonishes her to sin no more. Double wow!

Why does God, before the law, let Cain off the hook and even preserves his life? Then He requires a man to be stoned for picking up sticks. Then He forgives the woman caught in adultery? Is He bipolar? What's the deal?

The fact is before the Law, sin was not counted against humanity. Romans 5:13 "for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law."  And we also know after the cross, sin is not counted. Romans 4-8  "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."  Only during the Old Covenant law was sin accounted for.

This is why Jesus forgave the adulterous woman. This is why He did not call fire down on the city.  This is why He does not resist us when we have a repentant heart. "Moses brought the Law but Jesus brought grace and truth". John 1:17.

The truth of God's nature is with Cain before the law and after with Jesus and the cross. The law served its purpose to show us we could never live up to His standards. Most people stretch the harsh justice of God under the Law back to before the Garden and then past the cross to say this is the true nature of God. But mercy triumphs over Justice. Moses brought the Law, Jesus brings truth and grace. HE is the express image the Father. Some say this teaching subtracts from the Old Covenant. Not at all. To say God is harsh and angry, subtracts from the work on the Cross.  Even the Father on many occasions says He never really liked the law. It was not pleasing to Him. It was not His heart. So let's learn and remember who the real God is. His yoke is easy, His burden is light. He is meek and lowly of heart.  He by His own choice forgives the sinner. He is deeply in love with His creation.   (more to come in part 2)

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offended
by Lewis McNeely on Wednesday, Jan 13th, 2010 at 03:53 pm
If there is one constant dysfunction among the Body of Christ, it is the ease at which many believers get offended. Look at the very word "off-ended". It's as if we allow other people's failures to knock us emotionally off balance.  The fact so many believers live offended and upset with others, leads me to believe most have never tapped into Proverbs 19:11: A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. (NIV.)

I believe if there is to be one defining trait of love common in all Christians, it should be that we are unoffendable. And I am not talking about toward sin. It should always offend us. I am speaking of being offended at people. I have spent the last 10 years of my life being extremely unoffendable. How do I do this?  Ultimately it only happens through healing and grace or Gods' ability working in you to overlook offense. There are also some practical steps we can practice to learn a new habit of being unoffendable:

1. Realize in most cases the offense is perceived rather than real. Think about the times you offended someone. Was it intention? Did you decide that day to hurt or offend that person? Most likely no.  In many cases the other person is usually not even aware they have offended you. Keep that in mind when an opportunity to offend comes. Rather than being offended cast it down with the belief that the other person probably did not mean to upset you.

2. Second, rather than wonder what they meant by their words or actions, take a moment before getting upset to ask them (in private if possible) what they mean by what they said or did. Don't say, "I AM OFFENDED AT YOU".  Try, "What you just said or did if I understood you correctly, has the potential to upset me. Can you explain it to me so I understand better?"  I believe in most cases this will give them the chance to reword or explain themselves in a less offending manner. Remember, if you do not ask them to fill in the blanks, your offense will allow the devil to. And that always produces strife and division.

3. If it's apparent that the words or actions are truly an offense that cannot be averted, simply choose to overlook the offense as the Proverb noted above says. Well I can't do that Lewis. They should know better than to say or behave that way. You are right they should. But they didn't. So, rather than suffer for their actions simply move past it in grace and let it go.   Now what if it should clearly be dealt with such as a racist or blatantly unkind remark?  Then go to my second point above. However, in certain instances such as with strangers or individuals not ready to hear you out, it's better to overlook and keep going.

The bottom line? If we want people to overlook our faults and offensiveness we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Keep in mind, especially with believers, that Isaiah 54 says under this New Covenant of Peace we have with Jesus that our Father in Heaven is not angry with them. So why should we be? He deals in mercy and grace. Should we behave any less loving?

