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Danielkolenda.com
9. March 2010 - 8:25
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” ~ John 3:8
I am a native Floridian and I have been through many hurricanes, but 2004 was by far the most active hurricane season I have ever experienced in my life. Although I am originally from Port Charlotte (a town in the southwest), I was living in Tampa Bay at the time.
In August we watched with nervous curiosity as a tropical storm off the coast of Africa began to gain strength and started barreling toward us. By the time it swept down into the Gulf of Mexico it was a full-blown hurricane with winds topping 100 miles per hour. All of the weather forecasts predicted that it would make landfall in Tampa Bay so we began to make preparations; buying water and batteries, barricading windows with plywood and bringing outdoor furniture inside. We began to get nervous as we saw that the winds were approaching 150 miles per hour as the inevitable moment of impact drew near.
Suddenly, while only about 100 miles away, hurricane “Charley” took an unexpected, unpredicted and abrupt easterly, 90 degree turn and made a beeline for Port Charlotte…the town where I was born. I called home to make sure that my family was aware of the danger they were in. Before the power went out, they had been watching the same news channels that I was watching and they also thought that Charley was headed for Tampa Bay. The whole city was taken off guard and it was literally a matter of minutes before the eye of the mammoth storm would pass directly over them. They had not made any pre-storm preparations. No windows were boarded. Provisions were not stockpiled. This category 4 hurricane devastated the town to such an extent that when I arrived the following day, places I had known since childhood were totally unrecognizable.
Some have scoffed condescendingly at the words of Jesus to Nicodemous claiming that his assessment; “you cannot tell where the wind is coming from or where it is going” is an outdated statement. Science, they say, has made this opinion invalid. Doppler radar, satellite imagery, fancy gizmos and computer gadgets have made the weather as predictable as can be in our day. But I remember that afternoon in August when every prediction was off by at least a hundred miles. And we all learned that the words of Jesus still hold true today.
The wind is unpredictable and it is untamable. You can’t confine it to a prescribed pattern and you can’t hold it to preconceived expectations. It does what it wants and asks no one for permission. And if you think you have it figured out, that is just when you will be terribly surprised that the wind is not your subordinate. It can turn and change direction on a whim and if you are not ready it just might catch you by surprise.
I heard of a man today who describes his church as “Charismatic friendly with a seatbelt”. He has apparently preapproved a way in which the Holy Spirit is allowed to move in his Church. He has issued a permit for a particular sort of spiritual activity but requires that it remained buckled in at all times. We wouldn’t want anyone flying out of their seat and going through the windshield. Everything must be done according to our definition of “decently and in order”.
Those who have become familiar with the Holy Spirit know that this is simply not the way it works. In fact the more we know about the Holy Spirit, the more we realize that, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. The moving of Holy Spirit cannot be prescribed or predicted. I have heard preachers encourage their members to “let God out of the box”, but I have news for those precious Christians. God was never in their box to begin with. If you have a box, the only one inside it is you. And if you have a seatbelt, you are the only one wearing it.
How dare we think that we can tame this mighty hurricane of God that has been blowing through the earth since the day of Pentecost! He is the same Spirit that hovered over the primordial chaos before creation. He is the same Spirit that spoke to the fathers through the prophets. He is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. He is God in action on earth.
Are you disturbed by abuses in the Charismatic church? So am I. But I am most supremely concerned about those abusing the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is not a water spicket to be turned on and off at will according to our preferences. He is the limitless ocean of God’s infinite power. A gnat is more formidable commanding a hurricane than we are commanding the Holy Spirit. Its high time we get back in our place and say HAVE YOUR WAY HOLY SPIRIT!
We don’t command you. We don’t define you. We cont control you. We don’t limit you. We yield to you and we honor you Great Holy Spirit of God!
Oh, see us on Your altar lay,
We give our lives to you today,
So crown the offering now we pray:
Send the fire today!
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Danielkolenda.com
8. March 2010 - 16:59
In Matthew 21, we read the parable of the landlord who sent messengers to his rebellious property manager. They beat ONE. They killed ANOTHER. They stoned ANOTHER. AGAIN he sent servants MORE than at first and last of all he sent his very own son whom they also killed. In the end that rebellious manager was destroyed and it is often that part of the story that most people are drawn to. But what jumps out at me is the incredible persistence and amazing patience of the landlord.
