I'm Perplexed. Why are "believers" snarling and condemning?

I'm perplexed.   Believers snarl and condemn and beat up people on Google.  

Point to the King of Glory Ps 24

Is this approach not sitting right with you? 

I'm riled up a bit.  So forgive me if I cross a line or say something stupid. 

There is a crisis going on.  To me, People seem to be desperately trying to cling to outdated and dead ideas.  Ideas that are not linked to deep understanding of Jesus or Words of Scripture but more to their "constructed world view", doctrines and 10 steps to a happy life teachings; rather than a Kingdom view of the world or deep abiding connection to Jesus.  ....in my opinion.


 Isa 58:6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.


We could be pretty mixed up if we think the Spirit of Herod, political power and control, is the way to bring people into the salvation of the Kingdom.   In many circles this means "authority".  Is that the kind of authority Jesus expressed to the broken reed or barely lit flame?   Why are we so vindictive?  How can we seek to plant a garden with seeds like this?  

Shake the dust and go look for broken reeds.  There are millions of them. 

  We may be lost if we think that America is the Kingdom of God.  

 America is amazing....and completely disgusting at the same time.  Sex traffickers roam our cities with thousands of slaves in tow hidden in darkness and brutalized. Drug Lords enslave millions pumping emptiness and pain to their souls with the promise of escape.  Its more like destruction.  Pornographic business people feed the cesspools of bondage running under every piece of earth we inhabit.  And we watch it more than sports or random TV, more than any other type of screen time.    
We are free.  And we use that freedom in many destructive ways.  We are free to completely destroy ourselves.  God has allowed us freedom as well.  To completely ignore him and his grace.   Revival would be an excellent alternative.   We need grace and the Spirit to lead into the pathways of revival.

But the believing community wants better results.  Is brow beating people the divine power filled strategy of love?    

Then when you call, the LORD will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!  Isa 58:9



We could be pretty mixed up if we think our denominational platform is the complete presentation of the "manifold wisdom of God" that he is expressing through his church.   Possibly more deeply mixed up if we think our cultural expression of the gospel in music, ways of doing church and family are the highest form of divine revelation known. 

Possibly I am riling up some.  Inviting hate language and controlling teaching for my bad ideas.   
I have no love for the spirit of religion.   I became a Christian right out of drinking and drugs and sex and being really lost.   I know what the dark side looks like and I don't ever want to venture there again.   Stumble.  Yes.  I do and have.  But live that way again.  God provide me the grace and strength you promise to overcome the world and step into the joy of my salvation.   I want Jesus' freedom more than anything in this world.   Awesome thing.  He is providing it.   And for everyone on the same way....he will never let you go or let anyone snatch you out of his hand. 

Love is the language of the Kingdom.  
The true witness of his presence is powerful love with righteousness mixed all up and in it.  I think we are lacking the authority of love today.  Grace overcomes every sin and broken thing.  We are saved by grace.  So why do we think we can preach a gospel of law and condemnation and reap a massive harvest?   Or some kind of  "think this and be saved" verses know Jesus and be saved?   Jesus is the way, the truth and the life not once removed teaching about him.  We need to get in touch and help people get in touch with Jesus himself.  He said if he gets lifted up he will draw all men to himself.  So lift him up.  (I Cor 2:1-5)

The loving kindness of the Lord leads to salvation.  

I think we have come to the outer boarders of the Reformation teaching and now it is more like a distortion.   It has always carried with it a "burn them at the stake" kind of mentality and type of conflict.  What made perfect sense 500 years ago is a foreign language to this era.   Our worship of doctrine, thinking that it is more pure than the Lord Jesus or any insight into his love (Eph 3:14-22) is...tragically ridiculous?  Again, in my opinion.  There is so little talk of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.   He is the voice of God now. (Hebrews 1)   Lift him up.  Know him.  Spend your life following him.  Eternity is now.  We are becoming more like him every day.  

Mindsets and Butterflies
Our mindset about the troubles of our times, the state and nature of Christianity, and our overall attitude flows from a mindset.   A way of thinking about the world.   My vote. We need a new one.   And Jesus is just the right person to bring it to us by his Spirit in love and power.  One filled with an overflowing measure of the presence, power and peace of Jesus Christ and his "overcoming the world" kind of thinking.   