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The War is Over
by Lewis McNeely on Tuesday, Jan 5th, 2010 at 09:15 am
We are in a new year. Lets get rid of old unbiblical thinking. The Lord has been reminding me during this fast that the war between him and mankind is over. He ended it on the cross. I think Andrew Wommack describes it well in his new book “The War is Over”. Here are excerpts from his book on his web page:

       “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14 They were announcing, “Peace. Good will toward men from God!” Prior to the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, God was at war against man’s sins. His wrath came upon people because of the sin in their life. Many Christians haven’t mentally separated this out and really looked at it. ... Yet a closer examination of God’s Word reveals that there was a wrath and a judgment from God against people in the Old Testament that is totally unjustified and wrong in the New Testament. Why? Jesus ended the war between God and man. He made all the difference! Despite that, most people run all of this together. They still think of God as being angry at our sins. They mistakenly believe that there is still a war going on between God and man, and that every time they sin that somehow or another it’s a new affront against Him. You’ve probably heard people say, “God is ticked off!” and quote Old Testament scriptures about the wrath of God falling on people. “God is angry today,” they insist. “He’s dangling our country over hell by a thin thread that’s on fire, and He’s just about ready to turn us over to the devil.....Several well-known religious leaders stood up and declared that God was the One who sent the terrorist attacks that happened in 2001, and that this was the beginning of His judgment on our nation. They’re still proclaiming that there is wrath from God towards men. ...

        Yet, this isn’t the message of the New Testament. These angels who announced the birth of Jesus understood the Gospel. They understood that He came to pay the price, to redeem us, and to stop God’s wrath upon sin. The New Testament church should be proclaiming to people that their sins have been paid for. We ought to be telling people the Gospel. The Gospel is good news. In fact, this Greek word translated gospel actually means “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news.” The Gospel is the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news that God isn’t angry with you, that He loves you, and that He wants to extend all of His blessings toward you. As a whole, the church isn’t preaching this. We’re still telling people that God is angry with them, and then we wonder why they aren’t beating down the doors to get in the church. It’s the goodness of God that leads people to repentance! (Rom. 2:4.) God is just, but Jesus paid the price. (See 1 Cor. 6:20.) He totally changed the way God deals with mankind. That’s what these angels were singing about. God Isn’t Upset. While summarizing the ministry of Jesus, Paul made the same point in the epistle he wrote to the Corinthians. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17,18 To reconcile is simply to make friendly or to bring back into harmony. Can you see that God is not upset with you?”

Want to learn more? Wisit: http://www.awmi.net/war_is_over

I also think the entire teaching is free on his web site under the audio section. Let's stop fighting with our Father in heaven and get busy preaching the good news to a lost and dying world.

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Cloudy with a chance for change
by Lewis McNeely on Monday, Dec 28th, 2009 at 03:51 pm
  As we cross into January 1 nothing any different is really happening in the universe simply because it is a new year. It is only the measurement of another journey of our fair planet around the Sun. Still, it is an excellent time for both introspection and external inspection of where we are in Christ and our life in general. The new year is a great time to measure where you have been, where you are now, and where you are going. 2nd Corinthians 13 verse 5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!”  God encourages us to look at the milestones in our lives then, like Paul, forget what is behind and take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of us.     I think human beings often times, through habit and sometimes though overwork or underwork, fall easily into the rut of meaningless routine. Many are still doing the same thing and are at the same place spiritually they were 10 years ago. That's well and fine if that's what Jesus is calling you to. Nothing inherently evil about routine. The problem is if that routine is clouding out the call of God in your life. Matthew speaks of "The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful."  I believe this merry-go-round of routine is often the source that prolongs undealt-with inner pain.   Some don't like to discuss calling or anything that would remotely suggest reaching higher than the status quo. They feel tired, beat down, defeated and irrelevant. Still, we must be honest with ourselves and call our heart as it really is.  I think many believers are blinded by the cloud of their daily routine. If that's you it's time to get away. Take a prayer retreat. Get alone somehow and spend quality time examining your life.  Where are you spiritually, emotionally financially? How are your friend and family relationships? Are these thing where you want them to be or even more, where HE wants them to be? If not, what can you do in His strength to change it? I believe the enemy of faith is memory. Remembering all the times your tried and failed. Once you have learned from it what God desires, you must forget the past. Smith Wigglesworth, the great man of God said "If you look back act back or think back God cannot use you".     The best way to rid your life of meaningless routine is to wake up spiritually, shake yourself and try something different. Maybe even RADICALLY different. Of course all in God’s plan and timing. The only person in the Parable of the Talents who received rebuke was the one who was afraid to take a risk. I would rather fail trying to do the will of God than hide my calling in the ground because I am afraid of defeat.  Besides, our Father is not a hard being who delights in punishing us. He knows the plans He has for us and they are good plans. "For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."  1st Thessalonians 5:9.   I think we do not reach our full potential because we are afraid to try, afraid to fail and afraid of change.  Let's turn off our TVs, Ipods, laptops and X-box's for a short while (if not longer) at the first of this year. Let's tune in to something new, something right, something fully in Him. Then, maybe a year from now you will not recognize your life and only for the better. 