Since the beginning of time, God has pursued humanity with unremitting, persistent and relentless grace. He has been shunned, kicked, mocked, blasphemed, insulted, cursed, hated and offended and yet, He comes back again extending mercy and space to repent. For thousands of years, God sent the prophets to Israel with warning after warning; calling them back to the God with whom they had covenanted. Over and over they rejected these messengers; spitting in their faces and killing them. Finally God sent His own Son; the ultimate expression of His relentless love. They tortured and killed him just as they had done to the others and yet one can hear the voice of God weeping through the prophets: “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.” (Hos 11:8 NLT)
How often God calls to the prodigal. How relentlessly He extends grace to the sinner. His persistence is unremitting. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock…”. But he does not knock like the mailman who taps twice and then leaves. He knocks like a child at the door of it’s parents; over and over and over again. He knocks and knocks and knocks throughout our whole lives. He speaks to us through messengers, through situations, through nature, through science, through the Bible, through our conscience and through the Holy Spirit. God is not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance. To some His persistence is obnoxious, but this is the “Amazing Grace” that we sing about because without this drawing, none of us could ever come to God in the first place.
The Reuben Donnelly Co is one of the largest printers in America. They are the first ones to create the “Yellow Pages” telephone directories and also specialized in magazines at one time. They had a machine at their Chicago facility, which was intended to help them to retain their magazine subscriptions by sending out renewal notices to people whose subscriptions were expiring. One day the machine malfunctioned and produced multiple notices to the same individuals. In fact, one poor man received a total of 9,734 such notices at his ranch in Powder Bluff, Colorado. Rather than becoming angry, he got in his truck and drove 10 miles into town and walked into the local post office. He addressed an envelope to the Reuben Donnelly Co, put his money for the subscription renewal inside together with a hand-written note that read: “Send me the magazine. I give up!”
Of course one day the knocking will stop and the window of mercy will close, as was the unfortunate end of the property manager in Jesus’ parable. The Day of Judgment is fast approaching, but if you are reading this right now, there is still hope for you. How can you resist God’s relentless love any longer? When will you answer the persistent knocking at your hearts door? When will you throw up your arms and say, “I give up”? Don’t send yet another messenger away. Don’t throw yet another opportunity away. Who knows…this one may be your last.
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Danielkolenda.com
7. March 2010 - 4:24
Just a few days ago we held a mass Gospel Campaign in the city of Numan, Nigeria. Over the course of 5 days more than 800,000 people attended the meetings and 557,860 decisions cards were registered from those professing their newfound faith in Christ. You can read the reports from each of the nights below:
ARRIVAL
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5
As usual, I am posting some interesting pictures that you would not have seen in the normal reports and publications to give you a fascinating “behind the scenes” insight. Enjoy….
This is the desk in my hotel room. Al Kaaba is the cube building in center of Mecca and the holiest site in Islam toward which devout Muslims face when they pray
This is a picture of me taking a picture of the coolest instrument ever (see the picture from my camera below)
This has got to be the coolest instrument ever. Best I can tell, it is made from wood that is attached to horns by pieces of leather and played with mallets like a xylophone
Local "mammas" preform a traditional ceremonial dance. A fascinating cultural experience.
This is what I do while I wait...I blog - for YOU!
Imagine walking into your room on an EXTREMELY hot day to discover that this is your air conditioner
Following the example of Zacchaeus they got the best seats in the house
The view from my room in our hotel in Abuja
Press Conference
Awesome glasses!!!
Jacko hard at work on the crusade ground
You can't buy this kind of advertising!
Filming a greeting for the folks back home
(Most Pictures by O. Volyk)
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Danielkolenda.com
6. March 2010 - 6:48
#5. If Something Sounds Too Good to be True it Probably Is
Have you ever been sucked into a get-rich-quick scheme that turned out to be a scam or thought you were getting the deal of a lifetime only to discover it was all a hoax? If so you have probably learned the hard way what the old adage declares; “If something seems to good to be true, it probably is”. But some have made the terrible mistake of applying this maxim to the Gospel. One gentleman explained that he felt the Christian way of salvation is too easy and anything so easy could not possibly be true. But his confusion was evidence that he had completely misunderstood the Gospel.
I recently saw a documentary on Dateline NBC about a man who was kidnapped for ransom in Mexico by a group of anonymous criminals. He was stripped naked and stuffed into a small box where he was hardly able to move. There in that box he lay helpless and hopeless for more than 200 days waiting for redemption. Meanwhile his wife worked feverishly day and night selling personal effects and begging for money. This poor woman’s life was a perpetual nightmare during those many long hard months, but in the end, through great sacrifice, she paid the ransom and her husband was released.
