But when our spiritual weight increases there are areas of our life, especially regarding our belief systems, that are weak and flawed and cannot handle the increase. In the same way that flaws in a house's foundation aren't revealed until the foundation is required to bear the weight of a finished house, so it is with our spirit.

Unknowingly, many Christians have lived their Christian lives with serious cracks in their spiritual foundation. These cracks aren't exposed until God, in His mercy, delays breakthrough, growth, or answered prayer because He knows our weak foundation is not ready to bear more weight and maturity.

For the next few weeks I'm going to share some very common "cracks" in the foundation of many of our belief systems about God. If you have sensed a level of complacency or frustration regarding your present growth and maturity, ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you if you need to fill in these cracks with the truth of Scripture. Some of these cracks are actually taught as truth in the Church, so please spend time in prayer asking God for discernment. 

Crack #1: We must be "balanced" in our Christian walk...

Context: There is no specific verse with this phrase, but we can infer that there is to be "balance" in our lives because of numerous seeming contradictory commands given to us (i.e. have justice AND mercy, be prepared AND spontaneous, worship AND serve, pray AND be productive, be joyful AND be serious, be administrative AND spirit-led, be sensitive to people's feelings AND be bold, help the needy BUT don't enable the slothful, etc.)

Positive: Every situation requires specific wisdom to understand which biblical truth to apply. For example, Paul adapted his behavior to influence people. "...I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those..." (1 Cor. 9:19-21). Paul was a "balanced person" who could respond successfully in the best and worst of circumstances (Phil. 4:11-13). We too can respond in whatever manner is needed to help people and to advance the Kingdom.

There will be a crack in our spiritual foundation if we believe the balanced Christian life is a mixture of faith and unbelief, passion and cynicism, or victory and defeat. Many believers want to embrace a little of every doctrinal teaching in order to have an acceptable, "balanced" Christianity. Unfortunately, this will lead to a dilution of power (through double-mindedness) by trying to combine faith in God's promises with traditional explanations for why there is suffering and unanswered prayer. James speaks of this when he says, "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." He is referring to the one who does not believe God will do what He said He would do (James 1:8). To live as a "crack free" Christian, we must be single minded and "unbalanced" in the belief that God's promises are true and that God is good (all the time).

Conclusion: Yes, we need to avoid extremes in many areas of life; but many believers are weak, hopeless and confused because of a fear of being considered fanatical concerning the promises and goodness of God. This comes from a tendency to take a little "truth" from every tradition, and then mixing them together to form a politically correct, but anemic (powerless) Christianity.

Selah.

(Much of this was taken from Steve Backlund's book "Cracks in the Foundation." His book is available to purchase from store.ibethel.org)

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

Take the book of Proverbs for instance. Essentially, Proverbs lays out hundreds of spiritual laws that, if followed, will lead to blessing. Some of these include the laws of honesty, integrity, and dilligence. 

The New Testament writers use a different phrase for this same reality: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Galatians 6:7

Today, I want to share a very important spiritual law with you that will lead to great fruit in your life: "The Law of not Losing Heart."

Now, there is no verse in the Bible that uses that exact phrasing, but I believe there are many passages that communicate the same idea. This law basically states that if you don't give up in seeking God you will eventually reap a huge spiritual harvest in your life.

Let's look at an amazing passage in Isaiah 55 that communicates this idea:

Do you see the presence of the spiritual law of "not losing heart"? Here God says that every word from his mouth (meaning every word of Scripture and every word He speaks directly to you) will not return empty, but instead reap a spiritual harvest in our lives. 

Now, many may be frustrated with this reality because there are areas of your life that are still broken, hurting, and immature. I want you to think about something - do you see prayer, worship and Bible reading (to name a few spiritual "deposits") as a bag of popcorn you put in the microwave or as seeds you plant?

Subconsciouly many of us are so used to immediate gratification that we assume God works in our lives at the same pace our inboxes fill up or our twitter feed updates. Unfortunately, the overwhelming illustration the Bible uses for spiritual growth and maturity is that of a farmer planting seeds.

Consider a farmer: After he plants seed for his new crop he enters into a time of patient waiting. During this time he knows that he is moving from unfruitfulness to fruitfulness even though he has no physical evidence of it. All along he is active with his faith (making spiritual deposits) by faithfully pulling weeds and watering the planted seeds. He does not lose heart because of the delay of seeing a manifestation of his harvest, becasue he knows that eventually he will reap what he has sown.

Make a decision right now to be a spiritual farmer. Sow seeds of humility, love, and honesty. Sow seeds of worship, prayer, and Bible reading. Be resiliant in your pursuit of God, knowing that what you sow you will reap in due season. Learn to love the process of patiently waiting for the harvest to come, which itself is an exercise of faith that will be produce yet another harvest.

This spiritual secret of not losing heart can make all the difference in the world. What will you sow today?