We need a butterfly transformation.  Are you in the cocoon?  Feeling hemmed in and pressed upon?   Press into the Word of God, Jesus Christ and let him completely change your perspective.   Instead of just climbing to the tops of the trees for food and vision like caterpillars, get a transformation that allows you to fly high and drink the nectar of the flowers of his presence and love.   Break free.  Go deeper.  Spend the best time of your life seeking his face.   His is an eternal Kingdom.  His is a Kingdom that will never end.  Sow to heaven.  Reap a harvest of life, joy, peace and knowing the love of God in Jesus Christ.   All the doors to his heart are wide open.  Run in. 



So, I've thrown some ideas out there.  What do you think? 

Comments?  Ideas?   Lets see if we can discover something more rich and deep in the love of Christ Jesus through our dialogue?   



In his love,



Jeff Reynolds. Sr. Leader 
Capstone Christian Fellowship
jeff@jeffreynoldsministries.com 
www.mycapstone.org   

The Heart is the Battle Field - The First Place for First Love

Heart break through?   How do we get it?  Why do we drift away, ever so slowly, and find ourselves out in places where the heart is practically dead?   

This is the land where others are overwhelmed by His presence and we are standing, quiet, contemplating.....   Contemplating everything but the beauty and glory of Jesus.   Wrestling rather than recognizing, wondering rather than wading deep into the knowledge of Jesus.   Wrestling with God over the circumstances of our lives rather than letting thankfulness, the most basic ingredient of worship, begin to open the eyes of our hearts to the riches of heaven.   

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart....." 

Keys make a difference

Scripture speaks to the heart.  

Psa 86:11

Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

 Real and true seeing in the Kingdom comes from an undivided heart.   That heart in turn takes on understanding of the NAME.  

Eze 11:19

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  Matt 5:8


This is the beginning place of knowing God; of seeing the Father as we honor the Son.  The Spirit is so patient and kind yet in his wisdom he always brings us to the place of understanding the real condition of our hearts.   The journey remains the same as we follow the Lord Jesus, will we trust the Father to heal us, mend us, make all things new? 

The Father is a masterful craftsman of the heart.  Tending our hearts like a garden, he grows us up in all his ways through the perfect work of Jesus and the powerful touch of the Spirit.   His ways work perfectly to reveal the deepest content of our hearts and his power is perfectly able to deliver us from deep darkness.    

Following Jesus is the easy yoke and light burden.  

Take Paul the Apostle for example.   What a scandal.  He persecuted, jailed and arranged for the death of Christians.   He watched Stephen enter into glory and took care of everyone's cloaks while they stoned him.   He sought to destroy the Body Jesus tasked him with growing, nurturing and loving in the sufferings of his Master.   Paul, like the Master, became a master builder of the heart after Jesus.  Perfectly working out in this fallen world a clear witness of the glory of running the race with a pure heart. 

The emotions of love are fleeting and not enough to carry the heart to the deep places of walking after Jesus.   There is a much deeper place to walk with God that originates in the heart and fills up every other place of our lives.   

My son Isaac is in love.  This is not news or talking behind him as the whole world has known for some time.   It is awesome to watch him.  Love has a deep hold on him .  Because of love, He does things in a unique way.   His heart is leading the show.  I love watching him be so full of joy when he is with Leah.   

Love is not a math equation.  
Love is not science.
When is the last time someone bought love?
When is the last time someone talked you into love? 
Love requires honest surrender.  Surrender to the Holy Spirit.  Love requires true faith.   
Love for God requires depending and trusting. 
Love requires risk and honesty.  
Jesus is perfectly able to lead us in the pathways of love for the Father.  
We can walk in the same relationship he has with ABBA.  

There are three or four things I cannot understand:
how eagles fly so high
   or snakes crawl on rocks,
how ships sail the ocean,
   or people fall in love.    Prov 30:18-19

So how do we fall in love with Jesus?   
How do we keep our hearts on fire and in a constant state of love and devotion?

Is it pure emotion?  No.  They can't run as far as we need to go.

Is it pure will?  No.  Ever willed someone to love you?   Choosing may be one ingredient but it is not sufficient to lead us in hope and patient endurance.