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Conservatism without Christ will fail
by Lewis McNeely on Thursday, Dec 17th, 2009 at 04:52 pm
For years I've relied on the FoxNews.com for my daily news. I've decided to no longer frequent the site. The reason? I'm finding increasingly more sexually related content on the site. At first I didn't think much of it. I prefer Fox News because, yes, I do think it's more fair and balanced than other major news providers. I also appreciate the fact it gives conservative views equal if not more time than other news providers. Let me add I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. I simply vote traditional conservative values. By the grace of God I do not struggle with pornography. Sadly, many do. However, when I frequent a site daily such as Fox News, I find it distracting to the point of temptation to be constantly barraged by the likes of stories about celebrities taking it all off. I don't see the fact that some famous person disrobed as news. WHO CARES? I recommend onenewsnow.com for safe daily news. So why write this? Because I've come to believe conservatism without faith is harmful. Let's look at political conservatism in America. Wikipedia describes conservatism as "a political attitude and philosophy which advocates institutions and traditional practices that have developed organically within a nation over a period of time". In the US it includes a variety of ideologies, yet most Americans define conservatism as being a belief in smaller government, fiscal responsibility and traditional family values especially as derived from Judeo-Christian principles. Because we're all broken humans there are those who embrace traditional conservatism and yet cannot truly live by its dictates. Conservative thinking is a mindset that's impossible to fully live without Jesus. For example, a non Christian young man identifies with the conservative movement, opposing abortion, opposing rights based on sexual orientation, basically embracing Christian family values. Yet because this man is not a Christian, the principle the Apostle Paul addresses when he was under old testament law comes into effect. He says in Romans chapter seven, when he was under the law he desired to do good but he did not have the ability. The Bible is clear; no matter how good a person desires to be, we cannot by sheer will power, live up to godly standards. All attempts at right living apart from a relationship with Jesus becomes legalism and ultimately failure. This is why a non believing male politician who espouses traditional family values is caught in the restroom making sexual advances at another man. Does he not believe in what he preaches? I think he does. He just cannot attain true conservatism without Christ working it in his heart. Some label conservatives hypocrites and liars, many times rightly so. What is the solution? I believe the answer is we should focus our time on making Christian disciples rather than on converting people to conservative thinking. Let's lead them to Christ first then let Jesus lead them into a mindset that comes naturally for Bible embracing people. Let's not put the cart before the horse nor conservative thinking apart from a Christ cleansed conservative heart.

