Jumping in...to a time of rejoicing

Dear friends-

When I was young I was on a camping trip and we had gone a very long way into the wilderness. And as we approached the lake I could see their was still ice in the distance. I thought, the last place I want to be is in that water. On the other hand, I had sweated my self up to the place where not being clean was high on my agenda. So, as we circled everything up and got things prepared for dinner, I decided I was going to take a swim.  I went over to a little bank, perhaps 4-5 above the water and looked in and decided a shallow dive and a quick swim over to the small "beach." Now, I will tell you, my brothers and I played hockey on marginally frozen ponds and going through the ice had not been "that bad." Probably because I had neglected to remember that it had probably not included total immersion. In I went. And as soon as I hit tat water with the tips of my fingers, I knew that life was going to be exciting. As I plunged in I felt what could only be described as heart stopping. My swim was as short as I could make it. And let me tell you it was a rush. I was giddy, trying to think through. I got out of the water and more cold took over. Now, that was cold weather camping or winter camping.

And when I got baptized there was still ice on the pond in the far reaches. The men baptizing came out purple.

Why recount this?  The last few days have been a trial. In some ways I feel like a parachutist (Though never figuring out why someone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane.). Committed to the process, trying to absorb the beauty and wondering about the landing. I guess most of my life has been calculated, but I recognize to others it appears to be a plunge.

A few days ago my furnace stopped working. (You know, during the snowstorm that attacked the northeast?) And I called my friendly plumber. He came over, and told me I was out of fuel. OK...I was surprised, but went and got about 15 gallons of fuel, loaded it in, bled the system and it ran...all night. I thought it was fixed. While he was here, he declared my furnace an antique and recommended euthanasia. So, yesterday it was pretty warm out, I bought another 100 gallons (Robbing Peter to pay Paul.) and thought we were all set. About 6 last night I realized the furnace was not running, let alone walking. Called my friendly plumber. He made some suggestions with the caveat that if that did not work, call him back. Well, the fix did not work, and 2.5 hours of calling did not work. So, my wife gathered up extra blankets, etc., and we prepared for a cold night.

I am a creature of habit. When I type into a word program I can not stand to see red underscores indicating misspelled words or green lines indicating bad grammar. I always go back to fix them. (The only problem as most of my readers can attest, is spell checkers do not fix correctly spelled words.) So this morning, I woke up (Actually, I was awake a lot as 100 pounds of blankets is well, a hundred pounds.) and being the creature of habit, I was going to take a shower. The floor was cold, the air was cold. We were below 50 degrees and falling. But, I jumped in. And when I got out, I realized how cold it was. Cold. My fingers are freezing, but the alternative is to do nothing.

And in the midst of it, I was reminded of a scripture that when I was first saved, I read. But, when I was in a church, I was appalled. For it is not a word of faith statement, my alma mater. The song is based on Habbakkuk 3.

THO'THE FIG TREE DOES NOT BLOSSOM AND THERE BE NO FRUIT ON THE VINE THE PRODUCE OF THE OLIVE FAIL AND THE FIELDS YIELD NO FOOD THO' THE FLOCK BE CUT OFF FROM THE FOLD AND THERE BE NO HERD IN THE STALLS YET WILL I REJOICE IN THE LORD YET WILL I REJOICE IN THE LORD I WILL JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION GOD THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH   

When I first heard it, I about fell over. My feelings were deliverance is to administered, and spiritual warfare is to be employed. It took me a few trials in the beginning to learn not to speak about the problem, a few more to war against the problem, and yet a few more to come to a place of rejoicing. But, I heard that song this morning. So, my day will be spent rejoicing. Despite the cold, for at some point I know I will enter into his fruited plain. And unlike Miriam, I want to be rejoicing before the "Red Sea" splits.