It may be a very simple equation.   "Come, Follow me",  Jesus said.

Follow HIM.   Let the Holy Spirit be the one who disciples you by leading you.  

Stop running your own course on "how to be an amazing disciple of Jesus that everyone will recognize."  Start walking after the master of the heart.   

To find your life, you have to loose it.   Loose it in Jesus.   He will tend to the needs of your heart and lead you to quiet waters.   That is who he is.  That's what he died for.  That's what his Kingdom is; rich in, rest.   

Along the way......

Mind your Heart- ask the Spirit to search you and see if there is any way in you he would like to heal?   Ps 139

Grow a garden of many varieties - John 15

Dwell in the Word richly- Col 3:16

Know your identity in Christ - John 1:12

Walk in faith, hope and love  - I Cor 13

Some other blog posts on this topic:
Love for God is never ending http://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/03/love-for-god-is-never-ending-open.html 
Jesus you fascinate me
http://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/04/you-fascinate-me-jesus-so-why-are-you.html


Comments?  Ideas?   Thank you for reading.   Thank you for your comments as well.  
We need each other to navigate and chart these pathways.  



With much joy and admiration in Christ,


Brother Jeff
Jeff Reynolds.  Sr. Leader
Capstone Christian Fellowship
jeff@jeffreynoldsministries.com
jreynolds@mycapstone.org
www.jeffreynoldsministries.com
www.mycapstone.org 

What’s it like to fall out the sky on a remarkable day? Deep Change in ideas and Mindset can be a challenge

Revival and moves of the Holy Spirit can be messy and demand a complete and daily devotion to the Holy Spirit.  Often that means moving freely with change.  And it can mean letting the Spirit give us a completely new mindset and understanding.   The problem is we often get very comfortable with our way of expecting the Spirit to lead and move in us and our communities.   The transition that is upon us is something like falling out of the sky on your best day. 

 Jesus seems to love making all things new

His face was shining like the Sun  Rev 1

It is not hard to continue on without the Spirit in the pathways of former glories.   There is typically so much schooling to support the journey and keep us occupied without God.   It is possible to run on culture, social convention and verbatim teaching for decades.  All the while heaven is off “making all things new”.   The Gospels clearly portray confounded disciples.  Jesus marvels at their lack of perception.  It’s the eyes through which they saw him and their mindset that needed adjusting.   When we adopt teaching as the truth and do not adhere to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and life, we slip off the disciple track just enough to fall from the sky.   

What’s it like to fall out the sky on a remarkable day?   

What’s it like to be emptied?  To have the wind knocked out of you.   What’s it like to find our teaching and relationship with God dead and wrapped up in the past?   When our life with Jesus looks more like searching for him instead of a walking with him, we are set up for a sky fall.   He said, “Follow me.”    Not the trends.  Not the people and groups and organizations.   Within touching distance, that’s where we are to be.  To be with HIM is life.   He’s got better things in mind for you!   Remarkable days are days in the deepest connection understanding and knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ.   

Picture yourself flying high in a hot air balloon.  Soaring on the wind and moving with its currents.  Ascending higher and higher,  we travel upward on the currents of our times with the hot fire of ideas, images, and compelling stories.  There are so many traditions that have long since lost any fire in the Spirit and are not even cold water for the thirsty heart. The thoughts of our generation and previous generations fuel our moments, paint the picture of the arrival and divorce us from any real dependance on the Holy Spirit today.   Along the path we gather up more ideas and thoughts and training and teaching so we can refine our travels.  We continue to aim, to whittle away at the wood, to carve the remarkable moment.  

 A move of the Spirit on the magnitude being prophesied is a complete mindset change.  A whole shift in the way we think about our faith.  It is the end of one thing and the birth of another.

Isn’t it more like falling from the sky?   

 We live for exceptional moments; picture shots of dreams and aspirations.   We want our Facebook to gleam with connection.  The connection of soul, mind, body, spirit and envisioned realities of “this is my life”.     Its usual for us to consider the fall from those places.  Or, is it?  The mantra of our times is we will find ourselves in those picture moments and soar.    But they are just moments.   We need something much deeper to change a nation and receive an outpouring of the Spirit.  The reality may be much more disappointing.   We need a generational shift into the presence, power and peace of Jesus and the breakout of his Kingdom. 