Grace and Peace, 

JP Hennessy

But what scares me is that my stinginess often spills over to my spiritual life. I’ve noticed that I can be stingy with showing love. Stingy with giving grace. Stingy with forgiving.

According to Dictionary.com the word stingy has two definitions:

1. Unwilling to give or spend. 

2. Insufficient in quantity.

When I think about my own stinginess, I realize I prove these definitions true. Often, I’m just unwilling to give or spend my time, money, and possessions. Some days I feel like I just don’t have any more love and attention to give.

The worst part about stinginess (or any other character flaw) is that we often, unknowingly, project it upon God. We begin to view our heavenly Father through our own personal lense of stinginess.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp unto the body.” In other words, the way we percieve God actually dictates our experience with Him. If we view Father God in a way that is inconsistent with His nature we’ll contaminate our experience with Him.

So here’s what I want you to know: God is anything but stingy. He is generous and extravagent. When He shows up there is always abundance. He will offend you with how much He loves to give love, forgiveness, grace, and any other of His gifts.

I believe that most of us are comfortable not aligning God with the second definition of stinginess - “insufficient in quantity.” He owns the cattle on 1,000 hills and is the sustanor of heaven and earth. Most every Christian would agree that God does not have insufficient funds.

But what most of us struggle with, myself included, is the first definition of stinginess - “unwilling to give or spend.” We know God is able, but is He willing? 

We know He is forgiving, but will He forgive me this time? We know He is loving, but is He willing to love someone like me? We know He has blessing and abundance, but will He choose to provide for me?

To His children, our Father in heaven answers all of those questions with a resounding, “Yes!” Not only is He able, He is willing. It is in His heart to bless you and provide for you. It is His nature to cover you, saturate you, soak you, lavish you, overwhelm you, and knock you off your feet with His goodness.

The Psalmist said, “No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

This Christmas I pray that you would learn to recieve from God. Rest in His lavishness. He will provide more than you could ask or imagine. Allow your view of God to be transformed so that you can see Him as the extravagent gift-giver that He is.

Grace and peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director 

And you can't bear it anymore.

You try to hold it in. But tears come hot and heavy. They roll down your cheek. You want to scream.

You glance around the waiting room, hoping no one is watching. But even if they are, they could never see what is going on inside of you. You can't stop yourself from entertaining future thoughts. Running future scenarios through your mind. Christmas. Thanksgiving. Anniversaries. Birthdays. They would never be the same. Each day would be a reminder of the one you loved. Waking up alone. No one to text "I love you!" to or send one of those silly smily faces to. Getting home from work knowing you'll never be greeted the same way again. No more holding hands. No more hugs. The tears fall.

Suddenly, you're jolted back to reality. You're still in the hospital. You're still in the same chair. But the other people in the waiting room have left. Now you're alone. You welcome the silence.

But it isn't completely silent. You hear something. A whisper or murmer of some sort. You get still and strain to hear. Yes, there it is again. You hear something, but can't make out what it is.

You look back towards the room in front of you. The room you hate. The room that may change your life forever. The fear begins to creep up your spine againl like a spider. You fight to hold back tears.

But there it is again.

The whisper. 

Yes, you're sure you heard it this time. Reluctantly, you decide to investigate. It seems to be coming from somewhere on your right.

It takes all the strength you have to get up from your seat. You feel stiff. It hurts to move. But there it is again.

The whisper.

Finally you're on your feet. You make your way down the hall to your right, past the rigid chairs that line the walls of the waiting room. You pass one door and peer in. Empty. You pass another and peer in. Empty. You begin to think maybe you were just hearing things. You pause and strain to hear. The clock on your left ticks loudly. One second. Two seconds. And then you hear it again.

The whisper.

You take a few more steps down the hall. There is a very dimly lit room on your right side. It looks almost like a utility closet. You peer through the small glass pane on the door.

There, in the small room, you see a figure on the ground. You look more closely, squinting. It seems to be a man. "What's he doing on the ground?" you wonder. But then something pierces your heart. You just heard your name.

Thoughts race through your mind as you try to make sense of the situation. You push your face closer to the small window and can now see that the man is kneeling. And whispering. Quietly. Steadily. Calmly. Continuously.

And you hear your name again.

You strain closer. You can now see the man in greater detail. His eyes are deep and beautiful, almost like flames of fire. His hair is beautiful and wavy, and is genlty reflecting the dim light - in the same way that moonlight reflects off of snow. His face is slender and beareded and weathered. And all along He continues to whisper.

Now that you're closer you realize He must be speaking another language. Because the only word you can make out is your name. But with each word you feel lighter. Each phrase seems to tear down something dark inside of you. For the first time in months, you feel peace and rest. You welcome it.

And you know. You don't know how you know. But you know that you know that you know. That it's going to be ok. That no matter what you find when you go back to the waiting room, it will be ok.