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Santa Claus or SATAN cause
by Lewis McNeely on Thursday, Dec 10th, 2009 at 01:10 pm
After discussion from the FB masses I had an epiphany. I had been asking the question: If the current meaning of a tradition or celebration is far removed from the original meaning then does the original meaning matter? In terms of good and evil, if the original evil meaning was what made something evil, would the now good meaning not now make that same thing good? Of course this is only in neutral cases where the act or celebration is truly neutral. For example; wearing a hat is neutral in terms of good an evil. But say... hats in Alaska were originally conceived as a way to identify with the dark underworld. Now in modern times, hats are simply a way to keep heat in. SInce hat wearing is spiritually neutral then it could only be its current meaning that determines whether it is bad or good. Take another example. Robin Hood (first registered democrat by the way. Just kidding.) says he steals from the rich to give to the poor. Since stealing is not a spiritually neutral action but a clearly immoral action, then no matter what meaning is assigned to it, it will always be morally wrong. Now lets bring it into the original discussion. Santa according to tradition and verifiable data without a doubt has his origins in evil paganism. But years later in the US, the meaning of Santa is entirely benevolent. Paganism is not the meaning assigned to him today. So because a kind old man bringing gifts to children is not an inherently evil action then the only thing that can determine whether the tradition is good or bad would seem to be the meaning assigned to it today by those who practice it. Christians who do (and should) have an interest in the morality of the events they participate in many times struggle with whether an item, event, book or movie is going to be harmful to them or their children. My thinking is to look at from scripture. Is God opposed to it or the message it is trying to teach? Is the action itself noted as sin? Paul mentions there are some disputable matters that believers debate. Paul noted some of these as: whether we eat meat or only vegetables, whether one day is celebrated as a Sabbath or everyday. Here are his thoughts from Romans 14:1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. So what do we do with Santa? Well, I am convinced that the concept of a benevolent person bringing gifts to children around the world is harmless in itself. The issue to me is not whether it has pagan origins. The issue that I personally see as a problem with Santa is two fold; the first being the issue of lying to our kids. Some say that because the meaning is good the lying is acceptable. Well, in my family it is not. The other issue is Santa is certainly a distraction to the celebration of Christ's births. Now here is the part that will really ruffle the fur on some sacred cows. There is nothing in scripture I know of that says Christians have to celebrate the birth of Christ. In fact, in taking communion we are celebrating His death. 1 Cor 11. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. I do feel it's totally cool to celebrate every aspect of the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Paul said he preached Christ and Him crucified. Once again emphasis on the death part. So I am not certain that we as believers have to be so bent out of shape about Santa stealing away focus from a holiday that we actual stole from paganism in the first place. Do I think Santa should win out? No, not by any means. Yet I am not going to be upset at all the attention Santa gets for 3 weeks of the year when I can give 52 weeks of the year to celebrating the life of Christ. So back to the origins thing. I like what Michael Morrison says here on http://www.wcg.org/lit/church/holidays/paganism.htm. He notes "So the question arises, How careful must we be in weeding paganisms out of our lives? Where do we draw the line? The answer is, different Christians draw the line in different places. We need to allow some diversity on these issues. Some conservative churches used to forbid wedding rings. Some forbid Christmas and Easter. They are careful to do what God says, and if God tells them to avoid paganism, then they carefully do it. Some are so careful that they err on the side of forbidding too much — but they err. They make commands about things that God doesn't command. That is a sin". So bottom line to me is I think the meaning behind any spiritually neutral action or event is determined by the current meaning not the original. Emphasis on "spiritually neutral" No amount of changing the meaning of sinful acts will ever make those acts acceptable to God (or me).

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Never going back
by Lewis McNeely on Sunday, Feb 22nd, 2009 at 12:10 am
For a long time I‘ve used PC’s. My first was a machine with 1 meg of ram and a 40 meg hard drive. I was flying on my lightning fast machine. 20 years later I now have a Mac. And I’m never going back. I resisted for years to switch for several reasons. First, every Mac user I ever knew had what I call “Mac pride”.  The second was price. The third was software. The first reason hasn’t changed much and Macs are a little pricier but worth it. Software is no issue these days as most software the average user needs is on both platforms. I finally switched because I had had enough blue screens, slow boots, viruses and spyware. I was sick and tired of the status quo.  I also resisted because part of me didn’t believe that Macs could really be that much better. But I was wrong. My PC was a Yugo, a slow, yet adequate means to compute but troublesome and simple. My Mac is a Lexus, a fast, stable, intuitive, user friendly, progressive life machine. I can’t believe I resisted the switch. NO viruses (except those written for PCs hiding in emails from PC users but innocuous to Macs.) No spyware, no slowness or instability.  9 months later I can see no reason to ever again own a PC. Let me say to those contemplating a change to a Mac. DO IT. It’s worth the extra money to rid yourself of the headache that most PC’s bring.

Why am I writing about this on my church blog? Well there’s a lesson here. The biggest is that I never knew what life would be like on the Mac side until I made the tough choice to switch. In a recent meeting I attended the speaker said “if it works for you then keep doing it. But if it’s not working, then you’ve got to do something that will work.”  Most of us (including me in the past), read our Bible sporadically, only listen to one or two sermons a week, pray intermittently and basically skate by on doing the things that cause us to grow as Christians. We put up with the instability, viruses and blue screens of crisis that pop up in our everyday lives.  Many think that this is just how it is. That there’s nothing better, nothing more stable, more organized or easy in our lives. Sure, we know Heaven offers those things but we accept the status quo, forgetting that Jesus prayed that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We do not have to accept the “just okay” when we can accept the best. We do not have to say it is “too expensive” or too difficult to move on up to “His yoke is easy and His burden is light”. Sure, It will take work and there is additional cost but it is worth it. So how do you make the switch from hum drum to “thy will be done”?  First, ask for grace, His ability to do what you cannot do for yourself. Then make a quality, on purpose decision to run hard after Him and for all He has for you. Finally, do not be legalistic. Don’t set some agenda that makes you feel condemned when you do not measure up. Let it come in the flow of simply being - not doing. Here’s what I’m doing and it’s working for me.  I listen to a teaching or at least part of one every day. That Ipod is for more than just music. Download free mp3s from your favorite Bible teacher and listen in the car, at bedtime and instead of watching CSI. By the way, most smart-phones double as mp3 players so download to your sd card and grow. Second, turn off the world, at least most of the time. Sure NPR and Rush are entertaining but if Heaven’s our destiny why give the world 90 percent of your ear when Jesus IS your life.  Next pray in the spirit often, while vacuuming, driving or taking a shower. Go to a prayer meeting at least once a week. Read your Bible everyday. Or listen to it online or on your mp3 player.  Go to church often. I know some people say they don’t want to be at the church every time the doors are open. But isn’t it funny how church meets only twice a week but that seems to be at the EXACT times we “NEED” to have a little family time? I’m simply saying if barely skating by on your Christian growth is working for you then keep keeping on. But if you really want the blessed life, the prosperous life, the healed and whole life, then you’ve got to stop doing the status quo and start grabbing all of HIM that you can get in this life. I am, and I plan to never go back.

