Converts, Consumers, Critics and Chameleons

Converts, Consumers, Critics and Chameleons

The greatest satisfaction throughout my journey in the CHURCH has been in witnessing the transformational power of the Gospel.
Seeing gangsters changed into God-seekers.
Consumers changed into contributors.
Critics have been care-givers.
Chameleons have traded pretence for authenticity.
It is a beautiful thing to behold.
Born again, made new, revived, these passionate followers of Jesus make up some of the best humans on the planet.
And then there are the ‘others’.
Consumers
Looking for the cheapest deal, the newest ‘thing’, and the easy way, they seem to have overlooked the fact that the symbol of Christianity is a Cross, not a cushion.
Following Jesus requires us to pay the price.
Obediently following the One who paid the ultimate price for us.
Giving more than you take.
Preferring others before yourself.
Choosing the higher road.
Critics
This group really amuses me 😂
They are self-appointed experts on so many levels.
Whilst they are unable to ‘master their own lives’ they sure want you to believe they have mastered:
Church,
Leadership,
Relationships and
Spirituality.
Self-proclaimed prophets that ‘propha-lie’ (I made that word up, but it’s not an original thought) sowing seeds of suspicion and confusion into the hearts of the vulnerable and naive.
Chameleons
Maybe the most harmful of all are the Chameleons. Blending in at church and in worldly environments the Chameleon is difficult to identify.
I have caught myself being one.
Actually, I have caught myself being ‘all of the above’.
And I don’t think I am alone.
This one thing encourages me.
He who began a good work in me, shall complete it, until the day of Christ Jesus.
I love Jesus.
I love His Church.
I love how patient God is with us all.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Relentless grace and blessings

Meditate On

For Zion’s sake, how can I keep silent? For Jerusalem’s sake, how can I remain quiet? I will keep interceding until her righteousness breaks forth like the blazing light of dawn and her salvation like a burning torch! 2 Nations will see your victory-vindication, and every king will witness your blinding radiance! You will be called by a brand-new name, given to you from the mouth of Yahweh himself. 3 You will be a beautiful crown held high in the hand of Yahweh, a royal crown of splendor held in the open palm of your God! 4 You will never again be called the Abandoned One, nor will your land be called Deserted. But you will be called My Delight Is in You, and your land My Beloved Wife, for Yahweh finds his delight in you and he married your land. 5 As a young man marries the young woman he loves, so your builder-sons will marry you. As the bridegroom finds joy in his union with his bride, so will your God take joy in his union with you! Intercession 6 Jerusalem, I have stationed intercessors on your walls who will never be silent, day or night. You “reminders” of Yahweh, take no rest, 7 and tirelessly give God no rest, until he firmly establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth! 8 Yahweh swears an oath by the authority of his right hand and by his mighty arm: “I will never again give your new grain as food for your enemies, nor will foreigners drink your new wine that you worked hard to produce. 9 Instead, you who harvest it will eat it and offer your praise to Yahweh, and you who gather the grapes will drink the new wine in my holy courts.” 10 Pass through, pass through the gates, and go from old to new. Prepare a new path for the people. Build! Build up a highway for them to come to me! Remove every hindrance and unfurl a banner for the nations! 11 See? Yahweh has proclaimed to the ends of the earth: Tell my daughter, Zion, “Look, here comes your Deliverer! See? He’s bringing his reward, and his recompense goes before him.” 12 They will be called His Holy People, The Redeemed of Yahweh. And you will be known as Those Whom God Loves, A City Not Abandoned. Isaiah 62

Meditate On

Psalms 139:1-18 1 Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. 2 You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. 3–4 You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. 5 You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. With your hand of love upon my life, you impart a blessing to me. 6 This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength. 7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? 8 If I go up to heaven, you’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too! 9 If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, you’re there waiting! 10 Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. 11 It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. 12 There is no such thing as darkness with you. The night, to you, is as bright as the day; there’s no difference between the two. 13 You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. 14 I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! 15 You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place, carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something. 16 You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book. 17–18 Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.