We spend our time capturing snap shots.   

Building kingdom models and families and houses of worship that are devoted to the presence of the Lord is the kind of cup the Spirit is longing for in us.   Yet picture moment after picture moment, we build a mosaic to hold mind, body, soul and spirit together with snap shots.    
Like a wild animal, this kind of life can be uncooperative.  It constantly gets out of the cage.  Our response is to capture more moments so as not to let them slip away.   We believe.  We keep hunting for the tools and teachings to control the wild animals and ascend to our picture moment.    Ministry in the Spirit is eternal connection and the breakout of the Kingdom.  It is not a here and gone reality.   We need to learn to flow in Kingdom glory everywhere.

  

The Father is working in this world

He is ancient.  Every moment has all its value.   We are part of a story.  Each chapter carries its own authentic highlights, print moments.   We gather up important teaching to support the ascent.  We fit ourselves into the times and mold our mindset in the currents.   And we adhere ourselves to the teaching, the men, the groups and forget the Father.   We disconnect.  We lose first love.  We can make a list of “everything essential” and Jesus is missing.   We don’t need him.  We have the teaching, the men, the organizations, the structures the paths.   And so we continue ascending to our picture moments.  One after another we string together photo snap shots.   The Spirit is looking to radically change the face of the faith as we know it.  

And when "that season" is over? 

We don’t like falling.   We don’t like a re-write.  Yet every time we reach the “moment” we fall from the sky.   Some people have Everest moments.  They take a long time to stand up into them.   The length of the journey itself tends to give credence to the venture in our culture.  Upon arrival?   We fall the same.   Even when the picture moment involves no direct connection with the Father and first love with Jesus, we still have a photo moment.  Right?   

And the entire world wants to see it.   See us in it.   They cheer us on because they want to arrive there as well.   With the fake click of a camera we snap a moment that no longer connects with the Father’s heart.   We are living for pictures, fragments, when we are eternal.  With a click of the camera we no longer have any reason to ascend.   In fact we start falling.   Or were we falling all along?   

Are we still friends with God?  

Were we ever?   Religion is a system.  It carries order.  Like basic math equations is fair and predictable.    Relationship with the Father is union, whimsical and creative.   He is forever enjoying the realms of heaven and all its creatures.    Our Trinity God is the unknowable one who is known in Christ Jesus.  It is abiding in rest that opens never ending pathways.   It carries its own supporting cast.   It does not ascend to moments.  It builds into the eternal.   It is not a stop off or a snap shot.  It is an exploration of and enveloping in the unknowable.   Jesus said, “Abide in me”.    The teaching and training we need supports the unchanging realms of abiding in the Father’s heart “…where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3:1)   We never fall from here.    It is endless sky.   

What’s it like to fall out of the sky on a remarkable day?  

What’s it like to be emptied?  To have the wind knocked out of you.   What’s it like to find our teaching and relationship with God dead and wrapped up in the past?   When our life with Jesus looks more like searching for him instead of a walking with him, we are set up for a sky fall.   He said, “Follow me.”    Not the trends.  Not the people and groups and organizations.   Within touching distance, that’s where we are to be.  To be with HIM is life.   He’s got better things in mind for you!   Remarkable days are days in the deepest connection understanding and knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ.   

We can settle into rest as we abide and follow

Jesus said, “It is finished”.    We are simply exploring the inheritance.  It is such a vast country no one will be able to claim perfect understanding; to map it for us or clearly chart it.   Our own piece of glory in the inheritance of Christ is so large and wonderful it takes a lifetime of faith action to unpack it.    There is no more remarkable day that to see Him face to face.  To know him as we are known.   Each day holds the promise of knowing how wide, long, high and deep is the love of Christ. (Eph 3:18)  When our sky is full of Christ’s love and our picture moments are glimpses into his eyes…..

A move of the Spirit demands total surrender.  A move of the Spirit that revives and changes an ancient faith requires a total mindset change.  Thinking one way and then thinking another.   The bottom line.....its a choice we need to make.  Today.  The Spirit is moving now and he is searching for hearts willing and ready to receive him as he is coming.  


Comments?  Ideas?  I love hearing from you.