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An open letter to my wife.
by Lewis McNeely on Sunday, Aug 10th, 2008 at 11:14 am
An Open Letter To My Wife

(Before I begin, let me say this letter is not written with any other motive than to bless and praise my wife. It is not for women to compare themselves or feel condemned and it is not for husbands to use as a tool for judge their wives. It is simply a letter from a very thankful husband, expressing love and praise to his wife and not only to her in private but at the city gates as well.)

Dear Kim,

I woke up this morning and as I was thinking about the Lord and other things, it came to me just how good you are and not just good to me but good in general. You are by all definitions a good person. You are an extremely good wife. While I was praying before church I was trying to think how to really let you know that I see the good in you and all the good things you do for people and especially for your family. That is when I had the idea for this open letter. First of all, I see what a great mother you are. You have always taken good care of Austin and these past 2 years I have seen with our 2 new little ones, that you are always giving to them what ever they need 24-7.  I am blessed by the fact that in the middle of the night, if one of our girls need something you are quick to jump up to tend to their needs. Even when I try to go instead you say: "no you sleep. You have to get up early in the morning". You are alway thinking of others before yourself. I also do not take for granted that whenever I open up the closet or clothing drawer that there is always something clean for me to wear. I remember when we first got married I woke up to find a packed lunch ready for me. I had never been treated so good.  I was amazed because no one (except my mother) had ever treated and served me with such thoughtfulness before.  You always have a smile for everyone. I cannot think of anyone who does not immediately fall in love with you once they meet you. You always lend a caring ear to your friends even when some of them would never stop talking long enough to let you share your heart.  I also notice  even when some friends and family members do not show you the kindness you show them,  you keep reaching out to them, keep listening and keep giving.  You are a rare person. I tried the other day to think of any one I know like you, as kind and as good as you and I could not think of a single person.

I know this letter does not do justice to the life you live and pour out for me and others everyday. And I know you never ask to be thanked by me. Still I need to let you know I observe your goodness to me and others everyday. I want to end by saying you are truly a wife of a noble character. I arise and call you blessed. I praise you as Proverbs says in 31 verse 31: " Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

I Love you Dear,

Lewis

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I must be a nut
by Lewis McNeely on Friday, Jun 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

When I was in the 7th or 8th grade I lived in a little town called Harlem georgia, the birth place of Oliver Hardee. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Hardy   It’s a small town that is laid out pretty much in a square with straight and flat roads. One summer afternoon I was walking down one of the suburb streets down the middle. (I know, not smart but the town was small with one traffic signal so the roads were not exactly crowded metropolis through-fares.) So I was in the middle of the road half way between the last and next intersection when at the far end of the road a squirrel hopped into the street. I froze thinking maybe he would come closer if I didn’t move. He began cautiously walking and  hopping toward me in a zig zag pattern from one side of the road to the other. As he grew closer he started traveling more in the middle of the road. I was thinking perhaps he believes I am a tree to use if needed for an escape route. Of course I do not want to know what would have happened if he decided to climb me.  Se he continued until finally he walked right between my legs and continued on. I remained stoic and slowly turned my head to watch him mosey to the next intersection where he bounded then up a tree. Another remarkable thing is no cars came during that time. 