The reality is that this prisoner did absolutely nothing to facilitate his own redemption. He literally lay in a box for several months unable to even stand on his own two feet. Yet, no person in their right mind would ever suggest that his ransom was an easy matter. Such a suggestion would be an insult to this entire family who would all say, “You could never imagine the incredible price we paid”.
This story is an amazing, modern day illustration of the Gospel. The human race was captured by Satan and bound in sin. We were helpless and hopeless; completely unable to save ourselves. But God looked upon our plight with great compassion and said, “deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom” (Job 33:24). That ransom was Jesus Christ and because He loved us, He stepped in, willing to pay any necessary cost for our redemption. The cost was great and it was ultimate. Jesus paid our ransom, not with dollars but according to Mark 10:45, He gave his life a ransom for many. He took our place and suffered the unimaginable nightmare of the cross. We will never be able to understand the price He paid for our redemption.
It is true that we contribute very little to our salvation, but what can a naked prisoner locked in a tiny box do to ransom himself. If someone does not act on his behalf he is doomed. And that is exactly what Jesus did for us. To describe our salvation as easy is not only ignorant, but profoundly insulting. Salvation is free, but it was not cheap. It is free for us because Jesus paid the enormous debt that we could never pay. And this is why I say that the Gospel is not too good to be true. Actually it is too good to be UNtrue. That is why we call it, “The Good News”.
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Danielkolenda.com
5. March 2010 - 6:27
#3. Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
This is an adage that rings true in many aspects of life. For example, in the financial world, a counselor would encourage you to “diversify” your investments, because if you were to put all of your proverbial “eggs” in a single basket and that basket happened to break, you would loose everything.
This adage also happens to be one of the devil’s favorites. He advises many people to diversify their lives into many different hands. God’s “basket” is just one of the many choices. There is also the doctor’s basket, the lawyer’s basket, the psychologist’s basket, the basket of education, the basket of relationships, the basket of religion and the basket of occupation. The Devil doesn’t mind if we go to church on Sunday morning so long as we don’t put too many eggs in God’s basket. We have become very good at compartmentalizing our lives so that if it turns out that God is a myth, well we wouldn’t be much worse off anyways.
But my friends this is not what God requires. Christianity is all or nothing. Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” You’ll never meet someone who has experienced crucifixion because no one ever lived to tell the story. When a man picks up a cross, at the same moment he lays his whole life down. Crucifixion demands everything…even the breath in your lungs. This is what Jesus was saying; if you want to follow me you’ll have to put all your eggs in my basket and give me your whole life.
When Jesus called Peter and Andrew to follow him the Bible says that “They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” (Mat 4:20) Fishing was their profession, their livelihood, and their source of financial security. I think that most of us would have put those nets in storage just in case the whole ‘following Jesus’ thing didn’t work out. But when Jesus came to Peter and Andrew he essentially said, “boys…if you want to follow me, you have to put all your eggs in my basket”, and they did.
It has become proverbial that in the face of danger a hen will gather her chicks under her wings and protect them with her very life. Often after a terrible fire someone will find the body of a hen burnt to a crisp; charred and singed, but hear noise coming from it’s body. When they move the carcass they will discover a bunch of little chicks safe and alive underneath.
The Bible tells us that Jesus wept over Israel saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!” Jerusalem had been offered a safe haven, a strong tower, a fortress of protection under the wings of her Messiah, but she refused to put their eggs in His basket preferring to trust in other things that all eventually failed her.
Science is constantly being revised as new discoveries are made. One day you will be encouraged to take a particular supplement or eat a certain food and the next day you will be warned to avoid said substances. Doctors are sued for malpractice everyday and they bury their mistakes. Psychologists have abnormally high suicide rates. Banks plead for government bailouts while Kingdoms collapse and disappear overnight. Yet somehow so many people feel more comfortable putting their lives in these baskets than in the one basket that is tried and true. It has never failed, broken or spilled. Generations of men and women throughout the ages of history have boldly attested to God’s utter faithfulness and reliability. The Lord says, in Isaiah 28:16, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” God’s “basket” is Jesus and His wings are spread for you. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mat 11:28)
If you want peace of mind, ignore the old adage and put all of your eggs into ONE basket…God’s basket.
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