Saturday, February 21, 2009
Conditions for Stealing
This post has been permanently moved to Benjamin's Blog. The direct link is http://benjaminlotter.com/truth/tips/conditions-for-stealing.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Warm Breath of God
In a previous post, I mentioned the bus soulwinning effort in which I was involved. Previous to that night the temperature had been very mild so several of us were caught off guard when the temperature dropped 20 degrees that day.
We were going to be on the bus most of the time so we would be fine, we thought. After finishing our first leg of witnessing, the bus driver informed us that this was his last trip for the night and that we would have to wait outside for about 10 minutes for the next bus to make the return trip. He also mentioned he had heard everything we were saying and as he was a Christian, he was greatly encouraged by it.
Then he asked if he could pray for us for the 2nd half of the night. As he did, he specifically mentioned the cold and asked that God would breathe his warm breath on us. A funny thing to pray for, I thought, not seeing how it would be possible a reality. Still, as I stood outside shivering, I secretly hoped it would be true.
Well nothing dramatic happened then and we forgot about the prayer. After finishing our second leg of the trip we again would have to wait in the cold until our ride came to take us back to church. As we walked up a sidewalk to get closer to a building and out of the wind, we suddenly felt a warm breeze. About ten feet away, a huge ventilation grid was softly blowing out warm air. We decided to stand there next to the building to wait for our ride. We must have been there for 15 minutes and only as our ride pulled up did someone say, "Hey... the warm breath of God... just like the bus driver prayed for."
Not only was this an amazing answer to prayer but equally amazing was our slowness to realize it. How I praise the Lord for the warm breath of God.
We were going to be on the bus most of the time so we would be fine, we thought. After finishing our first leg of witnessing, the bus driver informed us that this was his last trip for the night and that we would have to wait outside for about 10 minutes for the next bus to make the return trip. He also mentioned he had heard everything we were saying and as he was a Christian, he was greatly encouraged by it.
Then he asked if he could pray for us for the 2nd half of the night. As he did, he specifically mentioned the cold and asked that God would breathe his warm breath on us. A funny thing to pray for, I thought, not seeing how it would be possible a reality. Still, as I stood outside shivering, I secretly hoped it would be true.
Well nothing dramatic happened then and we forgot about the prayer. After finishing our second leg of the trip we again would have to wait in the cold until our ride came to take us back to church. As we walked up a sidewalk to get closer to a building and out of the wind, we suddenly felt a warm breeze. About ten feet away, a huge ventilation grid was softly blowing out warm air. We decided to stand there next to the building to wait for our ride. We must have been there for 15 minutes and only as our ride pulled up did someone say, "Hey... the warm breath of God... just like the bus driver prayed for."
Not only was this an amazing answer to prayer but equally amazing was our slowness to realize it. How I praise the Lord for the warm breath of God.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Outflow of the Lips - a Spirit filled Heart
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ~Matthew 12:34
The Chattering Recluse
I love technology! Normally I’m a quiet guy but get me talking about one of my passions and I quickly forget my shyness. So why do I speak volumes about technology and so little about Christ though I am – at times – passionate about Him? The answer is that it’s easy to speak about what is filling your heart.
There’s a name for your condition.
Every day, I live, breathe and work technology for at least 8 hours. The cumulative effect is that my heart is filled to overflowing and the result is that –-at the least prodding— the words spill out. In the same way, I can be filled with Christ so that the natural outflow of the heart is a flood of words about Him.
Living Proof
A recent example of this happened to me last night on the bus ride home from work. I had been invited to participate in an upcoming evening of bus evangelism and since that time, my daily commute found me brooding over what would make the difference on that bus ride. You see, my habit was to ride the entire trip in silence. Oh, I knew I would speak about Christ because there would an accountability partner riding with me but it would be awkward – certainly not the natural outflow of my heart.
But 2 nights ago, God brought a simple portion of a verse to mind and taught me new meaning of it last night. While I had missed the bus I intended to ride by a mere couple of minutes, God put me on the next bus with a sole Hispanic rider. At first, my intention wasn’t even to witness but it had been some time since I had spoken in Spanish so I struck up a conversation. He was immediately engaged and I realized I had full freedom to lead the conversation where I pleased.
I began to talk about religious things and when I found out his name was Abraham, a miracle happened. I said, “That’s a name in the Bible and so is mine. In fact, they were related.” Then I began to share the genealogical relationship and the floodgates of my lips broke open. I shared how Abraham was a man of faith and that God tested his faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son. Then I explained how that God provided a lamb substitute that day and that Jesus was the Lamb of God – our substitute for the death we deserved. Our time came to an end but I gave him a tract and my phone number and told him that I gave Bible studies every week in English and while it had been some time since I had done it in Spanish, I would love the opportunity to do it again. He was very receptive to everything I shared with him.
Filled and Overflowing
As I shared this testimony with another Christian, he made a connection I had never seen before. The fullness of the heart which causes us to speak of Christ IS the filling of the Holy Spirit. Think about the verse, “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Our hearts are too small to hold all that the Spirit has for us in the filling. The outflow of the lips IS the Spirit – the same One that indwells, outflows!