My difficulties are less than the light afflictions of Paul. My house warmer than those of many nations. (Though a little cooler than the White House.) My water more plentiful than the deserts of barren nations. My roof while it leaked is still in place. And there is no water in the basement. I am not suggesting we accept attacks from the enemy and take them in stride, or accept sickness as part of life. I am suggesting we rejoice.

For the Lord is our strength.

Blessings,
Lee

The Downside of Short Term Thinking

Dear friends-

Last night I was awakened with the feeling of "panic." Even 12 hours later the thoughts have been going through my mind. I awoke to thinking my life time had run out. I surveyed the landscape of my life and saw unfinished projects, books and the like. I began to give thought to friends who were no longer with me here on earth. Those that were on the brink and to a group who does not seem to know. But, me, I thought I was under control. So, the thought process of last night was disturbing. I am a planner. (Not always planning well, but a planner.) I realize that I have so many things going on at any one time, that whenever I leave here, I will have a project or two uncompleted. So, I really began to give credence to what I have going on and where will it be in 5 years. I live my life along these standards...

�There are 3 kinds of people. Those who MAKE things happen. Those who WATCH what happens. Those who WONDER what happened.�

I never want to be in the third category, but I was feeling like I was last night. It got to me. How many decisions do I make that are short term decisions for the now, leaving me holding the bag later? I have told my children for a long time, that when you have children and you make a short term decision for the now, without looking to the results of the future, things may not go the way you planned. One of my examples is in parenting, that many parents will make a short term decision to not discipline a child(making the child AND the parent feel better), only to travel a few years down the road and face heartbreak because the child is out of control. There is no time like today.

The other day I had a sit down with a friend of mine who is preparing for a run for Congress. He has asked me to help. Like me, he is an activist, a pot stirrer. And like me, he is a strategist. A planner. (He also like me, appreciates the "fight" more than the win, so to speak.) And so, we sat over our coffees and developed beginning strategy.

And then I have many friends who make lots of decisions with out thought process to the future. (Now, some would say that is the issue of "not counting the cost," but what if we truly are lead by the Spirit and allow for the flowing of Him in our lives? Must we worry? Probably not. On the other hand, most of our prone to our flesh from time to time, and decisions become colored.)

For instance, long term relationships, take, well, a long time...A friend of mine and I have been meeting in the same place for coffee for over 10 years each week. Others have come and joined us, but, it has ended up being him and I for the most part. Many people look for what they can get out of a relationship (A sure fire "cure" to alleviate long term relationships.) rather than what they can give.

The decisions we make today affect tomorrow. Time is my friend and time is my enemy. Time heals most hurts and time is always working against me. The argument of today can be lost in the pleasure of tomorrow. Yet, I am one day down in the "pleasure" zone.

I have 4 major projects sitting on my plate and decisions to make about ministry. Decisions to make about family. I can say this year I made a lot more good decisions than I did bad decisions. Our decisions to get rid of credit cards and pay off debt were good decisions. The issues of the house were clearly out of my hands. I did not make any "majors" and I say that only with the knowledge that only "time will tell" how good the decisions made were in some categories.

A lot of my life has been on hold with the arrival of two children and three grandchildren nearly 2 years ago. I had to weigh what I call the legacy thought process. When God gives us something bigger than us, it must be God when it is seen that A) We probably can not carry it out in our self or by our self and B)It must travel past our life span. Legacy being what is left and continues on. There are many other things I could be doing, but am not. Each day I pray for the children and the grand children. Each day I lay hands on them. Each day I speak their future.

No one knows the last day of their life for the most part.

With my "altar" project I have been in the old testament a lot. Some of the scripture I'm feeding on right now I share below. Verse 12(BOLD is my emphasis) spoke to my heart. The other night friends were here and I said there is something "cool" about sitting on the edge of something and knowing it is either God or you, and "you" stopped being able to produce miracles a long time ago! I realized I "missed" the excitement of being on the brink and needing God to show up.