Fast forward to this morning.  I come out of the house and noticed a squirrel crossing the road who then bounded up a telephone pole. He then jumped into a nearby tree. Amazing the leaps they make. As I opened my car door I caught another movement out of the corner of my eye. The mulberry tree next door, was at that moment, habitation to about 4 squirrels running and playing in the limbs. Suddenly one ran down off the tree and was pretty much following the path of the first squirrel I mentioned. I started to get in my car when I noticed that he slowed and was sniffing and looking intently at me  I decided to not move and see what would happen. He then turned and slowly started walking to me. We were locked eye to eye and he was vigorously trying to figure me out. I assume he was trying to determine if I was safe. He slowly, and without the  normal cautious tale flicking of uncertainty, kept coming toward me. Now at this point, I was the one feeling cautious. As much as it was neat to have a feral animal come close to me, I was beginning to wonder what would happen if he climbed me, then found out when he was on me, that I was not a tree. So I moved a little. He stopped then circled wide. I then watched as he went around me in my driveway and started coming to me again. He was maybe 2 and 1/2 feet from me when I then made a bigger movement to alert him to scram. Instead of running, he turned and headed away slowly and calmly to the telephone pole up the street.

In prayer afterward I thought of several things. There is a movie titled “Things we lost in the fire”. I was thinking about “Things we lost in the garden.” I cried because first of all, we lost tangibly walking with our creator. Now we only see through a glass darkly. Second I was sad because we also lost the connection humanity had with our surroundings especially the animals of God’s creation.  It was neat to have an untamed animal not fear me this summer morning.  We were all friends at one time and God even allowed one of our kind to name their kind. We were, at creation, so closely connected to them that God allowed Adam to search for a suitable helper from among them. Genesis 2:19-20

http://www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/adaminal.html

I also thought about how I wish we did not see through a glass darkly but could see face to face clearly. I also recalled of how after Israel wanted a king, that it seemed God then only spoke through the prophets after that. Before that time several patriarchs in the old testament had close encounters with God. I have not studied all of this out but I cannot recall even King David having a direct encounter with God face to face as some of His forefathers did. “Through a glass darkly”. Still the main focus should not be on the “glass darkly” part but on the ‘Now we see” part. Thankfully we do see, albeit darkly.  We are no longer blind. We can, through the cross, prayer and studying the Bible, begin to walk with God again in the cool of the day. Finally, I think sometimes we are like that squirrel. Looking at our creator as a large strange being that seems so foreign to us and yet, if  perhaps if we put away our fears, we can indeed know Him and even understand Him. Thankfully, unlike a squirrel looking a a human, we can even become like Him for “we know that when he appears, we shall be like him.”(1 John 3:2-3)

Pastor Lewis 

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The Chasing Blog
by Lewis McNeely on Monday, Aug 6th, 2007 at 10:04 am

'Cause Job, he chased an answer
The wise men chased the Child
Jacob chased her 14 years and he
Captured Rachel's smile
Moses chased the Promised Land
Joseph chased a dream
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me

'Cause Samson chased a woman
and he chased the Philistines
I'm not quite sure what Jonah chased
But I know he caught the sea
Cain, he chased the harvest
While Abel chased the beasts
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me
And Jesus chased the moneymen
And he chased his Father's will
He chased my sin to Calvary
And he caught it on that hill
Saul, he chased the Christians
Till his blindness made him see
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me

( Abbreviated version of The Chasing Song. Words and music by Andrew Peterson)

Do you ever feel like all you ever chase is you? I do. I love Jesus. I have a  prayer life. I worship and I read the word. Yet many times I feel like I am still running hard after "Me". My life, my dreams, my recreation, my movie night, my time off, my needs, my wants, my space (not the web site ).   I know if we allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed by our selfishness we can feel condemned. We should feel convicted but not condemned. Condemnation says “I will never change”. Conviction says, “I can change but ONLY at the foot of the Cross.”  So what do we do when we feel all we ever chase is “Me”?  First, we repent and turn away from selfishness. Then we honestly talk to Father God and ask Him to give us grace to chase after His heart, His kingdom, His world. Remember being a child of God is not about works or being busy for "busy" sake. It is about "being". No amount of prayer, Bible study or church attendance can make you a child of the King. That comes through believing Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead. So if you are a believer then just "be". Just be the child of God that you are. How do we do that?  I'm not 100 percent sure but I think that "just being" is a state of rest. Knowing you are His, that He keeps you and He watches over you as a loving Father. When we start being in this way, I think by nature we will start "chasing". Do you have any thoughts on this topic?  Email me and share them with me.