You look back at the Man. He hasn't moved. And He hasn't stopped whispering in that beautiful, gentle language. And you hear your name again.

And finally you have strength to face whatever is to come.

"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." Robert Murray McCheyne

"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." Romans 8:34

"...He always lives to intercede for [His Children]." Hebrews 7:25

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, 'I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.'When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'"

Exodus 3:1-4

If you're like me, you've probably heard this story more times than you can count. But I want to draw your attention to something the Lord recently highlighted to me that has really changed the way I interact with God.

Can you recall from this passage when God called to Moses?

It wasn't when Moses was shepherding the flock. It wasn't when God appeared in flames of fire. It wasn't as the bush was burning.

Look more closely at verse 4. God didn't call to Moses until Moses decided to go look at what God was doing. 

"When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look,
God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'" Exodus 3:4

God was waiting to see if Moses would turn away from what he was preoccupied with before He spoke.

I believe God does the same thing with us. 

He waits to see if we will turn our eyes towards Him. He waits to see if we will take our attention off of ourselves and fix it on Him. He waits to see if we will turn away from our current circumstances to pursue Him.

Do you want to know God's heart for you? Do you want to more fully understand what He is teaching you in this time? Do you desire to see your current situation as God sees it? Do you long to know why He has allowed this to happen?

Then turn away. 

He is waiting to speak to you. He is waiting to infuse your heart with hope, purpose, and vision. He has abundant resources available for you. He wants to comfort you and ease your pain.

But you must turn away and look for Him.

My challenge to you today is to view every circumstance, situation, blessing, and hardship as a burning bush opportunity. God is on the edge of His seat, bursting with things to say.

Will you turn away to listen?

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

God desires to speak and commune with all Christians. In fact, hearing His voice and communing with Him is an inherited priveledge every believer posseses because of our adoption through Jesus Christ.

But very few Christians live in tangible communion with God. Jesus, on the other hand, lived completely by His Father's voice. Regardless of where He was lead or how great the cost, Jesus listened and obeyed the Father.

The root of the issue in regards to hearing God's voice is abandonment. To what degree are you abandoned to God? If He told you to sell your car, would you? If He told you to move across the country, would you? If He told you to pray for the cashier at the grocery store, would you?

Most of us stop the flow of God's voice into our lives because of fear. We're afraid of what He might tell us. We're afraid that He might tell us our pirorities are out of line or we are carrying bitterness in our hearts. 

God's voice is Spirit and Truth and sharper than any two-edged sword. It will cut you deep and reveal the substance of your heart. But it is a healing incision! In His mercy He cuts away the cancerous sin so that we can live freely and fully.

A seasoned Indonesian missionary once gave a challenge revealing the level of abandonment needed to hear God's voice constantly and consistently: "You must live by the three A's: anything, anytime, anywhere."

Let us so abandon ourselves to God's leading that we will do anything He says, anytime He says it, no matter where we are.

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

Most of the church is still trying to be like the crucified Jesus rather than the resurrected Jesus. #heisalive

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
   and lean not on your own understanding; 
 in all your ways submit to him, 
   and he will make your paths straight."

  Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust. 

It's one of the hardest actions we will ever be asked to do. 

Because trust makes us vulnerable. Vulnerable to hurt and disappointment. To embarassment. To looking foolish. To losing everything. 

We have all been let down by someone (or something) we've trusted. Dads. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Best friends. Spouses. Co-workers. Politicians. The stock market. The church. 

So, more often than not, we draw back from trusting. We decide we will not be hurt again. We resolve to put up walls of protection.

But, over time, something strange happens. Our hearts slowly calous. They slowly - but surely - become hardened. We forget how to trust. We forget how to be vulnerable. And we lose our ability to deeply trust another. And because trust is the foundation of love, we lose our ability to love.

C.S. Lewis profoundly stated this reality:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

God desires to love you completely and unconditionally. He also longs for your love and affection. But this requires you to trust Him.

If you want full and abudant life you must choose to trust God today. He will not disappoint you. He will not fail you. He will not let you down. Trusting God is the most powerful thing you will ever do.

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

Four steps to developing a LIFE of prayer:

1. Value the 90 second prayer. Stop 7 times a day and just get centered on God in that minute and a half and watch how that changes the next couple of hours. You do that 7 times a day and you have a very good day.

2. Don’t just tell people you will pray for them- Do it- right then. Just stopping what you are doing to take a moment to pray over a person is very powerful.

3. Don’t just read scripture- pray it. Ask God to help you live into the truths you are reading- chew on it, meditate on it, let it work its way inside of you.

4. Create times of silence in your day, just to be with God- the one you love. No demands or expectations- just hanging out with God. Assume a listening posture. Quit trying to get God to do things- instead try to think his thoughts after him- “Be still and know that he is God.

Grace and peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director