Meditate On

20 In wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given. 21 The lovers of God who chase after righteousness will find all their dreams come true: an abundant life drenched with favor and a fountain that overflows with satisfaction. 22 A warrior filled with wisdom ascends into the high place and releases regional breakthrough, bringing down the strongholds of the mighty. 23 Watch your words and be careful what you say, and you’ll be surprised how few troubles you’ll have. Proverbs 21:20-23

Meditate On

17 I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. 18 I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! 19 I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power 20 that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm! 21 And now he is exalted as first above every ruler, authority, government, and realm of power in existence! He is gloriously enthroned over every name that is ever praised, not only in this age, but in the age that is coming! 22 And he alone is the leader and source of everything needed in the church. God has put everything beneath the authority of Jesus Christ and has given him the highest rank above all others. 23 And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it! Ephesians 1:17-23

Meditate on

When we sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai,
we are hidden in the strength of God Most High.
² He’s the hope that holds us and the Stronghold to shelter us,
the only God for us, and our great confidence.
³ He will rescue us from every hidden trap of the enemy,
and he will protect us from false accusation
and any deadly curse.
⁴ His massive arms are wrapped around us, protecting us.
We can run under his covering of majesty and hide.
His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping us from harm.
⁵ We will never worry about an attack of demonic forces at night
nor have to fear a spirit of darkness coming against us.
⁶ Don’t fear a thing!
Whether by night or by day, demonic danger will not trouble us,
nor will the powers of evil launched against us.
⁷ Even in a time of disaster, with thousands and thousands being killed,
we will remain unscathed and unharmed.
⁸ we will be a spectator as the wicked perish in judgment,
for they will be paid back for what they have done!
^9–10 When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High,
our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm.
How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us?
¹¹ God sends angels with special orders to protect us wherever weu go,
defending us from all harm.
¹² If we walk into a trap, they’ll be there for us
and keep us from stumbling.
¹³ We’ll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness,
trampling every one of them beneath our feet!
¹⁴ For here is what the Lord has spoken to us:
“Because you have delighted in Me as your great lover,
I will greatly protect you.
I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before my face.
¹⁵ I will answer your cry for help every time you pray,
and you will find and feel my presence
even in your time of pressure and trouble.
I will be your glorious hero and give you a feast.
¹⁶ You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you.
For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!”

Psalms 91 (Passion)

Meditate

For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience. 2Corinthians 10:3-6 TPT

Meditate On

The cut-off stump of Jesse will sprout,
and a fruitful Branch will grow from his roots:
the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him,
the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom,
the Spirit of Perfect Understanding
the Spirit of Wise Strategy,
the Spirit of Mighty Power,
the Spirit of Revelation,
and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh.
He will find his delight in living
by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.
He will neither judge by appearances
nor make his decisions based on rumors.
With righteousness he will uphold justice for the poor
and defend the lowly of the earth.
His words will be like a scepter of power
that conquers the world,
and with his breath he will slay the lawless one.
Righteousness will be his warrior’s sash
and faithfulness his belt. (Isa 11:1-5 TPT)

Meditate On

Even if our gospel message is veiled, it is only veiled to those who are perishing, for their minds have been blinded by the god of this age, leaving them in unbelief. Their blindness keeps them from seeing the dayspring light of the wonderful news of the glory of Jesus Christ, who is the divine image of God.
We don’t preach ourselves, but rather the lordship of Jesus Christ, for we are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said,
“Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,” is the one who has cascaded his light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 TPT

Meditate On

The angel of the Lord stooped down to listen as I prayed,
encircling me, empowering me, and showing me how to escape.
He will do this for everyone who fears God.
Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God.
Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives
to all who turn to hide themselves in him.
Worship in awe and wonder, all you who’ve been made holy!
For all who fear him will feast with plenty.
Even the strong and the wealthy grow weak and hungry,
but those who passionately pursue the Lord

will never lack any good thing.

(Psalm 34:7-10 Passion)

Meditate On

Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope.
Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son. For in the Son all our sins are canceled and we have the release of redemption through his very blood. (PTP) Colosians 1:9-

Meditate On

“Thus says the Lord to His anointed,

To you, whose right hand I have held—

To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
“I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,

I Am the God of Israel.

(Isaiah 45:1-3 TPT)