See you on the path.

Pastor Lewis

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criticism
by Lewis McNeely on Monday, Jun 18th, 2007 at 11:34 pm

We had small group tonight at Rob Benton’s home. He always has the gift of hospitality and his house always seems so peaceful.  We are finishing our Journey Book and also digging into The Sacred Romance book. Several of us were sharing about how criticism de-motivates us. Words have the power of life and death and the wrong kind of criticism can shut down a heart faster that any other kind of  comment.

One thing I thought about tonight is how many people lump all criticism into one negative definition. Of course this negative kind of criticism is what we were referring to in our discussion. However we must be careful to understand there is both positive and negative criticism. When we lump all criticism into being something negative, we risk suffering false rejection as well as missing the real and blessed opportunity to have a growth moment in our lives.

Proverbs speaks many times of the wisdom of accepting constructive criticism. Pr. 12:15  A fool's way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.  One of my favorite sayings is correction is not rejection.  So many times, we filter any type of corrective advice as saying that we are not accepted, that we are a failure in some area of our life. When someone, in love gives us constructive criticism, we should see that only as love and an opportunity to get better. My friend Dave Andrews says “Good- better- best. Never let it rest, until your good is better, and your better best” This is why I relish constructive criticism.

That being said, how a critique is presented and the motivation is key. Here is what I recommend. First there must be a “kinship of  mutual kindness” involved. What I mean is the criticism must inherently be said in a tone of  “I want to help you grow because I care about you”. Secondly, it should never be given in a time of argument debate or heated discussion.  Also one thing that really  bothers me and shows a person’s inability to take constructive criticism, is when they feel the need to critique you at the some moment even though the topic is about them. Certainly if you give it you should be able to take it. Often times the person offers their counter-criticism as a defense mechanism of hurt rather than out of a real desire to help you.  Last but not least you must be in relationship with someone before you offer that kind of advice. Show you care and people will allow that into there lives. I will share more about this in the future.   Bye!

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WARNING - Blogging in the Garden of Good and Evil.
by Lewis McNeely on Thursday, Jun 14th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Warning - Blogging in theGarden of Good and Evil.

 Gen 3:23-24  So the LORD God sent him away from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.  He drove man out, and east of the garden of Eden He stationed cherubim with a flaming, whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

   I want back in. I am not content to stay outside the garden any longer. And yet somehow I do not see the way. (I know Jesus is the way so that is not what I mean.) I mean the second Adam is beckoning me to come back into the garden. He paid the price. He paved the way. His blood is the ticket back into Eden and yet sometimes the path there seems blurry. Don’t misunderstand; I NEVER want Egypt again. I’ve been there, as they say, and got the shirt. No it’s not about looking back, thinking back, or acting back. I say, like Peter said in John 6:68 when multitudes of disciples walked away from the best thing that ever happened in their lives: "Lord, who will we go to? You alone have the words of eternal life.”

 To get back into the garden: That isthe whole point of the Christian Endeavor. Not about getting things, getting health or even getting Joy. It’s about getting Him. What made the garden great wasn’t the tree of life. It wasn’t the lack of a curse or even walking around clothed in glory. The Garden was awesome and wonderful and fulfilling because HE was there. Adonai-Jehovah, El-Elyon, El'Olam, El-Shaddai, Jehovah-Elohim, Jehovah-Ropheka , Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Mekaddishkem, Jehovah-Sabaoth, Jehovah-Shammah, Jehovah-Hoseenu,  Jehovah-Eloheenu… Abba… Father. That is why the garden is great. It’s because Daddy was there.

 I saw a Star Trek movie and there was this guy who got into a form of eternity called the Nexus but was somehow pulled out by a transporter wave. It was like heaven where you lived the best days of your life. He then spent the next 75 years doing nothing but trying to figure out how to get back in. He would pay any price and spend any amount of money to get back in. What will you and I do to get back into the Garden? To get back into a daily close intimate walk holding hands with Daddy-God?  Jesus paid the price and yet wemust still ENTER into that rest. Heb 4:1  “Therefore, while the promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear so that none of you should miss it”

 We must enter it. We must find our life that is hidden in Christ. We must pay any price to rest in Him. Non-stop entertainment or back to The Garden? Food and drink without restraint or His presence? Save our lives or lose it so we can find Daddy walking toward us in the cool of the Day? Through Messiah, I will get back in.