There is a part of me that likes comfort, but waking up in the middle of the night "dependent" on the Lord is not so bad either some times. (Except for the house issue...it has caused a lot of stress, cost us all our money, required nearly $20,000 in repairs and we still are not complete. So, yes, I really need God to show up.)

When we make decisions out our soul(Our emotions, our will, our intellect.), we will not always be right. In fact, we may be more wrong with our actions in this process. Short term pleasures often cause long term difficulties. And especially when you throw people into it!

Many years ago we had an internet company. We made lots of right decisions and few bad ones. The results were that the good decisions outweighed the few bad ones. (BTW-most of my bad decisions happen when I want to "help" people. I am a relational person. I am not "cold hearted" enough to see some times. I think I have helped people when God said don't!) A few years later I started a coffee company that took off like wildfire. The growth was not calculated. Over 5,000 orders in 3 plus days. (I had to set my computer to turn on at 3 AM to begin to process the orders of the day!) Quite honestly, it was stupid. It caused a lot of stress.

And so now I sit here with projects in the fire. One of those projects is the altar project. A friend said "what happens if you get an order for 5,000 pieces?" So, I did the math...Back to the drawing board. 10 years ago I would not have thought twice. We await the seed money for this. Another project is in the area of health and environmental. Seed money is on the horizon. Meanwhile, we live our lives frugally. I get up every day and ask the Lord to carry the check book.

Admittedly, I did a lot of things backwards. I was a child of the "instant gratification" world. I am coming out of the desert. I truly feel the Lord saying things about crossing "Jordan."

For each one of you my prayer is that you God's will for you is clarified ore and more with each day. Those dealing with sickness and family members unsaved, I think we have truly moved in the threshing floor of the Lord. It is in that place that we ave stirred the heart of the Lord.

Blessings,
Lee

Don't Forget the LORD
Moses said to Israel:

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.
11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,
13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,
14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

2009

Dear friends-

This morning I was meditating on the "joy of the Lord." Over the years I have heard many definitions of it.

This morning I got up early. And I spent some time with the Lord. It was not too long before the grandchildren started trudging up the stairs. Lately my grandson Jacob and I have developed a "routine" of sorts. While Tina is getting ready for work Jacob and I go in my room and we sit on the bed and read. He goes and gets books and then he climbs up on the bed. He sits there and imitates lions and ducks and kittens and dogs. This morning we were reading Little Ducklings. And he just sat there as we counted the 8 ducklings and imitated the ducks. And then it was time for him to go. Each morning he goes to his day care after we visit. And he does not want to go. He will let me put on his shoes and his jacket, but then he realizes we are going to be apart. And each night when he gets hoe, he runs to spend time with me.

The Lord told me that what I feel for Jacob (And the others.), is "the joy of the Lord." Or more precisely, the feeling I have for spending time with him. And he told me that the change for believers for the year 2009 would not be the laughter, (though that is one description) or the feeling of freedom(though that is another) but understanding the TREMENDOUS love the Father has for each of us. And he told me for many it would begin in the head. Just as we have to "mouth" the words of forgiveness to prime the pump, I felt that this would be much like that. We would need to prime the pump. What may begin in the natural will end up in the supernatural. And like the prodigal's father awaiting his return so is the Lord's desire for you to come into His presence.

So, number one for 2009. YOU ARE THE JOY OF THE LORD!

And prodigals. Each year we hear this word. Well as 2008 begin to climb it's final steps, I felt an overwhelming sense of the "salvation of the Lord." And in the last few days I have witnessed salvations coming to the lost AND a return of the PRODIGAL. Here is what the Lord is saying. The seed of the righteous SHALL NOT PERISH!  Do not worry(Be anxious for nothing!); but honor God with your faith in Him.  Worry is a product of fear-based faith; rather than exercising your faith in God's ability to turn things around. What you need to be doing is putting your faith in what God's word says about you and your children, and if you don't know, then do a little research on what He does say about you so that you can believe God for the right answer, rather than focusing on the problem.

