What I’m going to write on is, to some, somewhat controversial, but I thought it important to post because maybe some of what I’m going to write may help someone. And I believe as the church (worldwide) we need to open our eyes.

I have been watching the free simulcast of the onething Conference from IHOP for the past few days. The focus of the conference has been the Book of Revelation. OK, OK, hold on. Some have been concerned about that, and I understand. What makes IHOP a great place is their focus on prayer and intimacy with Christ, but more importantly their focus on what David Bryant terms the “Supremacy of Christ”. Anyone who has visited IHOP knows, however, that they also have a significant focus on the End Times. The fact that they are focusing this conference on the book of Revelation has caused some to question whether they are getting off-track regarding the focus on the “one thing”–that is, the supremacy of Christ.

In watching these sessions, my answer to that concern is, absolutely not.

I believe that we as a church (I mean worldwide) have treated the book of Revelation like Martin Luther treated the book of James–as a problematic book that we wish weren’t even in there. But I ask you: Is the book of Revelation the Word of God or NOT? Read the rest of this entry »

Someone once asked me if our youth group tradition of the “CHRISTMAS BALL” was born out of Troy’s silent rebellion to his Pentecostal upbringing (his version of “Footloose”, if you will…) or my deprived home schooled soul, who never had a prom…

Hmmm….

Perhaps the answer to the question would be… Yes. Yes to both. :) But really…

For the past five years, the youth ministry of L.O.G., has held the tradition of an annual Christmas Ball (a glorified dance party) to celebrate the birth of our King - Jesus Christ. Every year the students come dressed in semi-formal wear and together we dance the night away, while mix master, DJ’ Marco spins his music for us. It’s one of my favorite youth group events. I love seeing our kids so dressed up and dancing. We have a pretty good looking bunch of kids who have got some smooth moves…

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t mean to be uncharitable, but…

Frankie Schaeffer has sold out. Listen to his interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross here. It is obvious that he has left orthodoxy (even though he attends a Greek Orthodox church to assuage his “personal need” for “something bigger”. I have read his writings and he is a typical disgruntled “MK” (Missionary Kid) who feels he must whine about his upbringing and what was “withheld” from him by his parents because they taught him to see the world through a biblical world- and life-view.

I’m also “frankly” (ha ha) tired of hearing Gross get positively giddy when she can get anyone on her show to badmouth orthodoxy.

No one should take what Frank Schaeffer says about Christianity (or abortion, as many Christians have been DUPED by so doing, not realizing his compromise) as somehow wise, just because he is the “Son of Francis Schaeffer”. I doubt his father would be proud of where his son now stands. Let’s pray for his return from apostasy.

And brothers and sisters, it is VITAL that we get our information and influence from Scripture, holding fast to it–and not gathering around us teachers who scratch our itching ears. No more “yes men” kow-towing to the spirit of the age–come on, Church, and wake up from your daydream! Read the rest of this entry »

I did not vote for either major candidate today. Even though I LOVE Obama and strongly agree with him on 99% of the issues. I donated to his campaign twice. I feel really, really great about my choice though. I wrote in a pro-life democrat that wasn’t even running, on a suggestion from a friend. God showed up with a way for me, at the 11th hour. Praise you, Jesus–you are so good, kind and attentive to the way my heart works.

I have a consistent ethic of life–which means that i am against the shedding of blood in any way–by killing unborn babies, the death penalty, torture, people dying through lack of universal health coverage, destroying the environment, etc. I consider myself a feminist–I believe that anything that is against life is against women and vice-versa. Abortion is a big eugenics experiment and it baffles me that people actually fight for the “right” to shed innocent blood.

The reason I favored Obama originally (until even a few days ago!) was because of his social agenda, including his “abortion reduction plan”. I believed it until I saw the video of him at a Planned Parenthood pledging to sign FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) into law as one of his first acts in office. To me, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t reduce smoking by pandering to the tobacco lobby. If, as I’ve heard Obama insiders say, he is personally against abortion, why is he making any promised to PP? That’s hypocrisy writ large.

As far as being a “single issue voter”, fine–but I ask myself this: Where would I have wanted to be counted on the single issue of Slavery? Abortion, like slavery, is an issue that trumps every other, even those social issues that I strongly favor, because it is a foundational issue of what it means to be human (as slavery was). If we don’t believe in the dignity of every human being in the womb, what right have we to fight for that dignity when they’re adults?

At the end of the day, though, I know this was a very difficult choice for every Christian I know. There’s not one Christian I know of who did not agonize over this. What I saw was that every one of you, in your heart, wanted to please the Lord, and I believe with all of mine that it’s the heart that He sees, and that he’s pleased with our desire to please Him. Lord, help us–bring our country back to you in the way only YOU can do–by wooing the HEART.

Bless God, America.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast or listen on the radio to “Speaking of Faith” with host Krista Tippet. The following quote was part of a very intriguing  episode on prayer. I was incredibly humbled by this one. It’s by one of the “Desert Fathers”.

“If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action, God will hear everything that he asks.” Abba Zeno

Thank you, Abba Zeno. Touché. I’ll be holding onto this meditation for a while.

In this third dream about Israel, Doug and Jean had gone to Israel and we are sitting at a picnic table showing pictures of their trip. They are describing Israel to me, and as they do, we are suddenly there. The place where we are is like a visitor’s center, very huge. There is a play being performed by young people, college-age. It is a mystery story of some kind. But we know that there is a part of the play where a miracle or miracles that are going to happen. I am sitting in a row of people. Some of them get up and I go to sit back next to the same person I was sitting next to, but it is too close for comfort, and he or she squirms disgustedly, so I move over. The actors are not on stage, but moving around the whole space, even in the audience.

Read the rest of this entry »

From January 25, 2008

On a road trip, returning from IHOP. I look in my Lonely Planet guide and I’m near the Negev Desert in Israel. I decide to explore. The desert is on my left, “civilization” to my right. I go walking in the sand after parking my old light blue Datsun (yes, I said Datsun) and I see a stream bed. I’m thinking how cool it is to be where Jesus walked when I noticed the bed was bone dry, dust and sand. I keep walking and start to see all these rock outcroppings. Read the rest of this entry »

Amy Pursley wrote me recently about a dream she had involving Israel. It spurred me to share a series of dreams I had earlier this year (and I pray the Lord gives me more), also about Israel. From time to time, if the Lord gives me permission, I will post any dreams that he gives me that seem pertinent. I’d love if you share yours, and if you have an interpretation of any of these from the Lord (please, with prayer–not just “impressions”), leave them in the comments below. Love, Esther

A lot of these dreams have recurring themes: “Old” and “New” Jerusalem (with “Old” being ruined, but a place of refuge, where “New” is a façade, hiding a faceless evil–more akin to Babylon), an underground group, and me being there somewhat illegally. Read the rest of this entry »