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Safety Blog
by Lewis McNeely on Monday, Jun 11th, 2007 at 03:54 pm

Well, we hope people are reading our new blog so please email and let us know.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I just got back from a baptismal service at the Benton’s. It was a little toasty out but the move of the Lord was awesome there. I could really feel the presence of the Lord. I just finished putting in some new safety things that  the Cummings gave us to child proof our domicile. Isabella is quite the curious George. She examines everything. What is funny is that Austin, when he was a toddler, never even so much as opened his toy box to look inside and yet he would not wear a pair of kid’s sunglasses at all. However Isabella, who seems to be the polar opposite of Austinin regard to activity and rambunctious as a toddler, will wear a pair of Sunglasses. She will even sleep in them. I thought for sure when Kim bought them, Isabella would sling them off her head the first second she had. Instead she seems to love them. She however, is a blond who likes fashion. Any who, back to safety things?  I also changed out our water filter. I bought one but it does not filter certain contaminates so I am going to pay double for a better one. This all makes me think about out heavenly father. Even though it costs me much time and some money to protect my family, no cost is too high for me to do so. That is what the cross is all about. The cross is like God’s safety kit to keep us from suffering from our frail humanity. Isabella gets into potentially harmful things because she is disobeying but sometimes she gets into things when she simply does not know any better. Either way I care and protect her. The Father is the same way to us. Thank the Lord for His cross.

We just took out Austin’s queen bed to give him more room. We put in a toddler bed. His feet hang off but he loves the Barney headboard. Just kidding. It’s a hot-wheel bed. Okay, okay- we really put in a futon. By the way I understand the concept of calling a large bed a “King” bed and a somewhat smaller bed a “queen”  but what position in the monarchy is a “full” or “double”? And why do they call the smallest bed a “twin”? Only one person can fit in it.

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The Climb
by Lewis McNeely on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 11:05 am

I have just gotten back from lunch with our web guy Chris Cummings from http://www.integritywebdevelopment.com. We were discussing the launch of our new site along with eating some Antonios (Go TONY!). I was going to save half of my Manacotti for later but once again ate like a pig. This brings me into the main thing I want to share in this new blog we have here at lwfonline.

Have you seen climbers hooking into bolt anchors as they ascend a mountain?  Those anchors are metal rods driven into the rock to provide a safety point to tie into to assit them in case they fall. Sometimes when they do fall, some anchors come loose because of the torque placed on them. If they are fortunate, at least one anchor holds and keeps them from plunging to harm’s way.( ie... stony hard ground vs Soft semi- pliable human matter) Now imagine those anchors are characteristics of the Christian walk. One anchor represents self control, another a faithful prayer life and another personal organization and still another diligence and motivation. Now imagine gravity representing the things in our lives we are trying to avoid; slothfulness, carnality, sin and selfishness. As we climb we hammer our anchors into the rock and hope that when pressure or the trials in life come, that the anchors hold. Here the point: In this Analogy Man-made anchors will not hold you safely. Neither will façade anchors, that is guile or “pretending we have it all together” anchors. Even godly anchors that we placed in the past but haven’t checked their strength in a long while may come loose and drop us when we need them the most. The bottom line is found in the Psalm 127 verse 1: Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it. He alone is the anchor and he alone can build these characteristics in our lives. ( Warning: very honest truth alert) My life is more disorganized than I would like to admit, my prayer life is wanting and my diligence seems to wane as I grow older. Though I may have it together, so to speak, in some areas, the fact is in many ways my life is a mess that needs Jesus to take over and clean it up. The sooner we come to this realization, the sooner Jesus can get busy molding us into his image. Many times we place more value in appearing to “have it all together” than actually allowing Jesus to change our lives. I say let’s Him pull out the man-made anchors and allow them to fall to the ground. Then Jesus can take his anchors and build us a true and lasting path up this sometimes difficult mountain we call life. Well I better get back to 'cypering and such. That reminds me of Jethro Clampett who like our family goes through a lot of cereal and milk. We went through about 6 boxes in one month recently. Someone said to Kim because she is breatfeeding our little one that you do not have to drink milk to make milk. Duh, you do not have to drink snot to make snot. ;-) Gotta love the food police!

 

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