Even if it seems your children are as far as they can get away from the Lord, base your faith on scripture, for example: Proverbs 11:21, states with confidence that "the seed of the righteous shall be delivered".  Believe that His promises will come to pass, pray for their protection and believe that He is protecting them, and speak them whenever your children come to mind, rather than worrying about any particular circumstance, because nothing is too difficult for God.

My personal confession has been that my children are SAVED. Not prodigals.

Number two is that the prodigals are saved and are coming home.
Number three is that the salvation of the Lord is here in a large way.

Peace...
Number four is peace. I have seen so many anxious and the like. A few weeks ago, I felt the Lord say that He is going to bring peace. How many have cried out for peace and not "felt" it? Be anxious for nothing. That is your part. Establish your faith in that word. Be anxious for nothing and pray "like crazy" for everything. As we do our part, the scriptures tell us that
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) We worry not, we pray and God comes along and blesses us with a supernatural peace.

And the Lord is reaching out to us in a super way. This year has all the fixings in the natural to be a real doozy. But the Lord has provided well for his people. I have heard we are at the end, in the middle and even clueless. I have been meditating on what the Lord has been saying about a "move of God." I clearly heard Him say "you are a move of God." His people are the move of God. Oh you can pray for a move of God, but this is the year that the answer is in you. The completed work of the cross. The supernatural workings of the Lord are in you. Like the famous spaghetti sauce commercial. "It's in there!" Well, He is in you. Jesus gave us great and precious promises for us to fulfill His work.

Number five-YOU ARE THE NEXT MOVE OF THE LORD!

As I have meditated on things, I know that the world and it's economy is in total fail mode. We are looking at trillions like our bedroom piggie bank. There is speculation here in the US as to "can we make it." Hypoinflation is happening and currency is stopping. Fortunately the currency of heaven is faith and grace. The allowance of these to operate bring response.

And I sit there as I view things I say the door is open for outbursts of technology to reverberate. But inventions without plans and financing are just numbers on a shelf. Technology has reached an all time high and we are still in trouble. Integrity in business appears to be at an all time low. Ironically, just as the gifts are without repentance, nothing can stop the appearance of ideas, but without integrity the finances evaporate and the motion is stopped. We will see people who do not know the Lord operating with a new found understanding of integrity and "righteousness." Watch as the vacuum left by large vehicle manufacturers and the like are quickly filled by smaller companies. There will be a struggle against the global thinking. The idea of "buy American" will begin to manifest here. There is a beginning of an overpowering of the wrongness of the working of the government. A type of anarchy (because it is against the government.) is being manifested. While Kissinger can talk about a "new world order" and Obama being at the head of it, the people are becoming full. A breaking poit is in the making. The deafness is being corrected. The vision being cleared. In our own country we have gone from a fagricultural mentality to an industrial mentality to a technology mentality. There will be attempts to return to the first two, but technology will win out. And we will see a shift in gas prices beginning in February imposed by "governments" and this will soon move tech people to the forefront. Because people will "not" buy into the taxation issues. There will be a new realm of "teachers" in the workplace and people of distinction will be born out of this. While few will "win" gold medals, many gifts will be released to the forefront.

And the body of Christ. We will see many turn towards us as we move down from the "pulpit" and into the pews. The church that abides will be the church that recognizes it's position in the community as a piece and a peace. The church will leave it's services for people in need. The gatherings will be more socially oriented as people allow the release of the Lord through themselves. This is not reducing the sovereignty of the Lord but establishing the church as sons. Carrying the burdens of the Lord to the people. And the burdens of the people to the Lord. There will be shifts of many as "holes" are filled and the "nets" are secured.

That's it for the moment.


Blessings,
Lee

Lee Johndrow
Pillars Of Clouds& Fire Ministries
88 WCFR Drive
Springfield, Vermont 05156
802-384-3993
Building relationships for the goodness of our region.
www.pocafministries.org