Thanks for reading

Brother Jeff
Jeff Reynolds Sr. Leader
Capstone Christian Fellowship
jeff@jeffreynoldsministries.com 
www.jeffreynoldsministries.com 
www.mycapstone.org

Everyone has Something to Give! Host a Kingdom Explosion of Love and Service - Try it.

Each one has.....


This means so much more is happening than meets the eye and that springs forth in love and glory.  The Kingdom of Jesus is seen in this world in simple things that work in manifold ways.  Only the Father seems to be able to orchestrate and demonstrate an all at once expression of his manifold ways in this world.  At least as I have seen.  Last Sunday at our Celebration we got to see that.  It was remarkable and totally simple.  I want to tell you about it. 

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.  1Co 14:26

by Charles Stone

For the most part,  I have wondered about what this verse means most of my life in the Lord.   What does that look like?   So much of our worship is lead by so few.   How do the Saints add to celebrations?   I have understood ministry and church as such a linear experience.  From point A to point B.  We plan it all out and hope to drop some meaning into people's lives.   The Kingdom is manifold Wisdom (Eph 3:10) it is multiplication and at the least addition.

There is a Kingdom lead by the Lover of Souls that is so dynamic and manifold in it's capacity and expression that when it gets let loose dramatic change rolls forth.  

We may have caught a glimpse of it this last week.  

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Luke 6:38

We were talking about apostolic family.  The kind that emanates from the phrase One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism...(Eph 4)  Not denominational family, as is seen around the world, but family focused on Christ as the defining element and his Kingdom as the prevailing mindset.   A Word and Spirit family shaped in a culture of love and taught to partner with the Holy Spirit to add with Kingdom grace to every situation.  The Saints tasked with planning the worship celebration were asked what they wanted to give away to the family.  What things were in their hearts that would pour out love and encouragement on the Body.    We talked and listened and dreamed together for a few minutes.   Some great encouraging things were planned.  The final piece to be given during the celebration was an open time of Spirit led personal offerings of things the Body could provide one another.   Here's how it went.  

The team on the "Expedition"(Capstone's Kingdom Pathways Training group)   came prepared to give away something.  Each person was asked to stand and share what they had to give away and then someone in the church agreed that they needed that and connected with the person making the offer.  

People offered.....

To change the oil on cars.... A mom received that.

A  heart purse....a  young girl who loves hearts received it. 

To work for two hours cleaning and hauling .... an older woman received it.

To paint a prophetic paining for someone

To tutor in math or science - offered by a teacher

To help a couple people with writing....a published author offered this

To give a couple hours house cleaning for someone

To Haul, chop and move.... 

To pray with people desiring to move in healing.... a group formed and prayed.

On and on the we went as people stood up in the church and offered something and someone stepped up to receive that needed help, item or aid.

So simple.  So awesome.  So much flowed in love, service and meeting needs.   It connected people to the Father's heart.  It connected them to each other.  It provided a means to meet needs.  It was spontaneous and from the heart.   It was powerful and energized the whole congregation.   It wasn't money.  It was tangible help, connection and need meeting from what we are good at, can do for one another and from love. 

 

He makes all things new!

What if the churches of a whole city on one day opened up and offered to give what they had to those in need?  What if a whole nation did it on one Sunday?   Every church sharing with each other from what they can do, provide, and offer to those in need.  

What would happen if a church of 50 people all gave something that they could offer?  What if a church of 1000 did it?   A church of 10,000.  It would take hours, but it would be an amazing offering that the Holy Spirit could bless beyond measure.   

Generosity and Love are the Father's Heart.  He sent Jesus for us to ransom and rescue.  Through the Cross he defeated every power and declared, "It is finished".  Through the Resurrection new life erupted and a new creations were born.  Through the Ascension he sat down at the right hand of the Father and opened the way for all of us to travel.   Heaven is open.  We are part of the family.  We are wealthy beyond measure in our Father's love and grace.   

Give and it shall be given!

Comments?   Ideas?   I love to hear from you.  

With Love and Grace in Jesus,

Brother Jeff

Jeff Reynolds Sr. Leader

Capstone Christian Fellowship 

Redmond OR 

www.mycapstone.org

www.jeffreynoldsministries.com