Preparation for the Spontaneous

Tue, 3 May 2011 11:29:46 -0600

Many in the Church feel that the anointings and outpourings of the Spirit are spontaneous, sovereign, ‘acts of God’. So as a result, there is really nothing we can do to warrant a unique visitation of the presence of God. I think this line of thinking is mostly wrong. Mostly wrong? Let me explain. I believe there are times and seasons on God’s calendar that really have no bearing on what we do or think. God’s plan is going to happen just the way he envisioned it. On the other hand, I also believe there are times of God’s grace and favor that have been initiated by our input. Without delving too deep into the murky waters of the sovereignty argument, I want to get you to consider a few things. I will bring two New Testament examples into the discussion. First, the woman with the issue of blood and second, the man lowered on a mat through the roof. The woman that pushes through the crowd to touch Jesus seems to catch Jesus by surprise and receives her healing by reaching out. In the other story Luke points out that the ‘power of God’ was present for healing, yet only one person received healing ‘because of their unbelief’. The one whose friends determined that he would see Jesus. So can we have an attitude or approach that ‘pulls’ God into our situation or are we just following a script? It amazes me that many will pray for all sorts of things, which technically, is a request for divine intervention, and get offended at revival seekers. Like revival is some how off limits to requests for God’s intervention. I believe, we can prepare for what many consider the spontaneous of God; not only prepare, but petition, “God, heal our land!”.

A Different Way Of Thinking

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:23:00 -0600

A bad idea is a bad idea, period. The Church in North America seems to have trouble with that. Or maybe we just don’t recognize a bad idea when we see one. Or maybe we’ve been so surrounded by bad ideas we’ve been like the proverbial ‘frog in kettle’, desensitized to it all. What am I referring to? The other day when I was in prayer God showed me a picture of ministry. Through my mind was those familiar film clips of the days before powered flight. Sure we laugh at them now with their ridiculous machines and crazy ideas, but they weren’t laughing at the time. They spent time money, entire life’s work, entire fortunes investing in ideas that were just plain bad! So what was God showing me? That no matter how much people, talent, money, time and effort we put into a bad idea, it will never get off the ground. A lot of what we do is a rehashing of old ideas. We think we’ll just do it better. But really, it’s kinda like putting chrome wheels on our flying contraption that is destined to fail. Adding resources to a bad idea just makes it fail with style! Through it all, we discovered the Laws of Flight. When we understood them, we could reproduce and even mass produce machines that fly. What was God saying? I think he was telling me to find the Laws of Flight, figure out how to execute them and, well, fly! Oh, and also, you might have to modify what you’ve built, actually, you might have to scrap it altogether, and begin building something by His blueprint.

Direction

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 09:35:13 -0600

Well Summer is passed...although some might ask, “Summer? What Summer?”. Yes, it has been a turbulent summer weather wise. It has also been a pretty turbulent summer with the Spiritual weather patterns we’ve been experiencing. Just as the weather has been unsettling and a bit foreboding (like “When did Vancouver move to Saskatchewan?”), there seems to be an ‘unsettled’ mood in the Spirit. We’ve been looking over our shoulder all summer long for the next big storm, wondering if it’s gonna be bigger than the last one. And I’ve been having the very same feeling in the Spirit. Although it does feel a bit ominous, I can’t help but think that we are going to see a huge shift in the spiritual climate in Saskatchewan. This is a good thing! It only feels a bit scary from my perspective because it’s going to be big. The kind of big that can’t be ignored and will be ‘bad’ only for those who will not move with the movement of God’s Spirit. So what does that mean for us at The Bridge? Movement. Change. Advancement. I heard a quote from a famous hockey player once; when asked about his amazing ability to score more goals than anyone else, he replied, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. That’s really the attitude we’re taking at The Bridge this fall. We want to be ahead of the play so when God makes His move, we’ll be positioned to catch it. I see the Spirit of God getting ready to make a big move in Saskatchewan, so we need to get ready. We don’t want to be caught napping or be unprepared for God’s move. Get ready Bridge Ministries, get ready!

Connected, Consumed & Commissioned

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 14:49:30 -0600

We have a job to do, we are the called, we are the commissioned, we are the representatives of the Kingdom of God. We are the carriers of life, we have the answers (or at least we know the one who does), we know our purpose, what more can I say! Why does the church want to water down the message, apologize for our beliefs and make excuses for God? Why do we let the masses of people with no hope, direction or purpose wander through our lives and yet we wish we had something to say? God help us! It is time for the church to rise up, not sit down! We make our services more palatable, less offensive, more friendly and then wonder why people have a general disinterest in God. We wonder why our teenagers leave the churches in droves. We wonder what’s wrong with our picture all the while forgetting who He is, and who we are as a result. Moses became a deliverer of a nation when he had those two questions answered. “Who should I say sent me?”, “Who am I to stand before Pharaoh?” Paul became one of the greatest Apostles when he had those two questions answered. “Who are you lord?”, “I am the one YOU are persecuting.”(You are the persecutor but not anymore!) It’s not time to lay down and hope for the best. It’s time to find out who He is and who you are! It’s time to get connected to Him and His church. It’s time to be consumed by Him and His mission. It’s time to be commissioned to His purposes!

What’s on the Horizon?

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:45:22 -0600

2010 is upon us and good things are in store! To say 2009 was an amazing year would be an understatement. I’ve learned more about God and ministry in the last year than many years put together. Just when I think God has shown me the last big thing He’s gonna show me for awhile, a new lesson arrives. I have been in the school of the Holy Spirit for over a year now. Kansas City was a life changer and a ministry changer for sure. It’s been a year of processing it and understanding more fully what God is wanting to do and what my part is in it all. Then, in November my wife and I attended a Bridge Ministry International event in Barbados. We’d been asked to come for many years and hadn’t been able to attend so we decided we would make the trip this time. We expected sun, sand, rest and an adventure. What we got was a God adventure! God did another major scale renovation of my heart. More transformation, more vision, more of God! God gave me some marching orders for the church, spoke powerfully over my life and into the life of our church. It ended up that when we returned to Canada I received 3 prophecies over our church in 3 weeks from 3 totally unrelated people. Do you think God was trying to get my attention? What can I say? I can say that 2010 is going to be an exciting year for The Bridge and anyone involved! We wait in anticipation of what God is going to do. Glory to God!