The Chattering Recluse
I love technology! Normally I’m a quiet guy but get me talking about one of my passions and I quickly forget my shyness. So why do I speak volumes about technology and so little about Christ though I am – at times – passionate about Him? The answer is that it’s easy to speak about what is filling your heart.
There’s a name for your condition.
Every day, I live, breathe and work technology for at least 8 hours. The cumulative effect is that my heart is filled to overflowing and the result is that –-at the least prodding— the words spill out. In the same way, I can be filled with Christ so that the natural outflow of the heart is a flood of words about Him.
Living Proof
A recent example of this happened to me last night on the bus ride home from work. I had been invited to participate in an upcoming evening of bus evangelism and since that time, my daily commute found me brooding over what would make the difference on that bus ride. You see, my habit was to ride the entire trip in silence. Oh, I knew I would speak about Christ because there would an accountability partner riding with me but it would be awkward – certainly not the natural outflow of my heart.
But 2 nights ago, God brought a simple portion of a verse to mind and taught me new meaning of it last night. While I had missed the bus I intended to ride by a mere couple of minutes, God put me on the next bus with a sole Hispanic rider. At first, my intention wasn’t even to witness but it had been some time since I had spoken in Spanish so I struck up a conversation. He was immediately engaged and I realized I had full freedom to lead the conversation where I pleased.
I began to talk about religious things and when I found out his name was Abraham, a miracle happened. I said, “That’s a name in the Bible and so is mine. In fact, they were related.” Then I began to share the genealogical relationship and the floodgates of my lips broke open. I shared how Abraham was a man of faith and that God tested his faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son. Then I explained how that God provided a lamb substitute that day and that Jesus was the Lamb of God – our substitute for the death we deserved. Our time came to an end but I gave him a tract and my phone number and told him that I gave Bible studies every week in English and while it had been some time since I had done it in Spanish, I would love the opportunity to do it again. He was very receptive to everything I shared with him.
Filled and Overflowing
As I shared this testimony with another Christian, he made a connection I had never seen before. The fullness of the heart which causes us to speak of Christ IS the filling of the Holy Spirit. Think about the verse, “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Our hearts are too small to hold all that the Spirit has for us in the filling. The outflow of the lips IS the Spirit – the same One that indwells, outflows!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bleed Kindness
This post has been permanently moved to BenjaminLotter.com. Here is the specific URL of this post on kindness.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
God's Miraculous Presence and Power - Guaranteed
I've often wondered at the amazing reality of God's presence during our church's annual revival conferences. Equally confounding reason is the short-lived nature of this phenomena.
Some would attribute this to the Hawthorne Effect, where a noticeable improvement occurs temporarily because expectations are higher. However, this only accounts for the subjective mood of the audience and not the real (if not equally tangible) change of God's presence and power.
Now imagine I could guarantee that God's presence would be unmistakable at your next church service. No, I don't mean your next revival service -- just your average meeting.
How is this possible? Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Reflect on the meaning of the words "search for [Him] with all your heart." What if the usher were searching for God with all his heart? It would show in how he greeted you as you passed through the door. Think of a choir whose collective heart sought for God and sang with all their might -- sang right to the ears of God. If the pastor put all his heart into preaching the message aware of God's working through him and if the hearers put all their heart into listening and then obeying those words, there would be an awesome manifestation of the presence and power of God.
In contrast, many times we expect so little from a typical service and thus we put in little of our heart. Now let's apply this mindset -- that of whole-heartedness -- to each endeavor in each area of life such as our religious service, our family and work. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." ~Ecclesiastes 9:10a
Some would attribute this to the Hawthorne Effect, where a noticeable improvement occurs temporarily because expectations are higher. However, this only accounts for the subjective mood of the audience and not the real (if not equally tangible) change of God's presence and power.
Now imagine I could guarantee that God's presence would be unmistakable at your next church service. No, I don't mean your next revival service -- just your average meeting.
How is this possible? Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Reflect on the meaning of the words "search for [Him] with all your heart." What if the usher were searching for God with all his heart? It would show in how he greeted you as you passed through the door. Think of a choir whose collective heart sought for God and sang with all their might -- sang right to the ears of God. If the pastor put all his heart into preaching the message aware of God's working through him and if the hearers put all their heart into listening and then obeying those words, there would be an awesome manifestation of the presence and power of God.
In contrast, many times we expect so little from a typical service and thus we put in little of our heart. Now let's apply this mindset -- that of whole-heartedness -- to each endeavor in each area of life such as our religious service, our family and work. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." ~Ecclesiastes 9:10a
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Open-Faced Sandwiches and Open-Faced Lives
This post has permanently moved to BenjaminLotter.com. You can view the post at http://benjaminlotter.com/truth/tips/open-faced-sandwiches-and-open-faced-lives.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
An Eternal Perspective Yields an Eternal Change
This post has been permanently moved to Benjamin Lotter's blog.
The specific link to this post is http://benjaminlotter.com/truth/tips/an-eternal-perspective-yields-an-eternal-change
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